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MyCatholicSource.com Newsletter - August, 2018
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IN THIS ISSUE:
* Greetings
* MCS News & Notes
* The Month of August: Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
* We Are Very Dear to Mary
* Food For Thought: 5 Reflections
* Liturgical Feasts in August
* 'Catholic Trivia'
* Defending the Faith: "Apologetics Brief" - Do You Reject the Catholic Church's Teaching that Jesus' Mother Mary Was Assumed, Body & Soul, Into Heaven?
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Dear Friend,
"May the Lord out of Sion bless thee, he that made heaven and earth." (Ps. 133/134:3)
Greetings! We hope you are having a pleasant and holy summer.
We send our thanks to all subscribers who have signed up for Rosary Week and also for the kind comments we have received with signups. For those who haven't yet signed up, please accept our invitation to join fellow Catholics in praying the rosary for worthy intentions. It doesn't take very long to participate, it doesn't cost anything to sign up, and you can pray from anywhere. We hope you will join us if you can. For more information on Rosary Week, please visit www.MyCatholicSource.com/RosaryWeekInfo . To sign up, please visit www.MyCatholicSource.com/RosaryWeek . We look forward to your joining in!
Thank you for your support of our newsletter and site.
God bless you,
Your Friends at MyCatholicSource.com
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"Although she was never subject to the frailty and perversity of our nature, Mary well knows its condition and is the best and most solicitous of mothers. How willingly will she hasten to our aid when we need her; with what love will she refresh us, and with what strength sustain us." (Pope Leo XIII, "Magnae Dei Matris", 1892 A.D.)
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MCS News & Notes
* Rosary Week: Please sign up today for our Tenth Annual Rosary Week to be held from 10/22-10/28/18 at http://www.MyCatholicSource.com/RosaryWeek . Please also invite your friends!
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* 'Bulk' Book Purchases: We had an inquiry last month from a kind reader of one of our books who asked if additional copies could be purchased in bulk for a discount. We subsequently contacted Amazon about the possibility, but regrettably they could not accommodate the request. We are also unable to offer this option as we generally do not keep an inventory of our books on hand, plus we have become very reluctant to ship items out of state due to the recent Supreme Court decision regarding sales tax. We are simply unable to comply with the onerous burdens of tax compliance in multiple jurisdictions. Should Amazon notify us that the situation has changed, we will plan to include an announcement on our media page at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/comrc/media.htm
* Vatican Gifts Update: As indicated above, we are unable to comply with the onerous burdens of tax compliance in multiple jurisdictions that may result due to the recent Supreme Court decision regarding sales tax. Therefore, we have reluctantly suspended sales of our Vatican gift items. At this time, the applicable pages/links will remain in place, but they will not be functional. We regret any inconvenience.
* Rosary Week Mass Update: We will apparently *not* be able to request a FSSP (Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter) Mass this year for Rosary Week participants as we normally do. When we contacted the FSSP in July to request another (unrelated) Mass, they notified us they were not taking Mass requests due to their backlog. We are very sorry we will not be able to offer the Mass for Rosary Week participants this year.
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The Month of August: Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
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"Thou, O Lord, and thy Mother are the only ones who are perfectly beautiful in every respect, for in thee, O Lord, there is no blemish, and in thy Mother there is no stain." (St. Ephraem the Syrian, Doctor of the Church)
"Tell everybody that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask graces from her, and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Ask them to plead for peace from the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Lord has confided the peace of the world to her." (St. Jacinta of Fatima)
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Related Resources...
* Blessed Virgin Mary (Topic Page) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-Blessed_Virgin_Mary.htm
* Popular Marian Devotions (Incl. Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, First Five Saturdays Devotion & Prayers of Consecration) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/popular_marian_devotions.htm
* Blessed Virgin Mary (Reflections) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/qt/mary_our_mother_reflections.htm
* Popular Marian Prayers - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/marian_prayers.htm
* More Marian Prayers - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pr/prayers_and_hymns_Marian.htm
* Blessed Virgin Mary (Papal Writings) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pd/classic_encyclicals_by_category.htm
* Marian Facts - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/facts.htm
* Marian Scripture References - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/marian_scriptural_references.htm
* Reasons to Honor the Blessed Virgin Mary - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/reasons_to_honor_mary.htm
* Thoughts on the Blessed Virgin Mary - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/thoughts_on_mary.htm
* Mary Our Mother Section - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/mary_our_mother.htm
* Do Catholics Worship Mary? - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/do_catholics_worship_mary.htm
* Marian Apologetics - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/nc/non_catholics__Marian.htm
* The Holy Rosary (Topic Page) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-holy_rosary.htm
* Scapulars (Topic Page) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-scapulars.htm
* Marian Apparitions at Fatima (Topic Page) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-fatima.htm
* Blessed Virgin Mary (Coloring Pages) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_activities/catholic_fun_coloring_activities.htm
* Marian Word Searches - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_activities/catholic_fun_word_searches.htm
* Blessed Virgin Mary (Crossword Puzzle) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pca/crossword_puzzle_Mary.html
Looking For Something Else? Try Our Various Indexes For 15,000+ Entries - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/help.htm
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"Great indeed is Our trust in Mary. The resplendent glory of her merits, far exceeding all the choirs of angels, elevates her to the very steps of the throne of God. Her foot has crushed the head of Satan." (Bl. Pope Pius IX, "Ubi Primum", 1849 A.D.)
"Thus the Faithful of every age, both in public misfortune and in private need, turn in supplication to Mary...so that she may come to their aid and grant help and remedy against sorrows of body and soul. And never was her most powerful aid hoped for in vain by those who besought it with pious and trustful prayer." (Pope Pius XI, "Ingravescentibus Malis", 1937 A.D.)
"Just as Mary surpassed in grace all others on earth, so also in heaven is her glory unique. If eye has not seen or ear heard or the human heart conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9), who can express what He has prepared for the woman who gave Him birth and who loved Him, as everyone knows, more than anyone else?" (St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church)
"Who can ever comprehend the solicitude with which Mary constantly stands before God on our behalf? 'She is never weary of defending us,' says St. Germanus; and the remark is beautiful meaning that so great is the compassion excited in Mary by our misery, and such is the love that she bears us, that she prays constantly, and relaxes not her efforts on our behalf: that by her prayers she may effectually defend us from evil, and obtain for us sufficient graces." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)
"But should there by chance be a sinner who, though not doubting her power, might doubt the compassion of Mary, fearing perhaps that she might be unwilling to help him on account of the greatness of his sins, let him take courage from the words of St. Bonaventure. 'The great, the special privilege of Mary is, that she is all-powerful with her son.' 'But,' adds the saint, 'to what purpose would Mary have so great power if she cared not for us?' 'No,' he concludes, 'let us not doubt, but be certain, and let us always thank Our Lord and His divine Mother for it, that in proportion as her power with God exceeds that of all the saints, so is she in the same proportion our most loving advocate, and the one who is the most solicitous for our welfare." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)
"When we have recourse to Mary in prayer, we are having recourse to the Mother of mercy, who is so well disposed toward us that, whatever the necessity that presses upon us especially in attaining eternal life, she is instantly at our side of her own accord, even though she has not been invoked. She dispenses grace with a generous hand from that treasure with which from the beginning she was divinely endowed in fullest abundance that she might be worthy to be the Mother of God. By the fullness of grace which confers on her the most illustrious of her many titles, the Blessed Virgin is infinitely superior to all the hierarchies of men and angels, the one creature who is closest of all to Christ." (Pope Leo XIII, "Magnae Dei Matris", 1892 A.D.)
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Consolation: "O Mary Immaculate, our Mother and Consolation, I take refuge in thy most loving heart with all the confidence of which I am capable; thou shalt be the dearest object of my love and veneration. To thee, who art the dispenser of the treasures of heaven, I shall always have recourse in my sorrows to have peace, in my doubts to have light, in my dangers to be defended, in all my needs to obtain thy assistance. Be therefore my refuge, my strength, my consolation, O Mary the Consoler! At the hour of my death, graciously receive the last sighs of my heart and obtain for me a place in thy heavenly home, where all hearts shall praise with one accord the adorable Heart of Jesus for evermore as well as thy most lovable heart, O Mary. Our tender Mother, Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Amen." (Raccolta)
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We Are Very Dear to Mary
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The following excerpt is from "The Love of Mary", a 19th century publication by D. Roberto, Hermit of Monte Corona. The original work had ecclesiastical approval.
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As immense, as incomprehensible, and insuperable as is her love of God, equally invincible and above all human thought and understanding is her love for us. If the love of Mary towards God, compared to the love of all creatures united together towards the same God, is as a sun in comparison to a little torch, and even more; say then frankly that her love for us is, beyond comparison, greater than the love with which all creatures united together could love us, as a volcano is beyond comparison greater than a little spark.
To this fundamental and principal cause of the love of Mary for us, which is the love that she bears to God, add many other causes, as that she is our mother, given to us as such by her Son Jesus, in His last agony, when in the person of His disciple, who represented us all, He gave us to her as her children: "Woman, behold thy son." Remembering, then, and reflecting that this was the most important expression of the last will of her Divine Son, that this was His last recommendation, His last remembrance, how can that heart refrain from melting towards us with a most ineffable love? ... Besides this, our Most Loving Mother knows how much her Divine Son loves us, who, for love of us, not content with descending from the bosom of the Father, clothed Himself also with our very nature, subjected Himself for our sake to so many humiliations, fatigues, sufferings, and sorrows, and even poured forth His Blood and His life for us by a most painful death. And can she, after such a reflection, remain indifferent towards us? If we hold dear those persons and those things which are dear to those we love, must we not be very dear to Mary, who sees us so loved and valued by Him who is her Heart and her Soul? If she loved us only a little, she would show that she set but small value on the Blood of her Divine Son, which is the Price of our Salvation.
For our sake, also, she is what she is; for our sake she has been chosen from among all women, enriched with so many gifts and graces, adorned with so many privileges; for our sake she has been chosen Mother of God, and raised to such a sublime height of glory. If we did not exist, and if God had not so loved us as to become man for our salvation and redemption, perhaps she would not have been what she is, the Mother of God. Knowing all this, can she, who is gratitude itself, not be pleased with it, and not return us a most intense love?
Yet more. She had, while yet living, a tender heart, naturally inclined and born to love and to feel mercy, pity, and compassion for all; now that her charity has arrived at the highest point which any pure creature can reach, think what a furnace of pity, of charity, and of love burns in that heart, when she sees us suffering from so many miseries, dangers, and enemies.
Finally, not to extend to too great a length, she is Our Dearest Sister, of our lineage and our blood. "Bone of our bones, and flesh of our flesh." We know how tender, how loving is the heart of a sister towards a brother: it sometimes surpasses even the affection and love of a mother; and can so worthy, so affectionate, so holy a Sister not love us most tenderly?
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For more reflections, please try here: http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/qt/reflections_categorized.htm
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Food For Thought: 5 Reflections
1. "Yoke yourself under the law of God, so that you may be in truth a free man." (St. Ephraem the Syrian, Doctor of the Church)
2. "Nothing seems tiresome or painful when you are working for a Master who pays well; who rewards even a cup of cold water given for love of Him." (St. Dominic Savio)
3. "Who except God can give you peace? Has the world ever been able to satisfy the heart?" (St. Gerard Majella)
4. "[I]n Him lies the principle of all true happiness both for this world and for the next." (Liturgical Year)
5. "By this you may know that a man is a true Christian, if he seeks to do good to those who wish him evil." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)
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For more reflections, please try here: http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/qt/reflections_categorized.htm
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Liturgical Feasts in August
The following is a listing of all liturgical feast dates for August as they appear at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/saints/feasts.htm
Note: (T) = Traditional, (N) = New (Novus Ordo)
Reminder: Feasts may be superseded / transferred / etc.
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August 1 - St. Paul (T)
August 1 - St. Peter's Chains (T)
August 1 - The Holy Machabees (T)
August 1 - St. Alphonsus Liguori (N)
August 2 - St. Alphonsus Liguori (T)
August 2 - St. Stephen I, pope (T)
August 2 - St. Eusebius of Vercelli (N)
August 2 - St. Peter Julian Eymard (N)
August 3 - Finding of St. Stephen (T)
August 4 - St. Dominic (T)
August 4 - St. John Vianney (Cure of Ars) (N)
August 5 - Dedication of Our Lady of the Snow (T)
August 5 - Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome (N)
August 6 - Sts. Sixtus II (Xystus) (pope), Felicissimus & Agapitus (T)
August 6 - Transfiguration of Our Lord (T)
August 6 - Transfiguration of the Lord (N)
August 7 - St. Cajetan (T)
August 7 - St. Donatus (T)
August 7 - St. Cajetan (N)
August 7 - St. Sixtus II (pope) & companions (N)
August 8 - Sts. Cyriacus, Largus & Smaragdus (T)
August 8 - The 14 Holy Helpers (T)
August 8 - St. Dominic (N)
August 9 - St. Emidius (T)
August 9 - St. John Vianney (Cure of Ars) (T)
August 9 - St. Romanus (T)
August 9 - St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) (N)
August 10 - St. Laurence (Lawrence) (T)
August 10 - St. Lawrence (N)
August 11 - St. Philomena (T)
August 11 - Sts. Tiburtius & Susanna (T)
August 11 - St. Clare of Assisi (N)
August 12 - St. Clare of Assisi (T)
August 13 - Sts. Hippolytus & Cassian (T)
August 13 - Sts. Pontian (pope) & Hippolytus (N)
August 14 - St. Eusebius (T)
August 14 - Vigil of the Assumption (T)
August 14 - St. Maximilian Kolbe (N)
August 15 - Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (T) *
August 15 - The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (N) *
August 16 - St. Joachim, Father of the Blessed Virgin Mary (T)
August 16 - St. Stephen of Hungary (N)
August 17 - St. Hyacinth (T)
August 18 - St. Agapitus (T)
August 18 - St. Helena (T)
August 18 - St. Jane Frances de Chantal (N)
August 19 - St. John Eudes (T)
August 19 - St. John Eudes (N)
August 20 - St. Bernard of Clairvaux (T)
August 20 - St. Bernard of Clairvaux (N)
August 21 - St. Jane Frances de Chantal (T)
August 21 - St. Pius X, pope (N)
August 22 - Sts. Timothy, Hippolytus & Symphorianus (T)
August 22 - The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (T)
August 22 - The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (N)
August 23 - St. Philip Benizi (T)
August 23 - St. Rose of Lima (N)
August 24 - St. Bartholomew, apostle (T)
August 24 - St. Bartholomew, apostle (N)
August 25 - St. Louis IX, king of France (T)
August 25 - St. Joseph Calasanz (N)
August 25 - St. Louis IX of France (N)
August 26 - St. Zephyrinus, pope (T)
August 27 - St. Joseph Calasanctius (T)
August 27 - St. Monica (N)
August 28 - St. Augustine of Hippo (T)
August 28 - St. Hermes (T)
August 28 - St. Augustine of Hippo (N)
August 29 - Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist (T)
August 29 - St. Sabina (T)
August 29 - Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist (N)
August 30 - St. Rose of Lima (T)
August 30 - Sts. Felix & Adauctus (T)
August 31 - St. Raymund Nonnatus (T)
* Holy Day of Obligation
Please Note: Above may exclude moveable feasts. For moveable feasts, try here: http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/latin_mass_and_tradition/traditional_liturgical_calendar.htm . For other feasts, try the MCS Daily Digest each day at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/mcs_daily_digest.asp
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'Catholic Trivia'
1. What popular scapular is well known for cures and conversions, is sometimes called a "pocket scapular" and contains an image of the Blessed Virgin one side and a picture of Mary's pierced Immaculate Heart on the other side?
2. Who founded the Redemptorists?
3. Which ecumenical council in the fifth century declared the Blessed Virgin Mary the Mother of God?
4. Which living persons should we despair of the salvation of?
5. What is the proper intention of the First Five Saturdays devotion?
6. Which three Doctors of the Church share the name Peter?
7. Which are the chief things we should ask of God?
8. To whom is the expression "Totum nos habere voluit per Mariam" (He willed us to have all through Mary) attributed?
9. Which is the chief sacramental used in the Church?
10. Who founded the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools?
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Answers:
1. The popular "Green Scapular" is well known for cures and conversions, is sometimes called a "pocket scapular" and contains an image of the Blessed Virgin one side and a picture of Mary's pierced Immaculate Heart on the other side.
2. The Redemptorists were founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori.
3. The Council of Ephesus (431 A.D.) declared the Blessed Virgin Mary the Mother of God.
4. "We need not despair of any man, as long as he lives." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church)
5. The First Five Saturdays devotion should be performed with the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
6. The three Doctors of the Church who share the name Peter are: St. Peter Canisius, St. Peter Chrysologus, and St. Peter Damian.
7. "The chief things we should ask of God are His own glory, our eternal salvation and the means of obtaining it." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
8. The expression "Totum nos habere voluit per Mariam" (He willed us to have all through Mary) is attributed to St. Bernard.
9. "The chief sacramental used in the Church is the sign of the cross." (Baltimore Catechism)
10. St. John Baptist de la Salle founded the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools.
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For more information concerning the topics above, try our General A-Z Index at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/help.htm
Like trivia? You might enjoy our crossword puzzles located at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_activities/catholic_fun_crossword_puzzles.htm
You might also be interested in the Q & A and historical information which may be found each day on the MCS Daily Digest at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/mcs_daily_digest.asp
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Defending the Faith: "Apologetics Brief" - Do You Reject the Catholic Church's Teaching that Jesus' Mother Mary Was Assumed, Body & Soul, Into Heaven?
It is good for Catholics to be able to defend their faith against attacks (or even simple questions) from those outside the Church. We therefore hope you may find the following "apologetics brief" helpful.
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Note: Text below is taken from http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/nc/non_catholics__Marian.htm
The following may be used as discussion points when discoursing with those outside the Church (or even among Catholics).
Topic: Do You Reject the Catholic Church's Teaching that Jesus' Mother Mary Was Assumed, Body & Soul, Into Heaven? (Note: Topic is directed at Protestants)
Consider:
* Do you reject the doctrine of the Assumption since you think it is not biblical? Are you then unfamiliar with the biblical precedent of Enoch being taken to heaven without dying (see Gen. 5:24) or of Elijah being assumed to heaven on a chariot (2 Kg. 2:11, Heb. 11:5)?
* If Jesus' mother Mary is simply deceased, and not in heaven, and not crowned as queen of Heaven and earth, how do you explain the woman in the who Book of Revelation is "clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars" (Rv. 12:1) who "gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod" (Rv. 12:5)? How is it she is shown in continual battle against the serpent (see Rv. 12:13) if she is simply "deceased"?
* If Jesus' mother Mary had died and not been assumed to heaven, why is it that no one has ever claimed her relics? Why is it that they weren't even looked for? Are you unaware that the early Church greatly revered the relics of the saints? Can you not imagine how much more so would have Jesus' mother's relics have been treasured?
* Do you not see that the from the Immaculate Conception of Mary (see http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/nc/non_catholics__Marian.htm ), that it would naturally follow that she would be assumed into heaven? Remember that death entered the world because of the devil, as punishment for sin, and that Mary has always been sinless and at enmity with Satan (see Gen. 3:15). "For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who are in his possession experience it." (Wisdom 2:23-24)
* Do you reject the doctrine of the assumption because you think the Catholic Church teaches that Mary went to heaven on her own power? If so, you should know that the Catholic Church does not teach this, but rather teaches that Christ ascended to heaven on his own power and that Mary was assumed to heaven by the power of God.
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"Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place: thou and the ark, which thou hast sanctified." (Ps. 131/132:8)
"Jesus did not wish to have the body of Mary corrupted after death, since it would have redounded to his own dishonor to have her virginal flesh, from which he himself had assumed flesh, reduced to dust." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)
"We had closed Paradise; you opened again the entryway to the tree of life. We turn joys into sorrow; you turned sorrow back into the greatest of joys for us. And how would you, the Immaculate, taste of death? You are the bridge to life, you are the staircase to heaven..." (St. John Damascene, Doctor of the Church, c. 8th century A.D.)
"God, the King of the universe, has granted you favors that surpass nature. As he kept you a virgin in childbirth, thus he has kept your body incorrupt in the tomb and has glorified it by his divine act of transferring it from the tomb." (Menaei Totius Anni, as quoted in Pope Pius XII's "Munificentissimus Deus")
"Let death pass you by, O Mother of God, because you have brought life to men. Let the tomb pass you by, because you have been made the foundation stone of inexplicable sublimity. Let dust pass you by; for you are a new kind of formation, so that you may be mistress over those who have been corrupted in the very stuff of their potter's clay" (St. Germain I of Constantinople, a. 733 A.D.)
"And who, I ask, could believe that the ark of holiness, the dwelling place of the Word of God, the temple of the Holy Ghost, could be reduced to ruin? My soul is filled with horror at the thought that this virginal flesh which had begotten God, had brought Him into the world, had nourished and carried Him, could have been turned into ashes or given over to be the food of worms." (St. Robert Bellarmine, Doctor of the Church)
"Following the footsteps of his distinguished teacher, the Angelic Doctor, despite the fact that he never dealt directly with this question, nevertheless, whenever he touched upon it, always held together with the Catholic Church, that Mary's body had been assumed into heaven along with her soul. Along with many others, the Seraphic Doctor held the same views. He considered it as entirely certain that, as God had preserved the most holy Virgin Mary from the violation of her virginal purity and integrity in conceiving and in childbirth, he would never have permitted her body to have been resolved into dust and ashes." (Pope Pius XII, "Munificentissimus Deus", 1950 A.D.)
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In Closing...
"Mary is blessed by Elizabeth with the same words as before by Gabriel, to show that she was to be reverenced both by men and angels." (St. Bede the Venerable, Doctor of the Church)
"Jesus was the fruit of Mary, and as St. Elizabeth told her: 'Blessed art thou amongst woman, and blessed in the fruit of thy womb.' Whoever, therefore, desires the fruit must go to the tree; whoever desires Jesus must go to Mary; and whoever finds Mary will most certainly find Jesus." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)
"When Mary has taken root in a soul she produces in it wonders of grace which only she can produce; for she alone is the fruitful virgin who never had and never will have her equal in purity and fruitfulness." (St. Louis de Montfort)
"When one loves anyone, it is a great happiness to have something of theirs as a souvenir. If we love our Mother, the Blessed Virgin, we should make it both our duty and privilege to have one of her pictures or statues in our home, which from time to time will remind us of her." (St. John Vianney)
"[B]y the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. Hence if anyone, which God forbid, should dare willfully to deny or to call into doubt that which we have defined, let him know that he has fallen away completely from the divine and Catholic Faith." (Pope Pius XII, "Munificentissimus Deus", 1950 A.D.)
"Hail thou star of the ocean God's own mother blest, Ever sinless Virgin, Gate of heavenly rest. Oh! By Gabriel's Ave, Uttered long ago, Eva's name reversing 'Stablish peace below. Break the captive's fetters, Light on blindness pour; All our ills expelling, Every bliss implore. Show thyself a Mother; may the Word divine, Born for us thine Infant, Hear our prayers through thine. Virgin all excelling, Mildest of the mild; Freed from guilt preserve us meek and undefiled. Keep our life all spotless, Make our way secure, Till we find in Jesus, Joy for evermore. Through the highest Heaven to the almighty Three, Father, Son and Spirit One same glory be. Amen." (Latin: Ave maris stella, Dei Mater alma, Atque semper Virgo, Felix caeli porta. Sumens illud Ave Gabrielis ore, Funda nos in pace Mutans Hevae nomen. Solve vincla reis, Profer lumen caecis, Mala nostra pelle, Bona cuncta posce. Monstra te esse matrem, Sumat per te preces Qui pro nobis natus Tulit esse tuus. Virgo singularis, Inter omnes mitis, Nos culpis solutos, Mites fac et castos. Vitam praesta puram, Iter para tutum, Ut videntes Iesum Semper collaetemur. Sit laus Deo Patri, Summo Christo decus, Spiritui Sancto Tribus honor unus. Amen.) [Ave Maris Stella]
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