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A beautiful example of carved alabaster from Nottingham, which was famous throughout Europe in the Middle Ages and exported to churches all over Christendom.
This depicts the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and dates from the 14th-century, and it is housed in Ávila Cathedral museum. The feast of the Assumption is kept on 15 August.
"What grace or mercy was ever given to any angel or any man, what grace or mercy could ever be given as great as the grace and mercy shown to the Blessed Virgin? For it was she whom God the Father chose to be the Mother of his own Son, equal to him and born before all ages"
– St Anthony of Padua.
Detail from the Lady Altar of a Franciscan convent of sisters in Fribourg.
"O God, Who didst will that this day the ever blessed Virgin Mary, dwelling-place of the Holy Ghost, should be presented in the temple: grant, we beseech Thee, that through her intercession, we may be worthy to be presented in the temple of Thy glory. Through our Lord."
– Collect from the Extraordinary Form for today's feast of the Presentation of the MBVM.
My sermon for today's feast can be read here.
Detail from the bronze doors of the basilica of St Mary Major in Rome.
Marian Exhibit in celebration of the 90th Anniversary of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima [1917-2007]
Parish of Our Lady of Fatima
Philamlife Village, Pamplona Dos, Las Piñas City
September 29 - October 07, 2007
During my visit to Limerick I used a number of different lenses. In this instance I used a Sony A7RM2 body with a Zeiss Batis 25mm Lens which I really like.
St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick, also known as Limerick Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Limerick, Ireland which is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Limerick, it is now one of three cathedrals in the United Dioceses of Limerick and Killaloe.
Today the cathedral is still used for its original purpose as a place of worship and prayer for the people of Limerick. It is open to the public every day from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. Following the retirement of the Very Rev'd Maurice Sir on June 24, 2012, Bishop Trevor Williams announced the appointment of the Rev'd Sandra Ann Pragnell as Dean of Limerick and Rector of Limerick City Parish. She is the first female dean of the cathedral and rector of the Limerick parish. The cathedral grounds holds a United Nations Memorial Plaque with the names of all the Irish men who died while serving in the United Nations Peacekeepers.
During my visit to Limerick I used a number of different lenses. In this instance I used a Sony A7RM2 body with a Zeiss Batis 25mm Lens which I really like.
St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick, also known as Limerick Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Limerick, Ireland which is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Limerick, it is now one of three cathedrals in the United Dioceses of Limerick and Killaloe.
Today the cathedral is still used for its original purpose as a place of worship and prayer for the people of Limerick. It is open to the public every day from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. Following the retirement of the Very Rev'd Maurice Sir on June 24, 2012, Bishop Trevor Williams announced the appointment of the Rev'd Sandra Ann Pragnell as Dean of Limerick and Rector of Limerick City Parish. She is the first female dean of the cathedral and rector of the Limerick parish. The cathedral grounds holds a United Nations Memorial Plaque with the names of all the Irish men who died while serving in the United Nations Peacekeepers.
During my visit to Limerick I used a number of different lenses. In this instance I used a Sony A7RM2 body with a Zeiss Batis 25mm Lens which I really like.
St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick, also known as Limerick Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Limerick, Ireland which is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Limerick, it is now one of three cathedrals in the United Dioceses of Limerick and Killaloe.
Today the cathedral is still used for its original purpose as a place of worship and prayer for the people of Limerick. It is open to the public every day from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. Following the retirement of the Very Rev'd Maurice Sir on June 24, 2012, Bishop Trevor Williams announced the appointment of the Rev'd Sandra Ann Pragnell as Dean of Limerick and Rector of Limerick City Parish. She is the first female dean of the cathedral and rector of the Limerick parish. The cathedral grounds holds a United Nations Memorial Plaque with the names of all the Irish men who died while serving in the United Nations Peacekeepers.
"O God, who willed that, when your Son was lifted high on the Cross, his Mother should stand close by and share his suffering, grant that your Church, participating with the Virgin Mary in the Passion of Christ, may merit a share in his Resurrection. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever."
– Collect for the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, which is on 15 September.
This Pietà is above the entrance to a small chapel in the French Pyrénees.
May is traditionally the month of Mary, and today we celebrate the feast of the Visitation, when the Virgin Mary, carrying Jesus in her womb, went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. This event, which we know well because we commemorate it as the fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, is rich in Old Testament symbolism, and can help us think about Our Lady’s relationship to the Lord who is present – body, blood, soul and divinity – in the Eucharist.
A beautiful Eucharistic text from the 14th-century, the 'Ave Verum Corpus', begins: “Hail, true Body, born of the Virgin Mary”. This underlines just how close Mary is to the Eucharist because the body and blood of Christ that we adore and receive in Holy Communion is the flesh and blood that Christ took from the Virgin Mary’s womb. So, in a sense, it is Mary who gives us the Bread of Life. As the Dominican saint Albert the Great, after whom my priory in Edinburgh is named, said: “Mary has given us what is Flesh of her flesh and Bone of her bone, and in the Eucharist she continues to give us this sweet, virginal, heavenly banquet”.
Each day the Church, in the Angelus, marvels at the mystery of the Incarnation, by which God took flesh from Mary’s. And that same flesh and blood is given to us to eat and drink in the Mass. As always, Mary’s relationship to the Lord reminds us of his sacred humanity, it grounds us in the bodily-ness of the Eucharist lest we spiritualize the Eucharist and make it just a symbol.
Read the rest of this reflection here, or my sermon for today's feast of the Visitation, which can be read here.
This stained glass window is from Magdalene College, Cambridge.
Built in the mid-14th century, and dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the Slipper Chapel served pilgrims on their way to England’s Nazareth. The retable which dates to 1934 is the work of James and Lilian Dagless of Walsingham. On the left is Saint Catherine, and on the right Saint Lawrence (a secondary patron of the Shrine) with his grid of martyrdom.
A snow-dusted statue of the grieving Mother of God holding an arm full of roses whilst guarding the entrance of a sepulchre in the Essenhof cemetery.
"My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely" - Song of Songs 2:14.
A photo from my Lourdes collection that I thought should be posted, and the moment I saw it I thought of this lovely verse from the Scriptures.
May Our Lady of Lourdes pray for us, and especially for those to whom I minister today.
"God, our Father,
since you gave mankind a saviour through blessed Mary, virgin and mother,
grant that we may feel the power of her intercession
when she pleads for us with Jesus Christ, your Son, the author of life,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen."
– Collect for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
Statue of Our Lady of Altötting where Pope Benedict XVI prayed in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington DC.
"Let us celebrate the Virgin Mary’s motherhood. Let us adore her Son, Christ the Lord."
This fresco is in the church of Santi Domenico e Sisto next to the Angelicum in Rome.
Dedicated to all those who have lost their lives at sea.
"And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me."
This mosaic depicts the Virgin Mary, holding the infant, Jesus, as they greet pilgrims on their right and left, including St. Willibaldus and the three wise men.
Interior of the Church of the Dormition, Jerusalem, Israel.
Church of the Dormition of Mary.
Jerusalem, Israel.
May 11, 2015.
IMG_1751
"Blessed the womb that bore you, O Christ; blessed the breasts that suckled you, Lord and Saviour of the World. Alleluia".
– Magnifiacat antiphon for today's Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
This 16th-century fresco is from Sta Maria in Campitelli in Rome.
Detail from a stupendous 15th-century reredos in the church of San Nicolas in Burgos, showing the Virgin Mary crowned as Queen of Heaven by the Holy Trinity. They are surrounded by a host of angels.
The reredos is attributed to Francisco de Colonia, and today, 15 August, is the feast of Mary's Assumption into heaven.
"Blessed are you, Virgin Mary! You bore in your womb the Lord, the Creator of the world. You gave birth to him who made you, and you remain a virgin for ever."
- from a Matins responsory for today's Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
Statue of the Virgin and Child from Glasgow's Catholic Cathedral.
A silent but also very talkative communication between old age and God.
I captured this image, that had a great impact on me, inside the under construction imposing cathedral of Sveti Sava in Belgrade.
Monday photo challenge was to photograph something representative of the letter D.
*This antique image of the Virgin has great historical & religious significance. Letter D or not, I loved this Divine interpretation.
"Because of her close bond with Jesus, Mary is strictly connected to what we believe. As Virgin and Mother, Mary offers us a clear sign of Christ’s divine sonship. The eternal origin of Christ is in the Father. He is the Son in a total and unique sense, and so he is born in time without the intervention of a man. As the Son, Jesus brings to the world a new beginning and a new light, the fullness of God’s faithful love bestowed on humanity. But Mary’s true motherhood also ensures for the Son of God an authentic human history, true flesh in which he would die on the cross and rise from the dead."
– Lumen Fidei, para. 54.
Images of the Virgin and Child are found on many street corners of Rome, a reminder of the Divine Incarnation who came to walk our streets and be with us on the Way.
How to describe El Rocio
El Rocío, the most significant town in the vicinity of the Parque Nacional de Doñana, surprises first-timers. Its streets, unpaved and covered in sand, are lined with colourfully decked-out single-storey houses with sweeping verandahs, left empty half the time. But this is no ghost town: these are the well-tended properties of 115 hermandades (brotherhoods), whose pilgrims converge on the town every Pentecost (Whitsunday) weekend for the Romería del Rocío, Spain’s largest religious festival. And at most weekends, the hermandades arrive in a flurry of festive fun for other ceremonies.
Beyond its uniquely exotic ambience, El Rocío impresses with its striking setting in front of luminous Doñana marismas (wetlands), where herds of deer drink at dawn and, at certain times of year, pink flocks of flamingos gather in massive numbers.
First and foremost El Roccio is a place of Catholic religious pilgrimage as only the Spaniards can do, a nation that turns religion into a party. Secondly traditional Andalucian dress and love of horses and horse drawn carriages bring it all back to bygone days . Thirdly the Spanish Devotion to The Blessed Virgin Mary is particularly strong and very public, not at all subtle.
All of these combine to make a place that is unique and somewhat special and not at all like the cowboy town that some refer to El Roccio as, more a genuine place of traditional religious pilgrimage.
"Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising"
– Isaiah 60:1-3.
This prophecy was fulfilled when the Magi, sometimes characterised as kings, came to adore the Christ Child in Bethlehem. My sermon for today, the Wednesday after the Epiphany, can be read here.
Detail from a window by Harry Stammers in St Mungo's Cathedral, Glasgow.
Marian Exhibit in celebration of the 90th Anniversary of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima [1917-2007]
Parish of Our Lady of Fatima
Philamlife Village, Pamplona Dos, Las Piñas City
September 29 - October 07, 2007
May Our Blessed Mother pray for all our mothers today!
My sermon for today can be read here.
Detail from the Rood by Sir Ninian Comper in the Grosvenor Chapel, London.
"There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited. When they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for the wedding was all finished, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ Jesus said ‘Woman, why turn to me? My hour has not come yet.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ There were six stone water jars standing there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews: each could hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’, and they filled them to the brim. ‘Draw some out now’ he told them ‘and take it to the steward.’ They did this; the steward tasted the water, and it had turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from – only the servants who had drawn the water knew – the steward called the bridegroom and said; ‘People generally serve the best wine first, and keep the cheaper sort till the guests have had plenty to drink; but you have kept the best wine till now.’
This was the first of the signs given by Jesus: it was given at Cana in Galilee. He let his glory be seen, and his disciples believed in him."
– John 2:1-11, which is today's Gospel for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. My sermon for today can be read here.
Detail from the 14th-century choir screen of Notre Dame de Paris.
A tapestry from the Gobelin workshop in the Lateran Palace in Rome.
25 March is the Solemnity of the Annunciation, when Jesus Christ, the Word of God, took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. Through her assent to the message which the angel Gabriel announced to her, Mary became the Mother of our Saviour and the gateway of our salvation.
During my visit to Limerick I used a number of different lenses. In this instance I used a Sony A7RM2 body with a Zeiss Batis 25mm Lens which I really like.
St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick, also known as Limerick Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Limerick, Ireland which is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Limerick, it is now one of three cathedrals in the United Dioceses of Limerick and Killaloe.
Today the cathedral is still used for its original purpose as a place of worship and prayer for the people of Limerick. It is open to the public every day from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. Following the retirement of the Very Rev'd Maurice Sir on June 24, 2012, Bishop Trevor Williams announced the appointment of the Rev'd Sandra Ann Pragnell as Dean of Limerick and Rector of Limerick City Parish. She is the first female dean of the cathedral and rector of the Limerick parish. The cathedral grounds holds a United Nations Memorial Plaque with the names of all the Irish men who died while serving in the United Nations Peacekeepers.
Today, 16 May, is the feast of St Simon Stock, a Carmelite friar to whom Our Lady appeared in 1251 and gave the brown scapular. This mosaic is from the Lady chapel in Westminster Cathedral.
"Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into places of pain, to share brokenness, fear, confusion, and anguish. Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those who are lonely, to weep with those in tears. Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless. Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human..." - Henri Nouwen.
Lourdes is a place of compassion and love, often a revelation of the best in Catholicism.
Marian Exhibit in celebration of the 90th Anniversary of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima [1917-2007]
Parish of Our Lady of Fatima
Philamlife Village, Pamplona Dos, Las Piñas City
September 29 - October 07, 2007
"This place was made by God..."
The beautiful Lady Chapel in Westminster Cathedral has the distinction of being the first completely decorated chapel in the cathedral, c.1903. In contrast to the dark brickwork around the chapel, the sense of awe is intensified as one enters the gleaming mosaic-decorated space with its narrative drawn from the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Vespers is beautifully sung every evening in this chapel, which adds to the numinous experience of praying in this holy space.
During my visit to Limerick I used a number of different lenses. In this instance I used a Sony A7RM2 body with a Zeiss Batis 25mm Lens which I really like.
St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick, also known as Limerick Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Limerick, Ireland which is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Limerick, it is now one of three cathedrals in the United Dioceses of Limerick and Killaloe.
Today the cathedral is still used for its original purpose as a place of worship and prayer for the people of Limerick. It is open to the public every day from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. Following the retirement of the Very Rev'd Maurice Sir on June 24, 2012, Bishop Trevor Williams announced the appointment of the Rev'd Sandra Ann Pragnell as Dean of Limerick and Rector of Limerick City Parish. She is the first female dean of the cathedral and rector of the Limerick parish. The cathedral grounds holds a United Nations Memorial Plaque with the names of all the Irish men who died while serving in the United Nations Peacekeepers.
The Blessed Virgin Mary flanked by angels, above a row of apostles and kings stand watch at the porch of the Goslarer Dom. They date from 1200, and this was part of a much larger collegiate church belonging to the imperial palace of Goslar.
"The contemplation of the great mystery of the Incarnation, in which the Eternal Word chose the holy and immaculate Virgin, that from her womb He should clothe Himself with flesh, has drawn all Christian nations to venerate her from whom come the first beginnings of our redemption... and we English being the servants of her special inheritance, and her own Dowry, as we are commonly called, ought to surpass others in the fervour of our praise and devotion."
– Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury (c.1400)
This statue of the Virgin and Child is in the church of St John the Evangelist in Cowley, Oxford.
"Adorned from the first instant of her conception with the radiance of an entirely unique holiness, the Virgin of Nazareth is greeted, on God's command, by an angel messenger as "full of grace", and to the heavenly messenger she replies: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word". Thus Mary, a daughter of Adam, consenting to the divine Word, became the mother of Jesus, the one and only Mediator. "
- Lumen Gentium, §56.
Detail from a window in Trinity College Oxford c.1885 by Powell. 25 March is the Solemnity of the Annunciation.
This statue of the Blessed Virgin can be found in Rochester New York's Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Cathedral.
Jan Michelini , an Italian filmmaker who's also helped out with several Totus2us podcasts (including the Rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet), helped a friend to restore this painting which is in a Carmelite church in Rome.
Here's what Jan had to say about Our Lady:
"My relationship with Mary started becoming closer and closer when I went to Medjugorje a year ago. In her I found a mother, I found forgiveness and felt peace, and when I came back to my city that was the only thing that I could think about and look for in the months that came. And I started praying the rosary every day and she started bringing me closer to Jesus, day by day, and what happened next is I started discovering again the sacraments and the Mass."
"You are all beautiful, Mary,
and the original stain [of sin] is not in you.
Your clothing is white as snow, and your face is like the sun".
From the Lady chapel of St Wilfrid's Catholic church in Preston. Today, 8 December, is the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
A rather unusual depiction of the Annunciation from a 5th-century mosaic in St Mary Major in Rome. Following iconographic convention, the Blessed Virgin Mary is shown spinning wool when the angel appears to her. She is enthroned in queenly garments, the Spirit descends like a dove, and another angel flies overhead.
My sermon for today's feast of the Presentation of Our Lady can be read here.
The Virgin of Mercy which is above the entrance of the church of Notre Dame de France off Leicester Square in London is the work of the sculptor George Saupique who is the author of the sculptures of the 'Palais du Trocadéro' in Paris.
"'Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!’ But [Jesus] replied, ‘Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!'"
- Luke 11:27f, the Gospel for the Vigil Mass of the Assumption.
15th-century roundel of the Virgin Mary suckling the infant Christ in Newcastle Cathedral.
This weekend is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
"We ask you, Lord, to bestow upon your servants the gift of heavenly grace.
When the Virgin gave birth it was the beginning of our salvation:
may the celebration of her own birthday increase our peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen."
Detail from a reredos in Burgos Cathedral of a very calm St Anne, reading a book having just given birth to her daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary.