MaryCast Specials #154 ( 11min) Play – Dr. Mark Miravalle talks about the apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes, its connection to the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and how this in turn is connected to Our Lady of all Nations and the dogma of the Coredemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate. Feast day is February 11.

To ask questions regarding Mary, email Dr Mark Miravalle: marycast@airmaria.com

Ave Maria!

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Ave Maria Meditations

O Mary, Immaculate Virgin, again this year, with filial love, we meet at the foot of your image to renew to you the homage of the Christian commu­nity and of the city of Rome. Let us pause in prayer here, following the tradition inaugurated by previous popes, on the solemn day in which the liturgy celebrates your Immac­ulate Conception, a mystery that is a source of joy and hope for all the redeemed.

We greet you and call upon you with the angel’s words: “full of grace” (Luke 1:28), the most beauti­ful name that God himself has called you from eternity. “Full of grace” are you, Mary, full of divine love from the very first moment of your existence, providentially predestined to be Mother of the Redeemer and inti­mately connected to him in the mystery of salvation.

In your Immaculate Conception shines forth the vocation of Christ’s disciples, called to become with his grace, saints and immaculate through love (see Ephesians 1:4). In you shines the dignity of every human being who is always precious in the Creator’s eyes. Those who look to you, All Holy Mother, never lose their serenity, no matter what the hardships of life. Although the experience of sin is a sad one since it disfigures the dig­nity of God’s children, anyone who turns to you discovers the beauty of truth and love and finds the path that leads to the Father’s house.

“Full of grace” are you, Mary, who, welcoming with your Yes the Creator’s plan, opened to us the path of salvation. Teach us also at your school to say our Yes to the Lord’s will. Let it be a Yes that joins with your own Yes, without reser­vations or shadows, a Yes that the Heavenly Father willed to have need of in order to beget the new Man, Christ, the one Savior of the world and of history.

Give us the courage to say No to the deceptions of power, money, pleasure; to dishonest earnings, cor­ruption and hypocrisy, to selfish­ness and violence; No to the Evil One, the deceitful prince of this world; to say Yes to Christ, who alone destroys the power of evil with the omnipotence of love. We know that only hearts converted to Love, which is God, can build a better future for all.

. “Full of grace” are you, Mary!  For all generations your name is a pledge of sure hope. Yes! Because as the great poet, Dante, wrote, for us mortals you are “a source of living hope” (Paradise, XXXIII, 12). Let us come once again as trusting pil­grims to draw faith and comfort, joy and love, safety and peace from this source, the wellspring of your Immaculate Heart.

Virgin “full of grace,” show yourself to be a tender and caring Mother to those who live in this city of yours, so that the true Gospel spirit may enliven and guide their conduct; show yourself a Mother and watchful guardian of Italy and Europe, so that people may draw from their ancient Christian roots fresh vigor to build their present and their future; show yourself a a provident and merciful Mother to the whole world so that, by respect­ing human dignity and rejecting every form of violence and exploita­tion, sound foundations may be laid for the civilization of love.

Show yourself a Mother, espe­cially to those most in need: the defenseless, the marginalized and outcasts, to the victims of a society that all too often sacrifices the human person for other ends and interests. Show yourself, 0 Mary, a Mother of all, and give us Christ, the Hope of the world! Monstra te esse Matrem, 0 Virgin Immaculate, full of grace! Amen!

From Pope Benedict XVI on December 8, 2006

Immaculate Mary, thy praises we sing;
Who reignest in splendor with Jesus our King.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!

In heaven, the blessed thy glory proclaim;
On earth we, thy children, invoke thy fair name.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!

We pray for God’s glory; may His kingdom come;
We pray for His vicar, our father, and Rome.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!

We pray for our Mother, the Church upon earth,
And bless, dearest Lady, the land of our birth.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!

Homily #111108 ( 09min) Play – On this Memorial of Bl. John Duns Scotus, Fr. Bonaventure preaches on the teaching of this Marian Doctor, especially the Immaculate Conception which was formally adopted as a Dogma by Bl. Pope Pius IX in his Bull Ineffabilis Deus on December 8, 1854.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Bl. John Duns Scotus – Opt Mem – Form: OF
Readings: Tuesday 32nd Week of Ordinary Time
1st: wis 2:23-3:9
Resp: psa 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19
Gsp: luk 17:7-10

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Homily #110101 ( 12min) Play – On this Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Fr. Dominic talks about true devotion to Our Lady and how Our Blessed Lord has given us an example of how to be devoted to His and Our Mother.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God – Solemnity – Form: OF
Readings:
1st: num 6:22-27
Resp: psa 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
2nd: gal 4:4-7
Gsp: luk 2:16-21

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Homily #101208 ( 14min) Play – Today is the great Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (Holy Day of Obligation. Fr. Bonaventure explains the background for the prerogatives of Mary that shine a spotlight on the Divinity of Christ, that He is true God and true Man. These include her Perpetual Virginity, Divine Maternity, Immaculate Conception, and the Assumption.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Solemnity – Form: OF
Readings:
1st: gen 3:9-15, 20
Resp: psa 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
2nd: eph 1:3-6, 11-12
Gsp: luk 1:26-38

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The Immaculate Conception

Eternal Love, Spirit of Light and Truth, make a way into my poor mind and allow me to penetrate, as far as it is possible to a wretched creature like myself, into that abyss of grace, of purity, and of holiness, that I may acquire a love of God that is continually renewed, a love of God who, from all eternity planned the greatest of all the masterpieces created by his hands: the Immaculate Virgin Mary.

From all eternity Almighty God took delight in what was to be the most perfect work of his hands, and anticipated this wonderful plan with an outpour­ing of his grace. Man, created innocent, fell by disobeying him; the mark of original sin remained engraved on his fore­head and that of his progeny who will bear its conse­quences until the end of time.

A woman brought ruin, and a woman was to bring salvation. The one, being tempted by a serpent, stamped the mark of sin on the human race; the other was to rise through grace, pure and immacu­late. She would crush the head of the serpent who was helpless before her and who struggled in vain under her heel; for she was conceived without sin, and through her came grace to mankind.

Protected with grace by him who was to be the Savior of mankind that had fallen into sin, she escaped all shadow of evil. She sprang from the mind of God as a pure ray of light, and will shine like a morning star over the human race that turns to her. She will be the sure guide who will direct our steps toward the Divine Sun which is Jesus Christ. He makes her radiant with divine splendor and points to her as our model of purity and sanctity. No creature surpasses her, but all creation defers to her through the grace of him who made her immaculate. He whom she was to carry in her womb was the Son of God participating with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the glory of her conception.

Clothed in light from the moment of her concep­tion, she grew in grace and comeliness. After Almighty God, she is the most perfect of creatures; more pure than the angels; God is indeed well pleased in her, since she most resembles him and is the only worthy repository of his secrets. In the natural order she preceded her Divine Child, Our Lord, but in the divine order Jesus, the Divine Sun, arose before her, and she received from him all grace, all purity, and all beauty.

All is darkness compared to the pure light that renews all creation through him whom she bore in her womb, as the dew on the rose. The Immaculate Conception is the first step in our salvation. Through this singular and unique gift Mary received a profusion of Divine Grace, and through her more.

St. Pio of Pietrelcina

         ”Allow me to praise You, O Most Holy Virgin;   give me strength against your enemies.”

Bl. John’s Defense of the Immaculate Conception

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It was in Paris that Bl. John came to be called as the “Marian Doctor” after he championed the privilege of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. In England, Bl. John taught the truth of this Marian privilege without any opposition. But at Paris the situation was reversed. The academic body of the University admitted only the purification of Mary in the womb of Her mother St. Anne, like St. John the Baptist. Alexander of Hales, St. Bonaventure, St. Thomas Aquinas, the great Parisian Masters, were not able to solve the problem of the universality of original sin and of the efficacy of Christ’s Redemption. They thought that even the Blessed Virgin Mary was included in this universality, and therefore subject to contract the original stain even if only for an instant, so that she may also be redeemed. Scotus in his attempt to introduce and teach a theological position different from that upheld by the university, had to appear in a public dispute before the whole academic body, at the risk of expulsion from the university if he failed to defend his doctrine. Bl. John Scotus prepared himself for the event in prayer and recollection and in total confidence to the Immaculate Virgin, the Seat of Wisdom.

When the fixed day of the dispute arrived, on leaving the convent, he passed before a statue of Our Lady and with suppliant voice entreated her: “Allow me to praise You, O Most Holy Virgin; give me strength against your enemies.” Our Lady responded with a prodigious visible sign: the head of the statue moved and bowed slightly before him. It was as if to say: “Yes I will give you all the strength you need.”

Two Papal legates presided over the dispute. Then with powerful dialectic and with deep and subtle reasoning, Bl. Scotus refuted all the objections of the learned men in attendance, undermining the foundation of every argument contrary to Mary’s Immaculate Conception. Bl. John Scotus pointed out: “The Perfect Redeemer, must in some case, have done the work of redemption most perfectly, which would not be, unless there is some person, at least, in whose regard, the wrath of God was anticipated and not merely appeased.” Bl. John triumphed. From that day the University of Paris took up the same cause to defend this privilege of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

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Defender of the Immaculate Conception

Here you will find a brief biography of Bl. John Duns Scotus, Franciscan Priest and Theologian of the Thirteenth Century. Next to St. Bonaventure, Bl. John is perhaps the most important and influential theologian in the history of the Franciscan Order. He was the founder of the Scotistic School in Theology, and until the time of the French Revolution his thought dominated the Roman Catholic faculties of theology in nearly all the major universities of Europe. He is chiefly known for his theology on the Absolute Kingship of Jesus Christ, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his philosophic refutation of evolution.

Bl. John Duns Scotus: 1266-1308, Feast Day is November 8th

On Wednesday the Holy Father gave a catechesis on Bl. Scotus, which includes a positive assessment of his doctrine on the primary motive for the Incarnation and a clear affirmation that Scotus was not responsible for Voluntarism. This is big news, considering that:

1) while still a Cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger wrote in one of his books that he disagreed with Scotus’ doctrine on the Incarnation; now, as Pope, he seems to have changed his mind and embraced Scotus’ position.

2) in his famous Regensburg Address, the Holy Father made a comment which many people interpreted as criticizing Scotus’ doctrine on the will; in this new catechesis, however, he clearly states the opposite.

In regard to the Absolute Primacy of Christ:

In his audience, celebrated in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope dedicated his catechesis to Blessed Duns Scotus, who was born around the year 1266 in the Scottish village of Duns, entered the Friars Minor and was ordained a priest in 1291. “His intelligence earned him the traditional tile of ‘Doctor subtilis’”, said the Holy Father noting how he taught theology at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Paris. However, his faithfulness to Pope Boniface VIII in the latter’s conflict with Philip IV the Fair led to him leaving France. He returned to Paris in 1305 to teach theology then moved on to Cologne where he died in 1308.

“Because of his fame of sanctity, his cult soon spread within the Franciscan Order, and Venerable John Paul II chose to confirm him as a blessed on 20 March 1993, describing him as a ‘cantor of the incarnate Word and defender of the Immaculate Conception’. In this expression he summarized Duns Scotus’ great contribution to the history of theology”, said Pope Benedict.

He then went on to explain that, “though aware that because of original sin Christ redeemed us with His Passion, Death and Resurrection”, Duns Scotus “makes it clear that the Incarnation is the greatest and most sublime work of the history of salvation, and that it is not conditioned by any contingent circumstance.

In regard to the error of voluntarism (absolute freedom of the will):

The Pope recalled that Duns Scotus had also tackled “the subject of freedom and its relationship with the will and the intellect”. In this context he noted how “an idea of innate and absolute freedom (as developed after Scotus’ time) located in the will which precedes the intellect, both in God and in man, risks leading to the idea of a God Who is not even connected to truth and goodness”.

“Freedom”, the Pope explained, “is authentic and helps in the construction of a truly human civilization only when reconciled with truth. If disconnected from truth, freedom tragically becomes the principle that destroys the inner harmony of human beings, a source of abuse for the strong and the violent, a cause of suffering and mourning. Freedom … grows and is perfected, said Duns Scotus, when man opens himself to God. … When we listen to the divine Revelation, to the Word of God, in order to accept it, then we receive a message which fills our lives with light and hope, and we are truly free”.

Deo Gratias!  Read the whole article here.

The biblical basis for Immaculate Conception of Our Lady and Church Fathers on the Immaculate Conception.