At about eight o’clock on the Thursday evening of the 21st of August, 1879, the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and St. John the Evangelist appeared at the south gable of the church at Knock, County Mayo, Ireland. Beside them and a little to the right were an altar with a Cross and the figure of a lamb, around which angels hovered.

Not everyone is aware, however, that the marvelous appearance on the gable of the Knock Church came on the day when the parish priest, Archdeacon Cavanagh, finished offering, as he had promised, 100 consecutive Masses for the suffering souls in purgatory!  A few months before the apparition the Archdeacon began to offer 100 Masses for the poor souls whom Our Lady wished most to release. It was on the day of the one hundredth Mass was offered Our Lady came to visit Knock.

Surely, that extraordinary devotion to the Holy Souls had a part to play in the gift of the vision from Heaven. If such a response came from Heaven to Archdeacon Cavanagh, then surely Our Lady wants to encourage us all to remove the torment of our dead. Our Lady is the mother of her children, above all her suffering children. She is the Refuge of Sinners on earth and in purgatory.

Indeed, we can dig deeper there for a link with our own day regarding this apparition. The reason the parish priest turned in this way to the Holy Souls was a painful problem similar to what affects many countries today. A secret organization resorting to violence had threatened the priest by letter for preaching against their tactics. They resented his condemnation of violence, which prevented them from gaining recruits in the Knock parish. In his distress, he turned to the suffering souls and called on his parishioners to fill the church for 100 days of these offered Masses. And what an answer he was given from Heaven! 

This clearly tells us that the Holy Souls stopped the violence through Our Lady’s intercession at Knock. This applies to our day with the unspeakable violence and terrorist attacks around the world. Now is the time to act! Here are some powerful means to help:

I encourage you to ask a priest (perhaps one who is retired) to offer 100 Masses for the Holy Souls for the intention of world peace.  We have done this in Chicago, Texas, and Philadelphia.  Attend Mass and receive Holy Communion for 100 days.  If that is not possible, offer 100 Masses (or four sets of Gregorian Masses) for the souls in purgatory for World Peace. Several people can go in together for the Mass stipend for these Masses…Can you imagine the power we have to stop the violence and wars  with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, fasting, and prayer!

The Holy Souls in purgatory are pleading for our Masses and prayers. The Mass is the greatest prayer to give the Holy Souls to behold the  face of God! Make their desire your desire.  St.  John Chrysostom tells us, “Christ is the victim that gives solace to the dead.” And remember the priests and nuns in purgatory.  Offer and attend Mass as much as possible for the priests and consecrated religious. Their intercession is very powerful.

A Holy Soul said the following:  “You the living can do everything for us, and we can do everything for you.  It is an exchange of prayers.”

Our Lady of Knock, pray for us!

(excerpted from an article by Susan Tassone)

The post The Connection between Our Lady of Knock and the Holy Souls in Purgatory first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Variety #271 – Fra Solanus on Our Lady of Knock ( 42min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Fra Solanus tells us about the apparition at Knock, County Mayo, Ireland on the 21st August 1879, when the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Lamb of God, along with St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist, appeared in the pouring rain to about 15 people. Fra Solanus describes the apparition in detail, and consults the scholars as to its meaning. He also gives us some historical background of the state of Ireland during those days. The apparition at Knock is a Marian, Eucharistic and Scriptural apparition all in one: listen to find out why. The programme closes with a Questions and Answers discussion in the studio.

Audio (MP3)

+++

The post Variety #271 – Fra Solanus on Our Lady of Knock first appeared on AirMaria.com.

On August 21, 1879, Our Lady appeared at Knock in Ireland.  She was The Lady of Silence for she did not speak but the tableau spoke volumes in the silence.  For information on the apparition see the official website at https://www.knockshrine.ie/history/

Queen of Ireland:  your beloved country and all of us need your prayers!

The post Our Lady of Knock first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Hence it follows, as We have already pointed out, that the Virgin is more powerful than all others as a means for uniting mankind with Christ. Hence too since, according to Christ Himself, “Now this is eternal life: That they may know thee the only truly God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent”       (Jn 17:3), and since it is through Mary that we attain to the knowledge of Christ, through Mary also we most easily obtain that life of which Christ is the source and origin.

St. Pius X

The post Our Lady of Knock and St. Pius X: August 21st Feasts first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria!

In this second episode of “A Band of Mary’s Men” on the feast of St. Joseph during the year of St. Joseph they explain the importance of devotion to St. Jospeph and why Pope Francis proclaimed this the year in his honor. Monsignor Calkins is a recognized authority on st. Joseph. They mention the hypostatic order, that Mary and Joseph are closest to Jesus and intimately associated with his becoming a human in the Incarnation, Our Lady of America, Development on the theology of Joseph since Pius XII, St. Theresa, Fr. Callaway, Consecration to St. Joseph, Jesus learns by example in his Human Soul, the predestination of Joseph, Joseph Terror of Demons, the virginity of Joseph, Age of Joseph, purification of joseph, no actual sins, assumption of St. Joseph, Hearts of Joseph and Mary, Pure Heart of Joseph, Our Lady of Knock, Ireland, Pope Francis, Patron and Protector of the Church. How to be men and Fathers, Chaos in the Church and world, feminism. The appearance of the angel to Joseph, Bible translations, whether Joseph and Mary were married, and more.

Conference and symposium on St Joseph on May 1st at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. https://guadalupeshrine.org/event/solemnity-of-st-joseph-the-worker-may-crowning-first-saturday-devotions/

About the Band of Mary’s Men:

Host Fr. Elias Mills, FI – Rector at Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in Lacrosse, WI

Dr. Robert Fastiggi – https://www.shms.edu/content/dr-robert-fastiggi

Msgr. Arthur B. Calkins – http://christendom-awake.org/pages/calkins/calkinscv.html

Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9MeVPwXekoQ

Missio Immaculatae Magazine: https://missiomagazine.com/

+++

The post Joseph, Mary’s Man, Patron of the Church – CONF 552 first appeared on AirMaria.com.