"Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb..." During Advent, we are given the opportunity to reflect more deeply on the life of Mary. Particularly by meditating upon her faith, we can come to understand why the reverence paid to Mary by Catholics and Eastern Orthodox is deserved, and the particular importance of the words of the Angel Gabriel, who proclaims Mary to be blessed.

“Behold your mother,” he says; and so he gives Mary to be truly our mother. Christ gives to Mary the perfection of her role as the sinless Virgin Mother of the Saviour, which is that she should lead us little Christians to perfection; that she should be our intercessor in our struggle against sin; and that she should be a mediator of those graces we need so that we may grow in holiness, growing “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ep 4:13).

Pray to the beloved foster father of Our Lord and spouse of Our Lady with this beautiful litany.

Your guide to Lent in Catholicism, including Stations of the Cross, customs and traditions, and more. Includes a range of books and blogs.

At the end of Mass, take some time to thank the Lord for the great event you have just been part of. With these beautiful prayers, including the Anima Christi, the Universal Prayer Attributed to Pope Clement XI, and Prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary, lift your heart to God and ask Him to make you holy.

In anticipation of the relics of St Bernadette touring Britain this Autumn, frequent pilgrim David Baldwin explores the importance of these relics. He describes eight ways that the message of Lourdes can still resonate powerfully with each of us today and emphasise the abundance of grace that will surely flow from an encounter with St Bernadette.