Immaculate Heart of Mary

Following the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, today we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Similar to yesterday's feast, it was St John Eudes who promoted this devotion first in 1648 in the town of Autun, France, and later on in all the French dioceses. In 1799, Pope Pius VI granted the Bishop of Palermo the permission to celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in his diocese. When the revelation of the 'Miraculous Medal" to St Catherine Laboure took place in 1830, the impetus for this devotion was even more obvious. Mary's love for us all is just as powerful and consistent as that of her Son, Jesus. When we feel sad or depressed, let us go to Mary and enjoy her loving embrace given with compassion, devotion and respect. 
Images and paintings of Mary are abundant, and most of them present her as a young girl, maybe aged 15 to 16, the age when she conceived Jesus. Various symbols accompany her, at least when she is not holding baby or infant Jesus. The heart covered with roses, the sword, a lily are among those symbols, as pictured in this beautiful painting, depicting her Immaculate Heart.