Ave Maria

01/07/2023

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21/12/2022

http://gather-the-fragments.org

Petition to the Vatican's Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments to reintroduce the Communion-plate at every Holy Mass.

09/12/2022

Marian Feast Of December 9: Our Lady of the Conception, Naples, Italy (1618)

The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Our Lady of the Conception, at Naples, so called because, in the year 1618, the viceroy, with all his court, and the soldiery of Naples, made a vow, in the Church of Our Lady the Great, to believe and defend the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin.”

Pedro Tellez-Giron, 3rd Duke of Osuna, was the viceroy of Naples under King Philip III of Spain. He was a Spanish nobleman born in 1574 and married in 1594. He joined the army of the Archduke of Austria as a mere private, but his ability and courage must have been considerable, as he was soon placed in command of two cavalry companies. He fought in several battles, and was seriously wounded on two occasions before being made the Viceroy of Sicily in 1610.

When he took this new position as viceroy, the Spanish had not a single galley on the island that was seaworthy. It was necessary to remedy that problem at once, as Sicily was vulnerable to Barbary pirates as well as potential attacks of the fleet of the Ottoman Empire. Within two years he was no longer in a weak position, and as he had 8 galleys and several other ships in the new navy, he used them to attack Ottoman territory.

Our Lady of the Conception
In the summer of 1613 his fleet encountered a larger Ottoman fleet under the command of Sinari Pasha. The encounter lasted three hours, and became known as the Battle of Cape Corvo. Sinari Pasha was captured, and Mahamet, Bey of Alexandria and son of Muezzinzade Ali Pasho, commander of the Ottoman fleet at the battle of Lepano, was also captured.

In 1616 Pedro Tellez-Giron was promoted to Viceroy of Naples, and it was during this time that the Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece made his vow to defend what would later become a dogma of the Catholic Faith, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This doctrine was not actually formally proclaimed by the Church until Pope Pius IX formally proclaimed it on December 8, 1854, in the papal bull Ineffabilis Deus.

Pedro Tellez-Giron, “the great duke of Osuna,” fell out of favor in Spain for political reasons and was imprisoned shortly before he died in the year 1624. It seemed not a fitting end to his life, at least in worldly terms, but if the Spanish nobleman had earned the favor of the great Queen of Heaven, he had nothing to fear.

Rosary Confraternity International

23/11/2022

Marian Feast Of November 23
Our Lady of the Vault, Italy

The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Our Lady of the Vault, near the town of Saint Anastasia, in the environs of Florence.”

There is no longer any town named Saint Anastasia or Santa Anastasia near Florence, Italy, and I can find no reference to a church or icon known as Our Lady of the Vault.

There is a church in Florence that this feast might perhaps be referring to – The Duomo, Florence’s Cathedral of Saint Mary, or Santa Maria del Fiore. The dome is said to be the largest free-standing dome since ancient times, and is 348 feet high. It provides for a wonderful view of the city of Florence, and is a true triumph of 15th century engineering. The problem was that the dome was also expected to be 150 feet wide, and even those building the cathedral had no idea how they would go about spanning the space when they got to it, for it was far larger than any attempted since the days of antiquity with the great Roman engineers. The problem was put off for a later generation.

Our Lady of the Vault

It’s hard to believe that such a design problem was left to the last minute, but fortunately, there was one man capable of the job. His name was Filippo Brunelleschi, and his work became the future emblem of the city of Florence.

Consider that the builders did not even have the money to afford the massive supports and scaffolding that was thought to be necessary to even begin work on the dome. One suggested solution was a proposal to fill in the space with dirt, and then pile it up in the shape of a dome which they could build around. To save the expense of removing the dirt after the dome was built, coins could be placed here and there in the dirt pile, and the poor invited in to look for the money, if they were also willing to take out the dirt they had dug through.

But Brunelleschi understood the secret of Rome’s Pantheon. He began by building the outer ribs to support and distribute the weight, and instead of heavy stone, used interlocking bricks, which were lighter and more solid. No scaffolding was required, as the builders used chains attached to the dome they were building to suspend themselves in place to work. Even so, it took sixteen years to complete, but it was a huge advance in engineering for that time.

The city of Florence recognized the genius of Brunelleschi, for after his death he was buried directly beneath the dome he had created. He remains the only person ever buried in the vaulted cathedral dome.

Rosary Confraternity International

21/11/2022

Marian Feast Of November 21
Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (12 BC)

The feast of the Presentation was instituted in the Greek church more than nine hundred years ago, since Saint Germanus, who held the see of Constantinople in the year 715, composed a sermon upon it.

Mary’s Presentation, offering, in the Temple was the greatest a creature ever made to God; at the age of three, she offered Him not spices, nor animals, nor precious metals, but herself as a perpetual victim to His honor. She well understood the voice of God calling her to devote herself entirely to His love.

God willed that from that time on she should forget all, and think only of loving and pleasing Him. Promptly and immediately, she obeyed the Divine Call.

Mary’s offering at her presentation began really in her mother’s womb, her sanctification at the instant of her Immaculate Conception. At that moment she received the use of reason and began to merit – the general opinion of theologians. (The Angels and our first parents had this blessing also.) In the first moment of her existence she offered herself entirely to God, and devoted herself without reserve to His love and glory, subjecting her will thereto.

The immaculate child understood that her holy parents, Joachim and Anne, had promised God by a vow to consecrate their child to Him for His service. Mary was reminded that it was the ancient Jewish custom to take daughters to the temple for education.

So when Mary was three years old, Joachim and Anne set out with her from Nazareth, eighty miles from Jerusalem, accompanied by choirs of unseen angels.

When they reached the temple, St. Anne took her Daughter and Mistress by the hand, accompanied and assisted by St. Joachim. All three offered a devout and fervent prayer to the Lord; the parents offering to God their Daughter, and the most holy Child, in profound humility, adoration and worship, offering up Herself. She alone heard that the Most High received and accepted Her, and, amid divine splendor which filled the temple, she heard a voice saying to her: "Come, my Beloved, my Spouse, come to my temple, where I wish to hear thy voice of praise and worship."

Mary fell upon her knees, kissing the hands of her parents, and imploring them for their blessing. Then she ascended the fifteen steps of the temple and presented herself to the priest, Saint Zachary, for the service of her Creator.

Mary well knew that God does not accept a divided heart; so she vowed virginity, desiring to remain in the temple service her whole life. Our Lady revealed to Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, that she kept one special commandment before her eyes constantly:

“Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God,” and she implored of God the grace to keep all the laws and to live to see the Mother of the Redeemer; and that even she had to pray for grace and virtue always. On learning from Scripture that God was to be born of a virgin, her soul was inflamed with such love, and she begged to be the servant of that happy virgin.

Saint John Chrysostom tells us God found on earth no other virgin more holy and more perfect than Mary; nor a dwelling more worthy than her sacred womb, and so He chose her for His Mother – surpassing in perfection and virtue all other creatures.

As Mary did, offer yourself promptly and completely to God through her, without delay, without reserve, entreat her to offer you to God. He will not reject a creature offerd to Him through His Mother, the living temple of the Holy Ghost, the delight of the Lord and the chosen Mother of the eternal Word.

Have unbounded confidence in Mary, who rewards the homage of her clients with the greatest love.

Rosary Confraternity International

20/11/2022

Marian Feast Of November 20
Our Lady of La Guarde, Bologna, Italy (433)

The Abbot Orsini wrote: “This picture was in the Church of Santa Sophia, at Constantinople, with this inscription: “This picture, painted by Saint Luke, must be taken to the mountain of La Garde, and placed over the altar of the church.” A Greek monk set out for Italy about the year 433, with the picture entrusted to him, and deposited it on the mountain of La Garde.”

The account mentioned by the abbot above is also told in the chronicle of Graziolo Accarisi, who wrote of a Greek hermit who went on pilgrimage to Constantinople where he received from the priests of the church of Santa Sofia the icon of Our Lady of La Guarde. This image was attributed to Saint Luke the Evangelist, and there was an inscription on the painting itself that it should one day be taken to the “mountain of the guard.”

The hermit took the icon, and walked throughout Italy in search of the place where the icon was meant to be, but it was not until he reached the city of Emilia near Bologna that the authorities of the city came out to greet him and processed with the icon back to the mountain. The icon had finally found its home, and it is now more commonly known as the Madonna of San Luca.

Our Lady of La Guarde.

Among the many miracles attributed to the image is especially noted the “miracle of the rain,” which occurred on July 5th, 1433. An extremely heavy spring rain came late in the season, threatening to destroy the crops. Facing the prospect of famine, the people turned to the Blessed Virgin for assistance. The storm and rain stopped suddenly with the arrival into the city of a procession carrying the miraculous icon. Since that time these processions have been repeated annually. There is even an incredible arched walkway that is only a little short of four kilometers on length that is meant to protect the icon from the elements, as well as those on procession.

The icon shows the Blessed Virgin Mary holding the Infant Jesus in blessing. She wears a blue-green robe, with a red tunic. The nose, eyes and fingers appear somewhat elongated. The Divine Child wears a tunic of the same color as His mothers’, with his right hand in a gesture of giving a blessing, and his left hand being closed. In 1625 the image was covered with a silver panel which leaves only the faces of the figures uncovered.

The icon was crowned in 1603 by the Archbishop Alfonso Paleotti. The sanctuary of Saint Luke, where the icon is kept, was declared a national monument in the year 1874. In 1907 the church was raised to the dignity of a minor basilica by the holy Pope Saint Pius X.

Rosary Confraternity International

14/10/2022

Marian Feast Of October 14
Our Lady of La Rochelle, (La Rochette) France (7th Century)

The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Our Lady of La Rochette near Geneva. A shepherd coming up to a bush, where he heard a plaintive voice, found there an image of the Blessed Virgin, which led to a church being built there.”

The Marian Calendar I used listed this date as Our Lady of La Rochelle, and further investigation revealed it actually refers to Our Lady of La Rochette, as stated by the good abbot.

La Rochette, France, is a difficult town to locate. The Abbot Orsini wrote that it was near Geneva, and there is a town, La Croix-de-la-Rochette, just south of Geneva along the lake Saint Clair in France. It is near the cities of Savoie, Isere, Haute-Savoie and Lyon in the Savoie department in the Rhone-Alps. The population is quite small, having only 248 inhabitants at the last census. A tourist guide makes mention of an early church which is listed as a sight-seeing destination only. I can find no mention of a miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin still at this site.

Our Lady of La Rochette

“The impetuous floods of the Divinity met in this holy City of the sanctified soul of Mary. It took its origin from the foundation of his Wisdom and Goodness, by which and whence He had resolved to deposit within this heavenly Lady the greatest graces and virtues ever to be given to any other creature for all eternity.”

“And when the hour had arrived for giving them into her possession, namely the very moment of her coming into natural life, the Almighty fulfilled according to his pleasure and full satisfaction the desire, which He had held suspended from all eternity until the time for gratifying this wish should arrive. The most faithful Lord executed his design, showering down all His graces and gifts in the most holy soul of Mary at the time of her Conception in such an overpowering measure as no other saint, nor all of them combined, can ever reach, nor ever human tongue can manifest.”

“Although She was adorned as the Bride, descending from heaven, endowed with all perfections and with the whole range of infused virtues, it was not necessary that She should exercise all of them at once, it being sufficient that She exercise those, which were befitting her state in the womb of her mother.”

Rosary Confraternity International

10/10/2022

Marian Feast Of October 10
Our Lady of the Cloister, Citeaux, France (1624)

The Abbot Orsini wrote for this feast on October 10th: “Our Lady of the Cloister, at Besancon. The image of Our Lady, placed in the cloister of La Madeleine, was preserved from a fire, in the year 1624, though the niche where it stood was reduced to ashes.”

The Church of the Madeleine was also the shrine of Mary, known as Our Lady of the cloister, where people came to ask for the healing of their bodily infirmities.

In 1624, all of the cloister of the Madeleine having been the prey of a fire, the flames kept the Virgin and her veil, which received no damage, although its niche was reduced to ashes.

The miracle drew a large number of pilgrims to the shrine, and inspired so much confidence in shrines placed under the patronage of Mary, that many of the faithful undertook long journeys to visit the most famous places of pilgrimage.

Source: "Notre Dame de France: the history of the cult of the Virgin" by Andre Jean Marie Hamon

Our Lady of the Cloister

The Church of the Madeleine at Besancon was originally part of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Vincent. The first buildings included a chapel, a cloister and dormitories to house the religious of the Order of St. Benedict.

In time the center became a veritable institution of scholarship contributing to the historical study of the city and the region, ranking just after the Cathedral of St. Jean. It retained that reputation until the 18th century, when the community was irretrievably dissolved during the French Revolution of 1789.

Rosary Confraternity International

07/10/2022

Marian Feast Of October 7
Our Lady of the Rosary

In the year 1571 the Moslem Empire of Asia, the Ottoman Empire, had reached a point of great power and military might. Spurred on by the desire for conquest, as well as by hatred of the Christian cross, the Moslem forces had attacked and overcome the outer bastions of the Christian world, and were now making threatening gestures at Italy and the Christian countries bordering the western Mediterranean Sea. Information was at hand that a huge Moslem fleet stood poised and ready to attack.

Pope Saint Pius V, recognizing the danger, organized a papal fleet and found a brave and brilliant commander, Don Juan of Austria, to take command. In the early days of October 1571, he sailed to meet the enemy and encountered them in the Bay of Lepanto. Although the Christian troops were heavily outnumbered, skill in maneuver, together with the bravery of the Christian troops, brought about a great victory and the Moslem fleet was all but destroyed.

Our Lady of the Rosary

Before and during the decisive battle, the Christian world lead by Pope Saint Pius V, invoked the Blessed Virgin in a special way for her assistance; and they were convinced that the victory at Lepanto was a result of Mary’s help. The Pope proclaimed a special feast in honor of Our Lady of Victory, to be celebrated on the first Sunday of October.

Two years later Pope Gregory XIII changed the name of this feast to that of the Holy Rosary, honoring the special prayer to which the victory was ascribed. The celebration of the feast is now observed on October 7, the date of the Battle of Lepanto. Out of this celebration arose the custom of dedicating the entire month of October to Mary and the Rosary, Our Lady of the Rosary, a custom highly sanctioned and approved by succeeding Pontiffs.

Pope Leo XIII, in more modern times, added to the Litany of Loreto the invocation: “Queen of the most holy rosary, pray for us.”

The devotion of the rosary is not only an important practice in the Church but it is a devotion singularly honored by having a special feast dedicated to it. The devotion of the rosary preceded the feast by centuries, and the institution of the feast was a glorious tribute to the power of the devotion. The origin of the devotion is probably the vision granted to St.Dominic in which the Blessed Virgin bade him use it as a means of overcoming heresy. Tradition tells us that the great Dominican beheld this vision in 1206 when he was mourning the inroads made by the Albigensian heretics. Later the signal defeat of these heretics at the battle of Muret in the same century was attributed to the recitation of the rosary by St. Dominic.

The weapons of war have changed drastically since the battle of Lepanto well over 400 years ago; but without doubt the spiritual weapon of the rosary remains as potent for winning the final victory; if only enough people will properly make use of it. At Lourdes and at Fatima Mary appeared to the favored children holding in her hands a rosary. She made it clear to them, and through them to the world, that the frequent and devout recitation of the rosary was the means by which the world could be brought back to God and lasting peace could be achieved.

Rosary Confraternity International

01/10/2022

Marian Feast Of October 1
Foundation of the Abbey de la Couronne in Angouleme (1122)

The Abbot Orsini writes: “Foundation of the Abbey de la Couronne, of the order of Saint Augustin, in the diocese of Angouleme, under the title of Our Lady, by Lambert, who was its first abbot, in the year 1122.”

La Couronne, or “the Crown,” is a town in France located to the south-west of Angouleme. The Abbey of Our Lady of La Couronne is nothing more now than a pile of ruins that remain from what was once a Benedictine monastery. The first high abbey dates from the 12th century, when on May 12, 1118, Lambert and his religious brothers laid the cornerstone of the Church of the Crown.

On March 12th, on Passion Sunday in the year 1122, the religious made their entry into the primitive church of the Crown in the presence of Bishop William of Perigueux and Bishop Gerard of Angouleme, as well as the Papal Legate Wulgrin II, the count of Angouleme. Lambert was elected to be the first abbot, and was consecrated on Easter Sunday.

The first Abbey Church was replaced by a second, and larger, church, which was necessitated by the spiritual renewal that took place at the end of the 12th century due to the Gregorian reform. It was consecrated in the year 1201 while Junius was abbot.

Abbey de la Couronne

The abbey suffered heavy damage from fire and pillaging during the Hundred Years War, although the two western bays of the nave and the façade were subsequently rebuilt in the Gothic style. The church was then again damaged during the French wars of religion. Seized as a national asset during the French Revolution, the grounds were used as a quarry until it the property became an historical Monument in 1903. Even so, the plundering of some of the buildings continued for nearly another century until all of the ruins became protected in the year 1999.

There are now tours where families spend a few moments casually strolling through the empty and lifeless ruins where once hundreds of prayerful monks spent their entire lives in solitude and service to God.

Rosary Confraternity International

30/09/2022

Marian Feast Of September 30
Our Lady of Beaumont, Lorraine, France (12th Century)

The little shrine of Our Lady of Beaumont, or Notre-Dame-de-Bermont, is located in Lorraine, France, between the towns of Domremy and Vancouleurs. For many years the small church was thought to date from the 11th century, though the date of its founding was thought lost in the mists of time. It was thought that perhaps it might have been built for a monastery of Benedictine monks, but was subsequently sold to a man named Geoffrey de Bourlemont. We know now it was founded by Antoine Sigismund of Lorraine in the year 920.

It is known that St. Joan of Arc liked to go to Our Lady of Bermont on pilgrimage on Saturdays when she was a little girl, and also often during the week, to offer candles and flowers to Our Lady. Although a small chapel, it has great importance, as it was here that Joan of Arc commended the affairs of France to the Queen of Heaven and Earth, and it was here that Mary ordered Joan to take up arms to deliver her country of France from the hands of the English. Joan was always faithful to the Virgin of Bermont. A farmer in Greux, at her trial, said she was often praying there when her parents believed she was working in the fields.

The full name of the town of Domremy is actually Domremy-la-Pucelle, in memory of Joan of Arc, and the church is about two miles from Joan’s hometown.

Our Lady of Beaumont

The statue shown above is Notre-Dame de Bermont, and is believed to be the statue once venerated by Joan of Arc. It is now kept in the crypt of the Basilica-du-Bois-Chenu. The beautiful Virgin holds a lily in her hands. St. Joan later embroidered the flower of the lily from the hands of an angel on one of her banners.

The chapel was restored shortly before the turn of the century, and several coats of old paint were removed from the walls of the chapel. In doing so a drawing was discovered of a young peasant girl at prayer while dressed in a man’s attire. The image has blue eyes and blonde hair, and since the drawing was made during the time of Joan’s life, and Joan was known to pray at the church, the local bishop stated that he thought the portrait must certainly be of Joan of Arc. As it is little more than a line drawing, it really tells us little of what Joan may have looked like.

Nothing in twelfth-century art is so fine as the air and gesture of sympathetic majesty. This gave Joan of Arc masculine courage, combined with feminine fortitude to carry out her Queen’s command.

Rosary Confraternity International