First Holy Communion

A laminated holy card from my late mom given to JM as a gift on the occassion of his First Holy Communion, on May 14, 2006.

Our Lady of the Smile

Smile, Mother, and heal us with your love! Smile toward us and cast out all our fears and anxieties. Smile, Mother, and heal us from all that imprisons love in our hearts. Smile to our minds and heal the memories that hurt the vision of love. Smile to our hearts and heal the experiences that have hardened us and have made us run away from love. Smile to us with your maternal love; and knowing that we are loved, heal us from the fears and hurts that impede us from generously and freely loving.

Prayer to Our Lady of the Smile

Saint Helena

Prayer Before Mesquel:

A Celebration of the Finding of the True Cross

In the name of the Father, of the Son and the Holy Spirit

Do not forget the quiet and peaceful house of God

Do not be fooled by the bright and shining lights of the world

Come to the house of God

And find the inner peace you have been looking for.

The Battle of Lepanto

In the immense expanse of sea, two mighty columns of great height arise a little distance of one and other. On the top of the higher and bigger one stands the Sacred Host of great size proportionate to the column and beneath is a placard with the words: Salus Credentium – “Salvation of the faithful.” On the top of the other column was a statue of the Immaculate Virgin with a placard with this inscription: Auxilium Christianorum – “Help of Christians.”

The Battle of Lepanto

Our Lady of China

"A woman in white appeared above the settlement, and the rioters' bullets were aimed at her. When the apparition did not fade, attackers had not even time to reorganize because a strange horseman put them to flight."

Mary's Apparition to God's Beloved Children in China

Our Lord's Virgin and Mother

"And for each of us Christians She is the Mother of My Lord".

Saint Luke 1:43

Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament

"In addition to her sharing in the Eucharistic banquet [of the first generation of Christians], an indirect picture of Mary's relationship with the Eucharist can be had, beginning with her interior disposition. Mary is a 'woman of the Eucharist' in her whole life. The church, which looks to Mary as a model, is also called to imitate her in her relationship to this most holy mystery."

Pope John Paul II, On the Eucharist in Its Relationship to the Church

Saint Anne

Anne and Joachim were married for many years in Nazareth but were childless. When Joachim went to offer sacrifices in the Temple, he was rejected because he was unworthy as he had no offspring. Joachim was brokenhearted and went to the mountains to take up his cause with God.

There, he fasted and prayed for 40 days. Anne feared for his life, saying, "I lament that I am a widow and I lament that I am childless." She begged God to take away her sterility and promised to dedicate her child to His service.

God answered their prayers when an angel appeared to Anne, saying: "Anna, the Lord has looked upon thy tears; thou shalt conceive and give birth and the fruit of thy womb shall be blessed by all the world."