I came across this website - it is wonderful - there is so much to explore - About Us The Home of the Mother is an International Public Association of Faithful of the Catholic Church with pontifical approval, with three missions in the Church: - The Defense of the Eucharist - The Defense of the Honor of Our Mother, especially in the privilege of her Virginity - The Conquest of the Youth for Jesus Christ https://www.homeofthemother.org/en/
Meditations on Mary Marian Meditations by Fr. Ildefonso Rodriguez Villar on the life and virtues of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. These meditations, originally written in Spanish, were written in the form of points or short ideas to serve as a guide during one's time in prayer. Fr. Villar's intention in writing these meditations was not to write a book on Marian Theology, rather to encourage each soul, through prayer, to come to better know and love Our Most Blessed Mother. Some of Fr. Villar's last words in his prologue state, "The Blessed Virgin Mary is of such excellence and so sublime that the more praises she receives, the more there are left for her to receive." That is to say, we can never love and honor Our Most Blessed Mother too much. Read these meditations below each day and ask Our Blessed Mother to cultivate a great love and devotion to her in your heart and the heart of others. Not only can you benefit from these meditations and grow in your relationship with Our Blessed Mother, but you can also help others get closer to Our Lady this month of May. Pass on the link of the Marian Meditations to your friends and family, and be an apostle of Our Blessed Mother! https://www.homeofthemother.org/en/resources/virgin-mary/meditations-on-mary## There are 31 meditiations on our Lady in the link - I love this stuff
BIOGRAPHY OF THE FOUNDER Fr. Rafael Alonso Reymundo was born in Jerez del Marquesado (Granada, Spain) on January 10th, 1947. The fourth of five children, he was born to Mr. Ramón Alonso, veterinarian, and Mrs. Carmen Reymundo. On the feast-day of the Presentation, February 2nd, 1947, he was baptized and consecrated to Our Lady. At the age of eight, he received his First Holy Communion in the Parish Church of Pozo Estrecho. When he was ten years old, while attending Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, he discovered his vocation to the priesthood; he felt the Lord tell him, “You will be mine, only mine, totally mine." In 1961, he became a member of “Catholic Action." After his father’s death in November, 1963, the family moved to Madrid. There he became a member of the Crusade of Santa María (a consecrated lay institution) in May, 1964. In 1965, he became a member of the “Spanish University Foundation” (S.U.F.). From 1965 to 1970, he studied Humanities and Philosophy in the University of Salamanca, specializing in History and Geography. He graduated in June 1970. In 1972, the University granted him a scholarship to do a historical investigation of the spiritual movement of ¨Los Recogidos¨ during the 16th century in Spain. In 1975, he left the Crusade of Santa María in order to commence his studies for the priesthood. In March, 1976, he received his three missions: the defence of the Eucharist; the defence of the honour of Our Mother, especially in the privilege of Her virginity; and the conquest of young people for the Lord. In this same year, he was accepted by the diocesan seminary of Toledo. On the 6th of July, 1980, he was ordained in Toledo by the Cardinal of Spain, D. Marcelo González Martín. Ever since then, Fr. Rafael has dedicated all his efforts to found this little plant of the Church: the Home of the Mother. He also continued his work as a teacher until 1999, when he stopped teaching in order to dedicate himself completely to the Home. All of us who are members of the Home thank him for his abnegation and abandonment to the will of God and to the wishes of Our Mother. We pray that God may grant him many years to continue to guide the Home.
These are such beautful reflections - worth printing out -- Just a little sample - The idea of Mary in creation And so when God was forming His Mother, it seems as if He was inspired by all that He had made to make Her superior to all the other creatures. — He was inspired by the seraphim, so as to enkindle Her in love… He was inspired by the angels, for Her purity… in the Patriarchs, such as Abraham, to fortify and strengthen Her faith… in Ruth, for Her modesty… in Judith, for Her courage… but… to give Her the heart of His Mother, He could not be inspired by anything… there is nothing that can be compared and likened to the heart of Our Lady… it was necessary that God look at His own heart to give Her a heart like His own… thus, with this heart She loves God and all men as He Himself loved us. Therefore, you can always see Mary in all the created beings… the blue sky, will remind you of Her mantle… the stars, the fringe that decorates it… the sun, Her light that has neither stain nor shadow… the moon, Her simple beauty… the sea, the immensity of Her grace… the flowers, Her beauty and incomparable fragrance. https://www.homeofthemother.org/en/...tions-on-mary/8224-mary-in-the-divine-thought Such thoughts transport the soul to a beautiful place ----
One could reflect all day even on one short sentence 'the sea, the immensity of Her grace' She is Stella Maris - the star of the sea Mary is ‘the treasury of the Lord’. ‘God the Father gathered all the waters together and called them the seas (maria). He gathered all his graces together and called them Mary (Maria)’ (St Louis de Montfort). I am convinced this is the way forward for the Church, the only way - to maker her better known so that Her Heart Might Triumph. There is no doubt God is at work to reveal His Mother to the world. And her Triumph is guaranted because it is the Will of the Son of God and son of Mary, our Lord Jesus Christ. Ave Maria
Meditation 10 - The Annunciation: Our Lady in Prayer 1. How She Prays — With a holy curiosity, peek through the window of the house in Nazareth and find Mary absorbed in prayer. — What a sight! — Look at Her exterior demeanor, unexaggerated, without dramatic postures… kneeling… prostrated with Her forehead on the ground… Her hands folded or crossed over Her chest… Her eyes lowered and modestly composed or uplifted to fix Her gaze on Heaven. — Penetrate even further in order to see Her interior fervor; could there be room in Her for distractions, untimely thoughts, weariness, lukewarmness, boredom, etc.? — Look at Her well. She is your Teacher of prayer… the angels are astounded by Her and are attentive to Her prayer. — God rejoices in Mary and He communicates Himself to Her with an increase in grace; as fruit of Mary’s prayer, He grants benefits and favors to the world. — And you? Will you not learn to copy something of your Mother’s fervor? 2. What She Prays About — Jesus Christ later teaches us to pray for “the kingdom of God and its justice,” and this is what Mary prays for… that the Savior might now come… that God might send the Messiah… that the time of Redemption might come as soon as possible. She prays and pleads in such a way that God is pleased and, though She knows it not, He cannot deny Her prayer… thanks to Her prayer He anticipates the hour. — Remember the Wedding Feast at Cana. — Christ also says then, “my hour has not yet come,” but through Mary’s intercession, He goes ahead and works a miracle. — Think of God, changing His plan and anticipating the hour of sending His Son… the hour of manifesting Himself publicly in Cana with His first miracle, the hour of redeeming the world on the Cross… the hour of resurrecting early in the morning on Resurrection Sunday… and all because Mary prays for it. 3. Why She Prays — She prays because prayer is not only useful, but necessary. — She did not need it for Herself — neither did Christ — and yet, Jesus and Mary’s prayer is unending. — The first time that the Gospels refer to Mary, they present Her in prayer… and during Her prayer, She receives the angel’s visit. The last time that the evangelists mention Her, it is to tell us that She taught the disciples in the Upper Room to pray, and to prepare themselves, through prayer, to receive the Holy Spirit. — Mary begins and finishes Her story in prayer. — What examples God gives you to imitate! — In addition, with Her prayer, She prepares Herself to be the Mother of the Messiah, and because of this, while in prayer, She receives the angel’s visit. — All the work of the Incarnation is related to Mary’s prayer. 4. Your Prayer — In the presence of this sublime model, think: a) How necessary prayer is for you; passions, sins, imperfections and your own miseries, unceasingly remind you of this; b) The fruit that you could bear if you were a soul of prayer… the communication with God and the joy of spiritual things… perfection itself and holiness depend upon it; c) How you pray and how you should pray if you compare yourself with Mary… lack of fervor… internal and external attention… your weariness and routine… excuses to stop or cut down on prayer time, maybe precisely when you need it most; d) Examine your vocal prayer, how you pray the Little Office… the Rosary… the Litanies… your Marian devotions, etc. Pray that you might have a great spirit of prayer. And pray that, by the prayer of good souls, the Lord might grant life to the world and form many children of Mary. https://www.homeofthemother.org/en/...mary/8243-the-annunciation-our-lady-in-prayer
Thank you for this. What wonderful meditations. Were you able to listen to Fr Ripperger's talk "Our Mother of Fair Love"--he could have drawn from these meditations. Beautiful.
Thank you for sharing this site and these meditations. I hope as this snowstorm rages today, in between shoveling, I can warm up reading these beautiful and inspiring meditation on Our Lady.
Several years ago my husband went to Garabandal with Tom Fahy and Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi when Tom was building a house there (my husband is a builder). He met Fr. Raphael when there. Fr. Raphael was apparently told to buy land near the area of the pines because it would be needed in the future. One of the nuns in his order is from a family we have known for many years. If you haven seen the video of Sr. Clare, I would suggest doing so. There is also a book written about her. It’s a great story! Sr. Clare Crockett: Alone with Christ Alone
Lynn- I’ve seen and read about Sr. Clare before… it’s a beautiful story… she was (is) a beautiful soul. Thanks for reminding me of her.
How amazing Lynnfiat! I also have a close friend here in Australia who knows Sister Claire's family in Derry. In fact my friend was raised in Derry and knows the family well! Maybe my friend knows you personally! I will give her the above details of your post If you could pm me I will hopefully be able to connect the two of you! The Lord works in Marvellous and Mysterious ways! God Bless!
And that’s the truth! I’ve been searching for someone to pray to, for my young daughter, and this beautiful nun is a wonderful inspiration. Thank you so much Lynnfiat.
I probably do not know your friend as I live in the U.S. I have known Cynthia Gardner and her daughter Sr. Kristen Gardner for many years having taught about living in the Divine Will - my husband taught Kristen as a young girl and I taught Cynthia's friends. It was Sr. Kristen and Cynthia who wrote the book about Sr. Clare. At Tom Fahy's funeral I caught up with Cynthia and she told me all about the book prior to its publication. It's so amazing how our Lord puts people together - one heart, one mind. God bless you. Lynne
Thanks Lynn, God bless you too. I don't know any of the people you mention above. And I don't think my friend, who grew up in Derry, would know them either. I've not read the book you refer to, but have watched the film about Sr Clare's life, it is beautiful, funny, realistic and amazing, and could be called a documentary! as it's mainly comprised of video snippets of Clare's life, before and after she became a bride of Christ. She certainly was an extraordinary person. May she rest in peace and also pray for all of us, who have become privy to her life's intimate journey with Jesus.
