From Season to Season

Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is honored by many titles and in countless places by Christians around the world. These various names of Mary often tell us something about her role in the story of salvation, such as “Mother of God,” “Cause of our Joy,” and “Ark of the Covenant.” Other titles of Mary tell us something of the unique role she plays in the life of the Church and of individual Christians: “Comforter of the Afflicted,” “Help of Christians,” “Mother of Good Counsel,” and “Queen of All Saints.” Finally, there are those titles of Mary that are associated with specific places like Guadalupe, Lourdes , Fatima , or La Salette . Each of these titles, in its own way, expresses a faith and devotion that was first voiced by the woman who cried out to Jesus, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you” (Luke 11:27).   I have three titles of Mary that are especially meaningful for me and seem to capture my own devotion to the Mother of God. They are “Mother of...

As many of you know, the Saints of Christian history are a great source of inspiration to me. Among those who have a special place in my heart is Saint Casimir, whose memory is celebrated today.   Saint Casimir was born in Krakow, Poland, in 1458. The third of the thirteen children of Casimir IV, King of Poland and Lithuania, he was educated at court but secretly fostered habits of penance and prayer. Prince Casimi r was especially devoted to the Holy Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary, in whose honor he is said to have composed the hymn Omne die dic Mariae (“ Daily, daily sing to Mary ”).   Casimir is especially remembered for his purity and single-minded devotion to the poor of his kingdom. This model Christian ruler died of tuberculosis at Vilnius, Lithuania, in 1484, at the age of twenty-five. Saint Casimir was canonized in 1602 and his feast was extended to the Universal Church in 1621.   Today, Saint Casimir is honored as the patro...