Category: Cachita

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Novena Day 1: Our Lady of Charity

Hail Mary! What joy in my soul, oh loving Virgin Mary, what sweet thoughts arise in this greeting. May my heart be filled with jubilation at reciting the Hail Mary and recalling your fiat at hearing the Angel’s message that you would bear a Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

O beloved Virgin Mary, my Mother, I consecrate myself to you today: my eyes, my ears, my tongue, my heart, in other words, my whole being. I am yours, Oh Mother of Mercy, guard me and defend me as your son/daughter. Amen.

Ask for your petition here

REMEMBER, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto to thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Devotion to Mary

Although I have always had the Blessed Mother in and around my life as a Catholic, a deep devotion to her didn’t start until well into my adulthood, and then it was slow, in fits and starts. I share a lot of that story in Our Lady of Charity: How a Cuban Devotion to Mary Helped Me Grow in Faith and Love. The writers participating in this novena across their blogs also have beautiful stories to share. Check back here, my social media pages, or register for my newsletter to get links. Oh, and bonus, at the end of the novena I’ll give one of you kind readers a copy of the book. The winner will be selected from the comments on blogs. Visit Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda’s blog, Day By Day with Maria, for the next prayer.

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Our Lady of Charity Novena

I’m so excited to share with you that a group of bloggers (and me, too!) will be praying a novena to Our Lady of Charity starting on August 31st. These simple prayers, translated from a traditional novena in Spanish, will be posted at various blogs by some beautiful women with a deep love of the Blessed Mother.

Please follow my social media for links (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) … or come back here for links to the prayers. You can also sign up for my newsletter and the prayers.

At the end of the novena I’ll give away a signed copy of Our Lady of Charity: How a Cuban Devotion to Mary Helped Me Grow in Faith and Love to a random winner selected from the active newsletter list or comments on the blogs.

Join the newsletter HERE.

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Get your pilgrimage on!

catch the next posts, and go back for the earlier ones!

One of my favorite topics lately is going on pilgrimage. I’ve written about it before, and most recently in my latest book, Our Lady of Charity. I have a deep yearning to return to Rome, to travel to Mexico City to visit the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, to go on the Camino, to visit the Holy Land!

In short, I want to go on pilgrimage!

Enter Marge Fenelon‘s new book, My Queen, My Mother: A Living Novena. In this wonderful book, designed like a novena to the Blessed Mother, Fenelon takes us on a tour of Marian sites across the country. Frankly, much more do-able for me if I want to get on the road, like she did, but from a practical perspective, a pilgrimage from my armchair. I read the book over the consecutive nine days of the novena, reading about each site as I learned more about the country, the Blessed Mother’s titles here, and delved deeper into a spiritual practice that I already love! My next road trip is definitely going to be to visit The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, Wisconsin!

In addition to the armchair pilgrimage and the ideas for new adventures, I was inspired to think intentionally about the local shrines that are available to me. Something as simple as a drive into town to visit churches near me is a pilgrimage. I’m inspired to look in my own area for opportunities to go on pilgrimage!

Ermita de la Caridad in Miami, Florida

To celebrate with Marge, I want to introduce you to the Ermita de la Caridad in Miami, a pilgrimage site in South Florida that was originally built by Cuban immigrants in the early 1970’s and has been my go-to place in recent years. Our Lady of Charity, the patroness of Cuba, is an important devotion for Cubans, and Cuban-Americans, and since the creation of the shrine, has been a growing devotion in South Florida. Don’t miss this little shrine if you find yourself in Miami on vacation.

The story surrounding this devotion is lovely and so pertinent for our times! In the early 1600’s, three men were out in their canoe gathering salt in the marshes surrounding the Bay of Nipe in Cuba. A storm came up suddenly, and tossed them about in the small boat. In their need, they called out to the Blessed Mother and the seas calmed, revealing a small statue floating in the water that was untouched by the waves. They took this miraculous statue back to their village and built a little shrine in thanksgiving, and the devotion grew, first in their village and then travelled with them across the whole island! It’s an inspiring devotion for all of us today, especially if we are feeling tossed around in a storm.

The shrine in Miami tells the whole history of the devotion and the impact of the Blessed Mother on the development of Cuba as a nation. As you read My Queen, My Mother and make plans for your pilgrimages, add this precious site to your travels! You won’t be disappointed. I mean, how could you? Our Momma wants you to get to know her intimately — and introduce you to her Son.

Read more about My Queen, My Mother Blog Tour from these dates!

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