Somethings about Mary in March 2014
Many, many thanks to Agnes, Anne, Anne, Astrid, Carlos, Caroline, Claire, Diane, Eva, Ewa, Gabriele, Joan, John-Henry, José, Maria, Martina, Noreen, Philip, Phyllis, Raul, Rhoslyn, Rob, Robert, Russell, Sophie, Stella, Thaddeus, Thomas, Thomas & Yasko for giving their 'something' about Mary this month.
This mural of the Madonna & Child is in the church v close to Chiesa Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome ( ... will try to remember the name of Church!).
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If you'd like to give Our Lady a metaphorical bunch of flowers by saying your something about Mary, please, pretty please, contact the Totus2us team.
Our Lady's message to Mirjana Soldo, Medjugorje, 2nd March 2014:
"Dear children, I am coming to you as a mother and I desire that in me, as in a mother, you may find your abode, consolation and rest. Therefore, my children, apostles of my love, pray. Pray with humble devotion, obedience and complete trust in the Heavenly Father. Trust as I have trusted when it was said to me that I will bring the blessing of the promise. May out of your hearts, from your lips, always come forth 'May your will be done!' Therefore, trust and pray so that I can intercede for you before the Lord, for Him to give you the Heavenly Blessing and fill you with the Holy Spirit. Then He will be able to help all those who do not know the Lord – you, apostles of my love, will help them to call Him 'Father' with complete trust. Pray for your shepherds and place your trust in their blessed hands. Thank you."
2nd March - Yasko 
"What can I say about Mary, the Mother of God, yes exactly, Hail Mary, yes. I don’t know, it’s just my own words but actually that she is, to me, she's everything to me."
Yasko is from Tokyo, Japan.
3rd March - Rhoslyn 
"Mary for me is the perfect example of what a woman should be, with a perfect resignation to the divine will, and our heavenly mother."
Rhoslyn is 25 & from Wales.
4th March - Shrove Tuesday - Ewa 
"There are two sides of the Virgin Mary that I am particularly drawn to. The first one is as a wonderful mother who is always very welcoming to her children and who is somebody that you can just ask to hug you and she will do it spiritually. And somebody you can always turn to and you can cry your worries to and you can share your joy with. This is wonderful. The other side is just like the richness, the wealth of her womanhood. If you look through the Bible and you see all these wonderful women, she's kind of like the ultimate ideal of womanhood. .. She's like this wonderful role model for every woman to be what she's called to be and then it also makes you realise that God gives you strength to become as beautiful as she is, and because she fulfilled her vocation so beautifully. .. Because of her beauty she shows you more about yourself: what you are like and what gifts God has given you."
Ewa is 21 & from Poland; she gives her response in English & Polish.
5th March - Ash Wednesday - Sophie 
"No one else was as close to Christ as Our Lady was: she loved him and she held him from being a little boy to his last breath. It's only through her example and looking to her that we can share those memories and share those moments with her. And she can reveal to us how to love Christ in a more beautiful way, and how to make Him happy and what will please Him, and how He can help us. And I think just by looking to her and asking for her help, because she's not far away, and she's not some distant person. She's our loving Mother."
Sophie is from England.
6th March - Robert 
"Mary is for me my mother and mother of all Christians."
Robert is from Slovakia and gives his response in English & Slovak.
7th March - Anne 
"I’ve always had a love for Mary but when I went to Medjugorje that was deepened. And then I had a tragedy in my life, and without Mary and Jesus I wouldn’t have survived."
Anne is from Ireland.
8th March - John-Henry 
"Our Lady led me back to a life of faith when I’d abandoned it for many years. I can say truly with St Louis de Montfort that, were it not for Mary, I should be dead now and in hell. She is for me my mother and the sure route to my Saviour. She is for me and has been for me in a way everything because she brought me to a life of love and of joy, and brought me a wife and a beautiful family that I would never have had without her. She changed my life from a downward path to one of following in the footsteps of her Son. So in a way she has meant everything to me so that I might follow her Son perfectly."
John-Henry is from Canada.
9th March - Diane 
"Mary is to me an example of the beautiful role of a mother, especially in the time of suffering. Recently my son suffered in a ski accident and I spent the night with him in hospital, and I was reflecting on the suffering of Mary at the foot of the Cross and just her example of putting it in the hands of God and trusting in Him. "
Diane is from Canada.
10th March - Joan 
"All my life I have had really great devotion to Mary, and I turn to her both in hours of need and in hours of joy as well."
Joan is from Ireland.
11th March - Claire 
"Our Lady is very special to me. Dear Mother always helps me. Amen."
Claire is from Kenya.
12th March - Maria 
"I’ve a special devotion to Mary because I see her as the mother of all mothers."
Maria is from Scotland.
13th March - Eva 
"For me, Mary’s the Mother of God. That’s the most important thing. "
Eva is from Poland.
15th March - Russell 
"To me, Mary is a mother, she's a protector. I know that I can always rely on her, go to her, speak honestly about the problems that I have, and she's always there to guide me. I have strong faith in her, that she helps me in many ways and leads me to Jesus."
Russell is 24 & from the UK.
16th March - Phyllis 
"Our Lady is there, she’s there the whole time, and if ever you’re in need of anything and help, she’s there. You can pray to her."
Phyllis is from London.
Our Lady's annual message to Mirjana in Medugorje, 18 March 2014:
"Dear children! As a mother, I desire to be of help to you. With my motherly love, I desire to help you to open your heart and to put my Son in the first place in it. Through your love for my Son and through your prayer, I desire for God’s light to illuminate you and God’s mercy to fill you. In this way, I desire for the darkness, and the shadow of death which wants to encompass and mislead you, to be driven away. I desire for you to feel the joy of the blessing of God’s promise. You, children of man, you are God’s children - you are my children. Therefore, my children, set out on the ways on which my love leads you, teaches you humility and wisdom, and finds the way to the Heavenly Father. Pray with me for those who do not accept me and do not follow me - those who, because of hardness of their hearts, cannot feel the joy of humility, devotion, peace and love – the joy of my Son. Pray that your shepherds, with their blessed hands, may always give you the joy of God’s blessing. Thank you."
19th March - Feast of Saint Joseph - José 
"For me, Mary is my mother, especially having been in the UK for two and a half years where my earthly mother is not physically with me. So every time I cannot talk to her, I talk to Mary. In exactly the same way my mother, when I was little and did something wrong, she would go and talk to my father, Mary in the same way intercedes for me before Our Lord, before God."
José is 27 & from Spain; he gives his algo de María in English & Spanish.
21st March - Raul 
"Mother Mary to us is like our mother. My mother has passed away so I know that she is gone to a good life but my mother now is Mama Mary."
Raul is from Australia.
22nd March - Martina 
"Our Lady is everything for me because she’s done so much for me when I've needed her so much."
Martina is from England.
23rd March - Thaddeus 
"I think Mary’s significance is she’s a woman who listened and she wants us to listen to God."
Thaddeus is from Nigeria.
24th March - Agnes 
"To me, Mary is our most holy mother, our helper, when we are in great need our friend. "
Agnes is from Vietnam & gives her something about Mary in English & Vietnamese.
25th March - Feast of the Annunciation - Carlos 
"Mary for me is my mother and I always go to her every time I need something or there's something I'm not sure about or I'm doubtful about something. I go to Lourdes (or I try to go to Lourdes) every year on pilgrimage and I've always got my medal of Guadalupe with me around my neck. So basically she's very important in my life."
Carlos is 31 & from Spain; he gives his response in English & Spanish.
Our Lady of Medjugorje's message to Marija Pavlović on 25 March:
“Dear children! I am calling you anew: begin the battle against sin as in the first days, go to confession and decide for holiness. The love of God will begin to flow through you into the world, peace will begin to rule in your hearts and God's blessing will fill you. I am with you and intercede for all of you before my Son Jesus. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
“Queridos hijos! Los invito de nuevo: comiencen la lucha contra el pecado como en los primeros días, vayan a la confesión y decídanse por la santidad. El amor de Dios fluirá al mundo a través de ustedes, la paz reinará en vuestros corazones y la bendición de Dios los llenará. Yo estoy con ustedes y ante mi Hijo Jesús intercedo por todos ustedes. Gracias por haber respondido a mi llamado."
"Cari figli! Vi invito di nuovo: iniziate la lotta contro il peccato come nei primi giorni, andate a confessarvi e decidetevi per la santità. Attraverso di voi l'amore di Dio scorrerà nel mondo e la pace regnerà nei vostri cuori e la benedizione di Dio vi riempirà. Io sono con voi e davanti al mio Figlio intercedo per tutti voi. Grazie per aver risposto alla mia chiamata.”
26th March - Thomas 
"Hilaire Belloc is one devotee of Our Lady I particularly admire .. In a letter her wrote: .. Our dear lady, the Blessed Mother of God, never fails us. She has never failed me in any demand."
Thomas is 23 & from England.
27th March - Gabriele 
"Mary has been instrumental in my conversion and, when I was looking for answers, she pointed to Jesus her son and I started developing a relationship with Jesus.
Maria, ti ringrazio per avermi insegnato ad amare tuo figlio Gesù."
Gabriele is from Italy.
28th March - Thomas 
"I always pray to Our Lady because I’ve got 3 sons and they won’t go to Church, and I have to pray to her that they'll come back again and be good Catholics."
Thomas is from Donegal in Ireland.
29th March - Anne 
"Mary is around us. I pray to Mary the Mother of God because I’m a mother as well and I hope that she’ll help us through life. Amen."
Anne is from Northern Ireland.
30th March - Astrid 
"I've a special love for Mary and she's very important to me. …
Je suis très dévoué à la Vierge Marie."
Astrid is 26 & from Liechtenstein.
31st March - Cosme 
"Mary is the one who is an example for all of us because she has never sinned, and she's the best person who can intercede for us because, during all his life, she was the closest to Christ."
Cosme is from Paris.