CrucisOur Lady
Our Lady is the affectionate and reverent title by which Christians honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and the mother of all the faithful. Chosen from among all women to be the Mother of the Redeemer, she conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit and gave her free consent to God's plan with the words "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word," so that the Fathers of the Church call her the new Eve, whose obedience undid the disobedience of the first.
The Church holds her to be ever-virgin, immaculately conceived without stain of sin, and assumed body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she reigns as Queen and intercedes as the Mother of the Church. She is honored under countless titles drawn from her virtues, her mysteries, and the places of her apparitions, from Our Lady of Sorrows to Our Lady of the Rosary, and is invoked in the Litany of Loreto under names such as Mirror of Justice, Cause of Our Joy, and Refuge of Sinners. Above all the saints, she is venerated as the surest guide and advocate leading the faithful to her Son.
Selected quotes
“My daughter, I desire that thou be my disciple and my companion, and I will be thy Teacher; but remember that thou must obey me courageously, and from this day on no vestige of a daughter of Adam must be found in thee.”
“My daughter, console thyself and do not be disturbed in thy heart on account of this labor; prepare thyself for it, and I will be thy Mother and Superior, whom thou shalt obey.”
“My daughter, as yet thou hast not derived becoming fruit for thy soul from the tree of life, which was offered thee in the writing of my history, nor didst thou enter into the substance of its contents.”