Holy Card Heaven: May 2012

Feast of the Visitation

The greeting of St. Elisabeth:
Blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
18th Cent. Flemish engraving on vellum

There is all my happiness.

Prayer to Mary reassures, consoles.

Feast of Pentecost

Small album Come, Holy Spirit!
links to homilies
Taize chant: Veni Sancte Spiritus!

Have a blessed day, full of joy!

O, my Mother, guard innocence.

Bouasse Lebel

St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi: Memorial, May 25

St. Mary Magdalene de'Pazzi
Protector Carmelite Third Order
A Powerful Prayer
to be said before praying:
"Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar."
~St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

External Links
Life of St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi (ebook)
Index of Websites on Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi
Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi

Sweet prayer at the feet of Mary.

Bouasse Lebel 692

Our Lady Help of Christians, Feast Day, May 24

NOTRE DAME AUXILIATRICE
"Have confidence in the Host and in Our Lady Help of Christians, and you will see what the miracles will be." ~ Saint Jean Bosco
"On May 14, 1862, Don Bosco dreamed about the battles the Church would face in the latter days. In his dream, the Pope of those days anchors the 'ship' of the Church between two pillars, one with a statue of Mary Help of Christians and the other with a large Eucharistic Host."
Link to the Santuario - Basilica di Maria Ausiliatrice in Turin, Italy, sanctified by the tomb of St. John Bosco. Link to the Caroling of the Bells.

I recommend myself to thee, O, Lady,

because thou watchest over me forever.
~ St. Goderic of Walpole [Finchale]

Simple, Sweet, Modest... Mary recognizes her doves.

She is your mother. Turn to her in all your needs.

Bouasse Lebel, Paris 29 rue St. Sulpice Pl. 875

SHE IS MY MOTHER ! !

Lessons of Mary
Turgis

Mary, Flower of the Field and Lily of the Valley

Druck, Prague

No. 578

Flowers of the Virgin Mary

Jasmine is the symbol of kindness.

Mary is the model of Christian kindness.

She exhales the sweet fragrance

L. Turgis, Paris
Pl. 556

VIRGIN CONCEIVED WITHOUT SIN
Deign to accept that I publish your praises. Felix

For Mary our hearts

Our Lady our love.

hand painted on silk

I have but my heart. Take it, O, Mary, with all its weaknesses and fill it with grace for eternal life.
Bouasse Lebel, Paris
Pl. 1233

Mother's Day (USA)

Queen of Mothers

Bertin

My Mother, let me share in the glory of your divine affections for my Jesus.

Bouasse Lebel 939

Mary, Queen of Lilies
More brilliant than the roses, more pure than the lilys,
your heavenly fragrance has touched the heart of God.
Saintin 372

SWEET MARY, MOTHER DEAR, PRAY FOR US

from small album~
Wayside Shrines

Love, obeisance to our mother
hand painted
with mother of pearl inlay

HEAVENLY REFUGE

I will not leave you orphans.

from small album~
Gentle Mother

HOLY VIRGIN
Brevel

from small album~
Gentle Mother

May 8 Apparition of St. Michael

Apparition of St. Michael

Under the sweet influence of her radiance the lilies of innocence grow and the flowers of other virtues. Bouasse Lebel 632

from small album~
Most Holy Virgin

from small album~
Most Holy Virgin

Good Angel, lead me to my mother.
Bouasse Lebel

from small album~
Wayside Shrines

Infant of Prague: Annual Feast of the Coronation, 1st Sunday in May

Holy Child Bless Us
"The more you honor me, the more I will bless you."
A. Breger Freres
Infant of Prague Annual Feast of the coronation in Prague 1st Sunday in May
Infant of Prague Home Page

The Lord is my portion. Obtain for us, between God and ourselves, the dearest affections.
A. Saintin, Paris Geoffoi, S.C.

from small album~
Most Holy Virgin

She is my refuge. Oh, my Mother, receive me into your arms.

Bouasse Lebel

from small album~
Gentle Mother

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Bruge

An original 19th cent. composition: collage over paper lace. Through kindness of a visitor who responded to this image, I am able to give you links to the Orthodox icon upon which it was patterned:

from small album~
Most Holy Virgin

God gives us an idea
of her beauty.
Dopter

From small album _
Flowers of Mary

DEVOTION TO THE VIRGIN
IS THE RELIGION OF THE HEART

from small album~
Wayside Shrines

WELCOME TO HOLY CARD HEAVEN

One of our favorite holy cards says simply, "Heaven is the home of loving souls." In a way, an album of holy cards is like a little heaven; the truth that inspired the cards greets us anew with each tender image, and we feel at home. Little by little I hope to bring together a collection of this gentle faith art for the delight and comfort of any loving soul who happens by.

Ethereal messengers of God's Love and Light, the small engravings that gather here fly in day by day. Little paper shrines that shelter the sacred, they are gathered here in the hope of sharing their beauty and meaning with another generation. To those who love them, they have much to give; like time spent in a restful garden, they are a feast for the eyes and a feast for the soul.

This gentle art can be used today to enter safely into the inner landscape allowing its imagery to guide the soul. Visual poetry employing symbol and metaphor as carriers of meaning, the path to which they invite us is always one in which God's own Love leads the way.

You can click on an image to enlarge it and see the artist's loving attention to detail. It is especially meaningful to be able to see the faces at a higher resolution. In many of the images, the sweetness of expression is at once joyful and serious, and, for a brief moment, we seem to draw close to the Presence of pure goodness, pure happiness.

The blessing I ask for any who come this way is again taken from a favorite holy card: "May a tender Friendship surround you always, and may all your days be a smile of heaven."
Fr. François Fénelon

About the Cards in this Collection

While some are from Italy, Germany, the Netherlands or other parts of Europe, Paris was perhaps the main place of publication. Dates are seldom available but most are from the mid 1800's to the close of that century. The depiction of persons is Eurocentric, but the symbols in the early holy cards are universal and inclusive: the image of the Heart as symbol for the incarnation of divine love, the image of the small bird as a symbol for the human soul eager but fragile and in constant need of God's love and care, the Living Water, the garden enclosed, the door that opens into Light... through visual poetry, the early holy cards continue to speak a language that reaches across the barriers of time and space and can be received by everyone.

Our favorite holy card illustrates the hope we hold as Christians that the door to heaven will be opened to the soul refined by love. It is the refinement of the soul by divine love that the art of the holy cards helps us to contemplate. The card has an engaving of the dove in flight into the mystery of Trinitarian love. The Uncreated Light overlaid by the symbol for the Holy Trinity is at the heart of the card. The writings of the early fathers, as well as those of the the Carmelite saints and Christian mystics throughout the ages - both in the Church in the east and the west - help us to approach the mystery of Trinitarian love not only as the theological underpinning of Christian belief but also as the action of the Spirit of Love in and through which we live and move and have our being.

Scheduling of the Cards and the Small Albums

Holy Card Heaven enters its fourth year on the first Sunday in Advent, December 2, 2012. Day by day the cards will continue to be moved into the new church year depending for their placement on the dates of the movable feasts and seasons. This way no cards need get lost in the distant past, new cards can be added, and we can appreciate the collection a little differently with each passing year.
Small Albums, each with a different topic, will change from month to month and will be linked in the top right column.

Followers