A Sky Full of Stars: Know Our Lady through her titles in the Litany
Let’s play a quick game. I will mention a nickname, and you tell me to whom it refers. Let’s start. In the comics world, who is the caped crusader? In Harry Potter, who is he who must not be named? In literature, who are the Star-crossed-lovers? In the Game of Thrones, who is the Mother of Dragons; the King Slayer; the imp?
Did you get them all? The answers come after this article.
The point of the game was to show us how we attach nicknames to people based on how we remember them. In Storytelling, it is a literary device meant to help us know the character quickly by connecting a personal quality. God himself used this to help us recognize the identity of his promised Messiah through the prophets. Daniel called the Messiah, Son of Man, telling us that Christ is human. Isaiah said the Messiah would be named Emmanuel, which means “God with us” that indicates Christ is divine. John the Baptist said, “Behold, the Lamb of God” when he saw Christ. But what does that mean?
To us, today, it might have little significance; especially if we hear or read it very often. But to a first-century Jew, the imagery was vivid. See, during the time of Christ, when one wanted to be forgiven of sins, he or she would bring a sin offering to the temple. Usually, it is a lamb. There, a priest would slay it, spill its blood, and burn the body on a pyre so the wonderful smell of roasting fat will rise to heaven as a prayer. So when John the Baptist refers to Jesus as Lamb of God, he is indicating that Christ is the victim that God gave to humankind, whose blood will be spilled for the expiation of our sins.
If Scripture does this for Christ, the Church also does this for Mary in the form of titles. In this way, the Church acts like the person at the door of a grand banquet who announces people. “The Duke of Wellington… The Dutchess of York,” for example. For Mary, she is announced as “Holy Mary, Holy Mother of God, Virgin of Virgins” and so on. If you have been praying the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary after saying the rosary, you would be familiar with her titles.
Sadly, even as Catholics like me, we don’t know what some of the titles mean. For example, “Mystical Rose, Tower of David, Tower of Ivory, House of Gold... Morning Star.” What is that? The reason for this is years of language and cultural evolution have obscured the titles so that we, today, don’t know what they refer to – just like the title of Christ, Lamb of God. This is tragic because we are meant to know Mary through her titles. Then by knowing her, we get to emulate her virtues and love for Christ.
The book A Sky Full of Stars peels back the layers of language and culture so that we meet Mary unobstructed, the way the Church presents her. The title refers to Mary’s cloak because artists usually color it blue, and sometimes decorated with stars. But why is that so? Why did artists think of making the cloak of Mary the sky? Why are the ceilings of some churches blue bedecked with stars? The book explains that in the title, Refuge of Sinners. It has to do with a very remarkable Cistercian story. It is also tied up with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe too.
If you want to know why Mary is depicted with her feet crushing a serpent’s head, you can read that in Virgin Most Venerable. If you want to know how her title Gate of Heaven is linked the dogma of her Perpetual Virginity, it is in the book too. It will give you an image of who Our Lady is, and give you a mental peg while praying the Litany. More importantly, you get to meet Mary the way she is, and might fall in love with her all over again.
The book is endorsed by Bishop Socrates Villegas:
A Sky Full of Stars must be an obligatory reference material for religion teachers and seminarians. It helps the reader to see the Virgin Mary within the perspective of sound biblical theology and solid Catholic tradition... [and is] also easy to understand.
For more details, check out the book website at www.ourcatholicfaith.net/books/askyfullofstars
The book is available in paperback or Kindle version through Amazon. (www.amazon.com/dp/1793469237)
Read more from http://www.pattimaguirearmstrong.com/2019/02/grow-closer-to-blessed-mother-through.html
(Answers. Batman, Voldemort, Romeo and Juliet, Daenerys Targaryen, Jamie Lannister, Tyrion Lannister.)
A Sky Full of Stars
Know Our Lady through her Titles in the Litany
The Church helps us understand who Mary is by honoring her with different titles in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Unfortunately, over time and difference of culture, we might not grasp what it is the Church is ascribing to her and lose that opportinity to get to know her.
In A Sky Full of Stars, each title of the Litany is explained so we get know Mary more and fall in love with her all over again.
Get your copy now either in Hardbound, Paperback, or Kindle
Beyond the Veil
Contemplating the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary
Prayer giants like Pope St. John Paul II, Pope Paul VI, Bl. Archbishop Fulton Sheen, and Bishop Robert Baron advocate that we contemplate on the mysteries of the rosary while we say the vocal prayers. Unfortunately, there are not many books that teach us how to do this. Beyond the Veil comes to the rescue by suggesting seven ways we can pray the rosary the way it was intended.
The larger part of the book offers mental images for each of the mysteries we can use in our contemplation, for how can we imagine the scenes in the rosary if we don't know about them?
Get your copy now either in Hardbound, Paperback, or Kindle
100 Things Every Catholic Should Know
Whether or not you are new to the Catholic Church, or struggling, or lapsed, or dynamically involved, this book will enlighten you with the essentials of the Faith that have been handed down to us by the apostles.
Each of the 100 topics is easy to read and distilled into bite-sized portions. Through cross-referencing, the book also shows how the topics are interrelated. Those who are new to the Faith will find this book an edifying handy reference, and those who have simply forgotten will find it a great review material that might spark a new love for God and religion.
Get your copy now either in Hardbound, Paperback, or Kindle
Typology for Beginners
A Catholic Perspective on understanding the New Testament through the Old Testament
First-century Jews converted to Christianity in droves because of the way the New Testament was written to show Jesus was the Messiah promised by the Old Testament. We also learn about how Mary is the New Eve and the Ark of the Covenant in the way the writers portray her.
Through typology, the patterns that connect the Old and New Testaments make the Bible stories more accessible so that one becomes excited to read Sacred Scripture again.
Get your copy now either in Hardbound, Paperback, or Kindle