Mary is our pathway to her son, Jesus. Her life is about a love of a mother and her divine son and their love for us. Mary’s greatness lies in her willingness to continue to bring Jesus to the world. She doesn’t draw attention to herself, but to him.
Every Saturday in October Fr. Thomas Czeck OFM Conv. is offering a series of presentations on Franciscan Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary at Saint Paul the Apostle Church. Join us in prayer for Fr. Thomas and all those that attend the conferences. May their hearts overflow with God’s love as reflected in the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Franciscan Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Devotion to Mary is perhaps the least known aspect of the life of St. Francis and the Order of Friars Minor. Yet just as Mary lies at the center of the Mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption, those two great Mysteries around which the spiritual life of St. Francis and his followers revolve, so also is this august and Immaculate Queen found at the very center and principle of Franciscan Life. Did She not counsel the entire Church at Cana, saying: “Do whatever He tells you.”? Indeed, this counsel contains exactly the form and substance of all that St. Francis strove in death and life to accomplish. Hence devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary has been the distinguishing characteristic of Franciscans and Franciscanism throughout their long history.