Feast: Holy Name of Mary

And I can't think of any picture of the Blessed Mother that honors her name more than this painting by Pietro Perugino, Madonna and Child Between SS. John the Baptist and Sebastian (1493). Doesn't she embody beauty, purity and love in this close-up?

Thanks to Aussie Annie and Waltzing Matilda, I was well-prepared for the Marian feast today. The Holy Name of Mary was named a feast of the universal Church in memory of King Sobieski (of Poland, of course) and his virtually miraculous victory over the Turks in Vienna on September 12, 1683.

Anne had a link to a great article about the Holy Name of Mary ... the story was interesting enough for even my littles to "get into" this Feast. Thanks to Matilda, we had great pictures to color during our discussion of Mary and why her name is so special (aside from the fact it's MY first name!):

The kids really enjoyed coloring these.

Then, since we had the Lyra colored pencils and Sharpie markers out, someone got the bright idea to get out the Shrinky Dink paper and make bunny "paper dolls", Ninja turtle figures and cool sports cars.

I decided to take a full sheet (8x10) and make my own Holy Name of Mary plaque. You can see how much the Shrinky Dink shrank just to the right of lower colored sheet -- but it makes a cool 3x5-ish size plaque. I'm thinking I'll do one for every Marian feast (as long as Matilda keeps making these cool coloring pages!).

For dessert, we created a deep-dish mixed-berry (blues and reds and purple for Mary and her times of joy and times of sorrow) crisp. The kids really don't want to have to wait till after pizza dinner to eat this one with vanilla icecream, but I'm sure they'll live!
Here are the many names by which the Blessed Mother is invoked (taken from the Litany of Loreto, an ancient prayer of the Catholic Church)

• Holy Mary, pray for us.
• Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
• Holy Virgin of Virgins, pray for us.
• Mother of Christ, pray for us.
• Mother of Divine Grace, pray for us.
• Mother Most Pure, pray for us.
• Mother Most Chaste, pray for us.
• Mother Inviolate, pray for us.
• Mother Undefiled, pray for us.
• Mother most amiable, pray for us.
• Mother most admirable, pray for us.
• Mother of Good Counsel, pray for us.
• Mother of Our Creator, pray for us.
• Mother of Our Savior, pray for us.
• Virgin Most Prudent, pray for us.
• Virgin Most Venerable, pray for us.
• Virgin Most Renowned, pray for us.
• Virgin Most Powerful, pray for us.
• Virgin Most Merciful, pray for us.
• Virgin Most Faithful, pray for us.
• Mirror of Justice, pray for us.
• Seat of Wisdom, pray for us.
• Cause of Our Joy, pray for us.
• Spiritual Vessel, pray for us.
• Vessel of Honor, pray for us.
• Singular Vessel of Devotion, pray for us.
• Mystical Rose, pray for us.
• Tower of David, pray for us.
• Tower of Ivory, pray for us.
• House of Gold, pray for us.
• Ark of the Covenant, pray for us.
• Gate of Heaven, pray for us.
• Morning Star, pray for us.
• Health of the Sick, pray for us.
• Refuge of Sinners, pray for us.
• Comforter of the Afflicted, pray for us.
• Help of Christians, pray for us.
• Queen of Angels, pray for us.
• Queen of Patriarchs, pray for us.
• Queen of Prophets, pray for us.
• Queen of Apostels, pray for us.
• Queen of Martyrs, pray for us.
• Queen of Confessors, pray for us.
• Queen of Virgins, pray for us.
• Queen of All Saints, pray for us.
• Queen Conceived Without Original Sin, pray for us.
• Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us.
• Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us.
• Queen of Peace, pray for us.