The Prayer of Mary and the Saints Who Met Her
CTS Notes on Prayer Book 1
Sr Catherine Aubin, OP
Pope Francis (Preface)
ISBN 9781784698317
This is volume 7 of a new 8 volume set released for the Jubilee 2025, and the second I have read. All 8 volumes have the same preface from Pope Francis. Each volume is by a different author. The books were originally released in Italian, and have since been released in Europe by the CTS, and there are forthcoming edition by Our Sunday Visitor for North American Release. The original series and the CTS editions are marked as ‘Notes on Prayer’, the OSV editions the series is called ‘Exploring Prayer’. Some of the titles are different between the two editions and one even has an Americanized name for the author. My recommendation is to get the CTS editions, they are excellent. But back to this second read which is of the seventh volume.
The description of this volume states:
“In this seventh of eight booklets on prayer, Sr Catherine Aubin, OP presents a deep meditation on Our Lady and her role as guide and exemplar in our own formation as prayerful Christians.
“Prayer is the breath of faith; it is its most proper expression. Like a silent cry that issues from the hearts of those who believe and entrust themselves to God.” – Pope Francis
In this seventh of eight booklets on prayer, Sr Catherine Aubin, OP presents a deep meditation on Our Lady and her role as guide and exemplar in our own formation as prayerful Christians. “Mary prolongs in each of us today the trust that she lived in throughout her life on earth. Her task is to deliver us from our fear of God our Father, to place us in his hands and inscribe us in his intimate life. She leads us to a personal, adult relationship with God.””
The chapters in this volume are:
Preface by the Pope Francis
Introduction
Geographical and Spiritual Locations
Mary's Words
Women Saints and Mary
Conclusion
I highlighted numerous passages while reading this volume, many are longer passages, some of them are:
“When Mary appears, anywhere in the whole world, the places where she appears have points in common with the biblical places where she stayed and lived. In the first chapter we will review these places, asking ourselves what they reveal to us about Mary's identity, and what the inner spaces are that Mary asks us to dwell in today. In the second chapter, we will listen to the very few actual words of Mary given to us in the Gospels, and will look at her gestures, her altitudes, and her eyes, trying to understand their meaning. In other words, to discover where and how she is teaching us to react to people and events. And finally in the third chapter, we will ask two holy women about the unique relationship they each had with Mary. The whole piece will be interspersed with phrases from the traditional Orthodox prayer known as the Akathist Hymn. This will lead us towards a new, deep revelation of Mary's closeness to each of us.”
“To get an inner grasp on Mary's life we will need to pass on from the visible to the invisible, from what is written to what is implied, in order to let ourselves be taught, become more intelligent, read within and beyond the written words.”
“A door is a (normally wooden) object that opens and shuts. That's the first level. A door separates two spaces, it allows or prevents entry, it also means the attitude of being open or shut. That's the second level. When someone speaks of the door of the heart it isn't a material object but one of a different order. This verse throws light on it: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, 1 will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." (Rev 3:20). This is the third level. And finally, Jesus says of himself that be IS the door: "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. [ ... ] I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved" (Jn l 0:7, 9). This is the fourth level of reading: the revelation of the mystery.”
“There is a link between Mar y's identity and the places where she lived. If the Evangelists underlined these places, it's because they wanted to tell us something. That's why this booklet starts by looking at the regions and towns where Mary lived. By doing this we can get closer to her. Little by little she will reveal to us the various spiritual meanings of these places, and allow us to build a closer, more lively relationship with her.”
“So Bethlehem was where so ns were born: Benjamin, favourite, and David, beloved; Bethlehem, then, is a place of birth, filiation, descendence. 111e Hebrew name "Bethlehem" is an evocative one. Beth in Hebrew means, among other things, "house". Its initial letter is also the letter that begins the Old Testament. The Hebrew for "In the beginning" (Gen 1: 1) is Bereshit, and the first syllable, be, can mean "beginning'', "house'', "grain'', "wheat" or "son". If we connect Bereshit and Bethlehem, we can conjecture that Jesus's birthplace is the place of the beginning of an origin, of a filiation, and of a descendence. In this house, Beth, the Son is received, and if the Son is received that means there is a Father. Jesus is at once the Son of the Father, the Word and the Bread of Life. Bethlehem literally means "house of bread".”
“Living in Galilee means living in a place of constant coming and going, of mixed blood, of diversity, where nothing lasts permanently. It is a place where difference is experienced simply, accepted, and welcomed. It is the region of fresh starts and new beginnings, where everything is still to be received and built, far from the opinions and judgements of the powerful men in Jerusalem.”
“The town is only named nine times in the Bible. It is not mentioned at all in the Old Testament - Nazareth does not appear in any of the prophecies, or the historical books, or the psalms. It was an unknown place, where nothing happened, and which left no mark. (Very often, apparitions of Our Lady take place in little townships lost in the mountains or the countryside: Fatima, La Salette, Tepeyac, Champion, Igrista, and many more.) Nazareth was an unknown village, hidden and insignificant.”
“Living at Nazareth is necessarily living happy, freed from the fear of other people's eyes and their judgements. Nazareth is the place of intimacy and trust, the place of respect and living together fraternally, the place of simplicity and humility. Mary is waiting for us there for our growth and fruitfulness in God.”
“We hear Mary's voice so little in the Gospels: she only spoke seven phrases. Together with the accompanying actions, they reveal her attitudes and inner dispositions. It is up to us to hear them and take them in with the ears of our heart, storing them up in the depths of our heart as she did herself: "But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." (Luke 2:1 9); or, in another translation, "Mary kept all these things, pondering on them in her heart:'”
“Whereas Mary, with her silences, her adaptability and her words, teaches us how to adopt a completely different attitude: prioritising interiority, trusting our Father God and fin ally, keeping his blessings vividly in mind.”
“She gives her consent, saying yes unreservedly and unconditionally to God's call.”
“As for us, our trust is still full of questioning and sometimes refusal. That realisation is not a tragedy, but rather a call for us to go forward. Mary teaches us to base our life not on our own generosity but on trust.”
“Having accepted the revelation of what was impossible for her, Mary sees strength and freedom coming to birth within her. Mary's consent is the sign of her freedom, her liberation. She is liberated from fear, from the desire for control, from the fear of the unknown. When we cross over the threshold of radical trust, a much greater freedom is offered: that of being able to direct our will to what is essential, that of being able to live out our time with great effectiveness, and being present to ourselves and to other people.”
“All this in an unending search and a certain pain when we can not hold onto what we thought we had found. Mary teaches us to keep trusting even when there is no evidence and no proof. Like her, we have to search without fretting, explore without looking for results, and ask without reproaching.”
“Their meditative withdrawal gives place to a different way of thinking, of forming concepts, and of living. Meditating means in a way joining in with God's Sabbath, and entering into his repose. Entering deeply into his active grace and withdrawing from the world around us. Meditation makes space, and there comes forth from it an act of true love, which is genuine, not an illusion. Striking roots in meditation in this way means making an act of charity and benevolence, withdrawing so that the Other, and other people, may take their full place in our lives.”
“Mary's meditation is practised in the faith that is in continual tension towards the Father; in the hope that is a certainty that these realities are within us, waiting to be gathered, because hope is linked to the presence of the Son in the Father; and in the charity that unifies because it is the work of God's Spirit.”
“Catherine Laboure received and welcomed three apparitions of Mary. They were of decisive importance for the whole Church. The way Mary came to meet Catherine Laboure is a lesson for us. Mary wants to talk to us too, and visit us. Not in the same way as Catherine Laboure, but she wants to show us a path, point out a route to us, teach us not only to pray but to become prayer, and to give meaning to our prayers.”
“This booklet is addressed to all those who, like Ulysses or the prodigal son in the parable, are seeking the path to find, or re-find, their place, their proper location. It is intended for those who wish to experience a home coming and a wedding-feast in their inner life. Tt is from there that they will be able to go out and come back, walk confidently, storing up words and events in their memory and putting them together to find their meaning.”
“John took Mary, the mother of Jesus, with him, into his home, following Jesus's words. We too have opened the door to Mary, to take her into our home and have her with us. With John the Evangelist we too "make a p lace for her in our home"; thanks to her we find our rightful place day by day. When we do this, her presence reveals itself throughout her words and her journeyings. And she shares with us her own zest for life.”
“As Mother to each of us, Mary reveals to us the path of her place of grace. She prepares this inner path, leads us to it and sets us upon it. Whether we are farmworkers, officials, doctors or teachers, the one essential thing in our whole life is to find that place in ourselves, to establish ourselves there in a state of listening, discernment and decision. Living doesn't just happen automatically, and it isn't an easy thing to do.”
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. There were many things in this volume that caught my attention. And much that caused me to slow down and take notes. It is a volume I will reread again and again. For a little volume it packs a great deal of excellent information.
When I was in university, I was involved with Campus Crusade for Christ, there was a series of booklets by the founder Bill Bright, called Transferable Concepts, and by reading them many times you could almost memorize them and the message so that you could share it. This volume reminds me a lot of those books, but specifically geared for Catholics; and specifically on Prayer for the Jubilee year in 2025. I am planning on jumping around and not reading them in order my first time through, but already have plans to reread them again this year between Christmas and New Years and that time I will read them in order.
The description of the series on the CTS site states:
“The “Notes on Prayer” series is an inspiring collection of eight booklets from the Vatican, designed to deepen and enrich the prayer lives of Catholics as they journey through the Year of Jubilee 2025, themed “Pilgrims of Hope.”
Each booklet in this series is a powerful resource, offering spiritual guidance, reflections, and wisdom from Church teachings, Sacred Scripture, and the lives of the saints. Whether you’re seeking personal renewal or walking the path of forgiveness and reconciliation, this series will help you grow in intimacy with God during this special time of grace.”
The first two books in this series I have read are excellent, if the others are as good as those two; we have over 700 pages of instruction on prayer. It is an excellent collection, these books would be good for any school, home, or church library. I can easily recommend this book and series and encourage you to give them a read!
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2024 Catholic Reading Plan! For other reviews of books from the Catholic Truth Society click here.
Notes on Prayer Series:
1. Prayer Today: A Challenge to Overcome - Cardinal Angelo Comastri
2. Praying with the Psalms - Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi
3. The Prayer of Jesus – Juan Lopez Vergara
4. Praying with Saints and Sinners - Fr Paul Brendan Murray, OP
5. The Parables of Prayer – Msgr Antonio Pitta
6. The Church in Prayer - Carthusian Monks
7. The Prayer of Mary and the Saints Who Met Her - Sr Catherine Aubin, OP
8. The Prayer Jesus Taught Us: Our Father - Fr Ugo Vanni
…
Original Italian Editions
CTS Editions English
OSV English Editions
