Please join us at the Foundation in a Novena of thanksgiving to God for Sr. Marie and the finding of Mary's House. Begin today, July 20, and finish up on July 28, the eve of a very special day!
Are you like Sr. Marie, 121 years ago? in search of something? What are you searching for? Let's pray together and humbly search with Sr. Marie not only for our private intentions but also and most importantly for greater faith in God, greater hope in God, greater love for God..and for all the graces Our Lady wants to shower upon us in her House. All for God's glory alone through Our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. Join us in praying the Sr. Marie Prayer each day with a Rosary in honor of Our Blessed Mother for whom Sr. Marie had such great devotion. Hold Sr. Marie's hand and search for God and all the needs He desires to fill in our lives. Gather with us in spirit in Mary's House with Sr. Marie! Our Lady is waiting with arms wide open and a heart filled with love for each and every one of us. Amen.
A little history...
July 29, 1891. A blessed day! All the hopes and prayers of one Daughter of Charity come to fruition. Sr. Marie's dream of finding Mary's House comes true and all the blessings and graces Our Lady wishes for God's children begin to flow upon humanity. At first just a trickle to those first few: Fr. Poulin, Fr. Jung, Father Vervault, M. Pelacas, a Greek Orthodox man, Thomaso, a servant from Persia, Mustapha, a Muslim Turk...and of course all thanks to the prayers, inspiration and determined invitation of Sr. Marie de Mandat-Grancey. On July 29, 1891 those three Catholics, on Greek Orthodox, and one Muslim finally find the House of Mary. Mary gathers her children and the unity begins! And now just over 200 years later the graces flow in torrents as millions upon millions of pilgrims of all faiths visit Mary's House to honor her there. Marian devotion accross religious lines. A beacon of hope for peace between peoples.
Please enjoy below an excerpt from Fr. Poulin's Journal written just after the finding of Mary's Houses. This most profound and heartfelt testimony tells the whole world of Sr. Marie's selfless generosity, her valiant persistence and dedication, and his debt of gratitude to her that he entreats us to share with him and all of Christendom. It is the very first recorded testimony we have written on her behalf by a holy priest who knew her so well. It says it all.
"The Lord, who sees and organizes things, had taken care to put before us a soul in love with beauty and goodness, who was ready to give herself to everything good. A great soul, devoted, ardent, pious, and generous; the noble Sister Marie de Mandat-Grancey. She was, God has chosen her to, the terrestrial Providence, like *Panaghia's Mother! For twelve years she has been charged of this valiant religious enterprise; she has never failed.
Oh! How happy I am to give her all the respect she merits! Also, could these writings make known to posterity, long after us, to whom France, the Catholic Church are in debt for Panaghia! The Lord gave me this opportunity to say loudly what I had in my heart for a long time, to acquit what I deemed to be a serious debt. It is done, Praise be to God!"
*the name given to Mary's House all the mountain property upon which it sits.
“The grace of our Lord be with us forever.” ~ Sr. Marie
