Nov. 3 BLESSED Solanus Casey

 

Blessed Solanus Casey (1870-1957)

November 3 / July 30

Bernard Francis Casey (nicknamed "Barney") was born on November 25, 1870, on a farm in Oak Grove, Wisconsin. He was the sixth of 16 children of Bernard James Casey and Ellen Elizabeth Murphy, both Irish immigrants. Bernard was baptized on December 18, 1870. The family lived in a three-room log cabin on a farm.

At age 17, he dropped out of school and left home to earn money, working as a logger in a lumberyard, a hospital orderly, and a streetcar operator. While employed as a prison guard in Minnesota, he befriended the Younger brothers, who were former accomplices of the outlaw Jesse James. During this period, he proposed marriage to a young girl, but the relationship ended when her mother suddenly sent her away to a boarding school.

At the age of 21 he entered St. Francis High School Seminary in Milwaukee—where he found studies very difficult. He left there and, while praying before a statue of Our Lady, heard a female voice tell him, “Go to Detroit!” It was on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, December 8^th. So in 1897 he joined the Capuchins in Detroit on Christmas Eve. He took the name Solanus, after Saint Francis Solanus (San Francisco de Solano).

On July 24, 1904, he was ordained as a “simplex” priest. Because he was judged to be weak in the knowledge of theology, Father Solanus was not given permission to hear confessions or to preach.  A Capuchin who knew him well said this annoying restriction “brought forth in him a greatness and a holiness that might never have been realized in any other way.” During his 14 years as porter and sacristan in Yonkers, New York, the people there recognized him as a fine speaker. “For, though he was forbidden to deliver doctrinal sermons,” writes his biographer, James Patrick Derum, “he could give inspirational talks or “feverinos,” as the Capuchins termed them.” (from Porter of St. Bonaventure’s).

Fr. Solanus was also known for quirky habits such as playing his harmonica to the monastery bees; for singing in a loud squeaky voice as he played his violin; and for eating his food all mixed together as a penance. His breakfast might consist of cereal, prune juice, coffee, and milk, all in the same bowl.

Father Solanus served at parishes in Manhattan and Harlem before returning to Detroit, where he was porter and sacristan for 20 years at St. Bonaventure Monastery. Solanus is known for helping to start the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in 1931 during the Great Depression, which to this day cares for Detroit’s poor.  Every Wednesday afternoon he conducted services for the sick, which were very well attended. Many people considered him instrumental in cures and other blessings they received. “Blessed be God in all God’s designs” was one of his favorite expressions.

He soon became renowned as “the doorkeeper” who gave gentle counsel and miraculous intercession. He would listen to anyone at any time, day or night. People would line up for blocks just to have a moment with him. He told them to “thank God ahead of time.” One story of his miraculous intercession is told about a friar who came to see Solanus on his way to have emergency dental work done. Fr. Solanus blessed him and told him to trust God. While the friar was at the dentist, a lady who came to visit the monastery brought Fr. Solanus two ice cream cones. Too busy to eat them, Fr. Solanus shoved the cones into his desk drawer, much to the dismay of his secretary. After more than half an hour, the friar returned from the dentist, his tooth found miraculously healthy. He went to thank Father Solanus, who pulled out perfectly frozen ice cream cones from his drawer on the hot summer day, which he offered to the friar to celebrate.

Due to failing health in 1946, he was transferred to the Capuchin novitiate of St. Felix in Huntington, Indiana, where he lived until 1956. This was supposed to be designed as retirement for him, but Solanus was not the retiring type! He suffered from a skin condition nicknamed St. Anthony’s Fire that left his skin highly irritated and scaly. He returned to Detroit in January 1956 and died on July 31, 1957. An estimated 20,000 people passed by his coffin before burial. 

At the funeral Mass, the Franciscan Provincial Father Gerard said: “His was a life of service and love for people like me and you. When he was not himself sick, he nevertheless suffered with and for you that were sick. When he was not physically hungry, he hungered with people like you. He had a divine love for people. He loved people for what he could do for them—and for God, through them.”

In 1960 a Father Solanus Guild was formed in Detroit to aid Capuchin seminarians. By 1967 it had grown to 5000 members, many of whom were grateful recipients of Solanus’s practical advice and his comforting assurance that God would not abandon them in their trials.

The cause for his sainthood commenced a few years after his death; he was officially recognized as Servant of God in 1982 and was declared Venerable in 1995. In September 2012, Paula Medina Zarate, a Panamanian visiting Detroit, walked into the Solanus Casey Center. Unfamiliar with Casey, she asked why people were gathered around his tomb. Told that he had been a healer, Medina Zarate knelt at the tomb and prayed for the health of the people in her village. She herself was suffering from ichthyosis vulgaris, a severe skin disease that restricted her mobility. She immediately felt a rush of heat, and her skin started clearing up overnight. After this miraculous healing attributed to him was approved by Pope Francis in 2017, he was beatified at Ford Field in Detroit on November 18, 2017.

From a letter that he wrote to his brother, Father Maurice Casey:

“God could have established the Church under supervision of angels that have no faults or weaknesses. But who can doubt that as it stands today, consisting of and under the supervision of poor sinners—successors to the ‘poor sinner fisherman of Galilee’—the Church is a more outstanding miracle than any other way?”

 

 

Prayer for Canonization of Blessed Solanus Casey

O God, I adore you. I give myself to you. May I be the person you want me to be, and may your will be done in my life today.

I thank you for the gifts you gave Father Solanus. If it is your holy will, bless us with the canonization of Father Solanus so that others may imitate and carry on his love for all the poor and suffering of our world.

As he joyfully accepted your divine plans, I ask you, according to your holy will, to hear my prayer for… [your intention] …through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

“Blessed be God in all God’s Designs!”

 

Imprimatur: The Most Reverend Allen H. Vigneron, Archbishop of Detroit, May 2017

Oct. 12 a busy day

At the center of the altar reredos at Mission San Fernando Rey, right under the statue of Saint Ferdinand, is Our Lady of the Pillar (Spanish: Nuestra Señora del Pilar).

Back in July for the feast of St. James, I wrote about the connection of St. James or Santiago with Spain, and how this statue of Our Lady in Zaragoza commemorates the apparition of Mary to James while he was there as a missionary to Spain. James is thus a patron of Spain and of King Ferdinand, as a part of the Reconquista or reclaiming of territory within España after Islamic occupation. This is the earliest Marian apparition and would technically be bilocation, as Jesus’ mother is thought to be alive in AD 40, when this took place.

This feast of Our Lady is celebrated on October 12^th, the day that Christopher Columbus's expedition arrived in the Americas. He went ashore at Guanahaní, an island in the Bahamas, on October 12, 1492, and was very aware that this was Our Lady’s feast day.  This date was chosen in 1892 to highlight Italian-Americans (a predominately Catholic group who had been greatly persecuted as immigrants) and their contributions to USA history and culture by highlighting Columbus.

October 12^th is also the celebration of Mary under the title of Our Lady of Aparecida (Portuguese: Nossa Senhora Aparecida), who is patroness of the country of Brazil. In 1717 a small statue of Mary was recovered by fisherman and that image is now kept in the São Paulo Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida. Aparecida means "she who appeared".

October 12^th is also the date of two important youthful deaths. In 1998 Matthew Wayne Shephard succumbed to the brutal injuries he had sustained six days earlier on the night of Oct. 6. He was 21 years old at the time of this vicious anti-gay hate crime. His cremated remains were eventually buried in 2018 at the Episcopal Washington National Cathedral. In 2005 Saint Carlo Acutis died of leukemia at age 15 and this is his saintly feast day. Carlo is buried in Assisi, Italy at the Franciscan Santuario della Spogliazione (Shrine of the Renunciation) inside the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore. This shrine commemorates when Francis gave his clothes back to his parents, embraced poverty, and said, “My only Father from now on is Our Father, who art in heaven!” It seems very poignant that these two share a date in death, on a day that is so filled with controversy!

Canadians celebrate this day as Thanksgiving. Mexicans celebrate it as the Day of the Race. October 12^th has also been named as a “Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity” and “Indigenous People’s Day” and “Native American Day of the Race/Dia de la Raza,” also “Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity” in an attempt to address the genocide of First Nations people in the colonizing and destructive effects that followed after Columbus.

So, a lot is invested in this one particular day.

It’s a federal holiday. It’s a feast of Our Lady. It has some relevance in Franciscan spirituality. And as any day on the Catholic calendar, it celebrates those who have gone before us in faith. But it is also an Ember day, in a renewed sense of that tradition, in order to do penance and seek forgiveness for past wrongs. 

Sept. 15 Our Lady of Sorrows/Mater Dolorosa/Our Lady of Solitude

 

Our Lady of Solitude is another aspect of the Sorrowful Mother. Most especially seen in Mary on Holy Saturday, alone following the crucifixion. Devotion under this title developed in Spain and Portugal, where several different statues can be found promoting this title of the BVM. 

Mission Soledad is named after Our Mother of Sorrows under this alternative title of Solitude. (Mission Delores in San Francisco is nicknamed as such based on a creek that used to run nearby, but it is officially named after San Francis of Assisi, however.) Today, Mission Soledad is aptly named, as the archaeological remains and the rebuilt replica chapel sit off isolated by themselves in the midst of farmland.

Sept. 3 Mother of the Good Shepherd

 

I set up a new Wikipedia page for this particular title of the BVM!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_of_the_Good_Shepherd (external link)

Our Lady, Mother of the Good Shepherd (French: Notre Dame de Brebières), or The Divine Shepherdess (French: Le Divine Bergère) is a title of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The feast day associated with this title is September 3.

Two Origins

The title is based on a statue found in the town of Albert, Somme, France. The history of this French source of the title dates back to legendary sources in the 12th century of a statue miraculously found by a shepherd.

Saint Colette, a Franciscan Poor Clare, can be credited for helping to spread of the fame of Our Lady of the Divine Shepherd at Brebieres. At age fourteen she was somewhat short and had a delicate constitution. Seeking a remedy through the favor of the Blessed Virgin, Saint Colette prayed to Our Lady of Brebieres. She not only obtained vigor and good health, she also found that several inches were miraculously added to her height.

The devotion also is found in the 18th-century writings of Capuchin Franciscans in Spain: In the year 1703, Brother Isidore of Sevilla, a great popular preacher, was inspired to be accompanied in his mission by a banner with a particular representation of the Virgin Mary: dressed in the humble clothes of a shepherdess, sitting on a rock, under a tree, wearing an ordinary wide-brimmed hat, and with some lambs portrayed around her.

A pious devotion developed around this portrayal of Mary and spread first in Spain and later in Latin America. The devotion to the "Shepherdess of Souls," which popularly became known as the "Divine Shepherdess," expanded rapidly with the creation of many groups of the faithful linked to her throughout Spain. They became known as Mary’s Flock.

The Capuchin province of Central Canada is named after Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd. To this day, all Capuchin missions around the world are entrusted to Our Lady of the Good Shepherd:

"We entrust this great undertaking to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd, who gave birth to Christ, the light and salvation of all nations, and who, on the morning of Pentecost, overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, presided in prayer at the dawn of evangelization."

Feast day

While this feast is not celebrated on the universal calendar of the Catholic Church, some Spanish-speaking countries and the Philippines have various traditions and processions connected to this devotion, in addition to the French devotion. Some would commemorate this title on the Saturday before the Third Sunday of Easter, commonly called "Sunday of the Good Shepherd."

August 27 The Seven Joys of Mary-The Franciscan Crown

 

One unique devotion of the Franciscans is a seven-decade rosary known as the Franciscan Crown. While the traditional rosary consists of 5 decades that meditate on 15 mysteries (or 20 if you pray the Luminous mysteries), the 7-decade Franciscan “Rosary” is a chaplet consisting of seven decades, with each decade describing a particular joy from the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The story of the Rosary of the Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin dates back to the early 15th century. A pious young man named James had been accustomed to adorning a beautiful statue of Mary with a crown of flowers, which he had picked and woven himself. He later entered the Franciscan Order, but either because of a lack of time or permission, he was no longer able to continue this devotion. Distraught because of this, he decided to abandon the religious life and return to the world.

Our Lady then appeared to him in 1422 and convinced him not to leave the Order. She told him that he should not be downcast because he was no longer permitted to adorn her statue, for she would teach him a way to give her honor which was much more pleasing and meritorious. Instead of a crown of flowers which quickly wither, he was to weave a crown of prayers, and these prayers could be offered at any moment. She then taught him the Rosary of the Seven Joys, adding that these prayers would not only form a more acceptable crown, but they would also yield innumerable graces for himself and others.

Among the Friars Minor, the promotion of this devotion is attributed to St. Bonaventure, BL. Cherubin of Spoleto, St. John Capistrano, and St. Bernadine of Siena, to mention a few. St. Bernadine is said to have had a vision of the Virgin Mary when he was meditating on the seven joys of Mary. It is especially appropriate to pray the Franciscan Crown in community every Saturday. 

The Seven Joys are:

1) The Annunciation, in which the Immaculate Virgin Mary conceives of Jesus by the Holy Spirit

2) The Visitation with Elizabeth

3) The Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ into the World

4) The Adoration of the Magi

5) The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple

6) The Appearance of Christ to His Mother Mary after the Resurrection

7) The Assumption and Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth

It would seem that Our Lady had more than seven joys in her life, with differing lists that can be found. Note the uniqueness of the Adoration of the Magi and the legendary Appearance of Christ to His Mother Mary after the Resurrection. Another approach is to combine the Nativity with the Adoration of the Magi (#3) in order to make room for (#4) Presentation & Purification in the Temple (as a joyful event rather than a sorrow). 

An illustration by Lucas Cranach the Elder from 1505-20 is very similar but switches out the Visitation in favor of the Coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost:

1. Annunciation

2. Birth of Jesus

3. Visit from the Magi

4. Finding in the Temple

5. Resurrection appearance to his mother Mary

6. Pentecost Descent of the Holy Spirit

7. Coronation in Heaven 

Despite this abundance of joyfulness, devotion to the Mother of Sorrows and her seven sorrowful events would seem to be more popular nowadays. BTW: The official Servite chaplet of seven sorrows is technically seven groups of seven Hail Mary’s each, with no Pater Nosters included. Because of the same basis of seven, the Franciscan Crown can be used to pray the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary during Lent.

The Seven Sorrows are:  

1.    The prophecy of Simeon

2.    The flight to Egypt

3.    The loss of the Child Jesus for three days

4.    Mary meets Jesus carrying the cross

5.    The Crucifixion of Jesus

6.    The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross and placed in his mother’s arms.

7.    The body of Jesus is placed in the tomb

How to Pray the Crown Rosary

The Franciscan Crown Rosary begins quite simply by stating the first joy and then praying one Our Father and ten Hail Mary’s while meditating upon it. This same procedure is then followed for the other six joys. Even though it is common practice nowadays to add the Glory Be at the end of each decade, and even the Fatima Prayer, these are not required. It is customary to finish by adding two Hail Mary’s in honor of the 72 years that Our Lady is said to have lived on earth. Conclude with one Our Father and one Hail Mary for the intentions of the Pope, proper to an indulgence.

Finding the Franciscan Crown where you might least expect it!

For all the uproar over the presence of a cross on the seal of the County of Los Angeles, and the numerous revisions it went through, the seal of the City of Los Angeles contains religious imagery as well. It contains the Franciscan Crown in the inner set of beads: Seven decades with seven larger beads to indicate the mysteries. A subtle acknowledgment of the Franciscan missionaries and the Catholic roots of the “City of the Angels”!!!

August 22 The Queenship of Mary

 August 22: Celebrating the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven & Earth!

August is very much a “Marian” month, like that of May, with feastdays of Our Lady scattered throughout. The 22nd is one of those days celebrating Mary’s heavenly presence seven days after the Assumption on the 15th.  Add in: August 5^th Saint Mary Major Basilica & Our Lady of the Snows; Our Lady of Knock, Ireland on the 21^st; Our Lady of the Goldenheart of Beauraing, Belgium on 8/22; and Our Lady of Czestochowa, the Black Madonna of Poland on August 26^th, along with the two Franciscan celebrations of Our Lady of the Angels of the Little Portion (Portiuncula) on 8/2 and The Seven Joys of Mary (Franciscan Crown) on August 27^th. You see why it is a very significant “Marian” month. The traditional devotion of the month is to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Two of the California Missions are named after the Blessed Virgin Mary: La Soledad/Our Mother of Sorrows and La Purisima/the Immaculate Conception, which is a theological concept very much championed and promoted by Franciscan theologians. And so I include within this blog an essay about Padre Serra and his Marian devotion from the California Missions Pictorial booklet. (Just click on the image to enlarge it for reading.) Mary’s presence can be found at each of the CA missions, whether as Mother & Child Madonna or under the titles of Our Lady of Refuge or Our Lady of Loreto or Our Lady of Guadalupe (the three most popular).

Marian devotion of the Franciscan missionaries echoes that of St. Francis of Assisi, as is evidenced by the Mother Church of the Orders being Our Lady of the Angels of the Little Portion. In his Second Life of St. Francis, 198, Thomas of Celano describes the love of St. Francis for the Mother of Jesus as “inexpressible,” for “it was she who made the Lord of majesty our brother.” Francis composed this “Salutation to Our Lady:”

Hail, O Lady, holy Queen.
Mary, holy Mother of God:
You are the virgin made church
and the one chosen by the most holy Father in heaven.
God has consecrated you with the most holy beloved Son
and with the Holy Spirit the Paraclete. 

In you there was and is all the fullness of grace and every good.

Hail, His Palace!

Hail, His Tabernacle!

Hail, His Home!

Hail, His Robe!

Hail, His Handmaid!

Hail, His Mother!

And hail all you holy virtues

            which through the grace and light of the Holy Spirit

            are poured into the hearts of the faithful

            so that from their faithless state

            you may make them [and us] faithful to God.

(click on the image to enlarge for reading)

July 25 St. James the Greater in Spain

 

Saint James (and St. Christopher) with Fray Luis Jayme, OFM, CA protomartyr

July 25

St. James the Greater in Spain

1.       Yes, we have St. James traveling all the way to Spain on an evangelical mission.

2.       While there, he receives a mystical visit from Mary, the mother of Jesus.

3.       The Bible records his death in Jerusalem in the book of Acts.  King Herod Agrippa had James executed "by the sword," most likely indicating beheading.

4.       Somehow his remains or relics made their way back to Spain!

“Santiago” is derived from the Latin Sancti Iacobi, with Jacob being the equivalent of James.  Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica is the reputed Spanish burial place of Saint James the Great, one of the apostles and among the most intimate circle of Jesus Christ (Peter, James & John). This James is the brother of John, with “greater” or “older” to distinguish from the other apostle James (the Less). The basilica has historically been a place of Christian pilgrimage on the Way of St. James since the Early Middle Ages. The scallop or "cockle” shell is the primary symbol of St. James and the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. It is also a symbol of baptism, used in decoration. Although there is no California Mission named after St. James, his importance to Spanish national spirituality should be noted, and the scallop shell can be found in mission artwork.

Santiago Matamoros or St. James the Moor-slayer is another Spanish title of Saint James the Great/Santiago de Compostela. As a patron saint of Spain, he plays a role in the Reconquista or reclaiming of territory within España after Islamic occupation. (See for example, St. Ferdinand, May 30!)  The iconography of James Matamoros was used in the Spanish colonization of the Americas as a rival force to the indigenous gods, and protector of Spaniards from the indigenous peoples of the Americas. He was depicted as a conquistador. ¡Santiago! or ¡Santiago y cierra España! has been the historical battle cry of Spanish armies.

Note that Our Lady of the Pillar (Spanish: Nuestra Señora del Pilar) is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the context of the traditional belief that Mary, while living in Jerusalem, supernaturally appeared to the Apostle James the Greater in AD 40 while he was preaching in what is now Spain. Those who adhere to this belief consider this appearance to be the only recorded instance of Mary exhibiting the mystical phenomenon of bilocation. Among Catholics, it is also considered the first Marian apparition and is unique because it occurred while Mary was still living on Earth.

The apparition is enshrined in Zaragoza, Spain, with a statue of the Madonna and Child that sits atop a pillar. The feast of Our Lady is celebrated on October 12^th, the day that Christopher Columbus's expedition arrived in the Americas. He went ashore at Guanahaní, an island in the Bahamas, on October 12, 1492.

I also take this occasion to highlight Fray Luis Jaime, OFM, protomartyr of California, who died at Mission San Diego on November 5, 1775. Jaime is a form of the name James. 

July 5 Our Lady of Refuge (Refuge of Sinners)

 

Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners (Latin: Refugium Peccatorum) is a traditional devotional title for the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic Church, emphasizing her maternal role as a powerful intercessor, protector, and source of mercy for those who have strayed from God. Taken from the ancient Litany of Loreto, the title frames Mary as a spiritual "safe haven" from temptation, vice, and despair. Two ways of depicting her have emerged: the older style is of the royally crowned Madonna and toddler Jesus. This image can be found at several of the California Franciscan missions. The second, which is also seen as Mother of Mercy, is of Mary’s mantle sheltering or perhaps even “hiding” the Faithful within it.

I am posting an essay from the Archdiocese of San Francisco website. Ironically, in 2026, July 5^th falls on a Sunday, and so Our Lady misses out this year!

Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners: the forgotten patroness of California

By Father Vincent Woo and Jacek Nowicki -posted July 5, 2025

While it is commonly known that St. Junípero Serra was instrumental in bringing the Catholic faith to California, most are unaware that Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners is actually the patroness of [both] California[s]. In fact, the feast of Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners is an obligatory memorial that should be celebrated in all California dioceses on July 5 each year, unless it falls on a Sunday. The purpose of this article is to introduce the historical background of this devotion, its spiritual significance and its pastoral application.

In 1843, the first bishop of the Californias, Francisco García Diego y Moreno, designated Our Lady of Refuge as the patroness of the new diocese, alongside St. Francis of Assisi and St. Francis de Sales as secondary patrons. However, these patrons were not automatically transferred to the newly established Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1853. The papal bull establishing the Archdiocese did not indicate a patron. Evidence suggests that this feast continued to be observed on July 4 from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. However, from 1907 to the early 1980s, this feast practically disappeared from the archdiocesan liturgical calendars.

In 1981, in a memo to all the bishops of California, Cardinal Timothy Manning (then Archbishop of Los Angeles) wrote that the patronage of California under the title of Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners, had never been revoked. As the majority of California bishops favored the restoration of this feast, they petitioned the Vatican for authorization to observe the feast of Our Lady of Refuge on July 5 as an obligatory memorial in all California dioceses. Permission was granted in 1982, and the observance of this memorial began to reappear in the annual Ordo of all [upper] California dioceses beginning in 1983.

What is the spiritual significance of this feast? St. Alphonsus Liguori, in his book “The Glories of Mary,” wrote that in ancient times, there were cities of refuge where criminals who fled for protection would be exempt from their deserved punishments. In a similar way, Our Lady is the refuge of sinners, offering protection and intercession for all who seek her help, no matter how grave their sins. St. Thomas of Villanova said: “O Mary, we poor sinners know no other refuge than thee, for thou art our only hope, and on thee we rely for our salvation.”

Similarly, St. Antoninus related the story of a grave sinner who had a vision of himself before God at his particular judgment. The devil accused him, presenting a catalog of his sins, which outweighed all his good works on the scales of divine justice. However, Our Lady extended her hand, placing it on the balance, tipping it in favor of her devotee. Understanding that she would obtain his pardon if he changed his life, the sinner was entirely converted after this vision.

It is important to remember that devotion to Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners does not exempt us from the need to reform our lives. While she is our advocate, we must also do our part. How can we do this? The best way is to frequent the Sacrament of Reconciliation regularly. Every time we examine our conscience before confession, we should ask for Our Lady’s intercession. Apart from confession, devotions such as the daily rosary are also crucial.

[Everyone] can promote devotion to Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners, especially on her feast day. On July 5, this obligatory memorial should be celebrated in parishes throughout California. The Ordo states that the liturgical texts can be taken from Holy Mary, Queen and Mother of Mercy in the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary…

 

May all Catholics in California rediscover the spiritual significance of Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners, the patroness of California.

Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners, pray for us!

Father Vincent Woo is priest-secretary to Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone and assistant professor at St. Patrick’s Seminary & University, and Nowicki is the Archivist for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

retrieved from https://sfarch.org/our-lady-refuge-of-sinners/

Sacred and Immaculate Hearts

 Sacred and Immaculate Hearts-Jesus and Mother Mary

Although not explicitly Franciscan in origin, the contemporary devotion to the Twin Hearts on the Friday and Saturday following the Solemn Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is deeply Scriptural and resonates within Franciscan spirituality. In his encyclical Dilexit Nos, Pope Francis points out the theological contributions of Saint Bonaventure in paragraphs 106-108. He writes that Bonaventure “presents the heart of Christ as a source of the sacraments and of grace and urges that our contemplation of that heart become a relationship between friends, a personal encounter of love.”

In paragraph 110 when writing about feminine encounter with Christ, Pope Francis includes the Franciscan Saint Angela of Foligno (3^rd order). “A number of holy women, in recounting their experiences of encounter with Christ, have spoken of resting in the heart of the Lord as the source of life and interior peace.” In paragraph 177 he quotes Saint Bernard, “in exhorting us to union with the heart of Christ, draws upon the richness of this devotion to call for a conversion grounded in love.”

This year the optional Saturday memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) falls on June 13^th, which is the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua. It thus bumps St. Anthony into an optional status as well, as two extremely popular devotional saints vie for attention, so to speak. Just an example of how several devotional items or issues can “stack up” on any particular day. That is especially true of Saturdays, which are traditionally devoted to BVM. Or when the Sunday celebration “overtakes” the date of a saint. Whatever choices are made, our eyes ultimately (should) land on Jesus, the source of all holiness and grace. Or as I saw it put into a slogan: "Two Saints. One Mission. Lead Souls to Jesus."

May 25 & 26 and Marian May with a double apparition!

The emphasis is on Pentecost this weekend, which most years (though not always), falls within the month of May. The Marian aspect of this celebration is evident in the days surrounding the celebration. On the Saturday prior, Our Lady of the Cenacle is remembered. And on the Monday following, according to Pope Francis' direction, Mary is honored under the title of Mother of the Church, something very much promoted with the Second Vatican Council. The date of May 24th is traditionally celebrated as Mary, Help of Christians, an ancient title first described by John Chrysostom in AD 345. This devotion was particularly promoted by Don Bosco and the Salesians. 

And on May 26th is a dual veneration in Italy: Our Lady of Piné, Madonna of Montagnaga is a little-known but authenticated apparition of Mary that occurred between 1729 and 1730. It is related to the apparition of Our Lady of the Fountain in Caravaggio from May 26, 1432, referring to the village, not the artist, but this is the town where the artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio grew up.  A painting of the 1432 appearance is at the center of the story of Mary's reappearance to another young woman 297 years later in Montagnaga. This is yet another significant Marian date in May. Here is some clarity between these two occurrences:

The first apparition was reported by Giovanetta, daughter of Pietro Vaccli and wife of Francesco Varoli. She said that on 26 May 1432, Mary appeared in a field in Caravaggio, in Northern Italy, in the region of Milan. The Virgin Mary announced peace to Giovanetta in her family, among the neighboring warring states, and reconciliation between the Church in the East and West, through the Council of Florence (1436—1445). As proof of her Marian apparition, the Virgin left the imprint of her feet on the stone where she stood. A spring of water sprang forth from under the stone, purported to be miraculous. 

The Virgin, dressed in white with a rosary in her hand, appeared on May 14, 1729, and four other times to shepherdess Domenica Targa. The third occasion was on September 8, 1729. A new and larger painting of the apparition of the Madonna to the visionary Giovanetta Varoli was prepared by Elena Zambaiti and installed in the church of St. Anne in Montagnaga. As people gathered for the dedication of this new altar, the Blessed Virgin herself appeared to the seer, along with  Saints Joachim & Anne and St. Joseph. Mary specifically blessed the picture and assured that this would be the place where she would welcome the prayers of her devotees.

May 13 and the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM)

May 13

Our Lady of Fatima

Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament

Today we have another celebration of the BVM that “flavors” the month of May with Marian devotion: the appearance of Mary at Fatima, Portugal. There, she identified herself as Our Lady of the Rosary, but another title has also come to be associated with this day. Saint Peter Julian Eymard coined the title “Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament” in 1868. He founded his Congregation of the Most Blessed Sacrament at Paris on May 13, 1856, thus the connection to the day. His prayer:

Virgin Immaculate, perfect lover of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, we ask you to obtain for us the graces we need to become true adorers of our Eucharistic God.  Grant us, we beg of you, to know Jesus better, to love God more, and to center our lives around the Eucharist; that is, to make our whole life a constant prayer of adoration, thanksgiving, reparation, and petition to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.  Amen.

V. Pray for us, O Virgin Immaculate, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

R. That the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus Christ may come among us!

A prayer I composed to Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament
to be said during Eucharistic Adoration:

Contemplating this Great Mystery of Love

we look with awe and reverence upon Jesus,

the Bread of Life and Child of the Virgin Mary.

To you, Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, we give thanks

for the role you play and the work

that you continue to do in the mystery of salvation.

This presence of the One who is flesh of your flesh

is the gift of God made human through your cooperation.

How wonderful this miracle!

How merciful and gracious is our God!

Join with us in our prayer and praise, O Blessed Lady.

(by Deacon Jim Cummings)

May 8th in the midst of Marian devotion

 

The eighth (8^th) of May has deep Marian connections in three titles:

1). The Virgin of Lujan, who is the patroness of Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Officially declared in 1930 by Pope Pius XI, she is a 17th-century terracotta statue representing the Immaculate Conception. This particular localized devotion took on more significance or prominence with the election of Cardinal Bergoglio from Argentina as Pope Francis!

2). “Mother of Fairest Love”

“Fairest Love” is a title derived from Sirach 24:24. It states, “I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope.” Pope Saint John Paul II wrote of this title in his 1994 Letter to Families, paragraph 20. St. Josemaria Escriva had a devotion to Our Lady under this title.

The "Fairest Love" devotion aligns with the Franciscan focus on her spotless nature, often celebrating her as "all fair" and without blemish. St. Bonaventure, a revered Doctor of the Church, beautifully encapsulated this devotion in his Psalter of Mary, highlighting her as the fount of clemency and sweetness of piety, adorned with the beauty of chastity, justice, and truth. Franciscans traditionally honor Mary through the "Franciscan Crown," a 7-decade rosary meditating on the Seven Joys of Mary, recognizing her as the source of "fair love" and joy.

3).  “Mediatrix of Grace”

This title speaks of Mary’s powerful intercession and mediation of heavenly grace. There is a long Franciscan tradition acknowledging Mary’s role as such.

The decree Lumen Gentium of Vatican II would caution against the title of "Mediatrix" that: "This, however, is to be so understood that it neither takes away from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficaciousness of Christ the one Mediator." And as recently as November 2025, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith of the Catholic Church declared that the use of the titles Mediatrix, Mediatrix of all graces, and Co-Redemptrix "have limits that do not favor a correct understanding of Mary’s unique place".

A long Franciscan tradition holds that Our Lady’s unique role in the redemption is worthy of this special feast. Mary herself was redeemed by Christ, her Son. Then through her powerful intercession, she obtains for us the graces that God wishes to bestow on the human race. In the 15th century, the Franciscan friar, St Bernardine of Siena wrote: “I do not hesitate to say that she (Mary) has received a certain jurisdiction over all graces… They are administered through her hands to whom she pleases, when she pleases, as she pleases, and as much as she pleases.” In the Constitution on the Church, Vatican II states: “In the work of the Saviour, she (Mary) cooperated in an altogether singular way, by her obedience, faith, hope and burning love, to restore supernatural life to souls.”

The connection to the Immaculate Conception, a concept that was championed by Franciscan theologians, is apparent through the combination today with Our Lady of Lujan, a statue of the Immaculate Conception. In most common depictions, rays of grace emanate from the hands of Mary, and you can see in one of the following illustrations how that grace is being passed on to Mary from Jesus.