Church of the Virgin Mary, Council Church Mass

In 431, the 3rd Ecumenical Council took place in Ephesus. The council met in the 2nd century building called by the same name today, The Church of the Virgin Mary. Since the Council it is also referred to as the Council Church. The aim of the Council was to solemnly pronounce Mary’s divine motherhood. Two hundred religious authorities held discussions for nearly three months. In the end it was pronounced as doctrine that the Virgin Mary had given birth to Christ, son of God, and Mary’s title of “Mother of God” was proclaimed in grandeur. In the early days of Christianity a church was only dedicated to a person if he or she had died in that place. At the time of the Council, the existence of a church dedicated to Mary in Ephesus, and only in Ephesus, is proof that Mary was thought to have died there. Also, in a letter from the Council Fathers, addressed to all the clergy announcing this doctrine of “Mary, Mother of God,” it added that the Council was conducted in Ephesus “in which place John the Theologian and the Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God were.” The Basilica of St. John (in the previous post) is found in Ephesus for the same reason; because he died there.

God gave us a beautiful sunny (but very windy!) day the second Sunday in October for Holy Mass in the first Church ever dedicated to Mary and in which she was pronounced Mother of God in the year 431. What an honor to receive my Lord Jesus in that Church under the mantle of His Mother and mine. Enjoy these photos of that special day full of grace that will always remain a precious memory of mine.

+JMJ+

The Basilica of St. John, Ephesus, Turkey

I will begin to post photos of the trip to Ephesus beginning with this group of photos of the Basilica of St. John. When St. John came to Ephesus with the Virgin Mary, he came to head the Church of Ephesus with the title of "The Apostle of Asia" and wrote his Gospel there. When he died he was buried according to his will at the spot which lies today in the church called by his name on Ayasuluk Hill.

In the 4th century, a church with a wooden roof was built around his tomb and in the reign of the emperor Justinian (AD 527-565), when the city was enjoying its third golden year, the church was turned into a domed basilica of which we see the remains today.

The great part of the edifice had elements taken from the old buildings of the city of Ephesus. From the 7th century on, Arab attacks increased with severity and destructiveness so the church was fortified and connected to the Ayasuluk Fortress. The walls have twenty towers all of different architecture. There are three main gates. Inside there are frescoes of Christ, St. John and an unknown saint. Also can be found a Baptistery dating back to the 5th century. At one time it boasted twelve domes.

The grave of St. John lies under the central dome. It is raised two steps to show its prominence. The belief that a healing powder came out of a hole in the burial chamber made this church one of the most visited places in Christendom through the Middle Ages.

Please enjoy these photos of the Basilica of St. John.


+JMJ+

The Marian Conference

What a great day we spent with so many prayerful friends of Our Lady yesterday. The Conference was attended by 1100 and that means many new signatures for our Sr. Marie petition! The story of Sr. Marie and Mary's House at Ephesus was well received and now Sr. Marie has many new friends praying through her intercession to God Our Father. We arrived at 8:30 am and returned home by 8 pm. One of the thrills of the day was to spend a moment with Fr. Benedict Groeschel whose smile and hand shake filled me with joy. We were scheduled to follow him on stage (hard act to follow for sure ...haha). Of course he remembered Erin right away for her association with the Cause for Sr. Marie. In fact, that is what redirected him to us in the first place! He saw her and instead of going down the stairs he turned and walked over to her and said, "I have not forgotten you," and more. Then it was my turn. He looked into my eyes with such joy and love, took my hand and I think he said "God bless you" but it's a bit of a blur...after all I had jelly for knees at that point waiting to go on stage!...maybe it was just "hello"... either way it was a total blessing! I'll never forget it. Here are some photos. Praise God for His goodness and thank you dear Blessed Mother for your constant care, encouragement, and protection....and Sr. Marie, please pray for us...we love you.

A Day With Mary - Marian Conference - This Sunday!

Please join us!

Here are the details. Hope to see you on Sunday, October 26th on Long Island.

Sr. Marie, pray for us!

Stations of the Cross in Ephesus

While visiting Mary's House I was keenly aware of the sacred ground on which I tread...ground that had at one time been steeped in the Tears of the Mother of God. Currently, due to Turkish army regulations, no one can walk behind Mary's House. That did not keep me from uniting with Our Lady as she walked, carved out, and prayed the first Stations of the Cross. As I sat inside Mary's House on a little stool on the right wall facing the Altar, I faced a window on the left wall. The window grille is made up of black iron crosses. It was open and looked out on the exact area of mountainous, rocky, lightly wooded and dry underbrush-filled terrain where Our Lady relived and wept over the Passion and death or Her Son Jesus.

I was blessed to have Mass in the Rectory Chapel twice, once celebrated by the current Rector Father Oriano and a second time by the previous Rector Father Joe. In this Little Chapel are beautiful Icons of the Stations of the Cross. I attempted to take photos of these Stations knowing that they exist on the same sacred ground of the very first Stations prayed and created by Our Lady of Sorrows, Our Lady of Ephesus. Please excuse my amateur photography and presentation which does no justice to the love and prayers in my heart as I contemplated Our Lady's Tears flowing for love of Jesus...for love of us.

+JMJ+

Great News!

Erin and I are back and we have some great news to share! While in Ephesus we got permission to have the Sr. Marie prayer cards placed and kept inside Mary's House! This is a huge step to spreading the news of Sr. Marie all over the world. Pilgrims from all continents and countries come in extraordinarily large numbers to Mary's House in Ephesus. While there I witnessed groups of pilgrims from Korea, Italy, Germany, Peru, Poland, Greece, France, and Spain. Certainly there were many more that I didn't identify as well. The Rector, Fr. Oriana, gave us permission to keep Mary's House stocked with prayer cards so that all people passing through may take a card. These pilgrims will learn about Sr. Marie, and then hopefully visit this blog and sign the petition, write letters and testimonies and share Sr. Marie's cause with their friends and families at home. It's a great gift from God indeed. Mary's House does not distribute anything else except little white candles for burning. No other written material is distributed there! And now Sr. Marie's prayer card will become part of each pilgrim's visit and prayer! We must gather many signatures so that the "vox populi" from all corners of the world will be heard loud and clear.

Because of this we have even more need of funds to keep the prayer cards in regular printing and to post them to Turkey. We'll need to print thousands and thousands of them. I trust in God to supply for this endeavor...all things are possible with God.

So...WE NEED DONATIONS MORE THAN EVER! Please make your tax deductible donation, help spread the word by contributing to the Sr. Marie de Mandat-Grancey Foundation, and work with Sr. Marie for peace through Our Lady of Ephesus. Find the address above.

“From here in Ephesus, a city blessed by the presence of Mary Most Holy — who we
know is loved and venerated also by Muslims - let us lift up to the Lord a
special prayer for peace between peoples.” - Pope Benedict XVI, Papal Homily
at "Mary's House" in Ephesus, Turkey, November 29, 2006

Help us to answer our Holy Father's invitation to pray for peace. Remember that in Mary's House Muslims and Christians and Orthodox pray peacefully side by side and honor Mary, Mother of God, Mother of Jesus. Her House is a symbol of Her Heart and she is calling all her children Home...Sr. Marie points the way, she holds open the door and beckons us to come in!

Sr. Marie is our intercessor!

If you know of anyone who can assist us as we begin to translate the prayer cards into many languages please contact us at sr.marie@yahoo.com

Thank you.

I'll be writing over the next few weeks with details of our trip and sharing photos of Ephesus!

+JMJ+

Prayers Please

Erin and I are off to Mary's House tomorrow. It's a long trip and it's not easy to leave our families for 5 days. Please keep us in your prayers so that we accomplish all Our Lady desires of us for the glory of God and come back home safely to our husbands and families. Our husbands are true heroes of great generosity and greater trust in God who are both faithful models of strong and true Christian husbands and fathers. God bless them always. May St. Joseph pray for them and sustain them in times of trial. May Mother Mary keep them under Her Mantle and safe in Her Heart....and all 11 of our children too!

+JMJ+

October 7 - Mothers

Here is a link to a post from last year.

Happy Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.