One Month with the Mother of God -quotes

It  is Mary's style to have absolute faith, without creating problems for herself or asking for an explanation, but abandoning herself entirely into the hands of the Lord. (p.19).

The candor of Mary is enchanting. The secret lies in her obedience to the call of the Holy Spirit : with humility and courage she challenged the ways of the world , fear of being misunderstood and despised, along with other difficulties which may have seemed to he insurmountable. But this is what Jesus wanted of His Mother. Those who are preoccupied with pleasing God put their faith in His help and receive the grace they need to overcome obstacles which seems insuperable. (p. 20) 

      - Fr. Gabriel Amorth, SSP -  in 'The Gospel of Mary - One Month with the Mother of God'

Iconographers of all times tried to show in the image of Theotokos as much beauty, gentleness, dignity and grandeur as they could imagine. They sometimes paint grief, and sometimes sorrowful, but always filled with spiritual strength and wisdom.

The Most Pure Lady is always shown with her head covered with a veil, which drops to her shoulders, according to the tradition of Jewish women of that time. This veil or head covering is usually colored red to show her suffering and her acquired holiness. Under her veil her clothing is blue, symbolizing the humanity of the Theotokos.

Mosaic from Kykkos Monastery depicting the Theotokos asking St. Luke to paint the first icons of her and Christ, along with the Archangel Gabriel (who according to another tradition gave him three boards on which to paint icons) (taken from:http://www.chrissihart.com/node/376)http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.in/2008/10/st-luke-evangelist.html

There are three golden stars, one on the forehead and one on each shoulder of the Most Holy Theotokos. These stars symbols of her virginity. She was a virgin before, during, and after the Nativity of Christ. The three stars are also a symbol of the Holy Trinity. Sometimes the third star is covered by the figure of the Christ Child the second person of the Holy Trinity.

A fairly elaborate Orthodox Christianicon corner as would be found in a private home.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icon#Luke.27s_portrait_of_Mary

2501 Created "in the image of God," man also expresses the truth of his relationship with God the Creator by the beauty of his artistic works. Indeed, art is a distinctively human form of expression; beyond the search for the necessities of life which is common to all living creatures, art is a freely given superabundance of the human being's inner riches. Arising from talent given by the Creator and from man's own effort, art is a form of practical wisdom, uniting knowledge and skill, to give form to the truth of reality in a language accessible to sight or hearing. To the extent that it is inspired by truth and love of beings, art bears a certain likeness to God's activity in what he has created. Like any other human activity, art is not an absolute end in itself, but is ordered to and ennobled by the ultimate end of man. 
CCC - Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Immaculate Heart of Mary - An inexhaustible Fountain of Graces.

                            Engraving by the renowned Augsburg artist, Josef Sebastian Klauber 

Mary whose half image is placed on top of a three-tiered fountain  is identified as the one who "contains all grace" ("In me gratia omnis," Sirach 24).  This is confirmed by the Annunciation angel, "Gratia plena" (full of grace), and by the three rays of light emanating from the triangular symbol of the Trinity.  In turn, the rays are transformed into three well- springs springing from Mary's heart, symbol of Trinitarian grace, and the three theological virtues of faith, hope and charity.  Thus, Mary is a fountain of life.

"Let us proceed to and approach the throne of grace"
 (Hebrews 4).

http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/prayers/matergratiae.html

The Marian Library has in its possession rare books of the eighteenth century with engravings by the renowned Augsburg artist, Josef Sebastian Klauber (ca. 1700-1768). The highly symbolic and illustrative reproductions are typical of the Baroque period. Their message is of great spiritual riches. Mary's profile is that of the exalted Mother, Virgin, and Queen, as suits the period. We limited ourselves to the illustrations of the Marian titles. The reader needs to keep in mind that the titles introduced in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, obviously, are not included in Klauber's illustrations.

Mary’s Heart, the Inexhaustible Fountain 

St. John Eudes in Classic Mariological Excerpts

http://www.motherofallpeoples.com/2005/07/marys-heart-the-inexhaustible-fountain/

Our Lady’s most blessed Heart is the wonderful fountain that God caused to spring from the ground at the beginning of the world, as described in the second chapter of Genesis. “A spring rose out of the earth, watering all the surface of the earth” (Gen 2:6). St. Bonaventure tells us that this fountain was a figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary. “She was prefigured in the fountain that sprang from the earth.” (1) But we have equal reason to say that this represented her Heart, which is truly a living fountain whose heavenly waters irrigate not only the whole earth, but every created thing in Heaven as well as on earth.

Mary is the sealed fountain of the holy Spouse, which her divine Bridegroom calls “a fountain sealed up” (Cant. 4:12), for it remained sealed not only against the world, the devil and every kind of sin, but it was closed even to the Cherubim and Seraphim, who could not penetrate the marvelous secrets or comprehend the inestimable treasures hidden by God in Our Lady’s pure Heart.

Sacred Scripture states that the heart of man is evil and inscrutable (Jer. 17:9). But the Heart of the Queen of Heaven inspires these words: “God created her in the Holy Spirit, and saw her, and numbered her, and measured her” (Ecclus. 1:9). In other words, so holy and impenetrable is the Heart of Mary that only God Who enclosed within His treasures of grace and put His seal upon it, can know the quality, quantity and price of the graces hidden in this sealed fountain. All we can say is that Mary’s Immaculate Heart is a fountain of light, a fountain of holy and blessed water, a fountain of living and life-giving water, a fountain of milk and honey and a fountain of wine. It is the source of a great river, nay, of four miraculous streams, and finally, it is the source of an infinity of blessings and goodness.

For more on this, check this link  http://www.liberius.net/livres/The_admirable_Heart_of_Mary_000000374.pdf

PRAYER OF POPE JOHN XXIII O Mary

PRAYER OF POPE JOHN XXIII O Mary # 1

O Mary, you are praying for us, you are always praying for us. We know it, we feel it. Oh what joy and truth, what sublime glory, in this heavenly and human interchange of sentiments, words and actions, which the rosary always brings us: the tempering of our human afflictions, the foretaste of the peace that is not of this world, the hope of eternal life!

  PRAYER OF POPE JOHN XXIII O Mary # 2

O Mary, your name has been on my lips and in my heart from my early infancy. When I was a child I learned to love you as a Mother, turn to you in danger, and trust your intercession. You see in my heart the desire to know the truth, to practice virtue, to be prudent and just, strong and patient, a brother to all.
O Mary, help me to keep to my purpose of living as a faithful disciple of Jesus, for the building up of the Christian society and the joy of the holy Catholic Church. I greet you, Mother, morning and evening; I pray to you as I go on my way; from you I hope for the inspiration and encouragement that will enable me to fulfill the sacred promises of my earthly vocation, give glory to God, and win eternal salvation. O Mary! Like you in Bethlehem and on Golgotha, I too wish to stay always close to Jesus. He is the eternal King of all ages and all peoples.
Amen.

PRAYER OF POPE JOHN XXIII Love Of Mary #3

Holy Immaculate Mary, help all who are in trouble. Give courage to the faint-hearted, console the sad, heal the infirm, pray for the people, intercede for the clergy, have a special care for nuns; may all feel, all enjoy your kind and powerful assistance, all who now and always render and will render, you honour, and will offer you their petitions. Hear all our prayers, O Mother, and grant them all. We are all your children: Grant the prayers  of your children.
Amen forever.

 

 

Medjugorje Message, 

“Dear children! Today I want to wrap you all in my mantle and lead you all along the way of conversion. Dear children, I beseech you, surrender to the Lord your entire past, all the evil that has accumulated in your hearts. I want each one of you to be happy, but in sin nobody can be happy. Therefore, dear children, pray, and in prayer you shall realize a new way of joy. Joy will manifest in your hearts and thus you shall be joyful witnesses of that which I and My Son want from each one of you. I am blessing you. Thank you for having responded to my call. ”

February 25, 1987 

Mother Mary of Jesus (of Agreda)
Her incorrupt body is displayed at the Convent Chapel

http://www.traditioninaction.org/History/B_017_Agreda_5.html
,http://www.stellamarismedia.com/author_mary_agreda.html
From :  Mystical City of God,by  Mary of Agrada, Volume 1 - Conception Chapter 1

"I wish to raise thee as one that is poor from the dust, and as one full of need from the dunghill (Ps. 112, 7), so that,while I exalt thee, thou mayest humiliate thyself, and the nard of thy sweet odor may remain in my presence ;knowing thy own misery, be thou convinced from the bottom of thy heart, that thou meritest for thyself only tribulation and humiliation. Consider my greatness and thy littleness; remember that I am just and holy; I deal with thee considerately, making use rather of my mercy and not chastising thee as thou deservest. Strive to build upon this foundation of humility all the other virtues in order to fulfill my wishes. I appoint my Virgin Mother to teach, correct and reprehend thee. She will spur thee onward and accompany thy footsteps according to myliking and pleasure."
7. While the Most High spoke to me the Queen stood near by; and the heavenly Princess disdained not to accept the office which his Majesty assigned to Her. She accepted it benignly and said to me: "My daughter, I desire that thou be my disciple and my companion, and I will be thy Teacher; but remember that thou must obey me courageously and from this day on no vestige of a daughter of Adam must be found in thee. My conduct and my works during my pilgrimage on earth, and the wonders, which the arm of the Almighty wrought through me, shall be the mirror and the model of thy life." [pp 28-29]