The Queenship & Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary August 22

Since Our Lady’s whole life was a life of her Heart, the Immaculate Heart represents her life, her love, herself. From the moment of Conception, Mary offered acts of faith, hope, love, praise, adoration, thanksgiving to the God who created her. Her one ambition was union with God, her desire to do His will; the light of grace found no obstacle in her pure soul. Her immaculate Heart was the throne of all virtue. Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is the complement of devotion to the Sacred Heart; in the one we honor Christ, the Redeemer; in the other, Mary, co-redemptrix. Thus we honor Christ's mother with the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

God was so pleased with His Masterpiece of creation, Mary, that He willed to be born of her pure flesh and blood. By giving her consent, Mary became the channel through which Christ came to men; and this channel is the surest way to lead us back to God. It was Mary’s love for man, joined with and flowing from her love of God, that made her utter her “Fiat” – that Fiat meant consent to the Incarnation and to the Redemption. So also the Salvation of the world depends on Mary.

Among Our Lady’s urgent requests at Fatima was the plea for devotion and consecration to her Immaculate Heart – our devotion to Mary is neither complete nor true, unless we are willing to give ourselves over to the object of our love; true devotion culminates in dedication or consecration. Consecration consists in an act, by which we promise Our Lady not only everything we possess, but our very selves as well; and this, not for a time, but forever; secondly, it is a state whereby we recognize God’s sovereign dominion by acknowledging Christ as our King, and Our Lady as our Queen, pledging them complete service and devotion.

Our consecration, then, must be more than a well-written prayer, recited and then forgotten; it must be a vital, living state in which we recognize the importance of habitually belonging to Our Lady; to be fruitful it must inspire imitation. We must try to reshape our lives according to Our Lady’s, setting up a whole new pattern, studied at her feet, learned from the Rosary mysteries and modeled after her own Immaculate Heart.

To consecrate means to remove from the profane and set apart as sacred; renouncing self-love; doing all in union with and for our Heavenly Queen; removing sin and all obstacles to perfect union of heart with hers. If we do this, Mary will teach us all virtue and the way that will lead us to God. If men become slaves to an art which ends with death, should we not become slaves of Mary, the music of whose Heart will sing out for all Eternity?

Love will prompt this total submission, solid love of the will, ending in imitation and surrender. Our love for Mary must be so
intense that we chain our hearts to hers by golden links of love, stronger than any base metal of earth; Mary will then govern our thoughts, words, deeds. Our life will have but one purpose – God’s glory. Our hearts will yearn only for her interests and her honor – which is God’s honor, too; all her intentions and dispositions will become ours. Her humility will replace our pride; her purity efface our impurity; her selflessness, wipe out our self-love; and all her virtues replace our sins. From her we will learn the meaning of prayer, mortification, and penance. Resting close to her Immaculate Heart, our own cold hears will become enkindled with the Divine Fire and grow ablaze with her burning love.
Our lives thus surrendered to her can become like that of the angels, one continual song of praise; our hearts annihilated and lost within the sanctuary of her Immaculate Heart, will be able to sing truly, “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Memorial of the Queenship of Mary

In 1954, Venerable Pope Pius XII formally promulgated the memorial of the Queenship of Mary with his encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam (Queen of Heaven). It was initially celebrated on May 31st but subsequently transferred to August 22nd, seven days after the Solemnity of the Assumption. In this encyclical, Pope Pius set down in writing what had long been part of our Catholic faith: that Mary is Queen, as seen in Scripture and the ancient Tradition of the Church, especially because of the words of the Archangel, who announced her royal position to her at the Annunciation. St. Gabriel foretold that her Son would reign forever (cf Luke 1:33). As well, St. Elizabeth’s words to Mary at the Visitation confirmed her as “Mother of my Lord” (cf Luke 1:43), the form of address for the mother of a king in the 1st century. And, the mother of a king is, of course, the queen mother.

Dr. Edward Sri brings out the subtle scriptural allusion to Mary as Queen in Matthew 2:11:

“All throughout the narrative in Matthew 1–2, Joseph is much more prominent than Mary. Matthew traces
Jesus’ genealogy through Joseph. The angel appears to Joseph three times. It is Joseph who leads the Holy Family to Bethlehem, to Egypt, and back to Israel. From this we can see Joseph often takes the spotlight in the first few scenes of Matthew’s Gospel. However, in this particular episode when the Magi come to honor Jesus, Mary takes center stage and Joseph fades into the background. Why? Because it shows the importance of Mary as queen mother.”* 

In addition to the Gospel references above, and the Old Testament prophecy of the virgin from whom would come a royal son (cf Isaiah 7), we know that the Blessed Mother is full of grace (cf Luke 1:28) and that nothing unclean may enter heaven (Revelation 21:27). Therefore, it’s no surprise, that Mary makes an appearance in Revelation 12 as Queen, as the woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and, on her head, a crown of twelve stars (cf Revelation 12:1).
All who call her Queen and Lady express the consent of faith to this teaching. And, Pope Pius XII wrote that:

“…it is easily concluded that she is a Queen, since she bore a son who, at the very moment of His conception, because of the hypostatic union of the human nature with the Word, was also as man King and Lord of all things. So with complete justice St. John Damascene could write: ‘When she became Mother of the Creator, she truly became Queen of every creature.'”

The Blessed Virgin Mary has been celebrated and honored as Queen from the earliest history of the Church. Every honor and devotion we give to her “redounds to the glory of her Divine Son, not only because all graces and all gifts, even the highest, flow from Him as from their primary source, but also because ‘The glory of children [is their parentage]’ (Book of Proverbs, 17:6)” (Fulgens Corona — Radiant Crown).

 It is interesting to reflect on Mary’s title “Mother of Mercy” (or “Queen of Mercy”).  We hear her called that in various Church prayers.  Although she has the title “Mirror of Justice” which we address her by in the Litany of Loreto, St. Alphonsus Liguori, in his famous treatise The Glories of Mary, points out that she is never called the Mother of Justice.  “Mary, then, is Queen,” he writes, “but let all learn for their consolation that she is a mild and merciful Queen, desiring the good of all sinners… Kings… should principally occupy themselves with works of mercy, but they should not neglect the exercise of justice toward the guilty when it is required. But Mary is not a queen of justice, intent on the punishment of the guilty, but rather a Queen of Mercy, intent only on compassion and pardon for sinners. Accordingly, the Church calls her Queen of Mercy.” So, let us invoke our Blessed Mother this day, frequently, just as is done in the beautiful prayer said at the end of the rosary, and sung often after Compline, or Night Prayer, in the Liturgy of the Hours, “Hail, Holy Queen.” “Salve Regina!”

PLEASE ... PRAY FERVENTLY THAT OUR LADY'S IMMACULATE HEART TRIUMPHS SOON & THAT ALL BE SAVED & NONE BE LOST ACCORDING TO GOD'S HOLY WILL! 

Additonally, Pope Leo requests that 8.22.25 be a day of prayer & fasting for PEACE. 

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Portiuncula Indulgence & Feast of Our Lady of the Angels

Event Name: Portiuncula Indulgence & Feast of Our Lady of the Angels
Date(s): Aug 1 - Aug 2
Time: Starts: 12:00 PM Ends: 11:59 PM

The following is an excerpt from Major Life of St. Francis by St. Bonaventure.

What is Portiuncula?

”The Portiuncula was an old church dedicated to the Virgin Mother of God which was abandoned . Francis had great devotion to the Queen of the world and when he saw that the church was deserted, he began to live there constantly in order to repair it. He heard that the Angels often visited it, so that it was called Saint Mary of the Angels, and he decided to stay there permanently out of reverence for the angels and love for the Mother of Christ.

He loved this spot more than any other in the world. It was here he began his religious life in a very small way; it is here he came to a happy end. When he was dying, he commended this spot above all others to the friars, because it was most dear to the Blessed Virgin.

This was the place where Saint Francis founded his Order by divine inspiration and it was divine providence which led him to repair three churches before he founded the Order and began to preach the Gospel.

This meant that he progressed from material things to more spiritual achievements, from lesser to greater, in due order, and it gave a prophetic indication of what he would accomplish later.

As he was living there by the church of Our Lady, Francis prayed to her who had conceived the Word, full of grace and truth, begging her insistently and with tears to become his advocate. Then he was granted the true spirit of the Gospel by the intercession of the Mother of mercy and he brought it to fruition.

He embraced the Mother of Our Lord Jesus with indescribable love because, as he said, it was she who made the Lord of majesty our brother, and through her we found mercy. After Christ, he put all his trust in her and took her as his patroness for himself and his friars.”


Today the chapel of Portiuncula is situated inside the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels roughly 5 km from Assisi, Italy.

The Indulgence:

“The Portiuncula indulgence is the first plenary indulgence that was ever granted in the Church. There were indeed indulgences at all times, but they were only partial, and only a partial remission of the temporal punishments could be obtained by them. But, as already remarked, he who gains the Portiuncula indulgence is freed from all temporal punishments and becomes as pure as after holy baptism. This was also the reason why Pope Honorius was astonished when St. Francis petitioned for the confirmation of this indulgence, for such an indulgence, up to that time, had been entirely unknown. It was only after he had come to the conviction that Jesus Christ Himself wished it, that he granted the petition of the saint and confirmed the indulgence”

August 2nd is the feast of Portiuncula. A plenary indulgence is available to anyone who will:

1. Receive sacramental confession (8 days before of after)

2. Receive the Holy Eucharist at Holy Mass on August 2nd

3. Enter a parish church and, with a contrite heart, pray the Our Father, Apostles Creed, and a pray of his/her own choosing for the intentions of the Pope.

The Portiuncula indulgence then is a great grace of which we should avail ourselves every year. Try to gain it. See above all, that you make a humble, contrite and sincere confession, for a good confession is the first and most necessary requisite for the forgiveness of sins and the gaining of the indulgence. Receive Holy Communion with the most profound humility and adoration. Say the prayers for an indulgence with devotion and sentiments of repentance, according to the intention of the Holy Father, and relying on the merits of Jesus Christ, on the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Francis, and the other saints, beseech God with confidence to impart to you the indulgence and to deliver you from all temporal punishments. Promise to be thankful to him for this grace all the days of your life by carefully keeping your conscience free from even small faults. Visit the church several times and after repeating the prayers for an indulgence apply it to the poor souls that they may partake of the grace thereof. Thus the Portiuncula indulgence will be to you a key with which you will open heaven, both for yourselves and for many poor souls.

Receiving the Portiuncula Indulgence when HOMEBOUND

The Catholic Church makes special provisions for individuals who are legitimately unable to fulfill the typical conditions for a plenary indulgence, such as visiting a specific church. In the case of the Portiuncula Indulgence, those who are homebound due to age, illness, or other serious reasons can still obtain it by fulfilling the following: 

Detachment from all sin: This means having a firm resolve to avoid all sin, even venial sin.

Intention to fulfill the usual conditions: While unable to physically visit a church, the individual must have the intention of fulfilling the conditions of sacramental confession, receiving Holy Communion, and praying for the Pope's intentions as soon as possible when circumstances allow, according to the Diocese of Sacramento.

Spiritual union and prayer: In the presence of a sacred image (e.g., an image of Jesus or the Blessed Virgin Mary), they should unite themselves spiritually to the holy year prayer services or pilgrimages related to the Portiuncula Indulgence. This can be done by offering their prayers, sufferings, and the hardships of their life to God with faith and through the intercession of Mary, says the Diocese of Sacramento. They could recite pious prayers, such as the Rosary or Chaplet of Divine Mercy, or engage in reading from the Gospel as proposed by the liturgy.

Sacramental Confession: Arrange for a priest to hear their confession in person, if possible. Confession cannot be received remotely (e.g., over the phone or internet).

Receive Holy Communion: Arrange for a Eucharistic Minister to bring them Communion. 

In essence, even though they cannot physically visit a church, shut-ins can still participate in the graces of the Portiuncula Indulgence through spiritual communion and by fulfilling the necessary conditions as best as they are able, while having a sincere desire to fulfill the usual conditions when the opportunity arises. 

Portiuncula