Catholic Fire

Image Source: Praying & Sending the Rosary Around the World This week's Catholic Carnival is up and is being hosted by Sarah at Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering. It has a beautiful rosary theme and a wide variety of great posts. Here are a few of my favorite posts there: Alexa's post " Blessed are the Pure of Heart ," in which is she bares her heart and testifies to Our Heavenly Father’s infinite mercy and compassion. You'll learn about her late husband and how prayer played a part in the struggle that she holds up to us as a gift, one she shares with grace. Elizabeth's " Playing Elizabeth to Their Mary , in which she shares a view of the Visitation from within. As an "aged Elizabeth," she found herself ministered to by many women, and it felt, she says, as though "I'd been mothered by the Blessed Mother herself." Kate's I'll Never Walk Alone. When God designed marriage, he knew what he was doing. Kate discover...

A PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF SORROWS Dearest Mother, before you could become the Consoler of the Afflicted, you first had to know true sorrow. I pause with you now, and meditate on that great suffering in your life, the death and burial of your most beloved Son. Oh, how humble I am, dear Mary, when I see before me your Son in the tomb. He gave His life so we may know freedom from sin. Remind me always that any suffering in my life is passing, just as the suffering you experienced passed in the joy of the Resurrection. Holy Mary, Mother of Sorrows, I mourn with you, knowing the certain joy of your Son and His gift of everlasting life. Through this act of His, you have become our Mother of Consolation. Amen.

Mary, Mother of Jesus as the Immaculate Conception. Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. c. 1660-1665 Museo del Prado Let us celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary! Let us adore her Son, Christ our Lord! Glory be... You are all fair, Mary, and the stain of original sin is not in you. Your garments are white as snow, and your face is like the sun. Hail Mary... You are the Glory of Jerusalem; you are the Joy of Israel; you are the Honor of our people (Judith 15:10). You are the brightness of eternal light, the unspotted mirror of God's majesty, and the image of His goodness (Wis 7:26). Hail Mary... More than all other women upon earth, you, Virgin Mary, have been blessed by the Lord God most high. Draw us, Immaculate Virgin; we shall come after you, breathing the sweet fragrance of your virtues (Ecclus 1:3). Hail Mary... Mary speaks: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvati...

Via Esther. What is your favourite image of Our Lady? Wow, there are so many to choose from, but I have always loved Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of Grace. What is your favourite Marian feast? The Feast of the Immaculate Conception What is your favourite Marian hymn/anthem? I have lots of them but my favorite is Ave Maria. I also like Salve Regina a lot. What is your favourite Marian place of pilgrimage? I haven't been on a Marian pilgrimage yet, but would love to go to Lourdes and the other apparition sites in France, as well as Guadalupe. I would also like to go to Medjugore. What is your favourite Marian devotion? The Holy Rosary is my favorite Marian Devotion when it is prayed in a contemplative manner, reverently and slowly, while meditating on the mysteries. I don't like rushing through the rosary. Anyone who is reading this and loves the Blessed Mother is tagged. Related Post: A Pictorial Tribute to the Blessed Virgin Mary