MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Wishing everyone a Blessed & Holy Christmas.
The true joy of Christmas is the everlasting love of Christ, shared with family and friends.
I hope you all experience the Love, Peace & Happiness that the true meaning of Christmas brings.
Much love,



Countless days on a journey that led so far
Endless nights they traveled to follow the star
They did not find a palace, just a humble village home
And searching for a king, but finding a child, no crown, no throne

Still they bowed down

Come let us adore him
Oh, come let us adore him
Oh, come let us adore him

Expectation turned to mystery
For nothing was like anything they dreamed
Anticipating the royal and those honored by this world
Instead they gazed in the eyes of an awe-struck peasant girl

Holding her child

Come let us adore him
Oh, come let us adore him
Oh, come let us adore him

The brilliant gold, the fragrant myrrh, the costly frankincense
Placed before him

Come let us adore him
Oh, come let us adore him
Oh, come let us adore him
Christ, the Lord

Hail Mary saves student from Hell

Consider the following instance of the great mercy of Mary.

In the year 1604, in a city in Belgium, there were two young students who gave themselves up to a life of debauchery instead of following their studies.

One night they were at the house of an evil woman; but one of the two, who was named Richard, stayed only a short time and then returned home. While he was preparing to retire, he remembered that he had not yet said the few Hail Marys that were his daily practice.

He was very tired and half inclined to omit them; nevertheless, he forced himself through the routine, saying the words half asleep and with no particular devotion. Then he lay down and fell asleep.

Suddenly he was wakened by a violent knocking at the door. The door was closed, but the figure of a young man, hideously deformed, passed through it and stood before him.

"Who are you?" Richard cried. "You do not know me?" asked the other. "Ah yes, now I do," said Richard; "but how changed, with all the appearance of a devil!"

"Alas, unhappy creature that I am," said his companion, "I am damned! When I was leaving that house of sin, a devil came and strangled me. My body lies in the street; my soul is in Hell.

"And know this — the same fate awaited you, except that the Blessed Virgin spared you for that little act of homage of the Hail Marys. If you are not a fool, profit by this warning which the Mother of God has sent." He then opened his mantle, showing the flames and serpents by which he was tormented, and disappeared.

Breaking into a flood of sobs and tears, Richard went down on his knees to give thanks to Mary his protectress. Then as he pondered how to change his life he heard the bell of the Franciscan monastery ringing for matins. "It is there," he said, "that God calls me to do penance."

He went immediately to the monastery and begged the Fathers to admit him. Since they knew his wicked life, they were hardly willing to do so. But sobbing bitterly, he told them all that had happened. And when two Fathers had been sent to the street and had found the strangled body, which was charred and blackened, they admitted him.

From that time on he led an exemplary life and at length went to preach the Gospel in India, and thence to Japan. There he had the happiness of giving his life for Jesus Christ, being burnt alive for the faith at Nagasaki on September 10, 1622.

Source = HERE

Did you know...?

The miraculous medal

The Medal of the Immaculate Conception — popularly known as the Miraculous Medal — was designed by the Blessed Virgin herself!
No wonder, then that it wins such extraordinary graces for those who wear it and pray for Mary's intercession and help.
Mary spoke to St Catherine Labouré: “Have a medal struck upon this model.
Those who wear it will receive great graces, especially if they wear it around the neck.”

There is no superstition, nothing of magic, connected with the Miraculous Medal.
The Miraculous Medal is not a “good-luck charm”.
Rather, it is a great testimony to faith and the power of trusting prayer.
Its greatest miracles are those of patience, forgiveness, repentance, and faith.

To read how the medal came about, go HERE.



The Meaning of the Front Side of the Miraculous Medal
Mary is standing upon a globe, crushing the head of a serpent beneath her foot.
She stands upon the globe, as the Queen of Heaven and Earth.
Her feet crush the serpent to proclaim Satan and all his followers are helpless before her (Gn 3:15).
The year of 1830 on the Miraculous Medal is the year the Blessed Mother gave the design of the Miraculous Medal to Saint Catherine Labouré.
The reference to Mary conceived without sin supports the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary—not to be confused with the virgin birth of Jesus, and referring to Mary's sinlessness, “full of grace” and “blessed among women” (Luke 1:28)—that was proclaimed 24 years later in 1854.



The Meaning of the Back Side of the Miraculous Medal
The twelve stars can refer to the Apostles, who represent the entire Church as it surrounds Mary.
They also recall the vision of Saint John, writer of the Book of Revelation (12:1), in which “a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars.”
The cross can symbolize Christ and our redemption, with the bar under the cross a sign of the earth.
The “M” stands for Mary, and the interleaving of her initial and the cross shows Mary’s close involvement with Jesus and our world.
In this we see Mary’s part in our salvation and her role as mother of the Church. The two hearts represent the love of Jesus and Mary for us. (See also Lk 2:35).


Prayer on the medal - O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Quote

"When Mary is present,
The evil one is absent."

- St Louis de Montfort

Remember that you are Dust

From Mary of Nazareth, A Moment with Mary.


Mary, Our Loving Mother.

One evening I was on the sun deck getting ready to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. Before beginning prayer, I like to take a few minutes to consider what I'm about to do. I look at creation around me, seeing the wonder and beauty of it all, realizing that all of this was made for me. And here I am in my little corner of God's Kingdom, about to thank Him for His love and His blessings.

If I could just be like our Mother Mary... If I could pray like her and be like her. I wanted to be like her in her relationship with our dear Lord. Because she was "one of us," I felt that we could discuss this together as mother and child. So, I turned to our dear Mother Mary, present in the Word within me, without whom nothing was made (cf. Jn 1:3).

In my spirit, focusing on her I said: "Mother, what could I do to be more like you? You're so modest, humble, and conscious of God's love for you. You're generous, patient and are truly in love with our blessed Jesus, your Child and your God."

"Look at the moon," I heard her say in my heart. "What is it made of?" The outline of the moon was quite visible in the early evening sky. "Dust," I answered. I remembered the astronauts landing on the moon and seeing all the dust there.

"Where does it get its light then, which it reflects so brightly in the darkness of the night?" she asked. "From the sun," I replied. "If you wish to be like me, remember that you are dust and in the dark night of this world, your Light comes from the Son of God," she said. Aren't these the words of a Queen? Aren't these the words of a Mother? See how close she and Heaven are to our spirit? If I want to be like Mother Mary, I must remember that I am dust, that this dark world has its own gods, that Jesus is my Light, that Jesus is the true God, that He made me God's child. Without Jesus, our spirit lives in darkness, such a terrible darkness we cannot even know who we are.

Excerpt from "Bless the Lord My Soul" by Deacon Raymond,
Archdiocese of Ottawa, Ontario Canada.

Mary did you Know?