Our Lady of Montserrat

On the mountain named Montserrat, near Barcelona, in the Catalonia region of Spain, a church now contains a 'miracle- working' statue of the Madonna and Child known as La Moreneta, that is: the dark little one. Legend relates that the miraculous image was first known as La Jerosolimitana (the native of Jerusalem), since it is believed to have been carved in that city during the early days of the church. Another account, seemingly well-attested, indicates that the image was moved to Montserrat in 718, to avoid the danger posed by invading Saracens. The image disappears from the historical record at this point, to reappear in a legend holding that shepherds found the lost statue under supernatural guidance in 890: While tending their flocks that night the shepherds were amazed to see lights and to hear singing coming from the mountain. When this was repeated, the shepherds reported the situation to their priest, who investigated. When the priest also heard the singing and saw the mysterious lights, he informed the Bishop, and he also witnessed the phenomenon. The statue of Our Lady was discovered in a cave and was brought out and placed in a small church that was soon erected.However, the statue presently kept at the Montserrat shrine appears to have been introduced in the twelfth or thirteenth century. Its Romanesque style is consistent with this estimate. Beyond general style, the genre of the statue is certainly that of an 'enthroned virgin', typical of the earliest icons of Mary. On the negative side, Montserrat is located in Spain, not in France where St. Bernard of Clairvaux and others produced well-known commentaries on the Canticles. Perhaps the image was created black to represent some esoteric religious symbolism. Ean Begg notes that the Shrine of Montserrat is among the best candidates for former sanctuaries for the Holy Grail. Further, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries esoteric Christian sects proliferated, though not primarily in Spain. Again, these are correlations, not proofs. Perhaps Cruz is right:
the dark color of Our Lady of Montserrat is attributed to the innumerable candles and lamps that have burned day and night before the image. In any case, certain facts may not be disputed. The statue has always been considered one of the most celebrated images in Spain. However, like Our Lady of Einsiedeln in Switzerland, its popularity is limited to a regional rather than a universal scope. Also, the shrine has received innumerable pilgrims over the years, currently at the rate of at least one million per year. This multitude includes secular and ecclesial rulers as well as a number of canonized Saints. The most notable of these was St. Ignatius of Loyola, who laid down his sword and embarked on his religious mission "after spending a night praying before the image", a miracle in the order of grace.

Our Lady of Ostra Brama

The history of Our Lady of the Dawn, who is also known as Our Lady of Ostra Brama, begins in 1386. In that year prince Jagellon of Lithuania married the Polish princess Jadwiga. She was the first to introduce Catholic practices in the Russian Orthodox kingdom. Even though the Orthodox of Lithuania venerated the Virgin in their liturgy and prayers, they were unfamiliar with the intensity of the Polish love and devotion for Mary. However, when it was first introduced by princes Jadwiga, the people of Lithuania welcomed it with open arms. Early in the fifteenth century, the new city walls of Vilnius were built. Above each of the gates the people of the town placed an image of the Blessed Virgin. About a century later, Carmelites took over one of the parish churches in the vicinity of the southeastern gate of the town. In the Lithuanian language this gate was commonly known as 'Auros Vartai' (the gate of dawn). The Polish speaking population knew it as 'Ostra Brama' (the sharp gate). The Carmelites are known for their special dedication to the Mother of Jesus. They took special care of the image that was placed above the gate near their church. When the army of Moscow set fire to the city of Vilnius in 1655, most of the town was destroyed in a fire that lasted seventeen days. However, the image above the Ostra Brama gate survived without any damage. This strongly encouraged the people’s devotion toward it and attracted many pilgrims from outside. Early in the eighteenth century there was yet another fire in Wilna. When the image survived once again, the Carmelite fathers built a special shrine chapel for it above the gate in 1706. Since that year, people come to this chapel daily to recite the litany of Loreto before the image. There are several things about the Virgin of the Gate of Dawn worth noting. One of the most unusual aspects are the crossed hands. In similar icons where Mary is depicted without the Child Jesus, she is normally in an oran position, the attitude of prayer, with arms and hands extended upward or towards Christ. Unusual too are the relatively large robe and veil. Since early Byzantine times, the Virgin has been depicted covered by a flowing floor length robe with a veil showing her hands, face, neck, and sometimes a small part of one ear. In the Ostra Brama icon though, the robe is unusually large. It can be said that the iconography of the image of Our Lady of Ostra Brama is Western, but with strong Eastern Orthodox influences. This is quite common in the Eastern European region, where there is often no clear division between Catholic and Orthodox Christian art. In 1927, after the renovation of the painting and the chapel, a formal ceremony was held in front of the Cathedral of Vilnius in which the icon was crowned. By a special command of Pope Pius XI, it was also given the title 'Mater Misericordiae' (Mother of Mercy). The chapel was renovated in 1931-1932. Since 1936 the Carmelites have been taking care of the shrine chapel again. During the Second World War, the Archbishop of Vilnius decided that the miraculous picture should stay in the town. During the Russian communist occupation of Lithuania the chapel of Ostra Brama remained open. The Mother of Mercy was a powerful symbol in the struggle for Polish and Lithuanian independence. Our Lady of Ostra Brama (Vilnius), Pray for Us!

Our Lady of Siluva, Queen of Lithuania

The people who view this blog seem to like hearing about the different apparitions/titles of our Blessed Mother. I will try now as much as I can to do these kinds of posts. Thanks.
The Blessed Mother comes in a time of need.
In the late 16th century, the Protestants began a following in Lithuania. All property of the Catholic church was either stolen or sold. When the church of Siluva was threatened in 1570, the parish priest decided to collect some of the church's most treasured articles, including the beautiful picture of the Madonna & Child that hung over the Main Altar. He then placed everything in a metal trunk and buried it under a large rock near the church. Shortly later, the church was confiscated by the Protestants. Everything that was Catholic was gone. The beloved picture of the Blessed Mother was gone, too, as far as anyone knew. The poor Catholics in Siluva thought that all hope was lost. But shortly the Blessed Mother herself would come to visit them.
The year was 1608. It was a warm, sunny summer day. Only a few shepherds stayed out in the heat and watched their flocks. As far as the shepherds knew, they were the only ones in the field that day-until they spotted a beautiful young woman standing on a large rock, holding a beautiful child, crying as though someone had just died. One of the youngsters was so startled that he ran straight to the Calvinist teacher of the village, Mikola Fiera, who said it was "the devil trying to lead followers away from the Calvinist faith." News of the apparition spread like wildfire throughout Siluva. The next day, the devout and the curious gathered around the large rock. Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and before them stood the mysterious woman holding the child. She had her head in her right hand, weeping bitterly. No one spoke. No one knew who she was. Shocked by the apparition, the teacher ventured forward and asked "Why are you weeping, dear lady?" The woman stopped crying and lifted her head. She spoke in broken sentences, "Formerly in this place, my Son was adored & honored, but now all that the people do is seed and cultivate the land." Saying this, the woman and the child disappeared in a flash of light. The crowd was shocked. The venerable Catholics of the village knew in their hearts that the Blessed Virgin & the Christ Child had just appeared to them. The Calvinists tried to argue about the apparition, but the people knew that they were wrong. A short time later, the Calvinist teacher mysteriously left the village and never came back.
News of the apparition reached the Bishop, who promptly sent representitives to Siluva to investigate. A certain blind man in the village remembered the old parish priest who had buried all of the precious articles of the former Catholic church under the large rock-the rock upon which the Blessed Virgin stood. The blind man's sight was restored when he showed the Bishop's representitives the spot. The chest was pulled out from under it, and inside was found the portrait of Our Lady and Jesus, totally undamaged. After many years, the land was returned to the Catholic Church, and the faith was once again restored there. The image of Our Lady under the rock became known as "Our Lady of Siluva," and is now enshrined in the grand basilica. She is the patroness of Lithuania.

Notre Dame de Belloch (history,anyone?)

I've always been intrigued by this particular image of Our Lady since I "discovered" her almost two summers ago. It is a statue classified as a Black Madonna in Dorres, France, in a little village called "Belloch." (or Belloc) She is of an Oriental origin, and was found in the 11th century. She is known as Notre Dame de Belloch. If anyone, and I mean anyone, has any information at allabout this peculiar statue of the Blessed Mother & Christ, please, please, leave a comment. I'm desperate for information! Thanks!

Deana Novakowski 1958-2007

In the early morning of December 19, Deana Novakowski passed into eternal life and finally saw the face of Our Lord. She is now at peace and is happy after fighting cancer for the past seven years. Mrs. Novakowski was a much loved and respected colleague, educator, friend and mentor who gave 17 years of service to Northview High School and our community in her role as a guidance counselor. Funeral arrangements are set for 11:00 am on Friday, December 21, at St. Jude Catholic Church in Grand Rapids, MI. Thanks for all of your prayers and kind words. Mrs. "Nova" as we called her is now happily enjoying the company of Our Lord, His Holy Mother & all of the Angels & Saints. God Bless her for everything that she has done! She will be surely missed!

Our Lady of Pellevoisin & the White Scapular

PART ONE

In 1876 the Blessed Virgin appeared, only seven years after her apparition at Pontmain, France, to a sickly servant in Pellevoisin, France. Estelle Faguette, the visionary, was born in 1843. At the beginning of the year 1876, she lay dying at the age of 33 of pulmonary tuberculosis. She was also suffering peritonitis and an abdominal tumor. On 10 February, 1876, her doctor told her she had only a few hours to live. She then gave up. She was going to die & that was that.
But not if the Blessed Mother could help it.
The first apparition of Mary occurred during the night of 14 February, 1876, Estelle was awakened to see the horrible black shape of a demon at the foot of her bed. Frightened, she screamed, but was astonished to see Our Lady standing next to her bed. Our Lady angrily asked the demon what he was doing there, & immediatly it left. Our Lady then lovingly looked upon Estelle and told her to fear nothing, for she was the Queen of Heaven. Our Lady then asked if she was willing to suffer for five more days in honor of Our Lord's five Holy Wounds. On Saturday, she would either be dead or cured. The next night, Estelle was once more awakened by the horrible demon, but Our Lady once again rebuked him. She spoke, saying," Be not afraid, for I am here. My Son is showing His mercy to you. He will let you live, & you will be cured on Saturday."
To be continued...check back tommorrow!

Please Pray for Deana Novakowski

"My first reaction was 'I can't do this.' But if Mrs. Novakowski can go through all that she's gone through, how can I not give back?"

-Northview High School senior Lauren Wernstrom, on hearing she will be singing in the choir at Deana Novakowski's funeral Mass.

Last Monday, Northview High School was informed that one of the school's favorite guidance counselors was dying. Deana Novakowski, who has been fighting ovarian cancer for the past seven years, decided to have the feeding tube keeping her alive removed on December 4. She is expected to pass into eternal life within days. The news today was that she is sleeping all of the time and not doing much else. The Northview Community is soon going to be passing into a rough time. Please keep Mrs. Novakowski in your prayers! She has made peace with God and is ready to go. She has been fighting a long battle, and has decided that there is a better place waiting for her. Please ask God to give her family comfort, as she is expected to pass away before Christmas. Also ask God to welcome her with open arms into heaven. She will be deeply missed by the faculty & staff of Northview High School. Her funeral is planned to be at St. Jude Catholic Church, Grand Rapids. Please pray for Deana Novakowski & her family!

Prayer of Passing for Mrs. Deana Novakowski

God of power and mercy, you have made death itself the gateway to eternal life. Look with love on Deana, and make her one with Your Son in His suffering and death, that, sealed with the blood of Christ, Deana may come before you free from sin. Amen.