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Feast of the Holy Name of Mary

9/12/2014

This feast was established by Pope Innocent XI in 1683, that the faithful may in a particular manner recommend to God on this day, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, the necessities of His Church, and return Him thanks for His gracious protection and numberless mercies.

What gave occasion to the institution of this feast was the desire of all Christendom for a solemn thanksgiving which would commemorate the deliverance of Vienna, obtained through the intercession of Our Lady, when the city was besieged by the Turks in 1683. An army of 550,000 invaders had reached the city walls and was threatening all of Europe. John Sobieski, King of Poland, came with a much smaller army to assist the besieged city during the octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, and made ready for a great battle. This religious prince began by having a Mass celebrated, which he himself desired to serve, his arms in a cross. After receiving Communion with fervor, he rose at the close of the sacrifice and cried out: "Let us march with confidence under the protection of Heaven and with the aid of the Most Holy Virgin!" His hope was not disappointed; the Turks were struck with a sudden panic and fled in disorder. From that time the feast day has been celebrated during the octave of the Nativity of Our Lady.

Feast of the Visitation

7/2/2014

The Lesson is taken from a Sermon by St. John Chrysostom

As soon as our Redeemer was come among us, he went with haste, while as yet he was in his mother's womb, to visit his friend John. And John, in the one womb, as if conscious of the presence of Jesus in the other womb, dashed himself impatiently against the narrow walls of his natural prison, as though crying out: I perceive the very Lord that gave nature her bounds! Why therefore should I wait for the due season of my birth? What need is there for me to linger here till nine months are ended, now that the Timeless One is with me! I would break out of my dark cell! I would proclaim my manifold knowledge of marvellous things! I am meant to be a sign, and so even now I would shew that the Christ is here! I am the trumpet-voice, and I desire to peal forth the news that the Son of God is come in the flesh. Let me sound as a trumpet, and bless and loose my father's tongue, and make it speak again! Let me sound as a trumpet and quicken my mother's womb!

Thou seest, O brethren beloved, how new and how strange a mystery is here! John is not yet born, but by leaping he speaketh. He is as yet unseen, but he giveth warning. He is not yet able to cry, but by his acts he beareth witness. He draweth not yet the breath of life, but he preacheth God. He seeth not yet the light, but he maketh known the Sun. He is not yet come out of the womb, but he hasteth to play the Forerunner. In the presence of the Lord he cannot restrain himself, but rebelleth against the bounds set by nature, and struggleth to break out of the prisoning womb, eager to herald the coming Saviour. He saith, as it were: Behold, the Deliverer cometh, and why am I yet in bonds, and made to abide here? The Word cometh, that he may set right all things, and am I still to tarry in prison? I would go forth! I would run before him, and proclaim to all mankind: Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.

But do thou tell us, O John, how it came to pass that while thou wast still in the darkness of thy mother's womb, thou didst see and hear? How didst thou behold the things of God? How didst thou leap and bound for joy? If we could hear him answer, he would say: Great is the mystery of that which here taketh place. Beyond the understanding of men are these doings! It is meet that I should shew forth a new thing in nature for the sake of him who is making new things which are beyond nature. Even though I be yet in the womb, I perceive, for forth upon me from another womb the Sun of Righteousness shineth. As it were, with mine ears I understand, for I was created to be the Voice of the Great Word. I would cry aloud, for I contemplate the only-begotten Son of the Father clothed in flesh. I tremble for joy, for I perceive that he, by whom all things were made, hath taken upon him the form of a servant. I leap as I think of the Redeemer of the world being made flesh, for I would run before his coming. Nonetheless, I herald his approach unto you as best I can, and make on this wise my confession of him whose Forerunner I am.

The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

5/31/2014

The Lesson is taken from a Sermon by
St. Peter Canisius the Priest

If we follow the writings of St. John of Damascus, St. Athanasius, and others, do these not oblige us to call Mary by the name of Queen, since her father David doth receive the highest praise in Scripture as a renowned king, and her Son as the King of kings and Lord of lords, reigning forever? She is Queen, moreover, when compared with the Saints who reign like kings in the heavenly kingdom, co-heirs with Christ, the great King, placed on the same throne with him, as saith the Scripture. And as Queen she is second to none of the elect, but in dignity is raised so high above both Angels and men that nothing can be higher or holier than she, who alone hath the same Son as God the Father, and who seeth above her only God and Christ, and below her all creatures other than herself.

The great Athanasius said clearly: Mary is not only the Mother of God, but also can truly be called Queen and Lady, since in the fact the Christ who was born of the Virgin Mother is God and Lord and also King. It is to this Queen, therefore, that the words of the Psalmist are applied: Upon thy right hand did stand the Queen in a vesture of gold. Thus Mary is rightly called Queen, not only of heaven, but also of the heavens, as the Mother of the King of Angels, and as the Bride and beloved of the King of the heavens. O Mary, most august Queen and most faithful Mother, to whom no one doth pray in vain who prayeth devoutly, and to whom all mortal men are bound by the enduring memory of so many benefits, again and again reverently do I beseech thee to accept and be pleased with every evidence of my devotion towards thee, to value the poor gift I offer according to the zeal with which it is offered, and to recommend it to thine all-powerful Son.

The Lesson is taken from the Encyclical Letter of Pope Pius XII
11 October 1954

From the documents of ancient Christianity, from the prayers of the liturgy, from the innate religious sense of the Christian people, from works of art, from all sides we gather witness which assert that the Virgin Mother of God doth excel in queenly dignity. And we have set forth the reasons which sacred theology deducible from the treasury of divine faith to confirm the same truth. All these witnesses form a chorus as it were, proclaiming far and wide the supreme queenly honour granted to the Mother of God and man, who is above all exalted over the choirs of Angels to reign in heaven. Thus it is that after mature and thoughtful consideration we have been persuaded that great benefits would flow to the Church if, like a light that doth illumine more brightly when placed in its stand, this solidly proven truth were to shine out more clearly to all; and so, by Our Apostolic Authority, we decree and institute the Feast of Mary, Queen, which is to be celebrated every year on the thirty-first day of May throughout the world.

Our Lady's Newsletter

4/25/2014

The Only Hope for Ukraine — and the World

We receive daily reports from the media of what, according to secular journalists, is happening in Ukraine and how it may affect the nations outside that beleaguered country. As with all secular reporting, the emphasis is on parsing what the principal politicians involved in the conflict are saying in response to developments, as though the situation were to be resolved by rhetoric and media commentary.

We have, among other ironies, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pontificating over what constitutes justice for the Ukrainian people, denouncing the use of force as “19th century behavior”. Implicit in Kerry’s comments is the presumption that what is modern is what is best and that all our predecessors were necessarily more benighted and primitive than we are. Kerry also fails to acknowledge the obvious: that his assumption of authority in the matter is based squarely and solely on the force commanded by the United States, militarily through NATO and economically through its capital investment in Russia. Apparently, 19th century behavior is acceptable from some quarters.

But is the U.S. government vitally concerned with the welfare of the Ukrainian people? Of course not. It is concerned about containing Russian power and influence. Who has the interest of the Ukrainian people at heart? The Ukrainian Catholic Church, for one. In the most significant development during the month of April (one almost entirely ignored by the media), the Patriarch of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, His Beatitude Svatioslav, re-consecrated his nation to the Blessed Virgin Mary. (See: “The Act of placing Ukraine under the Intercession of the Blessed Mother”.)

He reminded his nation – and the world, if it cared to listen – that history is in the hands of God. What secular leaders do may have grave consequences, but those consequences will be directly proportional to whether they have acted according to Heaven’s will or their own presumed wisdom. His Beatitude also reminded us of our own responsibility for the larger happenings in the world for which we may believe we bear no responsibility.

He said the consecration of Ukraine to Our Lady must happen alongside a consecration of each individual life to Our Lady. We must participate in such a consecration, he stressed, if we hope to receive Our Lady’s blessing and help for the nation. The same is true in the matter of the consecration of Russia to Our Lady of Fatima. We must further the consecration not only by urging our Church leaders to obey Our Lady’s request, but by conforming our lives to what Our Lady has asked of each and every one of us: to pray the daily Rosary, perform the First Saturday devotions and make sacrifices for the conversion of sinners.

It is easy to scapegoat our leaders — in Church or state — for their failures, but we must acknowledge our own responsibility for the problems we face as an international community. If we sanctify our lives, the channels of grace may flow in unexpected directions, influencing events in the world at large. And we should not presume, as does John Kerry, to know what constitutes the best possible outcome in any situation. All is in the hands of God, as the patriarch of Ukraine has reminded us.

Should Russia take control of greater portions of her former empire that may not necessarily be undesirable. A strange thing is happening with Vladimir Putin and, one may be permitted to think, with the national mood of the Russian people. Putin is stressing Russia’s past as a Christian nation at every opportunity and urging a return to the moral values of Christendom (see: “The Message of Fatima: Ignore It at Your Peril”).

If Russia is to be Heaven’s instrument for either the chastisement or salvation of the world, we do not know how Providence may prepare us for that eventuality. We do know that Russia will eventually be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by the Pope and the bishops of the Catholic Church and that peace will be granted to the world. To what extent the world will have to suffer until that happens is unknown. It has been placed in our hands. So we must do all we can to conform our lives to the Fatima Message and to urge those capable of performing the consecration to act without further delay. The situation in the Ukraine may mark the beginning of a greater chastisement that could engulf the world.

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The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

4/11/2014

The Lesson is taken from a Sermon by Bernard the Abbot

The Martyrdom of the Virgin is set before us, not only in the prophecy of Simeon, but also in the story itself of the Lord's Passion. The holy old man said of the Child Jesus: Behold, this Child is set for the fall and the rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; yea (said he unto Mary), a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also. Even so, O Blessed Mother! The sword did indeed pierce through thy soul! for nought could pierce the Body of thy Son, nor pierce thy soul likewise. Yea, and when this Jesus of thine had given up the ghost, and the bloody spear could torture him no more, thy soul winced as it pierced his dead side―his own Soul might leave him, but thine could not.

The sword of sorrow pierced through thy soul, so that we may truly call thee more than martyr, in whom the love, that made thee suffer along with thy Son, wrung thy heart more bitterly than any pang of bodily pain could do. Did not that word of his indeed pierce through thy soul, sharper than any two-edged sword, even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit: Woman, behold thy son! O what a change to thee! Thou art given John for Jesus, the servant for his Lord, the disciple for his Master, the son of Zebedee for the Son of God, a mere man for Very God. O how keenly must the hearing of those words have pierced through thy most loving soul, when even our hearts, stony, iron, as they are, are wrung at the memory thereof only!

Marvel not, my brethren, that Mary should be called a Martyr in spirit. He indeed may marvel who remembereth not what Paul saith, naming the greater sins of the Gentiles, that they were without natural affection. Far other were the bowels of Mary, and far other may those of her servants be! But some man perchance will say: Did she not hope that he was soon to rise again? Yea, she most faithfully hoped it. And did she still mourn because he was crucified? Yea, bitterly. But who art thou, my brother, or whence hast thou such wisdom, to marvel less that the Son of Mary suffered than that Mary suffered with him? He could die in the Body, and could not she die with him in her heart? His was the deed of that Love, greater than which hath no man, hers, of a love, like to which hath no man, save he.

Feast for Today - The Annunciation

3/25/2014

At that time: The Angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a Virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the Virgin's name was Mary.

Sermon by St. Ambrose the Bishop

The mysteries of God are unsearchable, as is especially declared in the prophetical words: What man is he that can know the counsel of God? or who can think what the will of the Lord is? Nevertheless, some things have been revealed to us. And hence we may gather, from the words and works of our Lord and Saviour, that there was a special purpose of God in the fact that she who was chosen to bring forth the Lord was espoused to a man. Why did not the power of the Highest overshadow her before she was so espoused? Perhaps it was lest any might blasphemously say that the Holy One was conceived in fornication.

And the Angel came in unto her. Let us learn from his Virgin how to bear ourselves: let us learn by her devout utterance; above all let us learn by the holy mystery to be timid, to avoid the advances of men, and to shrink from men's addresses. Would that our women would learn from the example of modesty here set before us. She upon whom the stare of men had never been fixed was alone in her chamber, and was found only by an Angel. There was neither companion nor witness there, that what passed might not be debased in gossip; and the Angel saluted her.

R. Rejoice, O Mary; thou alone all heresy dost slay; thou the Archangel Gabriel's message didst obey; * He who is God and Man was born thy Son, yet art thou still a Maid, O spotless one.
V. Blessed art thou, O Mary, for that thou hast believed, and there shall be a performance in thee of those things which were told thee from the Lord.
R. He who is God and Man was born thy Son, yet art thou still a Maid, O spotless one.

Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

2/11/2014

In the fourth year after the definition of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, the Virgin herself deigned to appear on several occasions to a certain very poor but pious and innocent girl named Bernadette, in a rock cavern overlooking the grotto of Massabielle, on the banks of the River Gave, near the town of Lourdes in the diocese of Tarbes in France. The Immaculate Virgin shewed herself as a young and gracious figure, robed in white, with a white veil and a blue girdle, and golden roses on her bare feet. At the first apparition on February 11, 1858, she taught the child to make the sign of the Cross correctly and devoutly, and, taking a chaplet from her own arm, encouraged her by example to say the holy Rosary; this was also repeated in the subsequent apparitions. On the second day the girl, who feared some deceit of the devil, in all simplicity cast holy water at the Virgin, who smiled more graciously than before. At the third apparition, the girl was invited to repeat her visits to the grotto for fifteen days. During this time the Virgin conversed with her, exhorted her to pray for sinners, to kiss the ground and do penance; and finally commanded her to tell the priests, that a chapel was to be built in that place, and that pilgrims should come to it solemnly in prayer. She was also told to drink and wash in the water from a spring, until then invisible, but which soon gushed out of the ground. On the feast of the Annunciation the girl earnestly begged the Virgin, who had so often visited her, to reveal her name, and, joining her hands and raising her eyes to heaven, she said: I am the Immaculate Conception.

Widespread reports of favours which the faithful were said to have received at the sacred grotto, in time increased the crowds of people, which the devotion of the place was calling to the grotto. Therefore the Bishop of Tarbes, who had been impressed by the report of the miracles and the sincerity of the girl, four years after these events, after a judicial inquiry, recognized the supernatural character of the apparition, and permitted the worship of the Immaculate Virgin to be held in the grotto. A chapel was soon built; and since then, almost innumerable crowds of the faithful, because of vows and prayers, have come here every year from France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and all parts of Europe and the most remote parts of America, and the name of the Immaculate of Lourdes hath become famous in all countries. Water from the fountain, carried to all parts of the globe, hath restored health to the sick. And the Catholic world, mindful of so many benefits, hath built beautiful churches there. Countless banners, proofs of favours received, sent there by cities and nations, decorate the temple of the Virgin with a marvellous beauty. The Immaculate Virgin is constantly venerated, as if in her own palace. The days are filled with prayers, sacred singing, and other solemn ceremonies; and the nights are sanctified by the pious supplications of almost countless people who walk in procession carrying lighted candles and torches, and singing the praises of the blessed Virgin.

It is evident to all that pilgrimages of this kind have revived faith in a world grown indifferent, have given inspiration to the profession of the Christian faith, and have wonderfully increased devotion to the Immaculate Virgin. The Christian people have priests as leaders in this wonderful profession of faith, who bring their flocks there. Even bishops frequently visit the holy spot, lead pilgrimages, and take part in the more solemn feasts. And it is not uncommon for the eminent Cardinals of the Roman Church themselves to be seen as humble pilgrims. The Roman Pontiffs themselves also have, out of their piety towards the Immaculate of Lourdes, showered many noble gifts upon the sacred temple. Pius IX enriched it with sacred indulgences, gave it the privilege of an Archconfraternity and the title of a minor basilica; and delegated his apostolic legate in France to crown, with solemn rites, the statue of the Mother of God venerated in that place. Leo XIII also granted very many favours, jubilee indulgences on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Apparition, and promoted pilgrimages by his authority and suggestion, and ordained that the solemn dedication of the church, under the title of the Rosary, should be done in his name. Moreover he crowned all these favours by granting, at the request of many bishops, the celebration of a solemn feast under the title of the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary Immaculate, with a proper Office and Mass. Finally Pius X, out of devotion to the Mother of God, granted the petition of many bishops that this feast should be extended to the Universal Church.

In 1958 the Principality of Monaco issued this one Franc stamp to commemorate the centenary of the apparitions at Lourdes

Feast of the Purification

2/2/2014

The Lesson is taken from a Sermon by St. Augustine the Bishop

Concerning that time it was written: And of Sion it shall be reported that he was born in her, and the Most High shall stablish her. O how blessed is the omnipotence of him that was born! Yea, how blessed is the glory of him that came down from heaven to earth! Whilst he was yet in his Mother's womb, he was saluted by St. John the Baptist. And when he was presented in the temple, he was recognized by the old man Simeon, a worthy who was full of years, proved and crowned. This ancient one, as soon as he knew him, worshipped and said: Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.

He had lingered in the world to see the birth of him who made the world. The old man knew the Child, and in that Child became a child himself, for in the love wherewith he regarded the Father of all, he felt his own years to be but as yesterday. The ancient Simeon bare in his arms the new-born Christ, and all the while, Christ ruled and upheld the old man. Simeon had been told by the Lord that he should not taste of death before he had seen the birth of the Lord's Christ. Now that Christ was born, all the old man's wishes on earth were fulfilled. He that was come into a decrepit world now also came to an old man.

Simeon wished not to remain long in the world, but with great desire he had desired to see Christ in the world, for he had sung with the Prophet: Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation. And now at last, that ye might know how that, to his joy, his prayer was granted, he said: Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. The Prophets have sung that the Maker of heaven and earth would converse on earth with men. An Angel hath declared that the Creator of flesh and spirit would come in the flesh. The unborn John, yet in the womb, hath saluted the unborn Saviour yet in the womb. The old man Simeon hath seen God as little Child.

Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

12/18/2013

Celebrated on 18 December by nearly the entire Latin Church. Owing to the ancient law of the Church prohibiting the celebration of feasts during Lent (a law still in vigour at Milan), the Spanish Church transferred the feast of the Annunciation from 25 March to the season of Advent, the Tenth Council of Toledo (656) assigning it definitely to 18 December. It was kept with a solemn octave. When the Latin Church ceased to observe the ancient custom regarding feasts in Lent, the Annunciation came to be celebrated twice in Spain, viz. 25 March and 18 December, in the calendars of both the Mozarabic and the Roman Rite (Missale Gothicum, ed. Migne, pp. 170, 734). The feast of 18 December was commonly called, even in the liturgical books, "S. Maria de la O", because on that day the clerics in the choir after Vespers used to utter a loud and protracted "O", to express the longing of the universe for the coming of the Redeemer (Tamayo, Mart. Hisp., VI, 485). The Roman "O" antiphons have nothing to do with this term, because they are unknown in the Mozarabic Rite.

This feast and its octave were very popular in Spain, where the people still call it "Nuestra Señora de la O". It is not known at what time the term Expectatio Partus first appeared; it is not found in the Mozarabic liturgical books. St. Ildephonsus cannot, therefore, have invented it, as some have maintained. The feast was always kept in Spain and was approved for Toledo in 1573 by Gregory XIII as a double major, without an octave. The church of Toledo has the privilege (approved 29 April 1634) of celebrating this feast even when it occurs on the fourth Sunday of Advent. The "Expectatio Partus" spread from Spain to other countries; in 1695 it was granted to Venice and Toulouse, in 1702 to the Cistercians, in 1713 to Tuscany, in 1725 to the Papal States. The Office in the Mozarabic Breviary is exceedingly beautiful; it assigns special antiphons for every day of the octave. At Milan the feast of the Annunciation is, even to the present, kept on the last Sunday before Christmas. The Mozarabic Liturgy also celebrates a feast called the Expectation (or Advent) of St. John the Baptist on the Sunday preceding 24 June.

Our Lady of Guadalupe - Patroness of the Americas

12/12/2013

Our Lady of Guadalupe - Guadalupe, Mexico (1531)
Patroness of the Americas
Feast Day in the USA - December 12th

The opening of the New World brought with it both fortune-seekers and religious preachers desiring to convert the native populations to the Christian faith. One of the converts was a poor Aztec Indian named Juan Diego. On one of his trips to the chapel, Juan was walking through the Tepayac hill country in central Mexico. Near Tepayac Hill he encountered a beautiful woman surrounded by a ball of light as bright as the sun. Speaking in his native tongue, the beautiful lady identified herself: "My dear little son, I love you. I desire you to know who I am. I am the ever-virgin Mary, Mother of the true God who gives life and maintains its existence. He created all things. He is in all places. He is Lord of Heaven and Earth. I desire a church in this place where your people may experience my compassion. All those who sincerely ask my help in their work and in their sorrows will know my Mother's Heart in this place. Here I will see their tears; I will console them and they will be at peace. So run now to Tenochtitlan and tell the Bishop all that you have seen and heard."
Juan, age 57, and who had never been to Tenochtitlan, nonetheless immediately responded to Mary's request. He went to the palace of the Bishop-elect Fray Juan de Zumarraga and requested to meet immediately with the bishop. The bishop's servants, who were suspicious of the rural peasant, kept him waiting for hours. The bishop-elect told Juan that he would consider the request of the Lady and told him he could visit him again if he so desired. Juan was disappointed by the bishop's response and felt himself unworthy to persuade someone as important as a bishop. He returned to the hill where he had first met Mary and found her there waiting for him. Imploring her to send someone else, she responded:

"My little son, there are many I could send. But you are the one I have chosen."
She then told him to return the next day to the bishop and repeat the request. On Sunday, after again waiting for hours, Juan met with the bishop who, on re-hearing his story, asked him to ask the Lady to provide a sign as a proof of who she was. Juan dutifully returned to the hill and told Mary, who was again waiting for him there, of the bishop's request. Mary responded:

"My little son, am I not your Mother? Do not fear. The Bishop shall have his sign. Come back to this place tomorrow. Only peace, my little son."
Unfortunately, Juan was not able to return to the hill the next day. His uncle had become mortally ill and Juan stayed with him to care for him. After two days, with his uncle near death, Juan left his side to find a priest. Juan had to pass Tepayac Hill to get to the priest. As he was passing, he found Mary waiting for him. She spoke:

"Do not be distressed, my littlest son. Am I not here with you who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Your uncle will not die at this time. There is no reason for you to engage a priest, for his health is restored at this moment. He is quite well. Go to the top of the hill and cut the flowers that are growing there. Bring them then to me."
While it was freezing on the hillside, Juan obeyed Mary's instructions and went to the top of the hill where he found a full bloom of Castilian roses. Removing his tilma, a poncho-like cape made of cactus fibre, he cut the roses and carried them back to Mary. She rearranged the roses and told him:

"My little son, this is the sign I am sending to the Bishop. Tell him that with this sign I request his greatest efforts to complete the church I desire in this place. Show these flowers to no one else but the Bishop. You are my trusted ambassador. This time the Bishop will believe all you tell him."
At the palace, Juan once again came before the bishop and several of his advisors. He told the bishop his story and opened the tilma letting the flowers fall out. But it wasn't the beautiful roses that caused the bishop and his advisors to fall to their knees; for there, on the tilma, was a picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary precisely as Juan had described her. The next day, after showing the Tilma at the Cathedral, Juan took the bishop to the spot where he first met Mary. He then returned to his village where he met his uncle who was completely cured. His uncle told him he had met a young woman, surrounded by a soft light, who told him that she had just sent his nephew to Tenochtitlan with a picture of herself. She told his uncle:

"Call me and call my image Santa Maria de Guadalupe".
It's believed that the word Guadalupe was actually a Spanish mis-translation of the local Aztec dialect. The word that Mary probably used was Coatlallope which means "one who treads on snakes"! Within six years of this apparition, six million Aztecs had converted to Catholicism. The tilma shows Mary as the God-bearer - she is pregnant with her Divine Son. Since the time the tilma was first impressed with a picture of the Mother of God, it has been subject to a variety of environmental hazards including smoke from fires and candles, water from floods and torrential downpours and, in 1921, a bomb which was planted by anti-clerical forces on an altar under it. There was also a cast-iron cross next to the tilma and when the bomb exploded, the cross was twisted out of shape, the marble altar rail was heavily damaged and the tilma was...untouched! Indeed, no one was injured in the Church despite the damage that occurred to a large part of the altar structure.

In 1977, the tilma was examined using infra-red photography and digital enhancement techniques. Unlike any painting, the tilma shows no sketching or any sign of outline drawn to permit an artist to produce a painting. Further, the very method used to create the image is still unknown. The image is inexplicable in its longevity and method of production. It can be seen today in a large cathedral built to house up to ten thousand worshippers. It is, by far, the most popular religious pilgrimage site in the Western Hemisphere.

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