This is from an old 1962 record. It was produced by Laurence L. Cromien.
Category Archives: Catholic Devotions
Visual Meditation on Our Lady
From the Mother of Mercy Messengers
Lost Entries: Marian Library and Rosary Attitudes
Here is a “lost entry” I made in my old blog in July of 2004:
Now I’m in Dayton, Ohio, at the Marian Library! This is the largest collection of written materials on the Blessed Virgin Mary in the world. I don’t think that any woman has had more written about her than the Blessed Virgin Mary. She deserves it, of course. It is always worth contemplating the one who brought the Savior into the world, the one who was chosen to give flesh to the God-Man and to care for Him on earth. I’m taking a course on Mary in the Medieval Period, and it’s awesome. Today, one of the gems was the dual-role Mary had as the provider for the human Christ (feeding, showing affection for, etc.) while being the servant and worshiper of the truely divine Christ (adoring Him as God). It’s a balancing act that a fallen human being could not have done, so it makes sense that she was preseverved from the stain of original sin.
Here is another recovered “lost entry” from my old blog from July of 2004:
As I continue to read about devotion to the Blessed Virign Mary in the 20th century, I am finding that those who were writing in the 1950s could see an increase at the time. Did they know that the 50s would be a peak that would diminish? Perhaps some did.
Clarence A. Saunders, S.M., writing in the July-August 1953 issue of Queen of All Hearts talks about our interest in both the old and the new. Here’s a curious quote:
“Some things get to be so old and forgotten that when they turn up they are the ‘newest finds’ and are recieved enthusiastically. This happens even in the matter of prayers and devotions. Ten years ago [1943] the Rosary was, for many Catholics, really a devotion of the past. They had a Rosary perhaps, but never said it. Except a decade or two imposed as sacramental penance. But today we have the Family Rosary, the Block Rosary, the Radio and TV Rosary.”
It seems Marian devotion was awakened at the time through movements, and these were spurred on by the attention to the recently proclaimed dogma of the Assumption.
If there’s one thing I get from all this, it is that one should ignore trends and have devotion to Mary regardless. Catholics were indeed more devoted to Mary in the 50s. Unfortunately, there was a tendency in the 60s to reject the Catholicism of the 50s as outmoded. But today, we have the Rosary prayed among teens, in colleges, in parishes, and on EWTN TV and radio everyday. Nothing outmoded about that.
I hope to put in more “lost entries” soon.
Albums Dedicated to Our Lady
Here are some of the albums (from the 1950s, of course) with a particular focus on Our Lady that we have in our collection.
The album with Loretta Young dressed as a nun contains the stories of the apparitions at Lourdes, Fatima, Paris, and Guadalupe. We have the original 78 record set of this at our Chicago House.
Needless to say, these records are ultra-rare. However, they are not very much in demand.
Nick Alexander
Ever hear of Nick Alexander and his parodies?
I think this is one of the better ones: Therese of Lisieux.
Only Nick could have thought up this one.
Our Lady Honored on 45s
The 1950s were an amazing time. A song called “Our Lady of Fatima” made the charts–even to the top 10!
There was an article in Time Magazine about the song, which you can read here.
You can listen to Andy Williams sing this song at Last.fm.
The song was released by a number of artists. Here are images of a 45 released by the Mariners–a quartet of two black and two white men who met in the Coast Guard.
Of course, musicians continue to honor Our Lady with new songs and new arrangements of old songs. Here’s Joe Zelek’s arrangement of the “Hail Mary.”
For an example of new original music, here’s Crispin’s “Regina.”
The Big 150
150 years ago, the Blessed Virgin Mary paid an unexpected visit to a 14 year old girl named Bernadette. The rest is history, and it’s a wonderful history. There are endless cases of divine intervention that made sure the message was not lost, and the miracles of healing made sure that pilgrims would come and continue to come.
A Blog from Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Bonus news! Fr. Michael Sopocko, the spiritual director of St. Faustina, is going to be beatified later this year!
Rare Christmas Special
“The First Christmas” is an ultra-rare Christmas Special–with nuns!
It’s been suppressed in the broadcast world for the most part, and has been out of print on video for years, but of course it has found its way to YouTube.
The Fr. Thomas character has a good thought in his song: “Save a little Christmas for Christmas.”
Happy Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
O DOMINA mea! O Mater mea! Tibi me totum offero, atque, ut me tibi probem devotum, consecro tibi hodie oculos meos, aures meas, os meum, cor meum, plane me totum. Quoniam itaque tuus sum, o bona Mater, serva me, defende me ut rem ac possessionem tuam. Amen.
At some point today, the Marian.org website is supposed to change to its new updated look. When I last checked, it had not, but check to see if it has for yourself:
Update… The new Marian.org is online, but it is clearly under construction.
Mary Foreshadowed
Another interesting book online for free:
MARY FORESHADOWED OR, CONSIDERATIONS ON THE TYPES AND FIGURES OF OUR BLESSED LADY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
REV. F. THADDEUS, O.S.F.
from 1885
and… here’s a thought about God’s love for us from Bishop Vaughan’s Thoughts for All Times
Throughout the unnumbered past aeons and cycles He not only knew us and contemplated us in His own mind, but He loved us also. In fact, but for this love, we never could have been. It was His love, and His love only, and not the thought of any interest or advantage that He could expect to derive from our existence, that determined Him to call us from the hollow womb of nothingness into a state of actual being. Behold, ” I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee” (Jer. xxxi. 3). (page 7)
New Divine Mercy Program DVD
Over the years, there have been some important videos produced about the Divine Mercy Message and Devotion. One recent video (March, 2007) that is quite well done is 
the latest version of Tell All Souls About My Mercy. Older versions have been simply a recording of the live presentation of Dave and Joan Maroney, but this is actually a video, with numerous sources, that is based on the presentation. It introduces the viewer to the life of St. Faustina and elements of the Divine Mercy devotion, along with some important passages from her Diary.
I strongly recommend this newest version of Tell All Souls About My Mercy, especially to people who don’t know much about the message and would like to learn more. The Time for Mercy video is badly outdated, and this helps as an “update.”
Immaculate Conception and Suffering
An interview with my superior, Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, on this topic.
Prayer to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
It can be found at this page.
Old Books About Mary Free
Yes, you too can download PDF files of Catholic Books from the 1800s. Here’s one concerning the Blessed Virgin — The Month of Our Lady.
Also, check out this flip-book of Sermons of St. Bernard on Advent and Christmas.
And, now I hope to finally read Cardinal Newman’s Callista.