The Monday after Pentecost is now the feast of the memorial of Mary, "Mater Ecclesiae." Some texts from Pope Francis and Cardinal Robert Sarah to help appreciate this liturgical feast.
Blessed Alvaro liked to “visit” Mary by praying the rosary while walking or traveling to a specific Marian shrine or even simpler places with her image. During the years he lived in Rome, he discovered many lesser-known sanctuaries of popular devotion around the city.
Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz speaks about Saint Josemaria's pilgrimage in May 1970 to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico to pray for the Church and the whole world.
May 13th is the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. The message of Fatima contains a wake-up call for all Christians: to make reparation to our Lord for all the sins of mankind, including our own, to do penance, to pray the Rosary, to spread devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and to pray a lot for the Pope.
On his way to Mexico 50 years ago, Saint Josemaria landed at the Madrid airport on 14 May 1970. Some journalists were eager to interview him there. Javier Ayesta, who accompanied him that afternoon, tells us what happened during those hours.
For the month of May, here is an audio (in both Spanish and English) and transcript of a meditation by Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz about the role of our Lady in our Christian life.
In addition to being one of the most-loved Marian shrines worldwide, Lourdes is also linked to an important page in the history of Opus Dei: the escape from one part of Spain to another that St. Josemaría made through the Pyrenees in 1937 with some of the first members of the Work and other people during the Spanish Civil War.
St. Josemaría considered himself especially indebted to Our Lady of Loreto for a very serious need that he placed under Our Lady's mantle on August 15, 1951.
"My devotion to Our Lady of the Pillar has always accompanied me: my parents, with their Aragonese piety, instilled it in my soul since I was a child" - St. Josemaría.
