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Contents1 What are they?2 Why is water so important for the Nativity scene?3 How to choose the Nativity scene pumps?4 Water pump maintenance Pumps for nativity scenes, essential accessories to create suggestive effects of moving water for our nativity scene. Let’s find out how to…
Contents1 Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist2 Saint Stephen3 Saint Agnese4 Saint Sebastian5 Saint Lawrence6 Saint Barbara7 Cosmas and Damian8 Saint Lucia The Holy Martyrs are men and women, often very young, who sacrificed their lives for the love of God, and for this reason,…
Hardstone rosaries have always been a less expensive, but no less beautiful, alternative to precious stone rosaries. In our online catalogue, you will find a wide selection of rosaries in precious stones, but also rosaries in semiprecious stones, such as malachite, tiger’s eye, aventurine, hematite, amethyst, rose quartz, lapis lazuli. They could be a great gift idea for the approaching October. In fact, as we have already mentioned in a previous article, October is the month of the rosary.
October: the month of the Holy Rosary
What is the connection between the fall month with what is probably the most important and popular devotional form in the world?
Where does this tradition come from? October is called the Month of the Rosary because the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary is celebrated on 7 October. The choice of this particular date for the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary is to be found in various historical events, including the apparition of the Madonna to San Domenico, founder of the Dominican order, which took place in that month in 1208 in Prouille. The choice of day 7 would instead be attributed to the battle of Lepanto. On 7 October 1571 the fleets of the Ottoman Empire and that of the Holy League, which brought together the forces of the Republic of Venice, Spain, the Papal State, Genoa, the Knights of Malta, the Duchy of Savoy, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, of the Duchy of Urbino, of the Republic of Lucca, of the Duchy of Ferrara and the Duchy of Mantua, faced each other. With the overwhelming victory of the Holy League, the Muslim empire in Europe began its decline. Legend has it that Pope Pius V on the eve of the battle had blessed the banner of the League which depicted the Crucifix flanked by the apostles Peter and Paul on a red background. Above it, Constantine’s motto In hoc signo vinces headed. When the battle was over, the Pontiff had a vision in which the announcement was made that the League had won. Subsequently, after the Pope decided to consecrate that particular occasion to the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary, the belief also spread that, before the battle, all the soldiers of the League had invoked Mary’s protection upon themselves by reciting the Rosary.
Regardless of the beliefs relating to October, the Rosary remains one of the devotional objects par excellence. Its practice is linked to the precept of Jesus, who invited us to pray, to pray always, without getting tired. We believe it is interesting to dwell not only on the spiritual value of the Rosary but also on the exquisitely material one. We are not only talking about the fact that it can be composed of more or less precious materials, just like the semi-precious stones we will talk about in this article, but also about how these particular necklaces are worked, and why a stone can be rarer than another.
We have dedicated an interesting article to how to make a DIY rosary in a few simple steps. An original idea to create your rosary yourself, or to make a unique and special one give to someone we care about. In our store, you will find a convenient complete kit to make your Rosary, with everything you need, from the cord to the closing hooks, to the metallic finishes, to the cross, as well as different ornaments to create your favourite variant.
DIY Rosaries in few easy steps
Reciting the Rosary has always been seen as a way to fulfill one’s duty as a Christian …
Returning to how a Rosary is made, we remember that the Rosary crown is made up of fifty-three small beads that symbolise the prayers of the Hail Mary, six larger beads (or of a different colour) that symbolise the Our Father and Gloria, and a Crucifix. The grains are held together by a cord of various materials, usually nylon.
The cord must be about one metre long, and a point 15 cm from the end will be identified on it with a ruler. Here you will have to tie a knot and start composing the crown, threading the beads. The first ten beads will make up the first ten, then they will be stopped with another knot, after which a large grain that symbolises the Our Father will be inserted. So four times, until five tens are completed. After having inserted the last grain of the Our Father, the Rosary is closed with a knot. At this point, you only need to compose the hanging part, with the addition of a possible cross, the medal that divides the two parts of the Rosary, a large grain for the Our Father, three beads for the three Hail Marys, a last grain for the Our Father. The cross will complete our Rosary.
How to choose the semi-precious stones that will make up our Rosary? It has always been believed that stones have particular, energetic properties. The choice of the hard stone to create a Rosary is mainly linked to the processing methods and the aesthetic taste, but some of those suggestions have come down to us. Let’s see some features related to the various stones that make up the rosary necklaces that you find in our shop.
Amethyst is a type of macrocrystalline quartz, which owes its particular purple colour to the iron present inside. It is a very appreciated and used stone since ancient times, for its beauty and its wonderful light.
Amethysts come mainly from Brazil, Uruguay, and Africa, and it is possible to trace the origin of a stone precisely from the intensity of its colour, as well as from its size. It must be said that the more uniform and intense the colour of the amethyst, the more the value of the stone increases. Amethyst is also particularly popular because it lends itself to particular shapes and cuts. Its name derives from the Greek ‘amethystos‘, “he who does not get drunk”. In fact, in ancient times it was believed that this stone made people immune to getting drunk! Perhaps this is why, according to crystal therapy, amethyst can purify the blood and fight headaches. Not only that, but it would help concentration and rest. It also favours meditation and prayer. The Greeks said that Amethyst was originally a nymph threatened by Dionysus, the god of wine. The goddess Artemis, to protect her, transformed her into a beautiful stone. Dionisio, seized by anger, threw a cup of wine on the precious crystal, which has since taken on the purplish colour that everyone appreciates. And, perhaps, also its power to counteract the effects of wine!
Amethyst lends itself both to the making of jewels and to that of small objects. If processed at high temperatures it can turn into citrine quartz.
Hematite is a mineral, in this case, an oxide. Its name derives from the Greek word ‘haimatites‘, “similar to blood”. For this reason, it is commonly called ‘blood stone‘, also for the colour that the water used for its processing takes on. It is also called the ‘iron rose‘ because it sometimes crystallises into the shape of a metallic flower. Like the amethyst, it comes in particular from Brazil, but also the Alps and the Island of Elba. The word ‘pencil’ would derive from hematite because this stone was originally used to make pencils. In ancient times, it was believed that it could banish diseases from the body. According to crystal therapy, it has the power to absorb nervousness and excess energy. Helps to find balance and courage.
Pumice, or volcanic stone, is formed by the sudden cooling of the magma that came into contact with the air and solidified. Hence its black colour. It is also used for massages because it can absorb heat and then release it gradually. Pumice also absorbs excess energy and helps with emotional balance. Used in the past mainly for road paving, today it is also widely used in the jewellery industry. Its porous consistency makes it easily workable. Pumice jewels have an irregular surface, are very pleasant to the touch, and are crossed by small holes produced by the gas during the solidification of the magma. They can have a matte or glossy finish.
Fossil stones can also be used to create magnificent jewellery. These stones have formed over the millennia thanks to the stratification of plant and animal remains. This is why their colouring can vary a lot.
Angelite is a mineral formed mostly of anhydrous calcium sulfate. Its real name would be anhydrite, but it is called Angelite when it is blue. Its colour ranges from pale to bright blue. In nature, it is found in clusters. Its name comes from the Greek ‘anhydras‘, “without water”. It is extracted mainly in Italy, in the canton of Vaud (Switzerland), in Austria, Poland, but also in India, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana.
Agate is a silicon oxide, a variety of chalcedony, or quartz, formed by triangular crystals. Semi-transparent, it is usually white or grey or blue, but yellow, green, red, even black or streaked agates are also found. It is extracted from volcanic quarries mainly in Brazil, India, Asia Minor, China. It takes its name from the Greek ‘achátes‘, perhaps because the first stones of this kind were collected in the bed of the Agato river in Sicily. Considered a stone linked to the spiritual sphere, in ancient times it was considered magical.
Coral is not a hard stone, but the limestone skeleton of tiny marine organisms, which gather in colonies and create this very hard barrier to protect themselves. Coral is formed mainly in warm, clear and calm waters, both in tropical areas and in the Mediterranean. Indeed, the most prized coral is produced in the Mediterranean, the red one, while corals from other sources are usually white, green, brown. Each piece of coral is unique, due to its organic origin, and therefore very precious. Once harvested, the coral is cleaned, sanded and then cut, although it is often chosen to keep its natural ramifications as an ornament. Legend has it that the coral was born from the blood that came out of the neck of Medusa, the Gorgon, beheaded by Perseus. In ancient times it was considered an excellent remedy for anaemia and today it is used to combat anxiety.
In our store, you will also find rosaries in carnelian, a chalcedony that owes its red colour to the iron it contains, a symbol of life for the Egyptians; green aventurine, quartz containing various minerals in random proportion, which also gave its name to a particular Murano glass; lapis lazuli, silicate of sulfur, sodium and aluminium with intense blue colour, already widely used by the ancient Egyptians; turquoise, copper and aluminium phosphate with a characteristic blue colour, used by shamans and Egyptians to communicate with spirits; tiger’s eye, silicon oxide from the quartz family, with yellow-gold reflections on a dark background, stone of balance and masculine energy; jade, sodium and aluminium silicate with a splendid emerald green colour; onyx, a type of opaque grey to black chalcedony quartz, used since prehistoric times as an ornament.
Christmas lights are a suggestive and essential tradition during the holidays, and not only in our country. This is how they were born. The custom of lighting the house on the occasion of Christmas has ancient origins and that sink in the profound religious sense of Christian…
Contents1 The tradition of plaster statues2 The production phases3 Casting4 Drying5 Cleaning up6 Refinishing7 Dyeing8 The choice of chalk Plaster sacred statues have belonged to the Italian artisan tradition since antiquity. Let’s discover this ancient and always current art. Sacred statues and figurines of the…
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In reality, there were five children of Nicephorus and Theodotus, both Christians, who lived in the fourth century and were originally from Arabia. In addition to the saints Cosmas and Damian there were their three younger brothers, the saints Antimo, Leontius and Euprepius. All five grew up in the faith, educated by their devout mother, and all died martyrs in 303 A.D. in the city of Cyrus, in Antioch, or perhaps in Aegean, during the terrible persecution called by Diocletian.
Cosmas and Damian had studied medicine in Syria, which at the time was a Roman province, and practised medicine in Ægea, a port city on the Gulf of Alexandretta in Cilicia. Not much more is known about their lives, but among the people, they were reputed to be anargiri, “without silver” or “without money”, because they did not charge for their services. It is said that they were also very brave, and this would have been amply demonstrated in the face of martyrdom and that they put the good of others before everything else.
A fascinating aspect of these two holy twin martyrs is that they did not limit themselves to caring for the sick, to healing the wounds of the body. Their activity as doctors soon became a way to spread the Word of Jesus, to heal the souls of those who turned to them for help and comfort. Meditating men, women and children Cosmas and Damian also succeeded in converting them to Christianity.
This activity of proselytising annoyed the Romans and in particular Lysias, the governor of the province. He tried to convince the two brothers to convert and to make sacrifices to the pagan gods but in vain. It is said that the two saints were so firm, courageous and serene in their trial that they deserved the name of athletes of God.
Among the many torments suffered by the holy martyrs who have sacrificed their lives in the name of God, the martyrdom of Saints Cosmas and Damian is among the bloodiest and most terrible described by martyrologists. Of them, it is said that they were martyred not once, but five times.
According to the sources they were stoned, then flogged, crucified and hit with darts and spears, thrown into the sea in a sack with a rock hanging around their necks and burned in a burning furnace. But the rocks bounced against their tormentors, the arrows returned against those who had thrown them, the whip broke their bodies, but did not bend their souls, the angels untied the ties that closed the sacks with which they were thrown into the sea and the flames flared and roared against the executioners.
In the end, they were beheaded, and with them were the younger brothers Antimo, Leontius and Euprepius.
Although the Catholic Church recognises 26 September (27 September in extraordinary form) as a celebration of the memory of Saints Cosmas and Damian, in reality, there are three different traditions related to their lives, each with a different day dedicated to them.
The cult born in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine empire, gave life to an Asian tradition, which celebrates the two holy healers on 1 November.
The Arab tradition places instead the celebration of their memory on 17 October.
Finally, the Roman tradition, although originally from Syria, on 1 July.
The Orthodox Church leaves the free choice between these three days, for those who follow the cult of the two saints.
The choice of 26 September as the day of the liturgical commemoration of Saints Cosmas and Damian by the Catholic Church is linked to the basilica in the Roman Forum dedicated to them by Pope Felix IV (526 – 530). This basilica was erected in 526 where once stood the ancient Templum Romuli and the Bibliotheca Pacis, the Temple of Peace, and from the beginning, the pontiff promoted the worship of the two saints in opposition to that of two other famous twins, the pagan Castor and Pollux, the Dioscuri sons of Leda and Jupiter. The basilica was dedicated to the two saints on 27 September and later Pope Paul VI moved the date of their memory to 26 September.
Loved and held in high esteem in life, Cosmas and Damian saw their worship flourish immediately after their tragic death. They were buried at Cyrus in Cilicia and a sanctuary was soon erected on their tomb, visited by countless pilgrims. Those who went there did so to honour their remains, but also to invoke help against diseases of all kinds. In fact, from the origins of their cult, Cosmas and Damian can be counted among the Holy Healers to turn against diseases. Even the Justinian Emperor obtained a miraculous healing thanks to them and ordered that the sanctuary dedicated to them be expanded and transformed into a basilica. Thus the cult of the two holy thaumaturgists spread throughout the Byzantine Empire and, thanks to trade between East and West, it also reached Rome, where Pope Symmachus (498-514) built an oratory dedicated to them.
Cosmas and Damian were the last saints to be included in the canon of the Tridentine Mass, which lists the names of the Apostles followed by those of twelve martyrs. They’re the last ones.
Many churches were dedicated to them in the East and West, from Constantinople to Asia Minor, from Greece to Jerusalem and countless artists, including Blessed Angelico, Filippo Lippi and Sandro Botticelli immortalised their history in paintings and frescoes that became timeless works of art. Statues of saints adorn the churches of all Christianity.
We have already mentioned the construction of the Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damian by the will of Pope Felix IV. It was the first Christian basilica to be built in the area of the Roman Forum and has the dignity of a minor basilica. The splendid mosaic still visible today in the apse of the basilica was created precisely to attest that this was the first place of Christian worship in an area once reserved for the temples of the pagan gods. Here the relics of Saints Cosmas and Damian were moved and placed under the lower altar of the basilica.
The pope decided to join two pre-existing buildings that had been abandoned for years: the Pacis library, which was part of the Forum of Peace built by the emperor Vespasian, and the Temple of Romulus built by the emperor Maxentius at the beginning of the fourth century and covered by one of the largest domes in Rome.
In the Middle Ages, the basilica was a destination for pilgrimages, but also a place of care and assistance for the sick and needy. It was also a centre of Marian devotion and the image of Our Lady of Health was placed there by the will of Pope Gregory the Great, who told how, as he passed by the church, he was apostrophised by the Mother of God who said to him: “Gregory, why don’t you greet me anymore, as you always did?”
In 760 the church was joined by the Oratory of Saint Peter in Silica, famous for its miraculous water.
After seven chapels had been added to the nave of the basilica during the pontificate of Clement VIII, in 1626 it was almost completely rebuilt, with the demolition of the Roman walls, the construction of a new floor and the displacement of the chapels and altars. The reconstruction was completed in 1632.
In the Golden Legend Jacopo da Varazze tells of a man on the verge of death, due to a gangrene that had devoured his leg. He was the humble sacristan of the basilica dedicated to the saints Cosmas and Damian in Rome, and he called on them to put an end to the frightening pain that tore his body and soul. Immediately he fell into a deep sleep and in his sleep, he saw the two saints approach him, one with a knife, the other with a tray of medicines and wraps. He also heard them speak, and one proposed to the other to replace the rotten leg with a new one, taken from the body of an Ethiopian buried that day in the cemetery of San Pietro in Vincoli.
When the sacristan woke up all pain had ceased. His leg was completely healed, only he was as black as pitch!
Among the miracles attributed to the two saints, one concerns Cosmas’ desire not to be buried with his twin brother, after the latter had accepted three eggs as a gift from a farmer, Palladia, miraculously healed by him.
However, after their death, while they were preparing to bury them separately to comply with this request, those who had witnessed their death saw a camel that told them that Damian had accepted the eggs only to not humiliate the poor woman and therefore should not be blamed. So Cosmas and Damian were buried side by side.
Contents1 Saint Matthew the Apostle2 Martyrdom of Saint Matthew3 Saint Matthew the Evangelist On 21 September, Saint Matthew is celebrated evangelist, apostle and martyr. Who was he and how did he become an apostle? Saint Matthew the Evangelist is considered the author of one of…
Contents1 The origins of worship2 The Seven Pains Suffered by Mary3 Mary, all the suffering of a mother4 The depictions of Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady of Sorrows is a name attributed to Mary, mother of Jesus. This is how secular devotion to Mater…
Why write an article about the nativity of Mary? We all know well the story of Mary of Nazareth, the girl chosen by God to become the mother of Jesus, the Saviour. Since childhood, we are urged to consider her a kind of heavenly mother, who loves us as much as our real mother, and who in the same way loves all the children of the world. Growing up, this is one of the few sweet fairy tales that never ceases to be real. Because truly Our Lady continues to be the merciful Mother of all humanity, the one who, by virtue of her privileged bond with Jesus, can take charge of all the sufferings of men, to bring them to the attention of the Father and act as an intermediary between him and all his creatures.
It is thanks to Mary that God the Father wanted and was able to be reconciled with man. Another famous female figure, Eve, had caused the loss of grace for all humanity and the expulsion from Earthly Paradise. As Eve was cursed by God for her sin, and with her all women (“I will multiply your sorrows and your pregnancies, with sorrow you will bear children.” Genesis 3:16), the Virgin Mary was blessed among women. “You are blessed among women”, the archangel Gabriel tells her when he presents himself to announce her forthcoming motherhood. And this blessing, this choice made by God to bring His Son into the world, and with him salvation for all, is determined precisely by Mary, by how she is made, by her mild, sweet character, by her simplicity, but also by the courage with which she accepted to assume the not easy role that the Almighty had wanted for her.
We dedicated an article to the evolution of the figure of woman and mother from Eve to Mary in which we explored precisely this aspect of Mary’s life. Because of its importance in the history of humanity, we have also included Mary among the 10 Christian women who changed the Church and the world.
From Eve to Mary: the figure of the Mother in the Bible
The mother, pillar of every family, beating heart and source of life for those who gravitate around her.
But here we would like to take a step back and talk about the nativity of the Virgin Mary. Yes, because Maria was a child before she became the extraordinary woman we know. She had a mom before she was a mom herself. Her mother’s name was Anna and, although she is not mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, she is nevertheless venerated as a saint in turn, and with her also Mary’s father, Saint Joachim. Both of Mary’s parents are celebrated on 26 July, the same day that Grandparents Day is celebrated.
The story of Saint Anne Mother of Mary
On July 26, St. Anne and St. Joachim, the parents of the Virgin Mary, are celebrated. Let’s find out why.
Let’s discover together something more about the birth of Mary Most Holy and her childhood with Joachim and Anna.
But why is the Nativity of Mary celebrated on 8 September? In reality, there is no precise information regarding Our Lady’s date of birth. A tradition makes it coincide with 5 August, the day on which the Madonna della Neve is celebrated, which in the fourth century AD covered the Esquiline hill with a miraculous snowfall, where the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore will then be erected. The same date was indicated in 1984 by Our Lady of Medjugorje to the visionaries as their birthday.
The tradition that places the birth of Mary on September 8 is linked to the construction of the Basilica of Saint Anne in Jerusalem, in the fourth century AD, built in the place where once stood the house where the parents of Mary, Anna and Joachim, lived, and where the Mother of Jesus would be born.
In the East, the birth of Mary was celebrated in the fourth century, just after the construction of the aforementioned Basilica. Later the tradition of celebrating the birth of Mary on 8 September also arrived in Constantinople and the Byzantine Church made this devotion its own, associating it with that of the Conception.
In the seventh century Pope Sergius I introduced the feast of the Nativity of Mary also in the West, celebrating it with a solemn procession that ran through the streets of Rome from the church of San Adriano al Foro to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
The information we have about Joachim and Anna, parents of Mary, comes from James’ Protogospel, an apocryphal text excluded from the canon of the Sacred Scriptures. Similarly, the Gospel of the pseudo-Matthew, written in Latin in the 8th-10th century, mentions Mary’s parents. In the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, there are shreds of information that allow us to reconstruct at least in part the Virgin’s childhood.
Also, the Golden Legend, the collection of hagiographical biographies composed by the Dominican friar Jacopo da Varazze between 1260 and 1298, reports some episodes of the life of Mary, Saint Anne and Saint Joachim, many of whom inspired great artists of the past to realize sacred works of art that became immortal.
Meanwhile, we would like to recall the miraculous circumstances of Mary’s conception, which, as we know, was born pure, never touched by original sin, as is the case with all other men and women. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception makes Mary holy from her conception, purified from all evil and preserved from sin to become the mother of Jesus.
As we saw talking about Saint Anne, she and her husband Joachim could not have children. Sterility was considered the worst of misfortunes in Jewish culture because it was attributed to some divine punishment. Joachim, a devout man, chose to depart from the Temple when he was prevented from making sacrifices to God because of his barrenness. He withdrew into the desert, among the shepherds, never ceasing to pray to God. Even Anna, left by her husband, did not stop praying, and finally, their faith was rewarded: an angel appeared to both announcing the imminent birth of a child. The heavenly messenger told them that she should be called Mary and that she would live in the Temple, for she was destined to bear the Son of God.
The bride and groom were reunited, greeting each other with a kiss at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem.
Thus Mary was born, and at first, lived in the house of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne. Here she was educated by her mother in prayer and devotion to God, while she also learned all that a woman had to know about how to manage a house and a family. She was then taken to the Temple to be instructed by the chief priests. It is said that Mary joyfully welcomed the prospect of leaving her father’s house to go to that austere and solemn place, as if in her, still a child, the awareness of what her destiny would be was already throbbing.
According to the hagiographic tradition, Mary lived her childhood in the Temple, dividing herself between the prayers and visits of the angels. Her character was sweet and meek, an anticipation of the splendid young woman who would have welcomed upon herself the mission that God wanted to propose to her. A choice that would change the fate of the world.
Devotion to Mary the Child has its roots in the history of the oldest popular devotions. Surely the first devotional forms derive from the Eastern liturgy.
The cult of the Nativity of Mary was already cultivated in Milan in the tenth century, and on 20 October 1572 Saint Charles Borromeo consecrated the cathedral to the nascent Mary.
Around 1720, a Franciscan nun, Sister Chiara Isabella Fornari, who loved to model wax faces of Jesus as a child and Mary as a child, gave the Capuchin Sisters of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Milan a pretty wax statue depicting Mary as a newborn wrapped in bands. Thanks to this simulacrum, devotion to Mary the Child had a strong expansion and spread everywhere. Even today, the sisters of the Congregation of Sisters of Charity of Lovere in Milan are called Sisters of Mary the Child. The statuette was entrusted to these nuns in the mid-1900s. Since they were dedicated to the care and comfort of the sick at the Ciceri hospital in Milan, the statue of Mary Child became a point of reference and comfort for both the nuns and the sick, and in 1884 it was also attributed miraculous healing. Since then, on 9 September of each year, the miracle is celebrated.
Contents1 Prototypes and moulds2 Casting, moulding and grinding3 Galvanic treatment4 Decoration and colouring with the enamel5 Other products Religious jewellery? Yes, but only high quality, made with artisan methods by Italian companies of proven excellence. Because beauty, professionalism and faith can go together. We at…
Saint Monica of Tagaste was a woman endowed with extraordinary strength of mind and unwavering faith. Let’s find out why she’s become a symbol for all mothers. Saint Monica is the patron saint of married women, mothers and widows. In an era when the woman…
In an article of some time ago we had already spoken extensively about the Assumption of Mary into heaven, about how it is not the only dogma of faith but before this a belief very rooted and widespread in our country, to the point of having inspired over the centuries countless forms of popular devotion.
Ferragosto, the feast of the Madonna
In addition to representing the heart of summer, Christians consider Ferragosto to be the feast of the Madonna.
The reasons for the emotion aroused by the Assumption of Mary Most Holy are easily understood if we think of how Mary has imposed herself since ancient times as a receptacle of the dedication, affection and prayers of men and women of every background and social class.
It is probably her dimension as a merciful Mother, which she guarantees for men by interceding for them with God the Father Almighty, that deserves so much sympathy and solicitude.
But how is Mary assumed into heaven? Why?
All the souls of the saints have ascended to Paradise, according to the Christian religion, often escorted by hosts of angels. Countless artistic representations show this event.
But for the Virgin Mary, it was something completely different. She has ascended to Heaven not only as a soul but also with her own body.
Just as it happened for Jesus, his son, who with the Ascension reached his Heavenly Father with his own body and spirit, so too Mary assumed the privilege, unique among women and men, of ascending to Heaven without leaving her mortal remains. And this is how this sweetest Mother awaits us in the Kingdom of Heaven, with her soul and body extended to her children, to embrace, console and envelop them as only a mother knows how to do.
The reasons for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in body and soul are easy to understand. Not only was she the mother of God incarnate, chosen among all women to carry the Savior in her womb and heart. But long before the Annunciation, God had already chosen her and predestined her to his destiny, making her born without sin, according to the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, and later making sure that she conceived Jesus remaining a virgin, as the dogma of Mary’s perpetual virginity reminds us.
The Assumption is a prize that God wanted to grant to Mary for her sacrifice and devotion. But it is also a promise of salvation for all men since Mary was the first to enjoy the resurrection of the flesh, promised to all men when the end of time comes.
But now we see together the main traditions and celebrations related to the commemoration of the Assumption of Mary.
The Assumption of Mary is a feast of precept, or a day when the faithful are required to suspend all usual activities, work and business, and to attend Mass.
In Italy, a land of magnificent patron saint festivals, whose traditions have been handed down for centuries, many celebrations are dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption.
Every year in Tivoli, between the evening of 14 August and the following day, the Procession of the Bowing takes place, in honour of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It is a very ancient festival, already celebrated in the High Middle Ages, and which refers to the pagan processions during which the Romans carried around the city the images of their gods (theophoria). The Procession of the Bowing probably dates back to the thirteenth century and is linked to the presence in the city of a community of Franciscans who lived near Santa Maria Maggiore and who on 14 and 15 August paid homage to the icon of the Blessed Madonna delle Grazie kept here.
On the occasion of the Procession of the Bowing, the image of Saint Salvatore preserved in the Cathedral is carried in procession through the streets of the city. Arriving at the Gregorian Bridge, a priest blesses the river Aniene and throws into its waters a light that represents faith in God.
Another stage involves the prior of the Brotherhood of the Saviour stopping to kiss the threshold of the hospital. When the image of the Saviour reaches Piazza Trento it joins that of the Madonna delle Grazie.
Both images are brought with solemnity inside the church of Santa Maria Maggiore and placed in front of each other so that they can ‘talk’ to each other throughout the night.
The next morning, the day of the Assumption, the two images are brought out again and separated. The Saviour is brought back to the Cathedral with a new procession where all the town Brotherhoods and representatives of the Arts and crafts take part.
In Randazzo, a small town in the province of Syracuse, the celebrations for the Assumption of Mary begin at midnight on August 15, when the Procession of the Vara (Rod) begins. The Vara is an ancient and large votive allegorical chariot dating back to the sixteenth century. It is about 15 metres high, composed of several superimposed planes that rotate around a central axis.
Each floor corresponds to a Marian mystery, that is, to the death, Assumption and coronation of Mary, represented on a panel made in 1548 by Giovanni Caniglia and kept in the Chapel of the Most Holy Crucified in the church of Santa Maria.
About thirty children are brought up on the Vara, symbolising the different mysteries, and sing hymns dedicated to the Virgin, while the faithful carry the great chariot in procession through the city. The Procession of the Vara was born in the sixteenth century when King John of Aragon introduced the Fair Franca, which was held for nine days on 15 August and also included a large palio.
Also in Messina, a 13 m high Vara is carried through the streets of the city by 1,500 barefoot men dressed in white.
In Siniscola, Sardinia, the Procession for the Assumption of Mary takes place on the sea. While all the parishes celebrate Maria Assunta, the statue of the Madonna is taken from the main church to the beach called La Caletta and loaded on a boat that is at the helm of a maritime procession. To the procession at sea is added one through the streets of the town. A statue of the Virgin is carried around and then placed in a majestic wooden structure, where it is honoured by the faithful with flowers and offerings.
The celebrations for Maria Santissima Assunta are celebrated in Sassari on 14 August. This festival was declared an Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2013 and responds to the evocative name of Faradda di li candareri or Faradda, Descent of the candlesticks.
On the evening of August 14, representatives of the various professions carried candlesticks on their shoulders around the city or large wooden columns that symbolise candlesticks. The festival attracts thousands of people from all over the world and is one of the most important of the large shoulder machines. The movement of the conveyors spins the candles, as in a dance, also involving all the other participants in the procession, who grasp the long ribbons hanging from the structures.
Also in Sora, in Lazio, there are about sixty Carriers, who wear a blue and white uniform and walk through the city carrying a metal column about 16 metres high, at the top of which is placed the statue of the Virgin. The base of the structure is adorned with blessed blue roses for the occasion.
In the church of San Domenico Abate, there are various rituals, including an evening procession of the statue of the Sleeping Virgin, lying on a porter. The celebrations continue until the feast of San Domenico (21 and 22 August).
In Santa Maria di Leuca, in the province of Lecce, a solemn procession takes place on 15 August through the city streets. The statue of Maria Assunta is carried in a procession to the port, where it is embarked on parity of fishermen, drawn by lot and decorated for the occasion. The procession continues at sea with all fishing vessels and boats of all kinds.
Once you reach the marina of San Gregorio, you return to Leuca to reposition the statue in its place. It is celebrated late in the evening, and at midnight the sky is brightened by the glow of fireworks.
Also in Silvi, in the province of Teramo, the Assumption is celebrated with a procession of boats on the sea. Our Lady of the Sea is taken from the church of the Assumption, loaded on a Coast Guard patrol boat and then on a fishing boat. The procession of boats winds along the coast from the Cerrano Tower to the mouth of the Piomba River. At midnight the fireworks over the sea attract thousands of people.
In the province of Livorno, in Marina di Cecina, the statue of the Madonna and Child, kept in the Church of Sant’Andrea in Marina di Cecina, is taken to the sea in the presence of the Bishop of Volterra with a procession from the ground that then becomes a procession on the sea.
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On the occasion of the World Day of Friendship we wanted to verify what is the exact definition of this form of interaction, which characterizes the history of humanity since its origins.
The dictionary provides a rather dry and austere description, which does not entirely do justice to the infinite range of feelings and emotions that characterize this bond:
FRIENDSHIP: Mutual affection, constant and active, between person and person, born of a choice that takes into account the conformity of the wishes or characters and a prolonged custom
The definition is not wrong, because friendship really involves mutual and lasting affection, combined with the desire to help others with words and actions. As for the conformity of wills and characters, the mysterious alchemy that triggers a bond between two people does not depend solely on the similarity or the communion of tastes and thoughts. Just as in love relationships, there is often a kind of desire for complementarity, as if in the friend we were looking for someone able to complete us, to fit in with all its differences, not only with the similarities.
“Without friends no one would choose to live even if he owned all the other goods.” This is what Aristotle wrote in the fourth century B.C. The same famous philosopher defined man as a social animal, which precisely in friendship finds the most satisfactory and complete form of cohabitation. Of course, Aristotle could not have known that the human brain really needs social interaction in order to develop, enjoy good health and, above all, remain vigilant. Recent studies by prestigious universities have shown beyond doubt that friendship is an indispensable element for a good quality of life, no less than health or work.
Aristotle also catalogued three possible types of friendship among human beings, one of which deserves to be considered truly valid. This is the ideal friendship, one that disregards the usefulness that a man can draw from another man, the one that goes beyond the lightheartedness of youth and the sharing of pleasure and happy moments, but that also resists against the adversities and pains of life. This is the most solid, lasting and true friendship, the one that comes from the authentic love and appreciation of the other for how it is done intimately.
Once again we find a strong resemblance between friendship and loving relationship. After all, the English poet Lord Byron said: “Friendship is Love without its wings.” And he knew love!
For the great Cicero, friendship is a very important part of the great harmony that connects all things human and divine. Human beings are born to be part of this harmony, and friendship is one of the ways they have to participate in it. For Cicero, friends should be sought for their virtue, because only those with virtue deserve to be considered as friends. Woe to those who seek friends to linger together in vices, and woe also to those who justify the mistakes of friends, the lack of virtue. Again, sincerity is the fundamental pillar of friendship for Cicero. Better to hate someone openly than to pretend to be his friend.
Returning to World Friendship Day, it was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2011. The basic idea is that the basis of civil life, the basis of peace and cooperation among peoples, countries, cultures and individuals, must be precisely this bond, this sentiment so precious and important that it has been debated over the millennia by philosophers and thinkers sung by poets, celebrated by artists.
In the era of Social Networks, in which the term ‘friend’ is abused, misused in every possible way, it becomes of fundamental importance to remember the true and deep sense of friendship, especially to the youngest, who will have to build the world of tomorrow. Especially to their involvement are finalized the many events and initiatives organized around the world on the occasion of this special day, which also becomes an opportunity to promote solidarity, mercy, and the ideals of civilizations too often forgotten in our world.
Pope Francis, always full of beautiful phrases on every aspect of the life of Christians, young and not, said: “Friendship is among the greatest gifts that a person, a young person, can and can offer“.
We talked about the vision of friendship by Aristotle, Cicero and Lord Byron. But also within the Catholic Church we have deep reflections on friendship, and also splendid examples of this sentiment between great figures of the past. Indeed, we can say that the whole history of Catholicism is based on the friendship that has bound men and women.
Moreover, already in the Old Testament we read the famous saying He who finds a friend finds a treasure, which derives from the quote: “A faithful friend is a sure refuge: he who finds him finds a treasure” (Sirach 6:14). Always in Sirach we also read that “The faithful friend is a balm in life” (Sirach 6:14) and that “For a faithful friend there is no price, there is no measure for his value” (Sirach 6:15).
And if any doubt still remained about the importance of the friendship that God fosters among human beings, Jesus affirmed that: “No one has a love greater than this: to give his life for his friends.” (John 15:13).
On the occasion of the World Day of Friendship we wanted to recall some great stories of friendship between Fathers of the Church and saints. Relationships exquisitely human, but in front of which one cannot but think of God’s will to bring together beautiful and precious souls, who could draw from the sharing of thoughts and emotions mutual pleasure and a greater love, which is just another form of glorification of His name.
Certainly blessed and inspired by God must have been the tender and deep friendship between Saint Francis and Saint Clare of Assisi.
What bound these two boys, united by an immense fraternal love, was the will to please God. When we talk about the friendship between man and woman it is always easy to run into the doubt that it transcends itself, in favor of a different feeling. Given that there is nothing that prevents two individuals linked by a marital relationship to be also and still friends, in the case of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Clare we can speak rather of an elective affinity, meaning that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe gave this term in his novel of the same name. For the great German writer and poet, while love is an illusion triggered by the mind to create relationships and relationships, the elective affinity arises from the exceptional encounter between two subjects that are immediately in total harmony, as two notes that vibrate in unison, in a melody that is born and dies with them, unique, perfect, inimitable.
This was the friendship between Francis and Clare, a spiritual friendship, comparable to that which perhaps unites the saints in heaven, the blessed souls, free from reasons and why, relieved of any burden inflicted by the flesh.
Clare finds in Francis a teacher in the faith, an example to be inspired by, when she decides to leave her comfortable and easy life, to give up everything and embrace with her friends absolute poverty. And in that poverty Francis stands beside her, like a caring brother. Their help in each other, supporting and sharing as much the privations as the immense joy given by devotion, seals the friendship between these two young and beautiful souls, united by love for Christ, by the desire to be as close as possible to Him, in life before death.
Support in difficulties, therefore, inspiration and mutual consolation, in a common path to improve themselves, to bring out the best of themselves, one with the other. We find the poetry of Aristotle, and we find the warning to the virtue of Cicero, and much more. The friendship between Saint Francis and Saint Clare makes God smile, and the warmth of that blessing and blessed smile reaches us, who remember the story of these two fantastic and unique young people.
The Canticle of the Creatures of St. Francis
St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most loved and venerated saints by the Catholic Church.
Thinking of Francis and Clare we like to think of two young lovers, whose love, however, is not turned to each other, not only at least, but rises to God, amplified and magnified by the bond that unites them.
Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory of Nazianzus were also great friends. Both were bishops and theologians, Doctors of the Church and belonging to the group of Cappadocian fathers, Hellenistic Christian philosophers who in the fourth century formed a kind of monastic family within which Christianity and philosophy found their conjugation.
Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory of Nazianzus therefore shared their knowledge, their great theological knowledge, to define immense concepts, such as the divinity of the Holy Spirit and that of the Son of God. “We understood that the love of wisdom was what we were both looking for” affirms Saint Gregory Nazianzus in his speeches.
But before the sharing of study and knowledge, between the two men there was a relationship of great admiration and mutual esteem, which meant that both enjoyed the successes of the other, the recognition that was given to the friend, as if they were their own.
As in the case of Francis and Clare, also for Basil and Gregory we can speak of elective affinity, and of God’s will to bring together two souls destined to unite in such an indissoluble and precious way. Gregory also writes: “We were in Athens, departing from the same homeland, divided, like the course of a river, in different regions for the sake of learning, and again together, as per an agreement, but in reality by divine disposition.”
It is precisely the words left by Saint Gregory that make us understand the spiritual and intellectual depth of this bond, able to enrich and elevate two men already exceptional individually, to make them even greater. “The only occupation and longing for both was virtue, and to live tense to future hopes and to behave as if we were exiles from this world, even before we had left the present life. Such was our dream. That is why we directed our life and conduct on the way of the divine commandments and animated each other to the love of virtue.”
And he concludes, with a sentence that summarizes in an exemplary way not only the friendship between him and Basil, but the friendship between all the saints and, who likes to think, on this occasion, of all the men who profess to be friends: “It seemed that we had a single soul in two bodies.”
Saint Augustine will repeat the same thing: “He said very well who defined the friend as half of his soul. I actually felt that our two souls were one in two bodies.”
“Love each other with fraternal affection, compete in esteeming each other.”
Saint Paul, Romans 12:10
“He said very well who defined the friend as half of his soul. I actually felt that our two souls were one in two bodies”
Saint Augustin
“Friendship is the truest realization of the person”
Saint Theresa of Avila
“The friendship that has its source in God is never extinguished”
Saint Catherine of Siena
“It does us so much good, when we suffer, to have friendly hearts, whose echo responds to our pain”
Saint Theresa of Lisieux
“True friendship cannot last if it is not based on virtue.”
St. John Bosco
“Find the time to be a friend: it’s the way to happiness”
Mother Theresa of Calcutta
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Devotion to Saint Maria Goretti began immediately after her tragic death on 6 July 1902. To understand the reasons for this cult born so quickly, and addressed to a little girl daughter of peasants, who died in tragic circumstances, but also frequent, for the time, we must understand the very context in which Mary lived and died. It was precisely among the humblest strata of the population that devotion to this holy child developed, in the hearts and souls of men, women and children accustomed to suffering and hardship, belonging to the rural world, the same in which she had lived her short life.
Maria Goretti was proclaimed a saint for having forgiven her murderer and for having caused his conversion.
She is the patron saint of Latina, of Agro-Pontine, of the Daughters of Mary, and of youth, with Saint Luigi Gonzaga. She is not the only holy victim of rape, and for this reason she has been associated in recent times by Pope Benedict XVI and then by Pope Francis, to Saint Dinfna, Irish martyr who died in Belgium in the seventh century, protector of the victims of rape.
The story of Saint Maria Goretti brings us back to the many young saints in the history of Christianity. We talked about some of them in the article dedicated to Saint Luigi Gonzaga, the patron saint of the young, or in that on Joan of Arc, The young Santa Guerriera symbol of faith and courage, also just a humble peasant, who was still able to save his country. These young and very young saints and martyrs who died too early, just like Santa Maria Goretti, have an important lesson to pass on to all of us, and it is that you do not have to live a long life and mature a vast experience to bring out the best of yourself. Goodness, mercy, the spirit of sacrifice have no age, and it is these virtues that make the difference, to make us immortal in the memory of those who loved us, of those who knew us. In the same way, holiness has no age, and these special children prove it to us, they who have remained in the memory of the centuries as examples to follow and venerate.
But who was Saint Maria Goretti, and how was the devotion that was addressed to her born?
Maria Goretti was born in Corinaldo, in the province of Ancona, in the Marche, on 16 October 1890. Precarious economic conditions and lack of work forced his family to move to the countryside of Agro Pontino, 10 km from Neptune, along with the Serenelli family. Alessandro, one of the sons of the Serenelli, soon showed interest in Maria, an interest that led to increasingly insistent physical approaches. After the death of the girl’s father due to malaria, the two families get even closer, dividing the same house. It is here that Alessandro, twenty, one day attacks Maria, who is eleven years old. The child is denied, tries to escape, pleads with him, and the boy, blinded by violence, hits her fourteen times with an awl. Mary is taken to the hospital of Neptune, where she dies the following day, but her last words are of forgiveness and reconciliation for her murderer: “For Jesus’ sake I forgive him, I want him to come with me to Heaven.”
Thus Maria Goretti dies, while Alessandro Serenelli, deeply touched by the girl’s forgiveness, is locked in prison, where in the twenty-seven years that followed he will undertake a personal journey of repentance and approach to the Catholic religion. His conversion is considered the first of the miracles of the little saint. Released from prison, the man will go to implore the forgiveness of Mary’s family, obtaining that of her mother, Assunta.
The Passionist fathers of Neptune and the Roman Catholic Action immediately spread the story of Mary, who became, even in the fascist era, a symbol of virtue and courage for the local rural population.
Even after the Second World War, in the fifties, the story of the girl aroused much emotion, not only among Catholics. His example of courage and resistance became a model even for young communist militants, to the point of becoming, at the proposal of Palmiro Togliatti, a model of life for the girls of the FGCI, Italian Communist Youth Federation.
Over the years, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints examined various healings attributed to Maria Goretti. It will be in the presence of Mother of the Assumption that Mary, on June 24, 1950, will be proclaimed Saint by Pope Pius XII, in a ceremony that will take place outdoors, in St Peter’s Square, for the first time in the history of the Church. The Pope on that occasion kissed the hand of the girl’s mother, as a sign of respect for the sacrifice of her daughter, but also for her pain. Alessandro Santarelli also attended the canonization. He had told that he had seen Mary in a dream, in a beautiful garden, surrounded by flowers. He then spent the rest of his long life in a convent.
Every year there are two pilgrimages to the places of the life of Santa Maria Goretti: the last Saturday in June, and the first Saturday in July. They take place in Neptune, where his remains are kept, but also in his birthplace.
The place where Santa Maria Goretti was born is located in the district of Pregiagna, near Corinaldo. The farmhouse has remained about as then, a small building built on two floors, as you can see many in this rural area. The ground floor still shows what’s left of the barn. Where once there was the cellar was set up a small chapel dedicated to Santa Maria Goretti. On the second floor there are the rooms where the Goretti family lived, the kitchen with the fireplace, the rooms still furnished with the furniture of the time.
In 2015 the artist from Senigallia Andrea Ippoliti created for the park around the house an installation of 12 panels dedicated to the theme of love.
The house of Santa Maria Goretti is a destination for pilgrimages and visits by the faithful not only from Italy. It is about 1 km from the historic center of Corinaldo and a bus is easily reached. There is also a large car park with space for both buses and cars. In front of the house of Maria Goretti there is a Reception Centre for pilgrims, a small votive shrine dedicated to the Holy Child, a “Via Crucis”, a playground for children. A Mariana newsstand is dedicated to Assunta Goretti, Maria’s mother.
Also in Corinaldo, in the parish church of San Francesco, in the Baptistery of which Santa Maria Goretti was baptized, was placed a small monument dedicated to her, in white Carrara marble.
At the top of the historic center of Corinaldo is the Diocesan Sanctuary of Santa Maria Goretti. Here lie Mamma Assunta, who died in 1954, and Alessandro Serenelli, who died in 1970. A wooden sculpture depicting the little Saint is placed near the central altar where there is also a silver urn containing the bone of her arm.
The Canticle of the Creatures of St. Francis
St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most loved and venerated saints by the Catholic Church. Close to the poor, brother of the least…
IThe body and relics of Santa Maria Goretti are kept in Neptune, in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace and Santa Maria Goretti. According to the legend, in 1532 three statues were transported by a vessel bound for Naples, among them a statue of the Madonna coming from England where, because of the Anglican schism, the statues of the saints were destroyed. A violent storm fell on the ship, and the sailors begged Our Lady, who saved them. According to legend, the statue of the Madonna ended up on the shores of Neptune, or in another version it was donated by the sailors themselves to the inhabitants of the place.
Thus was born the cult of the Virgin of Graces, who watches over the population of Neptune protecting it from every calamity and tragedy. A sanctuary was dedicated to her, located at the end of the Giacomo Matteotti promenade, near the mouth of the Loricina river. It still houses the wooden statue of Our Lady of Grace that has come to these shores in such an adventurous way.
When Maria Goretti was beatified in 1950 her name was added to the title of Our Lady of Grace to call the sanctuary. In the crypt an altar made by Arnaldo Brandizzi contains the urn of Maria Goretti, buried here in 1929. In 1947 her remains were reassembled in a wax statue, placed in a case and exposed in the chapel dedicated to her.
