Recourse to Mary through the centuries began in the post-apostolic age. The most ancient prayer which we know – the Sub Tuum Praesidium – seeks refuge under Mary’s protection. Over time, as devotion to God’s Mother – the Church confirmed her as Theotokos, God Bearer, Mother of God, at the Council of Ephesus in 431Continue reading “Invoking Mary – The Litany of Loreto”
Category Archives: Mary Most Holy
Mary, Model and Teacher
While we rightly think of St Bernard of Clairvaux as leading the way amongst the Cistercian Fathers in writing and teaching in praise of Mary, the other Cistercians know well how to reflect on Mary’s mystery for us. In particular Blessed Guerric of Igny, whose sermons take us through the…
The Mysteries of Light – Lectio With Mary
With these words of Blessed Bartolo Longo, the apostle of the Rosary, Pope Saint John Paul II ended his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (The Rosary of the Virgin Mary) (2002), a meditation both personal and ecclesial – it marked the beginning of the 25th year of his pontificate and also opened…
Inviting Participation in the Veneration of the Mother of God
For the early Cistercians, meditation on the person, name, vocation and example of Mary occupied a central place in their developing spirituality and theology, and it can be rightly said that they were the first to consider the Mother of God in herself rather than as a vehicle for further development of Christology and ecclesiology, theological reflection about Christ and theological reflection about the Church.
Bethlehem Abbey Cistercian Family 