Celebrations
- In Lyons, France, Our Lady of Valfleurie (or Valfleury) (Notre Dame de Valfleury)[1]: the statue of Our Lady dates back to the 9th century, and was solemnly crowned on May 31st, 1860. The story is told that around Christmas around the year 800, a shepherd leading his flock saw a bush in full bloom with flowers. As he spread its branches, he beheld, in the middle of the bush, a statue of Our Lady holding the Child Jesus. The statue was brought to the nearest church, but the following day, it miraculously returned to the spot where it was discovered. It was on that spot that the present shrine was constructed.[2]
- In 1570, in Prato, Toscana, Italy, a miracle of the Madonna of Help (Madonna del Soccorso): the image was originally housed in a small chapel. On this day, a young shepherdess was pasturing her flock when a sudden and torrential rainfall threatened to carry her off. She took refuge next to the image, and began to pray. Even though the waters raged around the image, neither the girl nor her sheep were harmed.[3]
Meditation:
- It’s interesting to think how much flowers are associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Many times, at the sites of apparitions flowers appear, or at least there is a strong scent of flowers. In fact, there is a whole tradition of writings from the Fathers of the Church that compare Mary to flowers and to a garden. Part of this comes from the Song of Songs, where the lover is called “A garden enclosed, my sister, my bride, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed!” (4:12). However, some have taken this even more literally: there is a tradition of growing an actual garden with flowers that have Marian names. Saint Benedict had a rose garden in his monastery, and the first garden specifically dedicated to Mary that we know of is that of St. Fiacre in 7th century Ireland. Many flowers had Marian names in medieval times: the English Daisy (Bellis perennis) was known as Mary-Love or the Mary-Rose; Forget-me-not (Myostis scorpoides, Myostis sylvatica) as the Eyes of Mary; the Geranium (Pelargonium sp.) as the Gentle Virgin; the German Iris (lris germanica) as Mary’s Sword of Sorrow. Indeed, there’s a great number of plants with Marian connotations.[4] This should make us think of two things: first, how even the beauty of nature can speak to us of heavenly things. If flowers are so beautiful, imagine how Mary must be! Secondly, it reminds us that even simple things, like flowers, can be used to evangelize and bring Mary into our daily lives.
[1] Orsini – Barthe – Hahn, The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 553.
[2] https://www.notredamedevalfleury.fr/copie-de-le-sanctuaire
[3] https://immaculate.one/la-madonna-del-giorno-6-novembre-1570-madonna-del-soccorso-prato-toscana-italia/
[4] See https://udayton.edu/imri/mary/_resources/docs-pdfs/p/plants-for-a-larger-mary-garden.pdf; likewise, Andrea Oliva Florendo, The Liturgy of Flowers in a Mary Garden – A Contemplation (New York: Rosetti della Virgine Books, 2004).
