"Mater Nostra" (Our Mother)

"In heaven Mary remains always in the presence of her Divine Son. There she is continually praying on behalf of sinners."

-St. Bede, Benedictine monk and Doctor of the Church, quoted on What the Saints Say About the Blessed Virgin Mary

[The above image of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Christ Child was taken on 17 April 2008 at St. Anselm's Monastery in Washington, DC. It's in a devotional "station" outside the Benedictine monks' chapel.]

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary

"O Mary, my dear Mother, how much I love thee! And yet in reality how little! Thou dost teach me what I ought to know, for though teachest me what Jesus is to me and what I ought to be for Jesus. Dearly beloved Mother, how close to God thou art, and how utterly filled with Him! In the measure that we know God, we remind ourselves of thee. Mother of God, obtain for me the grace of loving my Jesus; obtain for me the grace of loving thee!"
-Raccolta, 1957 edition, #352

A belated Happy Mother's Day to the Mother Most Pure, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and may she be our "Star of the Sea" for the rest of our lives!