Mary Star of the Sea

A star...has four main characteristics: it has the nature of fire, it is bright and clear, it sends forth a ray, and it shines in the night. We can find all these qualities in our star, the Virgin Mary. The meaning of her name is very fitting, for Mary means "star of the sea." Saint Peter Damian

The title may have its origin in the Scripture 1 Kings 18:41-45 which speaks of a cloud above the sea, no bigger than a man's hand, which is seen from Mount Carmel. The tiny cloud's scriptural significance is as the sign of hope that heralds the end of a long drought.

A similar message is reflected in another title of Mary, which appears in the official Litany of the Virgin, Morning Star. Both titles refer to Mary as a symbol of hope and as a foreshadowing of the imminent coming of Jesus. A combination of the two themes produces Star of the Sea.

Saint Jerome interpreted the Hebrew name of Mary, Miriam, as "stilla maris," or a drop of the sea. It has been suggested as an alternative origin for the term that this may have been miscopied as stella maris.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux wrote, "If the winds of temptation arise; If you are driven upon the rocks of tribulation look to the star, call on Mary; If you are tossed upon the waves of pride, of ambition, of envy, of rivalry, look to the star, call on Mary. Should anger, or avarice, or fleshly desire violently assail the frail vessel of your soul, look at the star, call upon Mary."

Let us look to the star and call upon Mary to intercede for these babies and little ones and their families.