"O name of Mary! Joy in the heart,
honey in the mouth,
melody to the ear of Her devout clients!"
St Anthony of Padua
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Feast of the Most Holy Name
of the Blessed Virgin Mary
of the Blessed Virgin Mary
September 12
O amor mei nomen matris Dei ~ St. Anselm
"Oh, name of the mother of God, thou art my love."
"Oh, name of the mother of God, thou art my love."
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We venerate that name of Mary because it belongs to her who is the Mother of God, the holiest of creatures, Queen of heaven and earth, the Mother of Mercy. In accordance with Jewish custom our Lady's parents named her eight days after her birth and were inspired to call her Mary. The feast of the Holy Name of Mary follows that of her Birthday, as the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus follows Christmas. Our salvation begins when an archangel speaks the name of Mary. To be Christian is to carry on that Annunciation unceasingly.
Annunciation ~ Benedetto Bonfigli
"I want what is good for myself; I beg the same for you.
Now there is no other way to bring this about than to ask the
Virgin Mary constantly to come to you with her glorious Son.
Be bold! Ask her to give you her Son,
who in the Blessed Sacrament
of the altar is truly food of your soul. ...
Readily will she give Him to you, still more readily
will He come to you, giving you strength to make
your way fearlessly through this dark wood. In it large numbers
of our enemies lie in wait, but they cannot reach us if they see us
relying on such powerful help. " - St. Cajetan (+1547)
Artist: Jean Auguste D0minique Ingres
"God the Father gathered all the waters together and called them the seas or maria [Latin, seas]. He gathered all His grace together and called it Mary or Maria . . .This immense treasury is none other than Mary whom the Saints call the 'treasury of the Lord.' From Her fullness all men are made rich."
St. Louis de Montfort (+1716)
"This most holy, sweet and worthy name was 'eminently fitted to so holy, sweet and worthy a virgin. For Mary means a bitter sea, star of the sea, the illuminated or illuminatrix. Mary is interpreted Lady. Mary is a bitter sea to the demons; to men She is the Star of the sea; to the Angels She is illuminatrix, and to all creatures She is Lady."
St. Bonaventure (+1274)
“Well may all, shepherds and flock alike, fly with fullest confidence to the protection of the Blessed Virgin. Let them not fail to call upon her name with one voice, beseeching her as God’s mother, publicly and in private by praise, by prayer, by the ardour of their desire: ‘Show thyself our Mother.’
Pope Leo XIII - Adiutricem populi, Sept. 5, 1895
"Saint Bernard says, and we say with him: Look to the star of the sea, call upon Mary ... in danger, in distress, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. May her name never be far from your lips, or far from your heart ... If you follow her, you will not stray; if you pray to her, you will not despair; if you turn your thoughts to her, you will not err. If she holds you, you will not fall; if she protects you, you need not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is gracious to you, you will surely reach your destination."
Benedict XVI, address at Heiligenkreuz Abbey, 9 September 2007
More on the Name of Mary...
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Jesus - Mary - Jesus - Mary - Jesus - Mary
"The invocation of the sacred names of Jesus and Mary is a short prayer which is as sweet to the mind, and as powerful to protect those who use it against the enemies of their salvation, as it is easy to remember."
St. Thomas a Kempis
