St. Nicholas

Below find a link to an article that I find very interesting. I had never heard about St. Nicholas being the Patron Saint of New York City, but I'm certainly glad he is! Recalling 9/11, God grant that he and Sr. Marie, fast becoming an intercessor for those who fear religious violence, may join forces to protect our city from any further harm.

http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/churchandministry/churchhistory/vonBuseck_Saint_Nicholas_Santa.aspx


excerpt from the above article "How St. Nicholas Became Santa Claus":

"According to the Saint Nicholas Center Web site, after the American Revolution, New Yorkers were looking to break with British tradition, and they remembered with pride the colony's nearly-forgotten Dutch roots. John Pintard, an influential patriot who founded the New York Historical Society in 1804, promoted St. Nicholas as the patron saint of both the society and the city."

Interesting Turn of Events

Last week, in the last post, I added a set of three photos that were a view from my window as I prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries last Friday. Long before posting them here on the blog I had sent them to a few friends as well as Spirit Daily. It was just three photos in an email with a one sentence note saying, "As I was praying the Sorrowful Mysteries this Friday morning, this was my view from my prayer room chair." Later that day I finally was able to remember how to post photos to the blog and did. (Quite internet challenged!)

To my surprise, Spirit Daily included a link to the photos entitled "View from a Window" http://www.spiritdaily.org/Headlines/hdln121507prt.htm on the same day almost as soon as I finally was able to post it here. Remarkably, in the two days that it was a headline on Spirit Daily this blog received a little over 5,000 hits!

Understand that I wasn't the one to send him the link to Sr. Marie's website. In fact, I've been checking the status of my original email to Spirit Daily since that day and he only read that original email today, 12/20/07. I only sent him the one original personal email Friday morning with the three photos.

So, I find it interesting and edifying that a beautiful and natural image of Our Sorrowful Lord brought so many people from all over the world to the attention of Sr. Marie without any attempt by me to connect the gift of the image with the Sr. Marie website. I was simply absorbed in meditating on the gift and sharing it with as many people as I could so I quickly sent the photos in a personal email to the editor of a largely viewed Catholic internet publication.

It would seem that Our Lord desired to be viewed not only by me through my window, but also through the intercession of Sister Marie!

my Lord and my God...

As I was praying the Sorrowful Mysteries this Friday morning, this was the view from my prayer room window...

Sr. Marie Basic Q & A!

Did you know that
Mary’s 21st Century Peace Plan
includes a nun from the 20th century?

Find out why with six important Q’s and A’s

Question #1: Where did Mary, Mother of Jesus, go after the crucifixion and resurrection of her Son, Jesus?
Answer: To Ephesus, Turkey along with St. John, Mary Magdalene and many other Christians escaping persecution in Jerusalem.

Question #2: Whatever happened to Mary’s House?
Answer: The story of Sister Marie deMandat-Grancey, D.C. (1837-1914), the Foundress of Mary’s House, will tell us!

Sr. Marie was a source of inspiration for the expedition to find and verify Mary’s House as revealed by the mystic Anne Catherine Emmerich. When it was found she immediately secured the entire mountain to keep this place holy for all ages to come.

Question #3: But why is this house so important?
Answer : Well there is the abundantly obvious reason that we’re talking about the supremely holy ground upon which Our Blessed Lady walked, prayed, and from which she was eventually Assumed into heaven. But there another reason! One relevant to our post 9/11 times!

Question #4: Where is the only place on earth where Muslims, Christians, and Orthodox pray peacefully side by side and honor Mary?
Answer: You guessed it! Mary’s House at Ephesus; the home of a Jewish mother!

Are you beginning to see Mary’s awesome 21st century peace plan!

Many Popes see it…
Pope Benedict XIV, Pope Leo XIII, Pope Pius XV, Pope Pius X, Pope Benedict XV, Pope Pius XII, Pope John XXII, Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II and our Pope Benedict XVI. They have visited Mary’s House and many have offered Holy Mass there. Pope Paul the VI even dedicated a Chalice in honor of Sr. Marie at his Mass the on July 26, 1967.

Many people from our time are beginning to see it!...
Sr. Marie has given us a singular haven of peace so desperately needed in this world where we may pray together with pilgrims from diverse religious backgrounds and all become God’s children united by Our Mother Mary. To many people in these times Sr. Marie has become a patron to invoke when feeling frightened by religious violence.

Question #5 What’s in it for you?
Answer: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9). Good answer, right? Need more? ... OK ….There are dozens of accounts of prayers answered through the intercession of Sr. Marie. Physical healings, emotional healings, spiritual healings…the list is beautiful and inspiring. Ask her. Many people tell stories of how she’s listening and answering.

Final Crucial Question! : Will you come to Mary’s House? Be a pilgrim in spirit! Unite in prayer with Sr. Marie in the Heart of Mary, Mary’s House. Join us as we pray for peace!

Sr. Marie has opened the door and will show us the way.

Come in! Mary and Sr. Marie are waiting for you!


Want to know more? Visit: http://srmarie-lorraine.blogspot.com/

Dec 12 - The Virgin of Guadalupe and Sister Marie

O Virgin of Guadalupe, mystical rose, make intercession for Holy Church, protect the Sovereign Pontiff, help all those who invoke thee in their necessities, and since thou art the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God, obtain for us from thy most holy Son the grace of keeping our faith, sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life, burning charity and the precious gift of final perseverance.Amen.

December 12 is the day the Catholic Church honors Our Lady under the title of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. She is responsible for turning the tide against evil human slaughter and sacrifice to false gods in the name of religion in the 16th century. Now in our own century we continue to follow her as she blazes the trail against the false gods of self pride and mammon to which we sacrifice the blood of unborn babies in the dreadful sin of abortion. Dear Virgin of Guadalupe, intercede for this nation, straighten and direct our path, protect us from all evil especially that of human sacrifice to false gods, and bring all souls to Christ.

This is the Virgin of Guadalupe’s mission now, and it has always been so. Abortion is the not the only human sacrifice of our times. Terrorism too fits that description and spills blood all over the world. On September 11th terrorism struck at the heart of America. We need the intercession of our Patroness today more than ever.

It is no coincidence that it is on the very same day that the world honors our Patroness of the Americas, December 12, that Sister Marie blazed her own trail to Mary’s House at Ephesus. On December 12, 1891 Sister Marie finally arrived by donkey at Mary’s House after a very long and grueling trip. She who had total faith, prompted, earnestly prayed for, and funded the entire expedition is finally given the gift of beholding the precious and holy treasure for which she had longed. And she knew this treasure of our Church was for the whole world. She spent the rest of her life protecting and tending to Mary’s House so we might have today what has become a beacon of peace in this terror stricken world.

Sister Marie was a devout Catholic who knew and taught her faith. She had to have wondered about arriving on this day that the Church commemorates the Virgin of Guadalupe, but the connection of her arrival on that particular day could not have been very clear to her. The future was only God’s to know. In the mind of God, however, the connection was crystal clear. God knew that one day America would so desperately need the intercession of their Patroness, the Virgin of Guadalupe, as we suffer a different blood bath of human sacrifice on the altar of religious hatred. He also knew how desperately we would need the hope of a little sanctuary of peace where God’s people of these different religions pray peacefully side by side and honor Jesus’ Mother Mary, the very same Virgin of Guadalupe. As Sister Marie opened for us the door of Mary’s House at Ephesus on December 12, 1891, God gave us the hope we need for these times. Let us gratefully acknowledge God’s merciful gift of hope and especially in this Advent and Christmas season together spiritually enter therein with Sister Marie to pray for “peace on earth to men of goodwill.”

Exciting News!

Thanks be to God that the Sr. Marie De Mandat-Grancey Foundation has received official notice of its status as a Tax Deductible Foundation! What is so special about the news is that the date stamped on the notice was November 27....the Feast of the Miraculous Medal; another most precious gift to us all from the Sisters of Charity. Again, thank you dear Sr. Marie for your persevering efforts that gave the world the gift of Mary's House at Ephesus. All the Sisters of Charity in heaven must be very happy. The tax exempt status is retroactive from September 12, 2005. Thank you, Sr. Marie, please continue to pray for us along with all your Sisters in heaven.

All requests for prayer cards and donations to the cause for Sr. Marie may be mailed to:

Sr. Marie De Mandat-Grancey Foundation
P.O. Box 275
Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724