Somethings about Mary in February 2011
Many, many thanks to Adnelle, Alexandra, Angela, Anne, Antonella, Armel, Barry, Carmel, Fiona, Francesca, Giuseppe, Jamie, Julián, Kath, Ljubica, Maria, Marie, Martijn, Martin, Matthieu, Natalia, Noelita, Nonso, Paul, Paul, Rita, Sophia & St John for giving their 'something' about Our Lady.
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1st February - Maria
"Our Lady is the hope, the succour, whereas at the same time she suffered so much. She held her Son as He was taken down off the Cross. She stood there by the Cross - she was standing, not throwing herself on the ground, not wailing, standing, being firm, accepting and compassionate with Christ. I think that is a beautiful image to always hold in mind, especially when times are hard for us as well."
Maria is from England.
2nd February - Feast of the Presentation in the Temple - Paul
"Mary means a very simple thing to me and that's mother."
Paul is from England.
Our Lady's message to Mirjana, Međugorje, 2 February 2011:
"Dear children; You are gathering around me, you are seeking your way, you are seeking, you are seeking the truth but are forgetting what is the most important, you are forgetting to pray properly. Your lips pronounce countless words, but your spirit does not feel anything. Wandering in darkness, you even imagine God Himself according to yourselves, and not such as He really is in His love. Dear children, proper prayer comes from the depth of your heart, from your suffering, from your joy, from your seeking the forgiveness of sins. This is the way to come to know the right God and by that also yourselves, because you are created according to Him. Prayer will bring you to the fulfillment of my desire, of my mission here with you, to unity in God's family. Thank you."
According to Mirjana, Our Lady blessed everyone that was present, then she thanked them and called us to pray for our priests.
3rd February - Armel
"Everything was becoming better and better, and that was when I realised that we have to involve Mary in our faith.
Du coup, tout est rentré dans l'ordre et j'ai cru qu'il fallait introduire Marie dans notre vie de prière."
Armel is 27 and from the Ivory Coast.
4th February - Adnelle
"Our Lady is a great intercessor for me. Whatever it is that I ask through Jesus Christ, I always ask the intercession of Our Lady. I always pray the rosary, and I offer the rosary for the intentions of the people that I promise to pray for. I keep Mary with me every day because I keep the rosary in my pocket every day, wherever I go."
Adnelle is 35 and from the Philippines.
5th February - Nonso
"Our Lady is the reason why we are all here. She accepted the huge responsibility of being the mother of Jesus Christ. Her example is the perfect human example that we should follow. Our first human step towards God is Mary."
Nonso is 32 and from Nigeria.
6th February - 5th Sunday of the Year - Jamie
"Mary to me is a model of faith .. She is the ark of the new covenant and she brings Jesus into the world."
James is from the UK.
8th February - Noelita
"For me, Our Lady is somebody who I can turn to but when I'm in trouble or I want to share something wonderful. Before, when I was younger, I had no affinity with her at all, but now I feel like she is the one person I can come to and turn to. And if I have any question for Jesus and feel bad asking him for anything, I feel like well he might be able to refuse me but he can't refuse his mother, so I go to her. She is my rock."
Noelita is 26 and from Britain.
10th February - Julián
"Our Lady means to me so much. She is my refuge, my protector. She's the one who always has led me into the good ways whenever I haven't been very good. She will always be with me now until the end, and the day of judgement she will be there with me as well.
La Virgen para mí significa mucho. Es mi madre, mi protectora."
Julián is from Colombia.
- Flash is required!
11th February - Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes - Fiona
"It has been just such an incredible blessing in my life to be part of this parish trip to Lourdes for the last 22 years as a helper with the elderly who we take with us... The Lourdes week for me is the week around which the whole of the rest of my year revolves. And very year I 've gone I have learnt more and more about the love of Our Lady, and the really special place she has for us as our intercessor, and she has become my first port of call for intercessory prayer. And I think of it really very much like just asking one of my friends to pray for me, but the difference is that this particular friend has got a very special place in the heart of God, and we know how much He will listen to her and how much He will react to anything that she asks of Him. And it's a real honour for us to be able to give her that special place in the hearts as well."
Fiona is part of a parish group in Northampton, England, celebrating this year its silver jubilee of pilgrimages to Lourdes. Fundraising has included the ecording of a song about Lourdes and what it is to be a helper (you can listen to it here), and a musical arrangement of the Divine Mercy Chaplet. If you'd like to support this 25th pilgrimage & buy the CD, 'The Call - Lourdes25' (£6 inc p&p), please email Fiona: foo72 at hotmail.com.
12th February - Antonella
"I found in the Virgin Mary a huge strength to take me on my path to life.
Je prie très souvent la Sainte Vierge. Elle a un rôle très important dans ma vie. Je l'admire; je crois que c'est l'unique femme au monde que l'on peut admirer comme ça avec tout ce qu'elle a porté dans sa vie, toutes ses souffrances, mais aussi toutes ses joies."
Antonella is from Belgium (& also Italy).
13th February - Natalia
"Mary is for me a very good example for being open to God's Word."
Natalia is 25 and from Poland; she gives her response in English & Polish.
14th February - Barry
"When I speak to Our Lady, I call her 3 things: I call her 'my Love, my Mother and my Queen'."
Barry is from the UK.
15th February - Marie
"Mary is there the whole time. We have so much need of a mother, that it is beautiful and a beautiful grace to have Mary in our life...
Marie a toujours été présent dans ma vie comme mère, comme une maman vraiment."
Marie is 29 and from France.
16th February - Martijn
"Mary has really been a help to me at times when it was really hard for me to pray. I felt completely out of touch with God and I experienced that Mary was very accessible. Especially the rosary was a help for me to stay in prayer and after some time I could pray again a little more easily and I experienced that she had brought me back to God. To me she's like a road sign pointing towards her son. If you know the way, that's ok, but if you get lost you can just use the road sign to guide you in the right direction."
Martijn is 22 and from Holland; he gives his response in English & Dutch.
17th February - Giuseppe
"Mary for me is not just Jesus Christ's mother, but she is another figure whom you can look up to, and the motherly side. So when you pray it's almost like as if you were talking to your mother, and therefore a more familiar approach. So that's why when I pray it comes easier also to pray to Mary. ..
Per me Maria non è soltanta la madre di Gesù ma anche una madre per tutti quelli che credono."
Giuseppe is 21 and from Italy.
18th February - Martin
"Our Lady is to me most definitely my mother, and my son's mother, in heaven."
Martin is from England.
19th February - Kath
"If you bring Our Lady into the rosary and walk with her, it's so much more meaningful."
Kath is from England.
20th February - Francesca
"On our honeymoon, we went to visit John XXIII … during the audience he turned to my husband and said: 'You now have a new friend, the Madonna.' As a result of which my husband had, till the end of his life, a strong devotion to Our Lady. From being a rather shy man, he became anything but, and was happy to lead pilgrimages, and he imbued in me this strong and loving devotion to Our Lady, which I think and hope I will have for the rest of my life."
Francesca is from Italy.
21st February - St John
"Mary for me is very much a connection with Christ."
St John is 17 and from England.
22nd February - Carmel
"I think Our Lady is always with us … and I just want to say how much I love her."
Carmel is from the UK.
24th February - Matthieu
"By working for Mary, she was really in the centre of our family, in the centre of our prayer. Now, with detachment, I can tell how Our Lady worked for us, through the beauty of our family, the love of my parents and the relationship that I have with my brothers and sisters.
Par ce travail que mes parents faisaient pour Marie, elle était vraiment toujours au centre de notre famille, spécialement au centre de notre prière. Maintenant, apres 15 ou 16 ans, avec le recul, je peux vraiment me rendre compte qu'elle a énormement travaillé dans notre famille, quand je vois la beauté justement de ma famille, l'amour de mes parents et cette relation que j'ai avec mes frères et sœurs."
Matthieu is 23 and from France.
Our Lady of Medjugorje's message to Marija, 25 February 2011:
"Dear children! Nature is awakening and on the trees the first buds are seen which will bring most beautiful flowers and fruit. I desire that you also, little children, work on your conversion and that you be those who witness with their life, so that your example may be a sign and an incentive for conversion to others. I am with you and before my Son Jesus I intercede for your conversion. Thank you for having responded to my call."
"Cari figli, la natura si risveglia e sugli alberi si vedono le prime gemme che porteranno un bellissimo fiore e frutto. Desidero che anche voi, figlioli, lavoriate sulla vostra conversione e che siate coloro che testimoniano con la propria vita, così che il vostro esempio sia il segno e l’esortazione alla conversione per gli altri. Io sono con voi e davanti a mio Figlio Gesù intercedo per la vostra conversione. Grazie per aver risposto alla mia chiamata."
"¡Queridos hijos! También hoy los invito a la conversión y a la santidad. Dios les quiere dar alegría y paz a través de la oración, pero ustedes hijitos, aún están lejos, apegados a la tierra y a las cosas terrenales. Por eso los invito nuevamente: abran su corazón y su mirada hacia Dios y hacia las cosas de Dios, y la alegría y la paz reinarán en sus corazones. Gracias por haber respondido a mi llamado."
26th February - Rita
"From there on in, my life has been with the Blessed Mother, no matter what comes, no matter what happens in my life, because I know of the love the Blessed Mother has for me, and that she loves everybody. She's a mother, she's a perfect mother, and her motherly love is so beautiful and it has brought me to God the Father, brought me to Jesus, and to knowing the Holy Spirit."
Rita is from Ireland.
27th February - Angela
"Blessed Mother I wouldn't do this for anyone else! I went to Medjugorje in 1987 and I didn't want to go at all but you got me there by hook or by crook and you really changed my life there and my love for you just keeps growing now and I just thank you."
Angela is from England.
28th February - Anne
"I have a great devotion to Our Lady and I pray the rosary every day because I think it is a real power prayer. And I do it to get great favours from Our Lady and I don't think my life would be complete without praying to her and to her holy mother. So I would say that she is a big part of my life."
Anne is from Ireland.