“Lovely Lady dressed in blue, teach me how to pray. God was just your little boy, and you know the way.”
Father Mark Searles, Parochial Administrator of Our Lady of Mercy and St. Anthony of Padua parishes, Easton, used the famous poem “Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue,” written by Mary Dixon Thayer and popularized by Archbishop (now Blessed) Fulton Sheen, to begin his talk on Sept. 8.Father Searles spoke on “The Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” at an event hosted by the Order of Malta at Assumption BVM, Bethlehem, on the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“Mary’s Immaculate Heart is such a beautiful image to hold in our hearts…Her heart is a light of hope; the star over the dark sea, leading us to the light of her Son’s Resurrection and the promise of eternal life,” he said, and explained how individuals should come to know Jesus better through His Mother and her Immaculate Heart.
He described how her heart is decorated with flowers from those who love her. These flowers represent individual devotion and love for their mother. “It is always a good idea to bring flowers to our moms,” he said.
Father Searles also discussed how Mary’s heart is pierced with the swords of sorrow for humanity’s suffering and the suffering of her Son, Jesus Christ. He said this suffering will always lead people back to the light of Christ.
“St. Bernard of Clairvaux himself…a Doctor of the Church, taught us that in ‘Following her, you will not stray.’ What a great reminder for all of us. At any point or stage or state of life, following her you will not stray [from her Son],” he said.
“How are we being called to be witnesses to the triumph of [Mary’s] Immaculate Heart in our own age?” Father Searles asked this question to those attending, including faithful from across the Diocese, members of the Knights of Malta, and individuals from the University of Notre Dame.
Father Searles said the Blessed Mother is not a distant person uninterested in the daily lives of Christ’s people. He pointed to the various times Mary has appeared to everyday people in her apparitions.
“In 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three small shepherd children in Fatima,” he said. Between May and October, she appeared to these children six times and asked them to pray for the entire world. He said this illustrates how Mary looks out for all her children, no matter where they are, even if they don’t know her.
It was through these apparitions that Mary shared an important message with the children of Fatima: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
Father Searles discussed the importance of Marian devotion, referencing Pope St. John Paul II and the fall of communism as an influence on his Marian devotion.
He said those present should look to Mary when their burdens feel heavy or their own hearts are pierced with sorrow. He said that Mary exemplifies faith, and that she asks people to have faith and trust in her Son. He said it is through her prayers that many souls find healing.
“Let us pray the Rosary and walk with her through every joy and sorrow,” he said. “Let us visit her shrines as pilgrims.”
He pointed out how close some of her shrines are to the Diocese, including the National Blue Army Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Asbury, New Jersey and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowa in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
“Ultimately, we do not walk alone without hope,” he said.
Header photo by Jennifer Russell.
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