A ode to the Blessed Virgin by St. Anselm, read on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, December 8. The doctrine of the sinlessness of Mary from the moment of her conception was believed and taught in the church long before it...
Writing in the early 8th century, Bede explains why the Magnificat, Mary's prayer on the occasion of her Visitation of Elizabeth, is used daily in the liturgy of the hours (a.k.a the divine office) for evening prayer....
Ambrose reflects on the Virgin Mary's Visitation of her cousin Elizabeth as recounted by the evangelist Luke in the first chapter of his Gospel. The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the second joyful mystery of the rosary....
Bede the Venerable, one of the greatest Christian writers of the early Middle Ages, here reflects on the Magnificat, the Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary proclaimed during her visitation of her cousin Elizabeth and sung every night in the Church's evening prayer, part of...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']A[/dropcaps]n integral part of the rosary, indeed, the most essential part, is the meditation on the mysteries of the incarnation (joyful mysteries) and the redemption (the sorrowful and glorious mysteries). Yet there are different ways to meditate on the mysteries. One...
In this 14 minute Podcast, Dr. Italy discusses the hidden meaning of the wedding feast of Cana and tells us how the miracle of the transformation of water into wine is a sign of an even greater transformation. Cana is a small village not far from...
This excerpt from a homily by Saint Amadeus of Lausanne, read by the Church on August 22, Feast of the Queenship of Mary, extolls the virtue of the Blessed Virgin, the Queen of Peace. ...
Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt, presided over the 3rd great Ecumenical Council of the Church which met in 431 AD in Ephesus and which proclaimed Mary as the Theotokos ("God-bearer" or "Mother of God"). Following this proclamation, many churches were dedicated to the Blessed...
Leo the Great on Mary, the Royal Virgin of the house of David, mother of the Messiah and Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, was associated with the Virgin Mary since Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus would have crossed...
Bernard here dramatically celebrates Mary's Fiat, or statement of consent in response to the announcement by the archangel Gabriel, behold the handmaiden of the Lord; "let it me done to me according to your word." Appropriate for Advent or for the Solemnity of the Annunciation...