Somethings about Mary in July 2015
Many, many thanks to Alex, Ana Luiza, Brother Angelo CFR, Aneeta, Anne-Marie, Beata, Cecily, Christine, Christine Mary, Diego, Evelyn, Fergus, Francis, Joan, Juan, Kate, Kateryn, Lilian, Maggie, Margaret, Marinel, Michael, Michaela, Monica, Peter, Peter, Pia, Sean, Sophie, Teresa & Tristan for giving their 'something' about Mary this month.
This image is of La Madonna di San Luca in Bologna.
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1st July - Fergus 
"For me, Mary, Mother of Jesus, the holy Mary Mother Virgin, she's a big focal point of guidance. When times are tough, she gives me reassurance and just a way to meet Jesus, and the Lord and God, because when I separate myself through sin, she's always there to meet me half way."
Fergus is 19 and from London.
Our Lady's message to Mirjana Soldo, Medjugorje, 2nd July 2015:
"Dear children, I am calling you to spread the faith in my Son – your faith. You, my children illuminated by the Holy Spirit, my apostles, transmit it to others – to those who do not believe, who do not know, who do not want to know – but for that you must pray a lot for the gift of love, because love is the mark of true faith – and you will be apostles of my love. Love always, anew, revives the pain and the joy of the Eucharist, it revives the pain of the Passion of my Son, by which he showed you what it means to love immeasurably; it revives the joy for having left you his body and blood to feed you with himself – and in this way, to be one with you. Looking at you with tenderness, I feel immeasurable love which strengthens me in my desire to bring you to a firm faith. Firm faith will give you joy and happiness on earth and in the end the encounter with my Son. This is his desire. Therefore, live him, live love, live the light that always illuminates you in the Eucharist. I implore you to pray a lot for your shepherds, to pray so as to have all the more love for them because my Son gave them to you to feed you with his body and to teach you love. Therefore, also you are to love them. But, my children, remember, love means to endure and to give, and never, ever to judge. Thank you. Pray for your shepherds. They belong to my Son. He called them. Pray that they may always have the strength and the courage to shine with the light of my Son."
2nd July - Lilian 
"Our Lady is the Mother of Christ and it's important to acknowledge her because it's ultimately the love between them."
Lilian, 26, was born in London; her parents are both from Nigeria.
3rd July - Feast of St Thomas the Apostle - Francis 
"Our Lady is just amazing, pure and simple. I was introduced to her through the Legion of Mary and one of the things we always say in the Legion: whenever you knock on Mary's door, you find Jesus. As St Louis Marie de Montfort said himself, 'Mary's a short cut to Jesus'. How do you get Jesus to come to you? You just knock on Mary's door. That's why having a devotion to her is amazing."
Francis is from London.
4th July - Ana Luiza 
"Mary for me: something simple is love, which means everything.
Maria para mim significa vida, significa esperança, significa Cristo, amor em Cristo."
Ana Luiza is 22 & from Brazil.
5th July - Christine 
"Mary to me is a wonderful mother. She's very caring, extremely supportive and kind. She always calls I think all people back to her as a mother and through her I've experienced a lot of graces and a lot of healing, always protected, and I love her very much."
Christine, from South Korea, lives in Boston.
6th July - Feast of St Maria Goretti - Kate 
"Our Blessed Mother has been this beautiful, gentle presence throughout my life and I believe it's been her motherly care that's brought me back to her son Jesus. .. And, for me personally, I struggled in my life with the identity that I have as a woman. Somewhere along the line I kind of lost the true meaning of what it is to be a woman and the dignity of a woman, and I feel that our Blessed Mother has recently restored this to me, especially in the last two years. She's really taught me that the real dignity of a woman is our capacity to love and she is the perfect image of love because she is the masterpiece of all creation. She was picked to be the first tabernacle so she is to me the real image of a woman and the model of what we try to become more and more like. So, yeh, gentleness is the word that keeps coming to mind."
Kate is 27 & from Ireland.
7th July - Sean 
"Mary is a mother to me. I find it useful to pray this prayer that I think Mother Teresa used to pray: 'Be a Mother to me'. And she said this every day .. I find it very helpful to get through tough times."
Sean is 23 & from Malaysia.
8th July - Cecily 
"Mary to me is the protector and carer particularly of all the females in my life, in particular my mother and my sister, and I pray to her to look after them and their families."
Cecily is from London.
9th July - Feast of St Veronica Giuliani - Peter 
"Mary has always been the mother who had a very informal, very unnoticed, simple role in her life but that role made her the most important influence in the life of Jesus. I see her as someone whom we can approach, who's simple, who's there to support and guide without being like a teacher or being someone forceful, someone whom we can always approach when we really need her."
Peter is from India.
10th July - Margaret 
"Our Blessed Mother Mary is very important to me. I'm often walking down the street saying the Hail Mary and thinking of her."
Margaret is from Canada.
11th July - Feast of Saint Benedict - Michael 
"For me this came to show the willingness of our holy mother to accept us in all our faults, in all our sorrow, in all our hardships in this world, and to loving bring us towards the pardon that Christ offers."
Michael is from London.
12th July - Feast of Blesseds Louis & Zélie Martin - Peter 
"For me Mary is above all a mother .. There's still a hidden dimension to my relationship with Our Lady, with my mother in that her presence is something there but it is a presence that leads me somewhere else. It's hard to describe quite where she leads me but one place where Our Lady leads me is into prayer, and I've certainly experienced how praying the rosary has led me into deeper forms of prayer, and that has led into an incredible preciousness in life that you can't describe."
Peter is from England.
13th July - Joan 
"Mary is my real mother and I trust in her with all my heart, I love her with all my heart. I always say the rosary and she always directs me to her son Jesus - I know he can't refuse her anything. I always go to Jesus through Mary."
Joan is from Ireland.
14th July - Alex 
"Mother Mary to us is just like our mother .. She is not only the mother of Jesus, she is our heavenly mother and our spiritual mother and our mother of perpetual help. With anything we can just ask her to intercede to her Son Jesus Christ, and believe and trust that the Lord will provide."
Alex is from Malaysia & gives his response in English & Chinese.
15th July - Feast of St Bonaventure - Evelyn 
"Thank you, Mother Mary, that you will always be with us. Wherever we go, we also feel your presence, you're always with us, your intercession. You are the Mother of all. Whenever I'm in trouble, yes I will come to you and am sure that you will always lead us. Like you always say, like the story of Cana, there's always, always a prayer from you to Our Lord Jesus Christ, that you love us so much. I would like to thank you Mother. When there are difficulties you always say 'Come to Jesus. Let his will be done not ours.'"
Evelyn is from Malaysia.
16th July - Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel - Br Angelo CFR 
"I wouldn’t even say that she is Our Lady but she is My Lady."
Brother Angelo, from Pennsylvania in the USA, is a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal.
17th July - Maggie 
"Our Lady is a mother around me, as my mother has been dead for so long. I also left a prayer in the church (first time I've ever done it) to tell people to pray to her because she's never let me down on something really major these last couple of years. I'd been out of the church for about 5 or 6 years, and she brought me back into it through a prayer I found here."
Maggie is from Dublin, Ireland.
18th July - Kateryn 
"The Virgin Mary is my life, she's all for me, because all the time I feel her company."
Kateryn is from Colombia and gives her response in English & Spanish..
19th July - Anne-Marie 
"To me Mary is the ultimate ‘yes’ and she is all embracing."
Anne-Marie is from Ireland.
20th July - Aneeta 
"Mary helps us, she does everything for us and she prays for us to her son Our Lord Jesus Christ, her only begotten Son. Everything that we ask her is always granted."
Aneeta is from the Philippines.
21st July - Feast of St Lawrence of Brindisi - Michaela 
"Mother Mary to me is my mother. I go to her for all my needs and I know that she intercedes on my behalf to her Son to grant all favours."
Michaela is from Goa.
22nd July - Christine Mary 
"Do whatever he tells you.’ That was what Mary said at the marriage feast of Cana to the stewards and just I think that's really wise advice. She leads us all to Jesus every time, and I just long to meet her and Jesus in heaven. I have them around with me now but I long to sit with them and party in heaven for the rest of my life eternally. Thank you Jesus and Mother Mary and St Joseph. Amen. "
Christine Mary is from England.
23rd July - Feast of St Bridget of Sweden - Monica 
"Mary has played a very important role in our lives because she has helped me in many, many ways in my every day life. When I speak to her, she helps and she answers me."
Monica is from County Derry in Ireland.
24th July - Sophie 
"Mary represents the ideal of motherhood for me, especially now that I have a new-born baby, so she's very important at the moment."
Sophie is 26 & from Hong Kong.
Our Lady of Medjugorje's message to Marija Pavlović, 25 July 2015:
"Dear children! With joy I am with you also today and I call all of you, little children, pray, pray, pray so as to comprehend the love which I have for you. My love is stronger than evil, little children, therefore draw closer to God so as to feel my joy in God. Without God, little children, you do not have a future, you do not have hope or salvation; therefore leave evil and choose good. I am with you and, with you, I intercede before God for all of your needs. Thank you for having responded to my call."
“Queridos hijos! También hoy con alegría estoy con ustedes y los invito a todos, hijitos: oren, oren, oren para que comprendan el amor que tengo hacia ustedes. Mi amor es más fuerte que el mal por eso, hijitos, acérquense a Dios para que puedan sentir mi gozo en Dios. Sin Dios, hijitos, no tienen futuro, no tienen esperanza ni salvación, por eso dejen el mal y elijan el bien. Yo estoy con ustedes y con ustedes intercedo ante Dios por todas sus necesidades. Gracias por haber respondido a mi llamado."
"Cari figli! Anche oggi con gioia sono con voi e vi invito tutti, figlioli, pregate, pregate, pregate perchè possiate comprendere l' amore che ho per voi. Il mio amore è più forte del male perciò, figlioli, avvicinatevi a Dio perchè possiate sentire la mia gioia in Dio. Senza Dio, figlioli, non avete ne futuro, ne speranza, ne salvezza, perciò lasciate il male e scegliete il bene. Io sono con voi e con voi intercedo presso Dio per i tutti vostri bisogni. Grazie per aver risposto alla mia chiamata.”
25th July - Feast of St James, the Apostle - Juan 
"For me the Virgin Mary is the amazing girl in this world because being a human person she's a person and human as well but she has no sin, and this something amazing that overwhelms me. She brought here a Saviour. God came into the world through her, in the family of Nazareth, and it's something amazing because it shows me that this is possible, even with the reality that we are sinners and we have sin inside our nature, but there is a calling inside us to say yes as the Virgin Mary said to God, to say yes, everyday in our daily life."
Juan is 22 and a seminarian from Spain; he gives his response in English & Spanish.
26th July - Pia 
"The Blessed Mother is great!"
"La Madonna di San Luca è sulla monte."
Pia is 91 & from Bologna in Italy.
27th July - Marinel 
"I think Mary is always looking after us, especially the women and mothers, and I think she plays a very important religious role in our lives, and she's just around the corner. You can pray for guidance from her. ... But basically of course she is the Virgin Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ."
Marinel is from the Philippines.
28th July - Tristan 
"Mother Mary to me personally is another mother who you can look up to and be inspired by and look for guidance ... she's always like there to help you and guide you."
Tristan is 12 & from the Philippines.
29th July - Feast of Saint Martha - Teresa 
"Our Lady is my constant friend, all my life."
Teresa is 86 (or just maybe 87 ... or 89) & from Goa in India.
30th July - Beata 
"Our Lady for me is a mother who I refer to everyday."
Beata is 32 and from Poland; she gives her response in English & Polish.
31st July - Feast of St Ignatius of Loyola - Diego 
"I think the Virgin Mary is the one who can be the intermediary between God and us.
La Virgen María es un ejemplo de madre."
Diego is 20 and from Spain.