It’s funny how we on this forum realize these things at the same time. I spent two hours at a picnic talking to a visiting priest. He’s a very sweet, very very intelligent, saintly man. He taught me some prayers in Spanish and Latin (he was ordained prior to Vatican II). At the end he gave me a bit of advice to pray every night before bed for my mother’s conversion and that he hopes that the Holy Spirit will enflame her with the love of God. Ever since then I have felt the necessity of saying a Memorare for this intention at that time. I was converted through the Blessed Mother and if my mother is I expect this will be the same way.
Your mother is blessed to have a good son like yourself. Funny it is usually the other way around and we think of mothers praying for their children. Prayers today.
Another great blessing of the presence of Mary in our prayer is the great beauty she brings with her. A visionary in Medugorje asked Mary one time how come she was so beautiful? Mary replied, 'I am beautiful because I love!' This is so encouraging because we too can love and so we too can have great beauty. St Bernadette who met Mary was never satisfied with any art work that portrayed Our Lady of Lourdes for they were never beautiful enough. I understand this because no matter the poetry, the skill at painting or art nothing can describe what she really looks like. She is unspeakably ravishing. Nevertheless through the arts she brings intense beauty to our prayer lives. Our poor, poor Protestant sisters and brothers miss so much by not having this:
Today I was reading in the Mystical City of God and Ven. Mary of Agreda has Our Lady telling her, “for the truth thou hast perceived, that this consecrated body contains part of my own blood and substance, is in fact real.” It’s a strange passage and I’ll need to meditate upon it in prayer.
Was Our Lady talking about the consecrated Host? Our Lady is the Mother of God and thus her flesh and blood contributed to Our Savior, like any biological mother.
I remember that in the film The Passion of the Christ (2004), there is a very striking scene in which Our Lady, standing before the Cross, says the phrase: “Blood of my blood, heart of my heart (...)”. I always understood that this scene did not correspond exactly to any biblical passage, and I imagined it might have been taken from the revelations given to Anne Catherine Emmerich, which Mel Gibson drew upon for the film. In any case, it seems to be a figurative expression of two hearts united by carnal conception and by the sorrow at Calvary, although it is always necessary to remember that Christ is the only Redeemer and that it was His blood shed on the Cross that saved us.
Yes, especially since Mary's body and blood was the ONLY human body and blood contributing to Jesus's human body and blood.
One of our priests told us recently that when Jesus' Heart was pierced by the lance after His death, the suffering it caused was only for Mary, as Jesus had already passed. (It really seems to solidify the prophecy of Simeon, that Mary's soul would be pierced by a sword.) So she stood under the cross, pierced to the soul by her Son and God's Heart being lanced, and as she suffered, the water and blood flowed out upon humanity. Mary's role as co-redemptrix is still majorly underappreciated, I think.
I think, as far as I recall when they analysed the blood on the Turin Shroud it was type AB ,so I suppose Mary's was type AB too. I think when they analyse blood from eucharistic miracles it is type AB too. I think only 3.4% of the population have this. https://www.vinmec.com/eng/blog/why-is-ab-a-rare-blood-type-en Why is AB a rare blood type? ☰ Table of content Blood type AB is one of the rare blood types, characterized by both A and B antigens on red blood cells and the absence of antibodies in the plasma. 1. Factors that determine blood type In a normal human body, red blood cells are produced in the bone marrow and are responsible for transporting oxygen throughout the body. There are about 1 billion red blood cells in 2-3 drops of blood. Among them, the number of red blood cells far exceeds that of platelets and white blood cells (for every 600 red blood cells, there are about 40 platelets and 1 white blood cell). According to the spokesperson of the American Society of Hematology, red blood cells always have proteins attached to carbohydrates on their surface, which is a fundamental sign used to determine a person’s blood type. Typically, there are 8 basic blood types: A, B, AB, and O, with each type further classified into Rh+ and Rh-. Blood type A is the type that has only A antigens on the surface of red blood cells, while blood type B has only B antigens. Blood type AB contains both A and B antigens, and blood type O has no antigens on the surface of red blood cells. These are the 4 basic blood types, which are essential for determining whether a patient can receive a safe blood transfusion. In cases where a patient receives incompatible blood, it can cause a very dangerous reaction because the immune system will recognize foreign antigens on the surface of the blood cells, leading to hemolysis or other complications. On the surface of red blood cells, there are always proteins attached to carbohydrates that help determine blood type. 2. Why is blood type AB rare? In fact, people with blood type AB are very rare and unique because they have both A and B antigens on the surface of red blood cells but do not have antibodies in the plasma. All blood contains basic components including white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, and plasma (a liquid component of blood that helps keep red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets within the circulatory system). Red blood cells are produced in the bone marrow and perform the task of transporting oxygen to the body. Compared to platelets, red blood cells are more numerous and are responsible for oxygen transport, while platelets help with clotting and preventing excessive bleeding, and white blood cells are responsible for protecting the body from pathogens and diseases. Stanford Medical School (USA) conducted a survey and calculated the distribution of blood types in the general population, with the following results: O+: 37.4%, O-: 6.6%, A+: 35.7%, A-: 6.3%, B+: 8.5%, B-: 1.5%, AB+: 3.4%, AB-: 0.6%. However, these percentages are general and, in reality, there are slight differences based on ethnicity. People with blood type B are more common in Asia than among Caucasians, while blood type O is more prevalent in Spain. AB (Rh-) blood type is the rarest blood type currently. People with blood type AB can inherit the A gene from their father and the B gene from their mother. Those who have this rare blood type have a significant advantage as they can receive any blood type, especially AB+. However, due to the presence of both antigens on the red blood cells of AB blood type, individuals with this blood type can only donate blood to others with the same AB blood type. In the case of AB blood with Rh-, they can only receive blood from someone with Rh- blood type, as receiving blood from someone with Rh+ may cause dangerous complications during the transfusion. In reality, people with rare blood types who need an urgent blood transfusion due to blood loss from an accident or emergency surgery may not always have access to a reserve blood supply in the hospital. Therefore, if you have blood type AB, you should proactively take care of yourself and donate blood to a blood bank in case it's needed. If possible, consider joining a support group for individuals with rare blood types to help each other in emergencies.
One thing that the mystics and saints tell us and I have no doubt is true is that Mary is always present at the altar when the Mass is said standing to the right of the altar as Mass is being said as beneath the Cross on Calvary. I often think of this at Mass, especially at the Consecration. Pere Lamy gave a lovely description of this (amongst others): https://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2009/11/pere-lamy-father-john-edward-lamy.html Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Grey "This was the 9th September, 1909. I had come [to Grey] nearly every year, and the Parish Priest of Violot was with me. They gave me handsome vestments put out for a prelate who was to come and who didn't arrive. I began my Mass. The Abbe Lemoine was in the interior of the chapel to the right, on the kneeler which is still there. The Blessed Virgin appeared to me suddenly, and at the same time the devil. It caused me violent emotion. I was in great doubt but I did not dare to believe because of my unworthiness, that I was facing the Most Blessed. It was so much beyond me. The Blessed Virgin came down from the ceiling, throned in great glory, so gently, so gently. She was as if in a furnace of light. Her glory went through everything gradually. The candles, the chalice, the altar vestments and myself, like the sun going through water. How far did the glory reach? You need to know what the glory of God is, when you think of what He gives to the dearest of His creatures. It was just like a sun. I never saw the end of it. She came down from the ceiling like that, with Her hands joined. She wore a little smile before letting Her voice be heard. When She uncrossed Her hands, it seemed to make an eddy around Her." "She first exchanged a word or two with the demon. During the descent, She said to Lucifer, who appeared behind Her, 'Is that you?' (Lucifer) ; , I have leave from the Father.' ‘So be it.' replied the Blessed Virgin Then, as if She were questioning him, 'You know how to obey the Father?' He gave no answer but I felt crushed. She extinguished Her glory. The lesser glory never left Her during all the Mass. I still stayed at the Dominus Vobiscum. Had I dared, I would have fled into the vestry, if I had not been at the altar. When I looked at the Parish Priest of Violot, he put his two hands over his face and his face in his book, and leaned his whole weight on the kneeler. I kept saying, ‘I shall be well defended.' She talked. She asked me questions. I did not dare to answer. She stood upright. She was of middle height. With the movement that She made, there was like a little storm of glittering spangles. Her crown only appeared when She stood up. Her feet were just about the height of those chairs. She stayed a little above the ground. With the right hand, She signed to me very maternally, 'Go on,' to give me back my courage. I said within myself, ‘If you are the Blessed Virgin, show me.' She said: 'I am the Mother of God.' When She said, • I am the Mother of God,' very gently, I seemed to melt away within. I did not doubt the word of the Mother of God. I believed Her, but She came in poor company (the fiend)." "When I commemorated the martyrdom of St. Gorgonius She smiled gently. It was the prayer of Her Nativity. At the ut quibus beatae Virginis, I bowed to Her. She bowed to me, very graciously. What humility, even in Heaven 1 And for me, a mountebank of the umpteenth class 1 I saw Her reflection in the glass before me in the altar-card. The interview went on, and so as not to cause too long a break, She signed to me to read the Epistle." “The little altar server said: 'Is it the Blessed Virgin, Father? ' as he took the book from the Epistle side to the Gospel side. I said to him, low, e Don't talk, you will make Her go away,' She looked on him with motherly tenderness. She stayed aside to let him pass and took Her place again at the middle of the altar. When I said the Munda cor meum, She left the middle of the altar and went to the Gospel side." " After the Gospel, the priest comes back to say the Credo. She took her place again at the side of the priest, almost in front of the book. She let him begin the Credo; at the Incarnatus est, She bowed as if to say, 'That is so.' At the Sub Pontio Pilato, She put forward Her closed hands upon the altar, clencing Her fists in a gesture of mighty sorrow. Her arms were just beside me (and he showed a distance of five inches). I was so upset that I made a mistake. I muddled things. When She saw that I wasn't getting over it, She went on with the Credo as if She were saying the Mass. My mistake had given me such a shock. She put me back where I stopped, very gently. (And, smiling, he said): She knows Her prayers well." "At the Memento, She recommended the priest to ask more. There is great store, and still greater to be given." "The Blessed Virgin foretold the War. She spoke to me very maternally, about my childhood, founded the pilgrimage of Our Lady of the Woodland; told me She wanted a new congregation. With great energy She condemned modernism, treated of several different matters, defending me from Lucifer." "She was dressed in a deep blue gown, with Her white veil, the sleeves gathered in at the wrists, and bare feet. The neckline of Her dress is just below the chin. The gown is ample and quite simple. But anything She wore would be equally becoming. Her proportions are perfect. Everything in Her is perfect. Her eyes are very changeable; they can take all the colours, but there is one settled colour all the same. When She lived on earth they were neither brown nor altogether blue. Rather periwinkle. Her ears are visible. So is the start of the hair on the forehead. In the same way you can see the plaits of hair at the side. The only statue resembling her in the least is the one (Rue du Bac, above the entrance door of the Ladies of Charity), where She is giving an audience to Catherine Laboure, That has the face, just as long, but She has not that forehead. She looks too young in that statue, and yet you cannot make Her old. I have never been able to tell Her age. The Virgin is very dark. (' I am black, but comely.') Her demeanour is very simple. She seldom inclines Her head but looks you straight in the face, just like Her Divine Son, but you feel that beyond, how Their gaze pierces into the entire world."
It is a scientific fact that mothers retain cells and DNA from the children they have carried and do retain this their whole lives.
The twenty-fifth session of the Council of Trent, in its didactic and dogmatic character concerning the veneration of saints and their relics, emphasizes the perennial teaching that Jesus is the only Redeemer; this is rooted in the very notion of the one sacrifice of blood for the remission of our sins. Saint Paul tells us that there is no remission of sins without the shedding of blood. Christ, on the Cross, made this payment for us; however, in order to shed His blood, He needed to have a body of flesh, which He received from Mary. Her yes at the Annunciation opened the doors of salvation in history. She also had a cooperating role in the work of salvation on Calvary: while Christ offered Himself entirely on the Cross for the remission of our sins, Mary gave Him up on the Cross for the same purpose. Yes, she is directly associated with the work of Redemption accomplished by her divine Son. For this reason, she is the Mediatrix of all graces—a dogma not yet proclaimed, but one that every Catholic indirectly professes at the end of the Hail Mary. Nevertheless, it is important to emphasize the centrality and exclusivity of Christ in the Redemption of humanity.
