The Catholic faith requires us to believe in the Holy Trinity: God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Yet we should not forget our devotion to our Blessed Virgin Mary, our mother. Our Founder is a clear example of someone who was truly devoted to Our Lady and who promoted this devotion through his actions.
Saint George Preca would demonstrate his devotion to Our Lady in his homilies – not only because he spoke about her frequently, but also because, perhaps without even intending it, he revealed his great love for her through the manner in which he spoke about her. Fr. Joseph Fenech wrote that our Founder kept a statue of Our Lady of Good Counsel in his home and that whenever he passed by it, he would stop and pray ‘Mother of Good Counsel, pray for me’. Our Founder’s profound devotion to the Blessed Virgin is further illustrated in the episode when, after returning home troubled by some problems, he stopped to pray before the image of Our Lady and heard a voice coming out from the image saying the words ‘Serva Silentium’ which means ‘Observe silence’. From that moment onward, the Founder started greeting the image with the prayer ‘You gave me such a beautiful rule; help me obey it’.
Our Founder did not only practice this devotion, but he actively promoted it as well. During the Outreach homilies (known today as Formation Week), he frequently encouraged attendees to always wear the Miraculous Medal bearing the image of Our Lady so that it might protect them from every danger of the body and soul. In his writings, our Founder teaches us that we should always give thanks not only to God, remembering that God created all things, but also to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He also included this devotion to Our Lady in The Watch, the daily prayer book of the SDC members.
Why should we honour, thank, and be devoted to Our Blessed Mother? Saint George Preca explains this clearly in his work Aula Sanctae Matris Virginis: so that she may find delight in us as her true children and as children of God and feels joy when she sees us adorn ourselves with the Miraculous Medal. Our Founder tells us that the devotion to Our Lady is a great grace, and that if we truly love her, are devoted to her, and spread this devotion, whether through the Rosary, the Miraculous Medal, or any other practice associated with her; we will never experience confusion, and she will assist us and help preserve within us a holy fear of God.
Jan Spiteri
SDC Candidate
