This popular prayer, a favorite of many Catholics, dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the first Latin word of the prayer, "memorare," which means "remember." The Memorare is of unknown authorship, although it has been attributed to St. Augustine (354-430), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) and, with more reason, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153). St. Bernard's sermons on Mary were famous, and it was his Cistercian monks in the monastery of Citeaux in the 12th century who popularized the name "Our Lady" for Mary. The Memorare has also been attributed to the French cleric Claude Bernard (1588-1641), known as the "poor priest" of Paris, whose homilies contain passages that echo its words. No matter who wrote this prayer, it was Father Bernard who did much to popularize it, teaching it in hospitals and prisons, where Mary's intercession was effective in working miracles of grace. The first manuscript of the Mem
We can often think that the spiritual life and our journey to heaven is just a straight line but it is not. We are called to climb the mountain of the Lord. This mountain however is not like other mountains. You can not just go straight up this mountain. The path on this mountain has dips and valleys. Every time you make a dip and take advantage of the valley, you go up a little higher when you come out of it and obtain greater freedom. I like to think of a spiral staircase that slopes down before it goes up. A staircase like this can not really be found because it isn't natural. No one would naturally choose to go down before they go up. Naturally, it isn't very practical and it would take longer. This is more of a supernatural concept. God's ways aren't always our ways! Continue reading @ beautifulthorns>
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