Today is the Feast of our Lady Of Ranson

O God, who by means of the most glorious Mother of Thy Son
was pleased to give new children to Thy Church
for the deliverance of Christ's faithful
from the power of the heathen;
grant, we beseech Thee,
that we who love and honor her as the foundress of so great a work may,
by her merits and intercession,
be ourselves delivered from all sin
and from the bondage of the evil one.
Through the same Christ, our Lord.Amen
The Blessed Virgin appeared in 1218 in three separate visions to St. Peter Nolasco, St. Raymund of Penafort, and James, king of Aragon, asking them to found a religious order ( Mercedarian order ) dedicated to freeing Christian captives from the barbarous Saracens, who at that time held a great part of Spain. The Mercedarians' pious work spread everywhere and produced heroes of charity who collected alms for the ransom of Christians, and who often gave themselves up in exchange for Christian prisoners.

Our Lady of Ransom
Mother of Mercy! Virgin Mary blest
Within whose chaste, young bosom hearts find peace
And finding, know the real content of Rest;
The utter fullness that need never cease
Once one has known the safety of this breast;
Once and then many times when one has erred
And seeks mongst men a pity in the face;
An understanding in the stead of squared
Contempt blunt-meted out from every place.

To whom, then, can we turn and quickly go
Assured of mercy and the mother-strength
To lift us up! To whom, then, can we show
The contrite heart; the firm resolve at length
To keep our equilibrium of soul?
.... oh, foolish question uttered by all men
While Mary's heart-pulse throbs to be their goal
And bleeds its mercy ever and again! Amen

Novena to the Holy Name of Mary

O Immaculate Mary, Virgin Most Powerful, I beseech thee, through that immense power which thou has received from the Eternal Father, obtain for me purity of heart, strength to overcome the enemies of my soul and the special favor which I implore in my present necessity

(here our prayer intention during novena)

Mother most pure, forsake me not, despise not my prayer, and graciously hear me for God's glory, thy honor and the welfare of my soul.

Hail Mary..

O Virgin Mary, my Mother, through that ineffable wisdom bestowed upon thee by the Incarnate Word of God, I humbly beseech thee, obtain for me meekness and  humility of heart, a perfect knowledge of the Divine Will, and strength to accomplish it always.  O Mary, Seat of Wisdom, as a tender Mother lead me on the path of Christian virtue and perfection.  Enlighten and enable me to do what is most pleasing to thy Beloved Son and to obtain my petition.

Hail Mary..

O Mother of Mercy, Mother of penitent sinners, I stand before thee sinful and sorrowful, beseeching thee through the immense love given thee by the Holy Ghost for us poor sinners, obtain for me true and perfect contrition for my sins, which I hate and detest with all my heart because I love God.  Mother most merciful, help me in my present necessity.  Turn then thy eyes of mercy towards us, O Clement, O Loving, O Sweet Virgin Mary.

Hail Mary..

+Amen

Novena in honor of the Birth of Holy Mary , the Immaculate Mother of God

Holy Child Mary of the royal house of David, Queen of the Angels, 
Mother of grace and love, I greet thee with all my heart.
Obtain for me the grace to love the Lord faithfully during
all the days of my life. Obtain for me, too, a great devotion
to thee, who are the first creature of God's love.

Hail Mary 

O heavenly Child Mary, who like a pure dove was born
immaculate and beautiful, true prodigy of the wisdom of
God, my soul rejoices in thee. Oh! Do help me to preserve
the angelic virtue of purity at the cost of any sacrifice.

Hail Mary

Hail, lovely and Holy Child, spiritual garden of delight, where,on the day of the Incarnation, the tree of life was planted, 
assist me to avoid the poisonous fruit of vanity and pleasures of the world. Help me to engraft into my soul the thoughts, feelings, and virtues of thy divine Son. 

Hail Mary

Hail, admirable Child Mary, Mystical Rose, closed garden, 
open only to the heavenly Spouse. O Lily of paradise, 
make me love the humble and hidden life; 
let the heavenly Spouse find the gate of my heart always open 
to the loving calls of His graces and inspiration. 

Hail Mary


Holy Child Mary, mystical dawn, gate of heaven, 
thou are my trust and hope. 
O powerful advocate, from thy cradle stretch out thy hand, 
support me on the path of life. 
Make me serve God with ardor and constancy until death and so reach an eternity with thee.

Hail Mary


Prayer to the Blessed Child Mary

Blessed Child Mary, 
destined to be the Mother of God 
and our loving Mother, 
by the heavenly graces thou lavish upon us, 
mercifully listen to my supplications. 
In the needs which press upon me from every side 
and especially in my present tribulation, 
I place all my trust in thee. 

O Holy Child Mary, 
by the privileges granted to thee alone 
and by the merits which thou have acquired, 
show that the source of spiritual favours 
and the continuous benefits 
which thou dispense are inexhaustible, 
because thy power with the Heart of God is unlimited. 

Deign through the immense profusion of graces 
with which the Most High has enriched thee 
from the first moment of thy Immaculate Conception, 
grant me, O Celestial Child, my humble and earnest petition, 
and I shall eternally praise 
the goodness of thy Immaculate Heart.Amen

Novena in the Honor of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God

Please say a "Hail Mary" after each of the salutations to Our Lady. Direct, we beseech Thee, O Lord, our actions by Thy grace and assistance, that our every prayer and work may begin from Thee and end with Thee.
1. Blessed be that moment, O Mary, when the angels took thee up into Heaven. Hail Mary
2. Blessed be that moment, O Mary, when thy Son called thee to Heaven. Hail Mary
3. Blessed be that moment, O Mary, when the whole heavenly court met thee in Heaven. Hail Mary
4. Blessed be that moment, O Mary, when thou were received with such great honor into Heaven. Hail Mary 
5. Blessed be that moment, O Mary, when thou were placed at the right hand of thy Son in Heaven. Hail Mary
6. Blessed be that moment, O Mary, when thou were crowned with such great honor in Heaven. Hail Mary
7. Blessed be that moment, O Mary, when thou were proclaimed the Daughter, Mother, and Spouse of God in Heaven. Hail Mary
 8. Blessed be that moment, O Mary, when thou were proclaimed Queen of the whole Heavenly court. Hail Mary
9. Blessed be that moment, O Mary, when all the Angels and Saints rendered homage to thee in Heaven. Hail Mary 
10. Blessed be that moment, O Mary, when thou were chosen to be our Protectress in Heaven. Hail Mary
11. Blessed be that moment, O Mary, when thou began to intercede for us in Heaven. Hail Mary
12. Blessed be that moment, O Mary, when thou will mercifully receive us into Heaven. Hail Mary  Amen

August 5 , Our Lady of Snows

The feast day of Our Lady of the Snow is also the day of the dedication of the Basilica of Santa Maria of the Snows, or Santa Maria Maggiore [Saint Mary Major] in Rome.

Since the 7th century it was known also as Maria ad Præsepe because the Basilica has some pieces of wood from the Manger in which Our Lord was born. The ceiling of the Basilica is gilded with the first gold that came from the Americas.
This was the first church in Rome to be dedicated to Our Lady. In the 4th century Pope Liberius added a lateral hall to a large existing hall of a Roman patrician palace and dedicated it to the cult; for this reason it was called the Basilica Liberii [Liberian Basilica]. Pope Sixtus III (432-440) restored it almost a century later and dedicated it to the Virgin, who the Council of Ephesus had defined as Theotokos, that is, the Mother of God. It was then that the Basilica received the name of Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Maria Mayor.

A beautiful legend tells us that Our Lady appeared in dreams simultaneously to Pope Liberius and to the Roman patrician who owned the property where the church would be erected. She commanded the Pope to build a basilica on Esquiline Hill on the site that would be covered with snow the next day. Indeed, during that night of August 4-5, 352, in the very heat of the summer, a miraculous snow fell on the summit of the Hill, indicating the place for the church to be built. This is why this basilica is also called Our Lady of the Snow.

The patrician had a similar dream indicating that he should donate the palace and land for the church to be built. Our Lady also told him that she would send the snow as a sign.

To commemorate the Miracle of the Snow, every August 5th a cascade of white petals descends from the coffered ceiled onto the altar place during the religious festivities.

It was in this church that one Christmas night Our Lady placed the Divine Infant into the arms of St. Cajetan of Thiene. It was here on another Christmas night that St. Ignatius of Loyola celebrated his first Mass. In this church, St. Pius V prayed the Rosary that obtained for the Catholic warriors the victory of Lepanto. There is a chapel in the Basilica that has a picture of Our Lady that, according to tradition, was painted by St. Luke. St. Charles Borromeo used to pray often in front of this Madonna, and in testimony of his gratitude to her, he wrote the Rule of the Canons of Santa Maria Maggiore.
This feast day tells us of the importance of both tradition and the legend.

Let us pray to Our Lady that under this very poetic invocation of Our Lady of the Snow, she will help us to love and fight for the sacred Traditions of the Church and open our souls to the most astonishing miracles during the days of the chastisement predicted at Fatima.

Prayer to the Immaculate Heart ~ 1943 Raccolta-- An indulgence of 500 days ~

O Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of God and our Mother;
Immaculate Heart most worthy of love, in which the adorable Trinity is ever well-pleased, worthy of the veneration and love of all the Angels and of all men;
Immaculate Heart most like to the Heart of Jesus, of which thou art the perfect image; Immaculate Heart, full of goodness, ever compassionate toward our miseries;
deign to melt our icy hearts and grant that they may be wholly changed into the likeness of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, our divine Savior.
Pour into them the love of thy virtues, enkindle in them that divine fire with which thou thyself dost ever burn.
In thee let Holy Church find a safe shelter; protect her and be her dearest refuge, her tower of strength, impregnable against every assault of her enemies.
Be thou the way which leads to Jesus, and the channel, through which we receive all the graces needful for our salvation.
Be our refuge in time of trouble, our solace in the midst of trial, our strength against temptation, our haven in persecution, our present help in every danger, and especially at the hour of death, when all hell shall let loose against us its legions to snatch away our souls, at that dread moment, that hour so full of fear, whereon our eternity depends.
Ah, then, most tender Virgin, make us to feel the sweetness of thy motherly Immaculate heart, and the might of thine intercession with Jesus, and open to us a safe refuge in that very fountain of mercy, whence we may come to praise Him with thee in paradise, world without end. Amen.