Virgin Most Kind Transcript

Virgin Most Kind Transcript

O how holy, how serene, how kind, how pleasant the Virgin is believed to be!

Our Lord Jesus Christ is goodness itself, he is truth, light, mercy and kindness;   in his endless mercy he heals the sick, nourishes the hungry, and forgives sinners.  Though we offend him through our sins, he calls us friends (John 15:14) and lays down his life for us so that we might not perish.

If our Lord is kindness itself, than his Mother is the Mother of Kindness, If he is Mercy itself, then she is the Mother of Mercy.  As our Lord has called us his friends and brothers (Mark 3:35)  so our Lady Mary calls us her children.  As God decided to come into the world through Mary, he routinely has decided to use his Mother as a channel of grace for helping  his children.  Our Lady would not have received the title “Help of Christians” had she not helped many Christians (and other sinners) through her prayers.

This Audiobook is a collection of stories taken from “The Glories of Mary” by Saint Alphonsus Liguori.  As it was written in the 1700’s some might be tempted to doubt the validity of these stories, writing them off to peasant superstition and imagination; outdated for these more sophisticated times of learning and science.

“Therefore I say unto you, all things, whatsoever you ask when ye pray, believe that you shall receive; and they shall come unto you.” Mark 11:24  Incredible miracles attributed to the intercession of the Virgin Mary continue to happen today to those who have faith, like the one that occurred during the Wildfires in Texas in September of 2011. The miracle that was reported is as follows:

“The Texas wildfire has been burning for days across Central Texas and has incinerated about 1,400 homes and tens of thousands of acres of land. It has burned every yard and everything on them in the Ranch Crest Subdivision of Montgomery County, Texas,” CNN reported. “But miraculously all the homes here are still standing.”
The fire line came right up to a barely two-foot tall statue of the Virgin Mary placed on two stones and resting against a tree in the Garcia’s garden, and then stopped suddenly.
Garcia discovered this after he returned home for the first time after four days, and thanked the Virgin Mary. “She protected our home, everybody’s homes. We prayed to it before we left to protect everybody’s homes,” he told CNN, pointing toward the statue outside his house”.[1]

You can try to come up with some interesting explanations until you consider that every yard was burned but not a single home was destroyed.  A few loving prayers said with confidence said in front of a statue of the Mother of God saved their homes from being destroyed in the fire.

How kind is the Virgin Believed to be? Continue listening to see how she helps those who call upon her honor her as their Mother and queen.

A Prayer to the Mother of God (Ave Mundi Spes Maria)[2]

Hail, hope of the world, Mary, hail, meek one, hail, loving one, hail, full of grace
Hail O singular virgin, who wast chosen to not suffer flames through brambles
Hail, beautiful rose, hail, staff of Jesse:
Whose fruit loosened the chains of our weeping
Hail whose womb bore a son against the law of death
Hail, O one lacking comparison, still tearfully renewing joy for the world
Hail, lamp of virgins, through whom the heavenly light shone on these whom shadow holds.
Hail, O virgin from whom a thing of heaven wished to be born, and from whose milk feed.
Hail, gem of the lamps of heaven
Hail, sanctuary of the Holy Ghost
O, how wonderful, and how praiseworthy is this virginity!
In whom, made through the spirit, the paraclete, shone fruitfulness.
O how holy, how serene, how kind, how pleasant the virgin is believed to be!

Call on the Holy name of Mary and put the demons to flight

A woman who had been guilty of a criminal connection with two young men, one of  whom had killed the other, came one day in great terror to Father Onefrio d’Anna, a pious missionary in the kingdom of Naples, to make her confession. She told the Father that in the same hour in which that wretched youth had died, he appeared to her, clothed in black, loaded with chains, and cast fire on every side. He had a sword in his hand, and raised it to cut her throat. In terror she exclaimed: “What have I done to you, that you wish to kill me?” And in a rage he answered: “Wretch, do you ask what you have done to me? You have caused me to lose God.” Then she invoked the blessed Virgin; and that damned soul, on hearing the most holy name of Mary pronounced, disappeared and was seen no more.

There lived in Germany a young girl, called Agnes, who had been guilty of incest in the first degree. She fled into a desert, and there gave birth to a child. The devil, in the form of a religious, appeared to her, and persuaded her to throw the child into a pond. But afterwards, when he proposed to her to throw herself in also, she said: “Mary, help me,” and the devil disappeared.

Miracles Obtained through the recitation of the Hail Mary.

There was once in Germany a certain criminal condemned to death; but he was obstinate and refused to make his confession, though a Jesuit father did his utmost to convert him. He entreated him, he wept, he cast himself at his feet; but seeing that all was in vain, he finally said: “Let us recite a Hail Mary.” No sooner had the criminal recited it than he began to cry bitterly, made his confession with much compunction, and wished to die clasping the image of Mary.

In a city of Spain there lived a sinful man who had given himself to the devil, and had never been to confession. He did nothing good but say a “Hail Mary” every day. Father Eusebius Nierembergh relates that when this man was at the point of death the most holy Virgin appeared to him in a dream and looked on him; her kind eyes so changed him that he immediately sent for a confessor, made his confession with a voice broken by sobs, made a vow to become a religious if he would live, and then died.

A woman of Cologne who had criminal intercourse with an ecclesiastic, found him one day hanging in her room dead. After this she entered into a monastery, where the devil assailed her in a bodily form, so that she knew not what to do in order to be delivered from him. A companion suggested to her to say the “Hail Mary;” and when she did so the demon said: “Accursed may she be who has taught you this,” and appeared no more

Cesarius relates that a Cistercian lay-brother could say no other prayer but the “Hail Mary,” and recited it continually with the greatest devotion. After his death there sprung up from the place where he was buried a tree, on whose leaves were written these words: Hail Mary, full of grace:  ”Ave Maria, gratia plena.’

Our Ladies rose garden or the rosary:

When St. Dominic was preaching at Carcassone, in France, an Albigensian heretic, who was possessed by demons, was brought to him, because he had publicly spoken against the devotion of the most Holy Rosary. The saint then ordered the demons, in the name of God, to declare whether those things which he had said concerning the most holy Rosary were true; and howling with rage they said: “Hear, oh Christians, all that this our enemy has said of Mary and of the most holy Rosary is entirely true.” They added, moreover, that they had no power against the servants of Mary; and that many who at death invoked Mary were saved, contrary to what they deserve. And finally they said: “We are constrained to declare, that no one is lost who perseveres in devotion to Mary, and in the devotion of the most holy Rosary, for Mary obtains for sinners a true repentance before death.” St. Dominic made the people immediately repeat the Rosary; and, oh miracle! at every “Hail Mary,” many devils went out from that wretched man, in the shape of burning coals, so that when the Rosary was finished, he was entirely freed from them, and many heretics became converted.

The devout author of the book in honor of the most holy Rosary, entitled, “The Secret of every Grace,” relates that St. Vincent Ferrer once said to a man dying in despair: “Why will you ruin yourself when Jesus Christ wishes to save you?” And he answered, that in spite of Christ he would be damned. The saint replied: “And you, in spite of yourself, shall be saved.” He began to recite the Rosary with the persons of the house, and behold, the sick man asked to make his confession, made it weeping, and then died.

The daughter of a certain prince had entered a monastery, where the discipline was so relaxed, that, although she was a young person of good dispositions, she advanced but little in virtue. By the advice of a good confessor, she began to say the Rosary with the mysteries, and became so changed that she was an example to all. The other religious, taking offence at her for withdrawing from them, attacked her on all sides, to induce her to abandon her newly-begun way of life. One day while she was repeating the Rosary, and praying Mary to assist her in that persecution, she saw a letter fall from above. It contained these words “Mary, mother of God, to her daughter Jane, greeting My dear child, continue to say my Rosary ; withdraw from conversation with those who do not help you to live well; beware of idleness and vanity ; take from your cell two superfluous things, and I will be your protectress with God.” The abbot of that monastery soon after visited it, and attempted to reform it, but he did not succeed ; and one day he saw a great number of demons entering the cells of all the nuns except that of Jane, for the heavenly mother, before whose image he saw her praying, banished them from that. When he heard from her of the devotion of the Rosary which she practiced, and the letter she had received, he ordered all the others to repeat it, and it is related that this monastery became a paradise.

There lived in Rome a woman, called Catherine the beautiful, who led a very sinful life. Hearing St. Dominic once preach on the devotion of the most holy Rosary, she had her name inscribed in the book of the confraternity, and began to recite it, but did not abandon her sinful life. One evening a youth, apparently a noble, came to her house, whom she received courteously. When they were at supper, she saw drops of blood falling from his hands while he was breaking a peace of bread, and then she observed that all the food he took was tinged with blood. She asked him what that blood meant? And the youth answered, that a Christian should take no food that was not tinged with the blood of Jesus Christ, seasoned with the memory of his passion. Amazed at this, she asked him who he was. “Soon,” he answered,” I will show you”; and when they had withdrawn into another apartment, the appearance of the youth changed. and he showed himself crowned with thorns, his flesh torn, and said to her: “Do you wish to know who I am? Do you not know me? I am your Redeemer. Catherine, when will you cease to offend me? See how much I have suffered for you. You have grieved me enough, change your life.” Catherine began to weep bitterly, and Jesus, encouraging her, said: “Now begin to love me as much as you have offended me; and know that you have received this grace from me, on account of the Rosary you have been accustomed to recite in honor of my mother.” And then he disappeared. Catherine went in the morning to make her confession to St. Dominic; and giving to the poor all she possessed, led so holy a life that she attained to great perfection. The Virgin often appeared to her; and Jesus himself revealed to St. Dominic, that this penitent had become very dear to him.

The blessed Alan de la Roche relates of a lady, named Dominica, who was accustomed to recite the Rosary, that she gave up this devotion, and afterwards became so poor, that in desperation she stabbed herself in three different places. But just as she was breathing her last, and the devils came to take her to hell, the most holy Mary appeared to her, and said to her: “My daughter, you have forgotten me, but I have not been willing to forget you, on account of that Rosary which you have for a time recited in my honor. And now,if you will continue to recite it, I will restore life to you, and also the possessions you have lost.” Dominica was restored to health, and continuing the practice of reciting the Rosary, recovered her possessions, and at her death was again visited by Mary, who commended her fidelity, and she died a holy death.

Miracles of the Scapulars of our Lady:

Father Crasset relates that a certain military officer told him, that after a battle he found a soldier on the battle-ground who held in his hand a Rosary and the scapular of Mary, and asked for a confessor. His forehead had been pierced by a musket-ball, which had passed through the head and came out behind, so that the brain was visible and protruded through each opening, and he could of not lived without a miracle. He however raised himself, made his confession to the chaplain with great compunction, and after receiving absolution, expired.

The same author adds that this very captain told him of being present when a trumpeter of his company received a pistol-shot from someone near, and when he examined his breast where he said that he had been hit, he found that the ball had been stopped by the scapular of the Virgin, which the man wore, and that it had not even touched the flesh. He took it and exhibited it to the whole company.

A young man in Perugia once promised the devil that if he would help him to commit a sinful act which he desired to do, he would give him his soul; and he gave him a writing to that effect, signed with his blood. The evil deed was committed, and the devil demanded the performance of the promise. He led the young man to a well, and threatened to take him body and soul to hell if he would not cast himself into it. The wretched youth, thinking that it would be impossible for him to escape from his enemy, climbed the well-side in order to cast himself into it, but terrified at the thought of death, he said to the devil that he had not the courage to throw himself in, and that, if he wished to see him dead, he himself should thrust him in. The young man wore about his neck the scapular of the sorrowing Mary; and the devil said to him: “Take off that scapular, and I will thrust you in.” But the youth, seeing the protection which the Mother of God still gave him through that scapular, refused to take it off, and after a great deal of altercation, the devil departed in confusion. The sinner repented, and grateful to his sorrowful mother, went to thank her, and presented a picture of his case, as an offering, at her altar in the new church of Santa Maria, in Perugia.

Devotion to the Sorrows of Mary:

A certain baron who led a very sinful life was accidentally visited in his castle by a religious, who, enlightened by God, begged him to assemble together all his servants. They all came except the chamberlain. He at last was forced to come in, and the Father said to him: “Now, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to tell who you are.” And he answered: “I am a devil from hell, who for fourteen years have served this villain, waiting until some day he should omit those seven “Hail Marys” which he is in the habit of reciting, that I might then strangle him and take him to the flames of hell.” The religious then commanded the devil to depart. He obeyed, and disappeared. The baron then threw himself at his feet, was converted, and led a holy life.

A noble lady, who had an only son, was informed one day that he was killed, and that his murderer had by chance taken refuge in her own palace; but when she called to mind that Mary pardoned the executioners of her Son, she wished also to pardon that criminal for love of the sorrowful Mary; and not only did she pardon him, but provided him with a horse, money, and clothes, that he might make his escape. Then her son appeared to her, and told her that he was saved, and that for her generous act done towards his enemy, the heavenly mother had delivered him from purgatory, where he should otherwise have had to suffer for a long time, but that he was then already entering paradise.

In the city of Cesena there lived two very bad men who were friends. One of them, named Bartholomew, in the midst of all his vices he practised the devotion of reciting everyday the “Stabat Mater” in honor of the sorrowful Mary. Once when he was repeating this hymn Bartholomew had a vision, in which he seemed to stand with his sinful companion in a lake of fire, and saw the most holy Virgin, moved by pity, offer her hand and take him from the flames. She directed him to seek pardon from Jesus Christ, who showed himself willing to pardon him through the prayers of his mother. The vision ended, and Bartholomew at the moment heard the report that his friend had been mortally wounded and was dead. Then he knew the truth of the vision, and quitting the world, entered the order of Capuchins, where he led a most austere life, and died in the fame of sanctity.

A very sinful man, once kneeling in tears at the foot of the cross, prayed that he might receive a sign of pardon. But when he found that his prayer was not granted, he turned to an image of the sorrowful Mary, who then appeared to him, and he saw her present his tears to her Son, saying: “My Son, shall these tears be lost?” And  then he was given to understand that Christ had already pardoned him, and from that time he led a holy life

A priest who had a special devotion to the sorrows of Mary often remained alone in a chapel to commiserate the sorrows of his Lady, and, moved by compassion, was accustomed with a little cloth to wipe, as it were, the tears of a statue of the sorrowful Virgin which was in that place. Now this good priest, in a severe illness, when he was given up by his physicians, and was going to breathe his last, saw a beautiful lady by his side, who consoled him with her words, and with a handkerchief gently wiped the sweat from his brow, and with this cured him. When he found himself well, he said: “But, my Lady, who are you who practice such charity towards me?” “I am she, whose tears you have so often dried,” and she disappeared.

The great benefits of honoring Images of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

A hermit of Mount Olivet had in his cell a holy image of Mary, and frequently offered up prayers before it. The devil could not endure such devotion to the holy Virgin, and tormented him continually with temptations against purity; and the poor old hermit finding himself still pursued by them, notwithstanding all his prayers and mortifications, said one day to the enemy: “What have I done to you, that you will not leave me in peace?” And the demon appeared to him and answered: “You torment me more than I torment you;” and then he added: “Now come, and swear secrecy to me, and I will tell you what you must cease to do, if you wish me not to molest you any more.” The hermit took the oath, and then the devil said to him: “I wish you never again to approach that image that you have in your cell.” The hermit was greatly perplexed, and went to take counsel of the Abbot Theodore, who told him that he was not bound by his oath, and that he must not cease to recommend himself to Mary before that image, as he had done before. The hermit obeyed, and the devil was put to shame and conquered.

There lived once in Milan a man named Masaccio, so addicted to gambling, that one day he lost at play the very clothes he wore. In a violent rage at his loss, he took a knife and struck an image of the blessed Virgin, and blood burst forth from it into his face. He was so much moved that he burst into tears, and offered thanks to the Virgin that she had obtained for him time for repentance. He afterwards entered a Cistercian monastery, and led such a holy life that he even received the gift of prophecy; after being forty years a religious, he died a holy death.

The blessed Clement, a Franciscan, one morning delayed going to the common table, that he might stop and recite certain accustomed devotions to the most holy Virgin; but she spoke from her image, and directed him to go with the others, because obedience pleased her more than all other devotions.

A certain man in Germany had committed a great sin and was ashamed to confess it, yet on the other hand he could not endure the remorse which he felt and went to cast himself into the river; but just as he was on the point of doing so, he stopped, and bursting into tears, prayed God to pardon him without confession. One night in his sleep he felt someone waking him, and heard a voice saying: “Go and make your confession.” He went to the church, but yet did not make his confession. He heard the same voice a second night; again he went to the church, but after he had entered it, said that he would rather die than confess that sin. He was about to return home, when he thought he would go and recommend himself to the most holy Mary, before her image which was in the church. He had hardly kneeled before it, when he felt himself entirely changed. He immediately arose, called for a confessor, and weeping bitterly, through grace received from the Virgin, made a sincere confession; and he afterwards said that he felt greater satisfaction than if he had gained all the gold in the world.

A Lutheran lady of Augsburg in Germany, who was a very obstinate heretic, happening
to pass one day a small Catholic chapel, went in through curiosity. She saw there an image of Mary with the infant Jesus in her arms, and felt moved to make an offering to it. She accordingly went home, took a silk cloth, and brought it to the altar of the Virgin. When she had returned home the most holy Virgin enlightened her to see the errors of her sect, and she went immediately to seek some Catholics, abjured heresy, and was converted to God.

There was in Naples a Moor, a slave of Don Octavius del Monaco, who, although he had often been exhorted to leave his Mahometan sect, remained obstinate, but yet never failed every evening to keep lighted, at his own expense, a lamp before an image of Mary which was in the house. And he said: “I hope that this Lady will grant me some great favor.” One night the blessed Virgin appeared to him and told him he must become a Christian. Still the Turk resisted, but she placed her hand upon his shoulder, and said to him: “Now no longer resist, Abel; be baptized and called Joseph.” In the morning he immediately went to be instructed, and was baptized. Let it be observed that when the heavenly mother appeared to him, after she had converted him, she was about to depart, but the Moor seized her mantle, saying : “Oh Lady, when I find myself afflicted, I pray you to let me see you.” In fact she one day promised him this, and when he was in affliction he invoked her, and Mary appeared again to him, saying : “Have patience,” and he was consoled

Our Ladies kindness those who honor the altars dedicated to Her :

A servant of Mary went one day to visit a church of our blessed Lady, without the knowledge of her husband, and she was prevented by a severe storm from returning that night to her own house. She felt a great fear lest her husband should be very angry with her; but she recommended herself to Mary, and when she returned home, her husband was very kind and gracious to her. Upon questioning him, she found that the evening before, the heavenly mother had taken her form, and attended to all the little affairs of the household like a servant. She then related the occurrence to her husband, and they both afterwards practiced great devotion to the blessed Virgin.

A certain cavalier, in a City of France received in a battle a wound from an arrow, which entered so deep into the jaw-bone, that it was not possible to extract the iron. After four years of suffering, the afflicted man could endure the pain no
longer, and being very ill, he thought he would again try to have the iron extracted. He recommended himself to the blessed Virgin, and made a vow to visit every year a sacred image of her which was in that place, and make an offering of a certain sum of money upon her altar if she granted this request. He had no sooner made the vow than the iron, without being touched, fell into his mouth. The next day, ill as he was, he went to visit the image, and scarcely had he placed the promised gift upon the altar, when he felt himself entirely restored to health.

The blessed Adam, a Cistercian, went one evening to visit an altar of the most blessed Virgin in a church; but finding the doors closed, he knelt outside to make his devotions. He was hardly on his knees when he saw the door opening of itself, and he entered. There he beheld the Queen of Heaven, in the midst of great splendor, and she said to him: “Adam, approach; do you know who I am?” Adam answered: “No, Lady; who are you?” “I am, the mother of God. Know, that as a reward for your devotion to me, I will always take care of you.” And then she placed her blessed hand upon his head, and cured him of the great pain he was suffering there.

In the year 1228, while a priest was celebrating Mass on a Saturday, in honor of the most holy Mary, some Albigensian heretics came and cruelly cut out his tongue. In this condition he went to the monastery of Cluny, where the good religious received him with much charity, greatly compassionating the suffering he endured from the loss of his tongue. But what caused the greatest suffering to this devout priest was that he could no longer say Mass and recite the divine office, and that of the blessed Virgin, as he had been accustomed to do. The feast of Epiphany having arrived, he begged to be carried into the church, and before the ahar of the holy Virgin prayed her to restore the tongue which he had lost through love of her, that he might sing her praises as he did before. Then Mary appeared to him with a tongue in her hand, and said to him: “Since you have lost the tongue for the faith, and for the honor you have paid me, I give you in return a new one.” Having said this, with her own hands she placed the tongue in his mouth, and immediately the priest, raising his voice, recited the “Hail Mary.” The religious quickly assembled, and the priest wished to remain with them, and to become himself a religious, that there he might always praise his benefactress. The mark of the scar was always seen on his tongue.

Honoring Mary with Fasting on Saturdays :

In the mountains of Trent lived a notorious robber, who, when he was one day admonished by a religious to change his course of life, answered, that for him there was no remedy. “Do not say so,” said the religious ; “do what I tell you ; fast on Saturday in honor of Mary, and on that day do no harm to anyone, and she will obtain for you the grace of not dying under the displeasure of God.” The obedient robber followed this advice, and made a vow to continue to do so. That he might not break it, he from that time went unarmed on Saturdays. It happened that on a Saturday he was found by the officers of justice, and that he might not break his oath, he allowed himself to be taken without resistance. The judge, when he saw that he was a gray-haired old man, wished to pardon him ; but, through the grace of compunction which he had received from Mary, he said that he wished to die in punishment of his sins. He also made a public confession of all the sins of his life in that same judgment-hall, weeping so bitterly that all present wept with him. He was beheaded, and buried with but little ceremony, in a grave dug nearby. But afterwards the mother of God appeared, with four holy virgins, who took the dead body from that place, wrapped it in a rich cloth embroidered with gold, and bore it themselves to the gate of the city; there the blessed Virgin said to the guards: “Tell the bishop from me, to give an honorable burial, in such a church, to this dead person, for he was my faithful servant.” And this was done. All the people of the place thronged to the spot, where they found the corpse with the rich pall, and the bier on which it was placed. And from that time, says Cesarius, all persons in that region began to fast on Saturdays.

A devout servant of Mary, who lived in Portugal, fasted on bread and water every Saturday of his life, in honor of Mary, and chose for his advocates with the blessed Virgin, St. Michael and St. John the Evangelist. At the hour of his death the queen of heaven appeared to him, with those saints, who were praying for him, and the holy Virgin, looking upon her servant with a joyful countenance, said to those saints: “I will not depart from here without taking this soul with me.”

In one of our missions, after the sermon on Mary which it is our custom to preach, a very old man came to one of the Fathers of our congregation, to make his confession. He was full of consolation, and said : “Our Lady has done me a favor.” “And what favor has she done you?” asked the confessor. “For thirty-five years. Father, I have made sacrilegious confessions, because I was ashamed of one sin, and yet I have passed through many dangers, and have been several times at the point of death, and if I had died then I certainly would have been lost; and now our Lady has done me the favor to touch my heart;” and when he said this he wept so bitterly, that he seemed to be all tenderness. After the Father had heard his confesion, [689] he asked him what devotion he had practiced, and he answered that he had never failed on Saturday to keep a strict fast in honor of Mary, and therefore the Virgin had taken pity on him, aud he gave the Father permission to publish the fact in his sermons.

In the country of Normandy a certain robber was beheaded, and his head was thrown into a trench; but afterwards it was heard crying: “Mary, give me confession.” A priest went to him and heard his confession; and questioning him as to his practices of devotion, the robber answered that he had no other except that of fasting one day of the week in honor of the holy Virgin, and that for this our Lady had obtained for him the grace to be delivered from hell by that confession.

11) As you cannot presume upon God, do not presume upon Holy Mary his Mother who is the most united to the Will of God.

There were two young noblemen living in the city of Madrid who encouraged each other in their sinful life. One of them saw one night, in a dream, his companion seized by some Moors and carried to the shore of a stormy sea. They were about to do the same with him, but he had recourse to Mary, and made a vow that he would become a religious at once, and thus he was rescued from these Moors; then he saw Jesus seated on a throne, and as if in anger, and the holy Virgin supplicating and obtaining mercy for him. When his friend came to visit him he related to him the vision, but he laughed at it; and shortly after was stabbed with a dagger and died. When the other youth saw the vision verified he made his confession, and was strengthened in his resolution of becoming a religious. In view of that, he sold all that he had, but instead of giving the money to the poor, as he had intended, he spent it all in debauchery. He afterwards fell ill, and had another vision; he thought he saw hell opened and the divine Judge in the act of condemning him. Again he had recourse to Mary, and Mary again delivered him. He was restored to health and led a worse life than before. He went to Lima, in South America, where he fell ill, and in the hospital of that place was again touched by the grace of God. He confessed to Father Francis Perlino, a Jesuit, to whom he promised to change his life, but went back to his evil courses. At length the same Father, visiting one day another hospital in a distant place, saw that wretched man extended on the earth, and heard him exclaim: “Ah, I am lost; and for my greater torment this Father has come here to witness my punishment. I came here from Lima, and am brought to this end by my vices, and now I am going to hell.” With these words on his lips he died, before the Father had time to give him any assistance.

There was once a Spaniard who held sinful intercourse with a relative. A devout virgin, while she was at prayer, saw Jesus on his throne, who was at the point of sending that criminal to hell; but his holy mother obtained thirty days grace for him, because he once had honored her. By the command of the heavenly mother herself, his female companion told the whole to her confessor, who made it known to the young man, and he at once made his confession, with many tears and promises of amendment. But because he did not remove the temptation from him, he fell again into sin, went again to confession, again made a resolution, and again relapsed. As he did not go to see the Father again, the Father went to his house to find him, but was very rudely dismissed. The last of the thirty days had arrived, the Father went to the house again, but in vain ; he desired the servant, however, to give him notice if there was any accident; and indeed at night that miserable sinner was attacked with violent pains. The Father was called, and endeavored to relieve him, but the unhappy man exclaimed : “My heart has been pierced with a lance, and I am dying. Then giving a groan of despair, he expired.

A very sinful woman who lived in Messico, having fallen ill, repented of her life, and made a vow to Mary, that if she would restore her to health she would present her with her hair. She was cured, and she cut off her hair, making an offering of it to the statue of the Virgin. But the woman again fell into sin, again fell ill, and died impenitent. Then Mary one day afterwards spoke from that statue to Father Giaramaria Salvaterra, and said: “Take those locks from my head, for they belong to a lost and sinful soul, and are not befitting the head of the Mother of purity.” The Father obeyed her, and threw them himself instantly into the flames.

About the year 850, Berengarius, Bishop of Verdun, in Lorraine, having entered a church where a certain priest named Bernerio was saying the office of Mary prostrate before the choir, stumbled against him, and in his vexation struck him with his foot. In the night the most Holy Virgin appeared to him, and said: “How is it that you struck with your foot my servant who was engaged in praising me? Because I love you, you must pay the penalty.” Then his leg became withered, but he lived and died a saint; and after many years his body, except that leg, remained incorrupt.

May I here relate a fact recorded by Father Spinelli in his book Miracles of the Madonna. In the year 1611, on the vigil of Pentecost, an immense crowd of people had gathered at the celebrated shrine of Mary at Montevergine. While the people were profaning the feast with dances, drunkenness, and immodest acts, a fire suddenly broke out in the hall, and in less than an hour and a half the building was reduced to ashes and more than fifteen hundred persons perished.  Five people who escaped swore that they had seen the Mother of God Herself set fire to the place with two torches. I implore all lovers of Mary, therefore, to keep far away from such places on Her feasts and, if they are able to do so, to prevent others from going there. Such occasions afford more honor to the devil than they do to the Blessed Virgin. Let those who are devoted to the Blessed Mother visit Her shrines, to be sure, but not as an occasion for merrymaking and sin.

Hail Mary : Pray for us now and  at the hour of our death

In the year 1610, there lived in Turin an obstinate heretic, who even on his death-bed would not be converted by all that was said to him by the various priests who were with him for eight successive days. At length one of them, almost by force, brought him to have recourse to Mary, with these words: Mother of Jesus, help me;  And the heretic, as if awakened from sleep, exclaimed, “I will die a Catholic;” and indeed he became reconciled to the Church, and died in two hours.

A pupil had been instructed by his master to salute the most holy Virgin in these words: “Hail, oh mother of mercy.” When he was at the point of death Mary appeared to him, and said: “My son, do you not know me? I am that mother of mercy whom you have saluted so many times.” Then this servant of the Virgin extended his arms as if to follow her, and gently breathed his last.

A certain canon, while he was repeating some devotions in honor of the Heavenly
Mother, fell into the river Seine and was drowned, and being in mortal sin, the devils came to take him to hell. But Mary appeared at the same time, and said to them: “How have you dared to take possession of one who died praising me?” Then turning to the sinner, she said: “Repent, and be particularly devout to my Conception.” He was restored to life, became a religious, and never ceased to thank his deliverer, and everywhere to propagate the devotion to her immaculate Conception.

Concluding remarks (Ave Mundi Spes Maria Finished)[2]

Through whom slavery is finished, a place of heaven is opened, and liberty is returned.
O, lily of chastity, pray to thy son, who is the salvation of the humble:
Lest we through our fault, in the tearful judgment suffer punishment.
But may she, by her holy prayer, purifying from the dregs of sin, place us in a home of light
Amen let every man say.

Truly, let every man say Amen.  Dear Listener, consider who the Virgin Mary showed mercy to in these stories: not only the poor, humble, and lowly, but also robbers, murders, the incestuous, blasphemers, heretics, the rich; saints and sinners alike.  She did not despise their humble offerings despite being Queen of Heaven.  Our Lord Jesus Christ, who chose to be born of her Flesh, takes great pleasure bestowing his grace through her intercession.

The great Saint Louis De  Montforte said “There is scarcely a sinner, however hardened, who does not possess some spark of confidence in her. The very devils in hell, while fearing her, show her respect. ” (from the introduction of True Devotion to Mary)

Do not delay in showing your love and devotion to our Mother Mary, whether through the brown scapular, the rosary, fasting, building altars, and any of the other devotions mentioned in this Audiobook, for our Mother Mary is most kind.

This has been a production of Alleluiah Audio Books.  To view the transcript, credits, sources or to find out more information about our Aposolate please visit us at alleluiaaudiobooks.com

 

Sources

[1] Kumar, Anugrah. Virgin Mary Statue Guards House from Texas Wildfire The Christian Post September 10, 2011

[2]  Ave Mundi Spes Maria, Sequence for Saturdays of the Virgin Mary pre Council of Trent Source: http://www.ucatholic.com/videos/ave-mundi-spes-maria/

[3] The Glories of Mary by St Alphonsus Ligouri translated from the Italian  1888 New York : PJ Kenedy

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