Our Lady holding Jesus as He accepts flowers from the shepherd child

Our Lady holding Jesus as He accepts flowers from the shepherd child

Welcome to our intercessory prayer ministry for families, babies, little ones and those who love them.

In our prayers for families, we pray for the sanctity of all life and for vocations to marriage, the priesthood and consecrated life, which are born and nurtured in families.

The Prayer of Entrustment to Mary was prayed for this ministry at the icon of the Madonna Salus Populi Romani (Salvation of the Roman People, Our Lady of Good Health) in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (Basilica of Mary Major) in Rome, Italy, in Nossa Senhora do Rosario da Fatima (Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary) in Fatima, Portugal, in Eglise du Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart Parish Church), the site of St. Bernadette's baptismal font, in Lourdes, France and at The National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts at the Shrine of the Holy Innocents before Our Lady of Guadalupe and at Basilica Papale de San Pietro in Vaticano (St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City) at the Tomb of St. John Paul II in Rome, Italy and at the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe) in Mexico City, Mexico.

This ministry is consecrated to Jesus Christ, Wisdom Incarnate, through the hands of Mary and dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. In our prayers to Mary, we honor and worship her Son Jesus. When He was on the Cross, He gave His Mother to John and she became our Mother as well. "Behold, your Mother." John 19:27

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
For the greater glory of God

December 21, 2015

The Christmas crib

The cherished tradition of the Christmas crib and the Nativity scene was begun by Saint Francis of Assisi. On Christmas Eve in 1223, Saint Francis longed to see, with his own eyes, the circumstances of Jesus' coming to Bethlehem, that he arranged to have the scene recreated in a cave at Greccio, using live people and animals. During the solemnities of the Mass being offered there, a little child was seen lying in the manger. From that celebration began the custom of the Christmas crib or crèche. The manger helps us to contemplate the mystery of God's love who came as a little baby and revealed Himself in the poverty and simplicity of the Bethlehem cave. Saint Francis of Assisi was so overwhelmed by the mystery of the Incarnation that he wanted to present it again in Greccio with the living manger, which led to our tradition today.

The crib helps us understand the secret of the true Christmas because it speaks of humility, poverty and the merciful goodness of Christ,

Though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor.  2 Corinthians 8:9

Christmas brings joy and peace to those who accept the words of the angel, as the shepherds did:

And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.  Luke 2:12

Place your Nativity scene under your Christmas tree as a visible reminder of that Holy Night when our Savior was born. May we always see the the Holy Family, Mary and Joseph and the little Babe of Bethlehem, who came to save us from sin. May we always remember that the wood of the manger that held Him so securely would one day give way to the wood of the Cross. May we too embrace Jesus with all of our love as did Saint Francis.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, pray for us and all the names we receive through this ministry.
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