"To live our consecration requires the sacrifice of our own will, so that His will may be done in us. We are asked to become holy and good, to be the example of this for all to witness, to be the light of truth, of simplicity and purity, the true imitation of Our Lady's Immaculate Heart, and the beacons of Christ on the path to sanctification. Through the Immaculate Heart of Mary we are gathered and formed to bring to the world the example of this response to her call. The Triumph of her Immaculate Heart shall bring into our midst the glorious Reign of His Sacred Heart. It is for this purpose, we pledge our consecration."
*** Two Hearts United ***
Prayer to The Lady of All Nations
Lord Jesus, Son of the Father,
send now your Spirit over the earth.
Let the Holy Spirit live
in the hearts of all nations
that they may be preserved
from degeneration, disaster and war.
May the Lady of All Nations,
the Blessed Virgin Mary,
be our Advocate.
“There will always be many, like John, who are led to the Mother through the Son; but also many others, like Joseph, who are led to the Son through the Mother. These two movements, which in the beginning are very clearly emphasized in certain individuals, will later be the paths on which many can wander.”
[Adrienne von Speyr, Handmaid of the Lord]
In The End My Immaculate Heart Will TriumphConsecration Preparation for the Triumphant Victory of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Available from: Aquinas and More Catholic Goods
Truly unfortunate are we poor children of Eve; for, guilty before God of her fault, and condemned to the same penalty, we have to wander about in this valley of tears as exiles from our country, and to weep over our many afflictions of body and soul. But blessed is he who, in the midst of these sorrows, often turns to the comfortress of the world, to the refuge of the unfortunate, to the great Mother of God, and devoutly calls upon her and invokes her!
The above passage is taken from St. Alphonsus Liguori’s, “Hail Holy Queen”, from Chapter IV, entitled, “Mary, Our Help”. St. Alphonsus Liguori speaks of Mary’s compassion as our Mother of Mercy, and how we need never lack confidence in asking for anything we need: “Nor should the multitude of our sins diminish our confidence that Mary will grant our petitions when we cast ourselves at her feet. She is the Mother of mercy…” He explains why our prayers to Mary are often heard and answered more quickly than our prayers to Jesus. St. Alphonsus quotes St. Anselm on this point: “…when we have recourse to this divine Mother, not only we may be sure of her protection, but that often we shall be heard more quickly, and be thus preserved, if we have recourse to Mary and call on her holy name, than we should be if we called on the name of Jesus our Saviour…” What is the reasoning behind this statement of St. Anselm, upheld by St. Alphonsus Liguori? St. Anselm’s explanation continues: “…that to Jesus, as a judge, it belongs also to punish; but mercy alone belongs to the Blessed Virgin as a patroness” and “We often obtain more promptly what we ask by calling on the name of Mary than by invoking that of Jesus. Her Son is lord and judge of all, and discerns the merits of each one; and therefore if He does not immediately grant the prayers of all, He is just. When, however, the Mother’s name is invoked, though the merits of the suppliant are not such as to deserve that his prayer should be granted, those of the Mother supply that he may receive.”
In this chapter we are also reminded of the experiences/revelations of several saints on this matter. “Many things,” says Nicephorus, “are asked from God, and are not granted: they are asked from Mary, and are obtained…because God has thus decreed to honor His Mother.”Also, from St. Bridget’s revelations, we have the words that Jesus said to His Mother: “Thou shalt present Me with no petition that shall be refused. My Mother, ask what thou wilt, for never will I refuse thee anything…”Lastly, “The same thing was revealed to St. Gertrude, when she heard our divine Redeemer assure His Mother that in His omnipotence He granted her power to show mercy to sinners who invoke her in whatever manner she might please.”
Last spring I was exploring the inseparableness of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (which feastday was yesterday) and the Immaculate Heart of Mary (which feastday is today), and posted some entries on united novenas, Two Hearts United, etc. This year the unification of the Two Hearts is still on my own heart, along with how Fatima, where Mary first revealed her Immaculate Heart (as I posted about a few days ago) plays a role in this unification.
From, “Fatima. Mary’s Immaculate Heart and Your Salvation”, by Frère François de marie des Anges (pgs. 17-18), I would like to share the following:
Thus the revelation of Fatima comes to complete that of Paray-le-Monial [where Jesus revealed His Sacred Heart to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque], and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be joined to the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, commanded three centuries ago. Indeed, most certainly, these two devotions, as the two Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, are inseparable and could not ever proceed one without the other. Such is the great design of our Heavenly Father for <<the last centuries of history>>: the reign and universal triumph of Their two Hearts united.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
My friend Carol shared a link with me from the Catholic Online video section; it’s called “Our Lady Smiles”. I think it will make your heart smile too.
The second apparition of Our Lady of Fatima occurred on June 13, 1917 (the first was on May 13, 1917, on which we celebrate the Feastday of Our Lady of Fatima).
It was on the occasion of this second apparition that the Blessed Virgin revealed her Immaculate Heart to Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco. Lucia had asked Mary to take them to heaven, to which the Blessed Virgin replied:
Yes, I will take Jacinta and Francisco soon. But you are to stay here some time longer. Jesus wishes to make use of you to make Me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. To whoever embraces this devotion I promise salvation; these souls shall be dear to God, as flowers placed by Me to adorn His throne.
The Blessed Virgin then opened her hands and rays of intense light shone out from them. Lucia’s writings tell us: “In front of the palm of Our Lady’s right hand was a heart encircled by thorns which pierced it. We understood that this was the Immaculate Heart of Mary, outraged by the sins of humanity, and seeking reparation.”
Lucia expressed her sadness to Mary at the thought of being left all alone on earth while Jacinta and Francisco would be taken sooner to heaven. Mary replied, “Don’t lose heart. I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.”
[Source: The Whole Truth About Fatima, Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, pgs. 158-159]
Today we celebrate the feastday of Mary, Help of Christians. This feastdaywas instituted in 1815 by Pope Pius VII, who had a special devotion to Our Lady which was particularly emphasized during his most difficult years with Napoleon. The feastday has become more widely known throughout the years due to the work of St. Don Bosco (also known as St. John Bosco, born Giovanni Melchior Bosco). The Salesians of St. Don Bosco are celebrating their 150th Anniversary this year.
Mary, Help of Christians
Mary, powerful Virgin, you are the mighty and glorious protector of the Church. You are the marvelous help of Christians. You are awe-inspiring as an army in battle array. You have destroyed heresy in the world. In the midst of our anguish, our struggle, and our distress, defend us from the power of the enemy, and at the hour of our death receive our soul in heaven.
“The Virgin Mary with the Apostles and Other Saints” (1423-4), Fra Angelico
Excerpt from: “The Divine Life of the Most Holy Virgin”, by Ven. Mary of Agreda, pgs. 220-221:
Holy Exercises in the Supper-Room Before Pentecost:
She [Mary] assembled them together twice a day in the Supper-room, and being commanded by St. John or St. Peter to speak, explained to them for one hour the mysteries of faith, as if she were conversing with them, rather than teaching them as their Mistress and Queen. She explained the mysteries of the Hypostatic Union and all those contained in the ineffable and divine Incarnation. After this she bade them entertain themselves for one hour longer on the counsels, promises and doctrines they had learned from their Divine Master; to consecrate another part of the day to the recital of the Pater Noster, with some psalms; and to employ the rest of the time in mental prayer. In the evening they took some slight nourishment of bread, fruits and fish; thus by prayer and fasting they prepared for the coming of the Holy Spirit. She incited them to mental prayer, teaching them its excellence and necessity, because the noblest occupation of the reasonable creature is to raise his mind above created things to meditate on the divine, and that nothing should be preferred to this holy exercise.
By these holy lessons, the Mother of Wisdom and the Mistress of Charity enlightened the minds and inflamed the hearts of the Apostles and disciples, filling them with fervor and disposing them to receive the precious gifts of the Paraclete…
Note: The feastday of Our Lady, Queen of Apostles, is a moveable feast, because it is connected with the dates of Easter and the Ascension, which are also moveable feasts. The feastday of Our Lady, Queen of Apostles, is celebrated on the Saturday after the Ascension, but this can lead to some confusion now. Officially, the Ascension occurred forty days after Easter Sunday, so it always falls on a Thursday, therefore the Saturday immediately afterwards we would celebrate this feastday of Our Lady; but with more and more areas celebrating the Ascension on the Sunday before Pentecost, the description of this feastday as being “the Saturday after the Ascension” might lead many to believe (as it did I) that it fell on the eve of Pentecost. In Canada and most of the United States the Ascension is celebrated on the Sunday before Pentecost; there are only six ecclesiastical provinces in the U.S. that continue to celebrate the Ascension on Thursday. So all this to say, perhaps the easiest way for us to remember this feastday of Our Lady is to say it is forty-two days after Easter Sunday!!!
[Excerpt from the homily preached by Pope John XXIII (then Patriarch of Venice) at Fatima on May 13, 1956, for the twenty-fifth aniversary of the consecration of Portugal to the Immaculate Heart of Mary]:
Salute means safety from the evils of this world, and Nicopeja means Queen of Victories (note: here he is referring to two icons, the Madonna della Salute and the Madonna Nicopeja). But I am not thinking of military victories, which always mean violence, the ferocity of men, and blood. I am thinking of spiritual conquests for the truth, for the Gospel, for the Holy Catholic Church and her august head, for justice, liberty of souls and nations, and of the whole world.
I wish to say once more in my name and in the name of this enormous throng, gathered here from every land: O, Our Lady of Fatima, through the virtue of your Immaculate Heart, obtain for us from blessed Jesus, the fountain of every grace, justice, charity and peace! Amen.
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Prayer to Our Lady of Fatima for Peace
O Mary, Mother of God and Queen of Peace, you appeared to the children of Fatima at a time of great unrest and turmoil in the world. You asked then that the world pray for peace, so that the Reign of God may be known in every land.
Our world today continues to be mired in the vicious and fruitless cycle of hatred, violence and war. Your message of peace to the children of Fatima is needed as urgently today as it was when you first delivered it.
Grant us, Mary, that peace which is so much more than the mere absence of war. Grant us God’s peace, so that we might see every man and woman as a brother or a sister, as fellow creatures of the one God. Help us to build a world of justice, which is the only sure foundation of peace. And bring us all one day into the fulness of union with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in eternity. This we ask through Christ, your Son and our Lord, the Prince of Peace. Amen.
[Taken from the booklet: Our Lady of Fatima with Prayers and Devotions, in the "Florentine Lives of the Saints" collection]
I recently read a very touching and inspiring article at Guideposts, entitled A Perfect Child, written by Kathleen Lukens in 1994.
It is the story of a mother and child’s very special trip to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France – with a beautiful, perhaps unusual (?) but not really surprising outcome. Our Lady, after all, is also the Queen of Peace.
Mary, Seat of Wisdom
O happy Virgin,
you gave birth to the Lord;
O blessed seat of Wisdom,
you cradle in our hearts
the Spirit of your Son Jesus Christ.
“As Mother of Mercy, Mary reminds us that if God is Being, Truth and Wisdom, He is also Goodness and Love, and that His infinite Mercy, which is the radiation of His Goodness, flows from His love…”
[From: The Mother of the Saviour and Our Interior Life: Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, pg. 224]
Mary,
at the Resurrection of your Divine Son,
God’s Anointed One,
your heart was filled with joy beyond all telling
and your faith was wonderfully exalted.
For it was in faith
that you conceived Jesus,
and it was in faith
that you awaited His Resurrection,
the strongest proof of His Divinity.
In the strength of faith
you waited for that day of light and life
when the night of death would be ended,
the whole world would exult,
and the infant Church would tremble with joy
at seeing again her immortal Lord.
You knew at that first Easter
that His Divine life was the model for our lives
and that He has merited for us
the grace of living for God.
Enable me to rise with Jesus spiritually
and live a life free from sin.
Help me to do God’s Will
and to be patient in suffering.
Enrich my soul with sanctifying grace
through Sacraments, prayer, and good works.
And let the life of Jesus grow in me,
so that He may live in me.
Lord Jesus, Son of the Father,
send now your Spirit over the earth.
Let the Holy Spirit live
in the hearts of all nations
that they may be preserved
from degeneration, disaster and war.
May the Lady of All Nations,
the Blessed Virgin Mary,
be our Advocate.
Consecration Preparation for the Triumphant Victory of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Available from: 
The above passage is taken from St. Alphonsus Liguori’s, “Hail Holy Queen”, from Chapter IV, entitled, “Mary, Our Help”. St. Alphonsus Liguori speaks of Mary’s compassion as our Mother of Mercy, and how we need never lack confidence in asking for anything we need: “Nor should the multitude of our sins diminish our confidence that Mary will grant our petitions when we cast ourselves at her feet. She is the Mother of mercy…” He explains why our prayers to Mary are often heard and answered more quickly than our prayers to Jesus. St. Alphonsus quotes St. Anselm on this point: “…when we have recourse to this divine Mother, not only we may be sure of her protection, but that often we shall be heard more quickly, and be thus preserved, if we have recourse to Mary and call on her holy name, than we should be if we called on the name of Jesus our Saviour…” What is the reasoning behind this statement of St. Anselm, upheld by St. Alphonsus Liguori? St. Anselm’s explanation continues: “…that to Jesus, as a judge, it belongs also to punish; but mercy alone belongs to the Blessed Virgin as a patroness” and “We often obtain more promptly what we ask by calling on the name of Mary than by invoking that of Jesus. Her Son is lord and judge of all, and discerns the merits of each one; and therefore if He does not immediately grant the prayers of all, He is just. When, however, the Mother’s name is invoked, though the merits of the suppliant are not such as to deserve that his prayer should be granted, those of the Mother supply that he may receive.” 
