I am the Immaculate One, Patroness of your land
Be my faithful children as I have been your faithful Mother.
Coming soon is the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception. December 8 is the day that the United States has the special privilege of celebrating our Queen and Patroness. Her title – Queen of all Heaven and Earth was given to her by the Holy Trinity. The title of our nation’s Patroness was offered to her by Bishop John Carol in 1792. Without hesitation, she accepted and is in fact our nation’s Patroness.
Unfortunately, we give little thought to her as Patroness and what it means. The secular definition for Patroness uses words like Advocate and Protector, which all apply. But there is one unique phrase that further defines her role – Faithful Mother!
This phrase illustrates her special love for us. Individually and collectively, she is our Mother. But not just any mother. She is the Mother of Christ, true God and true man. Of course, as Christians we know this, but there is so much more to her that we rarely contemplate or may just not know.
We know from Scripture and Sacred Tradition that Our Lady has many characteristics. She protects her Child. She loves her spouse. She leads souls to Her Son. But there is so much more to know if we really want to understand the greatness that Our Lord has worked in His mother.
Our Lady, the Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of America (Our Lady of America) asks that we seek purity by imitating her and the Holy Family. But what does that mean! If we wanted to know more about Our Lady and the life of the Holy Family, where would we go? While there are many good books about Our Lady, there is one that stands out and seems to be directly related to her call for us to imitate the Holy Family. In my opinion the best source for understanding the nature of the Immaculate Conception and the immense graces she received, is the Mystical City of God by Venerable and incorrupt, Sister Mary of Agreda.
It is a mystically inspired biography of the life of the Blessed Virgin and the Holy Family. Its detail is stunning, and the unfolding of the Holy Mysteries is full of life. Perhaps there is no better source to understand the path and fruits of imitating Our Lady than to read this book.
So, what’s the connection? Other than the topical connection there is also a historic connection between the book and Our Lady of America. It is known by Decree that devotion to Our Lady, the Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of America took on a specific program in 1956 at Rome City, Indiana. Then Sr. Mary Ephrem was inspired in prayer to understand that Our Lady wants us to seek purity by imitating her. But how? That leaves a big unknown. Though Our Lady would not leave us without an answer.
Here’s the connection. In 1912 when the English translation of the Mystical City of God was published in the diocese of Fort Wayne, the Imprimatur was given at Rome City, Indiana in the Bishop’s Office, by H. J. Alderding, Bishop of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Bishop of Fort Wayne had a summer residence on Sylvan Lake and an office inside the Kneipp Springs Sanitarium.
The Bishop’s office was just on the other side of the Mother of Mercy Chapel, from where Sr. Ephrem was first inspired by Our Lady, the Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of America. It is my opinion, which is shared by many who have studied the connection, that Our Lady was putting a spotlight on this book as means to better fulfill her request that we imitate her and the Holy Family.
The Mystical City of God is a 2,600-page, 4 volume set, illustrating the life of the Holy Family. This includes the life of Jesus, the Passion, Resurrection. It also, illustrates in detail, the Ascension, the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the establishment of the Church and all the Holy Mysteries. It brings to life which such detail that the reader quickly understands the Creative Love of the Holy Trinity far exceeds the wildest imagination of humanity.
To pique your interest in reading this work here are a few chapter titles:
- LUCIFER WITH ALL HIS SEVEN LEGIONS PERSISTS IN TEMPTING MOST HOLY MARY; SHE CONQUERS THE DRAGON AND CRUSHES HIS HEAD
- THE DEEP KNOWLEDGE OF THE MOST HOLY MARY CONCERNING THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS WHICH WERE TO BE INSTITUTED BY CHRIST THE LORD, AND CONCERNING THE FIVE PRECEPTS OF THE CHURCH
- LUCIFER CALLS A MEETING IN HELL IN ORDER TO HINDER THE WORKS OF CHRIST OUR REDEEMER AND OF HIS MOST HOLY MOTHER
The entire 4 volume set is available for free download as pdf files. There is also an abridged version available for those needing a shorter version.
In reading these writings, one will form a profound appreciation for the wonders and miracles that the Holy Trinity has worked in Our Lady. Of all creation, she is the pinnacle! No mere creature has ever possessed such Holiness and loved God as has she. And no one has ever understood the Sacred Heart of Jesus as has His Mother. In these pages, Sr. Agreda makes clear that all that’s revealed therein is limited by human understanding, and that this is merely the surface of these deep mysteries.
And she is the ONE who is Our Mother and Patroness. We could have no greater!
This next Feast of the Immaculate Conception ask Our Lady to reveal to you the depth of her love for us, her children. And offer thanks to the Holy Trinity for the immense gift of Her, Our Patroness! And answer the call to be her faithful children seeking purity in imitating her.
