Hello dear Friend,

I received a question from Sofia who asked:

This is a very important question. Countless Saints, Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and common sense, are adamant that a true and sincere love for the Mother of God is a sign of predestination - a sign that we will save our souls.

Plus, God certainly wants us to love what He loves and as He loves it. And He loves Her more than all the rest of Creation put together because She has loved Him more than all the rest of Creation put together.

After Jesus Himself, no one has suffered as much as the Blessed Virgin Mary for the redemption of the whole human race and the salvation of every soul. She is the Co-Redemptrix of the whole world. Jesus gave Her to all of us when He was dying on the Cross. She is a true Mother, a real Mother to all people. She works tirelessly to bring all souls to Her Son, Jesus, and into the only true Church that Christ Himself founded : the Holy Roman Catholic Church, so that they may save their souls. After Our Lord, no one deserves our love more than Our Heavenly Mother. Only at the General Judgment, at the end of time, will we discover everything She has done to try to save souls and cultivate knowledge of, and love for, the One True God.

And always remember the law of Divine Love : You will be loved to the extent that you love. Of course God loves everyone, but what I speak of now is the affectionate love that bonds - that unites. And this love God can only share with those who truly give Him their love. If you have little or no affection for God and Our Lady then They will have but little or none for you. And Heaven is only for those who love God and all that He loves.

First of all we must know who it is that we want to love. It is difficult, if not impossible, to love someone that we do not know. When we begin to experience feelings of love for someone, we naturally want to get to know them better. Because we have started to feel affection for them we experience a type of happiness being around them and this motivates us to spend time with them. We can talk to people that know them to try to find out more about them. And we will certainly want to spend time with them, talking to them and doing things with them. This helps us to know them much better.

How can we get to know Our Lady better? By talking to people who truly know Her. We can read books about Her, especially books written by Saints. The Saints of course knew Her better than anyone else because of their close unitive relationship with God, but there are many wonderful books by people who have not been canonized yet. For example Sister Mary of Agreda, who was Divinely inspired to write many details of Our Lady’s life, and Sister Anne Catherine Emmerich who was divinely inspired to write many details about Our Lord’s life on earth, which of course, included details from Mary’s life as well. Other authors have put together elements of Our Lady’s life by searching through many Hebrew and Catholic traditions. We have these and other very fine books on The Blessed Virgin Mary in our Library at the Monastery School. There are always new books there and I invite you to check what is available. I am sure that you will find some books that will help you to get to know Her very well.

The other way to get to know Her is to spend some time with Her. This we do by praying to Her - especially Her most favorite and powerful prayer, the Holy Rosary. In addition to the Rosary we can pray other prayers dedicated to Our Lady. You can find other prayers in Catholic prayer books and again we have some very good ones in the Library. Remember that while She is the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven and Earth and the Co-Redemptrix of the human race, She is still a human being, a woman and best of all a Mother - the most loving and most wonderful of Mothers. You can sing songs to Her, draw pictures for Her, give Her flowers and more. And the most wonderful thing you can do is to spend some time and just talk with Her in your own words.

You may not often hear Her but She always hears everything you say to Her. Talk to Her about anything at all. Her love for you is so tender, so perfect, so complete that - like any true Mother - She is truly and deeply interested in everything about you and all that is truly for your welfare. There is nothing about you or your life that She does not care about. If it matters to you, it matters to Her. She is your true Mother and She is ready to help and guide and protect you in every aspect of your life. All you need to do is to get quiet and call on Her and She will immediately be right at your side, listening with great attention and loving devotion. Pour out your heart to Her and ask Her to help you in all of your needs. She will never let you down. And if She does not give what you are asking of Her, it is only because She intends to give you something much better than what you are asking.

I will continue this in my next letter, my friends, with even more ideas and practical suggestions to help you know, appreciate and love your Heavenly and Eternal Mother - the Most Holy and Wonderful Mother of God - the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the meantime, for your sake and hers, spend time every day getting to know Her Who, after Jesus Christ ( Her Most Sweet Son ), is the most precious treasure that God has given to us. Go now ... She is waiting for your visit.

Thank you again for being a part of the Catholic Kingdom. We are blessed to have you with us.

Until we speak again ...

May Our Lord and Our Lady fill you, and all those you love, with every true peace, blessing and grace ... now and forever.

Please keep everyone in the Catholic Kingdom in your prayers. Always. You are always in ours.

And let us pray that God fills each of us with the love that He desires us to have for Our Most Blessed Mother.

I remain your friend in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Mary,