Jubilee Holy Year 2025: Pilgrims of Hope
August is the month dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Sing with joy to God our help.
HEART OF MARY, BLESSED AMONG ALL HEARTS,
HEART OF MARY, SEAT OF MERCY,
OUR LADY, QUEEN AND MOTHER,
SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,
PRAY FOR US.
Hope finds its supreme witness in the Mother of God. In the Blessed Virgin, we see that hope is not naive optimism, but a gift of grace beyond the realities of life.
(Spes non confundit, Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, 24)
Dear faithful readers, welcome to the month of August, the month dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Inspired by Mary, I thought it was a good day to pay special attention to Our Lady, in this very special month dedicated to her ever-loving heart. A heart so BIG, it occurred to me, that it has room for all of us. That is one BIG heart. 💓 So this month, each and every day, listen to Cistercian Father Adam of Perseigne (1145-1221), who wrote, "If you stand in need of mercy, it is found in the full measure in the heart of the Virgin" (Letter III). Go to Mary then, when you find yourself troubled, anxious, worried, or needing a dose of tender loving care. At the same time, however, Mary is ever ready to sing with you, as you sing the praise of her beloved Son for the many gifts He has bestowed upon you. With Mary, let your soul magnify the Lord! And if this is not enough, how about this from Saint Rafael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938).
Surely we'd go mad if we truly loved Mary. By honoring the Virgin, we will love Jesus more. By placing ourselves under her mantle, we will understand divine mercy better. When we invoke Her name, it's as if everything becomes lighter. When we turn to Her as our intercessor, what will we not receive from her Son, Jesus?
In addition to dear Mary, we also have a heavy hitter list (that seems to grow day by day☺) of saints to invoke this month, beginning today with a great Doctor of the Church, patron saint of confessors and moralists, Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1698-1787). Speaking of Doctors of the Church, did you hear the good news that Saint John Henry Newman (1801-1890) will be declared a Doctor of the Church by the Holy Father Pope Leo XIV? It was the Holy Father's predecessor in name, Pope Leo XIII, who made John Henry Newman a Cardinal in 1879.
August is also loaded with feasts to celebrate such as the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major (August 5), the Transfiguration of the Lord (August 6), the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15, the patronal feast of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance), the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 22), and the Passion of Saint John the Baptist (August 29).
As I've gone on for some time now, we close with a few voices, that too, may grow as the month progresses. Keep the faith. Keep going. We are united in faith and love. That's ALL of us who fit together into the BIG heart of Mary Immaculate. No pushing and shoving allowed; there is room for everybody! The first one is a favorite.
My mother [Mary] is very strange; if I bring her flowers she does not want them; if I bring her cherries she will not take them, and if I then ask what she desires, she replies, "I desire thy heart, for I live in hearts."
(Saint Joseph of Cupertino, 1603-1663)
The spiritual beauty of God is reflected in the most holy Virgin Mother of God.
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2502)
All for God and all through Mary!
(Saint Rafael Arnaiz Baron, 1911-1938)
Be humble. Trust always and a great deal in divine Providence; never, never must you let yourselves be discouraged, despite contrary winds. I say it again: trust in God and Mary Immaculate; be faithful and forge ahead.
(Saint Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus, 1865-1942)
The golden urn is blessed Mary,
golden by reason of the excellence of her life,
golden through her integrity and purity,
golden through the fullness of grace.
(Amadeus of Lausanne, 1110-1159)
And for all Pilgrims of Hope in this Jubilee Year:
Mary is the reason for all my hope.
(Poster in the cell of Padre Pio, 1887-1968)
I feel that my mission is being a mother ... I wish to encompass in my soul the love from all of heaven and earth, the immense and maternal love of Mary.
(Blessed Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, 1862-1937)
And just in case you thought that Mary wasn't human, let Mother Teresa bring you back to earth.
What did Mary do, after she heard that she was to bear the Savior? Did she stay and meditate on the great mystery? No, when she heard that her elderly cousin Elizabeth was also with child, she immediately got up to go on a long journey - a very long journey to help her. To wash the pots and pans and whatever needed to be done.
(Saint Teresa of Calcutta, 1910-1997)
SAINT ALPHONSUS LIGUORI,
SAINT EUSEBIUS OF VERCELLI,
SAINT PETER JULIAN EYMARD,
OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS,
SAINT GERMANUS OF AUXERRE,
SAINT OSWALD,
SAINT AETHELWOLD,
SAINT JOHN VIANNEY, CURE OF ARS,
POPE SAINT SIXTUS II AND COMPANIONS,
SAINT CAJETAN,
OUR LADY OF THE SNOWS,
SAINT EMYGDIUS,
BLESSED FREDERIC JANSSOONE.
SAINT NICHOLAS POSTGATE,
SAINT ALBERT OF TRAPANI,
SAINT MARY OF THE CROSS,
SAINT LAURENCE,
BLESSED ISIDORE BAKANJA,
SAINT MUREDACH,
SAINT ATTRACTA,
SAINT LELIA,
SAINT BLAAN,
SAINT DOMINIC,
SAINT TERESA BENEDICTA OF THE CROSS, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH,
SAINT CLARE OF ASSISI,
SAINT FRANCES DE CHANTAL,
SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES,
BLESSED ISIDORE BAKANJA,
SAINT MUREDACH,
SAINT ATTRACTA,
SAINT LELIA,
SAINT BLAAN,
SAINT PONTIAN AND HIPPOLYTUS,
SAINT FACHTNA OR FACHANAN OF ROSS,
BLESSED WILLIAM FREEMAN,
BLESSED MICHAEL MCGIVNEY,
SAINT MAXIMUS THE CONFESSOR,
SAINT MAXIMILLAN KOLBE,
SAINT STEPHEN OF HUNGARY,
SAINT ROCH,
BLESSED ANGELUS MAZZINGHI,
BLESSED VICTORIA RASOAMANARIVO,
SAINT HELENA,
SAINT ALBERTO HURTADO CRUCHAGA,
BLESSEDS JOHN-BAPTIST DUVERNEUIL, MICHAEL-ALOYSIUS BRULARD AND JAMES GAGNOT,
SAINT EZEKIEL MORENO,
SAINT OSWIN
SAINT JOHN EUDES,
SAINT BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX,
POPE SAINT PIUS X,
SAINT JOHN KEMBLE,
SAINT ROSE OF LIMA,
SAINT EUGENE,
SAINT JOHN WALL,
SAINT LOUIS OF FRANCE,
SAINT JOSEPH CALASANZ,
SAINT MARY OF JESUS CRUCIFIED BAOUARDY,
BLESSED DOMINIC BARBERI,
SAINT DAVID LEWIS,
OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA,
SAINT CAESARIUS OF ARLES,
BLESSED JOSEPH RETOURET,
SAINT TERESA OF JESUS' TRANSVERBERATION,
SAINT JEANNE ELIZABETH DES BICHIER DES ANGES,
SAINT MONICA,
SAINT AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO
SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST,
BEATRICE OF NAZARETH,
SAINT MARGARET CLITHEROW,
SAINT ANNE LINE,
SAINT MARGARET WARD,
BLESSED GHEBRE MICHAEL,
SAINT FIACRE,
SAINT JEANNE JUGAN, AKA SISTER MARY OF THE CROSS,
SAINT EDMUND ARROWSMITH,
SAINT AIDAN,
PRAY FOR US.
This month's photo: Thank you to Jean, who not only loves sunflowers, grows a variety of them in her garden. 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
© Gertrude Feick 2025
