Page:A Dictionary of Saintly Women Volume 2.djvu/50
Lady of the Snow, Sept. 8 her nativity, Sept. 12 her name, Sept. 24 Onr Lady of Mercede for the Redemption of Captives, Not. 21 Presentation of the Blessed Virgin in the temple in her childhood; this feast, originally observed Feb. 14, is the oldest festival in her honour, Dec. 8 the Immaculate Conception, Oct. 7 Our Lady of Victory, instituted by Pius V. in honour of the victory of the Christians over the Turks at Lepanto; this victory was ascribed to her. All these days and a few more are marked in the B.M, Many others are set apart by different Churches and Orders in honour of certain events and relics connected with the Mother of the Lord. The month of May is the month of Mary. By the Seven Dolours of the Blessed Virgin, March 7, are generally meant (1) the agony of grief that Mary felt when Simeon prophesied that this Child should be for the fall and rising again of many, and that a sword should pierce through her own soul; (2) when the angel told Joseph to flee into Egypt because Herod would seek the Child's life, and she saw from this bow ill He would be received on earth; (3) when He stayed behind at Jerusalem with the doctors and she lost Him; (4) when she met Him carrying His cross; (5) when she saw Him crucified; (6) when He was taken down from the cross and she took Him in her arms; (7) when they took Him from ber arms to bury Him. St. Mary has many aliases, amongst others, The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Virgin, our Lady, the Mother of God; the Madonna; the Queen of Heaven and Hell; the Star of the Sea; the Gate of Heaven; the Mother of Mercy; the Refuge of the Lost; the Mediatrix; the Protector from Divine justice and from the devil; the Ladder of Paradise; the Door; the Ark; Theotokos, Deipara, Deigenitrix, Bogoroditza. Ia, Mariamne, Merg, Miriam, Mury, are identical with Mary.
She is patron of women named Annunciata, Candelaria, Concopcion, Dolores, etc. Cabier gives a long list of places, communities and industries of which she is patron. Among the countries are England, France, and Portugal; among the towns, Lincoln, Salisbury, Paris, Hampstead, and Montreal which was founded by the Sulpicians under the name of Villemarie. Among the religious orders are the Cistercians and the Order of Mercede for the Redemption of Captives. Tho newspaper-carriers of Paris and ribbon-makers are under the patronage of the Annunciation; the fish-sellers of Paris specially honour her Assumption. The Conception is the patron of Spain and the Spanish Indies; the Nativity, of many places in Paris, of restaurants, cooks, fish-women, makers and sellers of ribbons, fringes, gold and silver cloth. As Our Lady of the Snow, she is patron of embroiderers, lace-makers, bleachers of linen and spinners of thread for lace; this is probably on account of the perfect whiteness aimed at in these arts.
If the genealogy of our Lord given by St. Luke, is that of His mother, her father's name was Heli, which is a variant of Joachim, and the tradition that her mother's name was Anna is of great antiquity, and very likely to be true.
All that we know of St. Mary from contemporary history is the little that is told in the Bible, but that little was soon amplified and gradually grew to a story of considerable length, most of which is to be found in the apocryphal gospels.
According to the traditions, Mary was the daughter of SS. Joachim and Anna. For the story of their long childlessness and the wonderful circumstances of the birth of Mary, see Anna (3).
When Mary was nine months old, Anna set her on the ground to see whether she could walk, and she walked nine steps. By another account, she was first set down at three months and walked three steps. Her mother caught her up and said, "As the Lord livetj thou walkest no more on this earth until I bring thee into the temple of the Lord." So she made her chamber a holy place and suffered nothing common or unclean to come near her, but invited certain well-reputed daughters of Israel to keep her company.
When she was a year old, Joachim made a great feast and invited all the