Ave Maria

Every now and again I go back to this passage from Chesterton and it just gets better each time

The Memorial feast of Our Lady, Undoer of Knots is celebrated annually on September 28. The Origin In 1615 in Augsburg, Wolfgang and Sophie Langenmantel’s marriage was collapsing. Jesuit Fr. Jakob Rem prayed before Mary with their wedding ribbon, asking her to untie its knots. Tradition says the ribbon became white and smooth, and the couple stayed together. About 1700 their grandson commissioned the famous Baroque painting now in the church of St. Peter am Perlach, Augsburg. It is a feast of hope for people whose problems feel too tangled to fix alone.

A visibly emotional Pope Leo XIV holds back tears at the conclusion of Mass in Metz, the final public engagement of his extraordinary Apostolic Journey to France. What an incredibly positive journey it has been. Leo came to a profoundly secularised nation and said many of the things that desperately needed to be said: he spoke openly of Christ, called Catholics to evangelise, defended the Church’s place in the public square, summoned the young to holiness and reminded France of the Christian inheritance written into her very identity. And in return, he discovered something remarkable: beneath decades of secularisation, France still seems to possess a deep affection for the Church of which she has so long been called the eldest daughter. Now we must pray that these extraordinary days are not merely remembered as beautiful images, but become the beginning of something deeper: renewed confidence in the Catholic faith and a rediscovery of everything Christianity has given, and can still give, to French society. Vive la France! 🇫🇷 Vive le Pape! Vive le Christ Roi! ✝️

Pope Leo prays at the Grotto of the Apparitions in Lourdes. Kneeling in prayer surrounded by thousands of faithful, the Pope asked for “the gift of fraternal harmony” for France, and also entrusted to Mary the prayers of those who are sick and suffering.

1 million French people singing Salve Regina with Pope Leo XIV at Place de la Concorde This is where King Louis XVI was martyred in the French Revolution

Blessed Fulton Sheen, pray for us

What a moment! Pope Leo XIV prays outside of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris as the crowd cheers and sings the “Salve Regina.”

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle

One of the best ways to get happiness and pleasure out of life is to ask ourselves, "How can I please God?" It is the pleasure-seeker who is bored, for all pleasures diminish with repetition. - Ven. Fulton Sheen

The Evil One tries to deceive us into thinking that our temptations and sins have full control over us. Yet, Jesus assures us they do not and he invites us to rely on his power to expel our “demons and unclean spirits.” In our weakness, we find our strength in the Lord!

The Litany of the Saints at the funeral of Pope Saint John Paul II

Ave, Regina caelorum, Ave, Domina Angelorum: Salve, radix, salve, porta Ex qua mundo lux est orta: Gaude, Virgo gloriosa, Super omnes speciosa, Vale, o valde decora, Et pro nobis Christum exora.

“Since God had commanded it, it was necessary that I do it.”- Saint Joan of Arc

Consider seriously how quickly people change, and how little trust is to be had in them; and hold fast to God, who does not change. - St. Teresa of Avila

“When one is convinced that his cause is just, he will fear nothing.” ~ St. John Bosco

"Anxiety is the greatest evil that can befall a soul except sin. God commands you to pray, but he forbids to worry." —Saint Francis de Sales

« Ne rien vouloir et ne rien chercher d'autre, sinon, en toutes choses et par tous les moyens, une plus grande louange et gloire de Dieu Notre Seigneur. » Ignace de Loyola

“The Lord is more eager to forgive than we are to ask.” —Saint John Chrysostom

I welcome with satisfaction the reaching of an agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, which will be signed on Friday, as an encouraging result of patient work in dialogue and negotiation. I express my gratitude to the countries that have worked to facilitate a meeting between the parties and to make this agreement possible. I hope that the agreement may help strengthen mutual trust, security, and stability in the Middle East, promoting paths of dialogue and cooperation among peoples. #Peace

Mary, Mother of God, pray for us