catolicam

The truth, beauty and universality of Catholic faith, art and culture.

[allaboutmary]

Maria SS. delle Grazie

The image of Our Lady of Grace venerated in Avellino, Italy.

Mary is depicted offering relief to suffering souls by sprinkling them with mother’s milk, which she is squeezing from her left breast.

[allaboutmary]

Today is the feast of St Gerard Majella, a humble Italian lay brother of the Redemptorist order who lived from 1726 to 1755.

St Gerard was known for his great devotion to Mary. In one of his letters he wrote:

Live with caution; at every moment you must trust in Mary Most Holy, so that she can assist you and overthrow your every enemy with her power.

[allaboutmary]

Madonna dei Sette Dolori

The shrine of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows in the church of San Carlo in Catinari, Rome.

There is a small opening in the glass so devotees can touch Mary’s foot. The foot has been covered in silver to protect it from wearing down.

[allaboutmary]

Mater Dolorosa

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, which focuses on the suffering Mary endured during her earthly life. The feast has been celebrated since at least the 13th century.

The image above is a photograph of the statue of the Sorrowful Mother in the Alserkirche in Vienna, Austria.

[allaboutmary]

A statue of Mary in the church of San Giuseppe alla Lungara in Trastevere, Rome.

[allaboutmary]

Monstra te esse Matrem

An 18th century engraving of the miraculous image of Mary known as the ‘Mutter mit dem geneigten Haupt’ (Mother with the Bowed Head). The original image is kept in the Ursuline convent in Landshut, Bavaria.

Images of Our Lady with the Bowed Head often include a short text, taken from the hymn Ave Maris Stella: ‘Show thyself to be a Mother’.

[catolicam]

Gnadenbild Maria im Landshut.

[allaboutmary]

Virgen de las Aguas

A vintage photograph of the statue of Our Lady of Waters in Seville, Spain.

[allaboutmary]

The interior of the pilgrimage church of Foy-Notre-Dame, Belgium.

The site near Dinant has been a place of pilgrimage since the early 17th century, when a small medieval statue of Mary was discovered there in a tree.

[allaboutmary]

On 26 June the feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is celebrated, which means the novena in honour of the famous icon begins today (18 June).

For nine consecutive days the following prayer is said, followed by three Hail Marys:

O Mother of Perpetual Help, grant that I may ever invoke your...

[catolicam]

This novena devotion is most beneficial to those who practise it.

Ave Maria, Mater de Perpetuo Succurso!

[allaboutmary]

Novena Devotions In Honor of Our Mother of Perpetual Help

The cover of an American booklet with prayers for the novenas of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St Gerard Majella.

[catolicam]

St Anthony of Padua in the basilica of Santa Prassade, Rome.

[allaboutmary]

Virgen del Socorro

The statue of Our Lady of Succour in the Real Oratorio del Caballero de Gracia, a 17th century church in Madrid.

Mary is shown as the protectress and refuge of small children under attack from Satan, represented by a dragonlike creature. As the demon tries to attack the infant Mary lifts a spear to scare it off.

[allaboutmary]

S. Maria del Buon Consiglio

The image of Our Lady of Good Counsel venerated in Portici in the province of Naples, Italy.

[allaboutmary]

An engraving from the book ‘Diva Virgo Savonensis beneficia ejus, et miracula’, which describes the apparition of Mary in Savona, Italy.

Mary is shown appearing to the shepherd Antonio Botta. The apparition took place in 1536, which was a time of war between the cities Savona and Genoa. In order to bring on peace, Mary told Antonio to encourage both parties to show “Misericordia e non giustizia” (“Mercy and not justice”). It is for this reason Mary is venerated as the Mother of Mercy in Savona.

[allaboutmary]

Our Lady of Lourdes in the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli on the Piazza del Popolo in Rome.

[allaboutmary]

Show thyself to be a Mother!

An 18th century engraving of the miraculous image of Our Lady with the Bowed Head, venerated in the church of the Ursuline convent in Landshut, Bavaria.

The words ‘Monstra te esse Matrem’ (Show thyself to be a Mother) are traditionally added to every copy of the image. They are taken from the hymn Ave Maris Stella.

[puerperia-deactivated20130806]