St Albert the Great said that Mary’s name has four meanings: lluminator, star of the sea, bitter sea and lady (Comment on St Luke 1,27) Mary illuminates because she gave birth to the true light of the world. She is like the Star of the Sea because she orientates us during the dark nights of […]
Abraham’s Faith
In the Letter to the Hebrews Abraham is praised for his faith: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, […]
Our ‘wish list’ letter to St Joseph
When, at the end of December 2006, I entered the carpark of a property in the Via delle Vigne Nuove, Rome I did not imagine that the ‘prophecy’ of St Joseph was being fulfilled. My name is Mother Rebecca, superior of the Missionaries of Divine Revelation. Our community was born in the Roman Diocese on […]
Spiritual Maternity
Dear friends, we are continuing our monthly articles that celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the foundation of our community. This time we wish to talk about an important aspect of our mission, that is our spiritual motherhood towards priests and seminarians. As our Rule reminds us, following Our Lady’s example as Mother of the Church, […]
Saint Joseph, Patron of the Church
The memory of Pope Gregory XV resounds on this great Solemnity as, in 1621, he declared the 19th of March an obligatory Feast for the most powerful and humble Saint of the Church: Saint Joseph. St Matthew’s Gospel speaks of him as a “just man” who was willing to fulfil God’s will. Saint Joseph gave […]
Man does not live by bread alone
“Man does not live by bread alone.” (Lk 4:4) The Gospel of the first Sunday of Lent invites us to meditate on the Temptations of Jesus in the desert which occurred immediately after the Lord’s baptism in the Jordan by St John the Baptist. It was during the Lord’s baptism that a voice from heaven […]
The Oblates of Divine Revelation
This month we continue our series of articles to celebrate our twentieth anniversary by talking about our Oblates. Who is a typical Oblate of Divine Revelation? The Oblates are Christians who are eager to live the Gospel with great depth and conviction. In the spirituality of the Missionaries of Divine Revelation they have made a […]
The Proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception
Francesco Podesti (1800 –1895), the skilled painter and portrait artist, was entrusted with the task of realising a work to commemorate the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in the Vatican. The work was to be frescoed onto the walls of the Borgia Tower, in a room that is adjacent to Raphael’s Fire […]
Christmas Traditions: The Nativity Scene
On Christmas Eve 1223, in Greccio, a small place approximately 60km to the northeast of Rome, the practice of creating Nativity scenes was born. The first, requested by St Francis, was a live re-creation of the cave of Bethlehem complete with a living ox, ass and donkey! It is thought that the poverello of […]
Church of the Most Holy Name of Mary at the Trajan Forum
In this month of September, we celebrate the memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary and, in the city of Rome, there is a magnificent Church dedicated to her name in the Trajan Forum. In 1683, the news of the siege of Vienna arrived in Rome and this brought with it the expectation that […]