St Josemaria’s first visit to Fatima was on February 6, 1945, at the request of Sr Lucia, who at that time was living in Tui, Spain. He said that it had been the Blessed Virgin who opened the gates of Portugal to him.
The month of May… offers us a privileged opportunity for drawing closer to the Holy Spirit.
St. Josemaria desired to show an outward expression of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary during the month of May, which the Church traditionally dedicates to her.
If we look at the world, at the People of God, during this month of May, we will see devotion to Our Lady taking the form of many old and new customs practiced with great love.
The St. Josemaria Institute is pleased to share this Spiritual Toolkit offering a curated selection of resources to aid your devotion to Our Lady during the month of May.
St. Josemaria had been suffering from diabetes for about ten years. And it was on the feast of Our Lady of Montserrat, April 27, 1954, that he was cured of diabetes.
“The holy Virgin Mary, Mother of Fair Love, will bring relief to your heart, when it makes you feel that it is of flesh, if you turn to her with confidence.”
St. Josemaria Escriva was a pilgrim at Lourdes many times during his life, remarking that: “It would be bad manners to pass by there without dropping in on her.”
Since the fourteenth century, pilgrims have made their way to the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto at the Basilica of the Holy House in Loreto, Italy. St. Josemaria Escriva went to Loreto for the first time in January 1948.
In a season when Mary’s responsiveness to God’s will is continually before us, the Church in her Advent liturgy invites us not only to reflect on her perfect obedience but also to imitate it.
Join the St. Josemaria Institute for our annual Novena to the Immaculate Conception from November 30 to December 8.
“My devotion to Our Lady of Pilar has always accompanied me: my parents, with their Aragonese piety, instilled it in my soul since I was a child,” said St. Josemaría.
The Church dedicates the entire month of October to the Holy Rosary so that individuals, families, and communities would pray the Holy Rosary, if possible, on a daily basis for peace in the world.
“Behold your Mother!” (Jn 19:27). This is our Lord’s command to us from the cross. What do we see when we behold our Mother?
“Mary has been taken up to heaven by God in body and soul, and the angels rejoice.” Joy overtakes both angels and men. Why is it that we feel today this intimate delight, with our heart brimming over, with our soul full of peace?
Nothing disappoints more than misplaced hope. And maybe nothing is easier to misplace than our hope. From time to time we are all tempted to put our hopes for happiness, even for a kind of salvation, in people whom we idealize or future circumstances we imagine will be perfect.
A friend of mine once told me: “You are never freer than when you are doing God’s will, and never less free than when you are doing your own.” There you have the Annunciation.
Whenever our Lady appears on earth it is to remind us of something that we are neglecting. She never comes to reveal something new, but to express in a new and forceful way what we should already know.
As we celebrate October, the month of the holy Rosary, the St. Josemaria Institute speaks with Katie Luangkhot about living as a witness to the Catholic faith, Marian devotion, and incorporating the Rosary into a family prayer life.
