With the Blessed Mother, it isn’t, “Hold my beer…”, it’s, “Hold My Baby….” handing off the baby Jesus to a nearby angel, the Blessed Virgin Mary contends with and handily defeats the devil, according to God’s grace. Illumination taken from the Taymouth Hours, circa ARSH 1325. Courtesy of Ann Barnhardt’s Catholic Website. Enjoy!
A Canadian filmmaker has posted a retouched image of a Bouguereau painting of the Virgin Mary — using the face on the Shroud as a guide. The results are, I think, stunning.
His assumption that He would have born a resemblance to His only human parent. He said this about it:
“If you put the shroud on top of this drawing, you will almost match the face, like it could be” an accurate portrayal of His mother’s face.
Exquisitely beautiful – and it does rather make sense that Our Lord would physically resemble his mother!
Submitted by Bob Stanley/The Catholic Treasure Chest Website
THE STATUE: It’s now 403 years old and stands just over a foot (35 centimeters) tall, but the petite wooden statue in a small-town church in eastern Cuba is among the most venerated Catholic icons in the world and an object of pride and reverence for hundreds of thousands on the island. Protected inside a glass case, she wears a full, golden dress and her feet rest on a shimmering crescent moon.
Saint Joachim, the father of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and the Mediatrix of All Graces, knew the contempt that would be visited upon His Divine Grandson, Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, sent himself into voluntary exile after he was denounced by a priest of the Old Dispensation for not producing a child after twenty years of marriage to his wife, our good Saint Anne.
He was visited by an angel, who reminded him of the fact that Abraham’s wife, Sarah, did not conceive a child until she was ninety years old, telling him that his wife, Saint Anne, would conceive a daughter named Mary, who would be the Mother of God.
Saint Joachim and Saint Anne brought their daughter to the Temple when she was three years old, giving their long-awaited child back to the good God Who had given them to her so that she could be the Mother of their own Saviour, Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David: and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.
And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father: and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end.
And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man? And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren. Because no word shall be impossible with God.
And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:26-38)
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Submitted by Frank V.
Produced by Church Militant TV – http://www.churchmilitant.tv/
The report examined the increasing evidence that “when a woman has a baby, she gets not just a son or daughter, [but] an army of protective cells–gifts from her children that will stay inside her and defend her for the rest of her life.”
Editor’s note: And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is his name. (Luke 1:46-49)
Isn’t literal, biblical truth grand? Consider all the awesome ramifications!
Now, what about those Christians who hold that Mary is no different than the rest of us? Does that not constitute an explicit denial of scientific fact, as well as an implicit denial of the power, holiness and divinity of Jesus Christ?
The closer you look and the more you come to know about the unique relationship between Jesus and his blessed mother, the easier it is to accept and appreciate Catholic dogma on the subject – including her total sinlessness, her absolutely holy life and her assumption into Heaven – body, as well as soul – all according to God’s grace and plan.
