Blessed John XXIII

October 11 is the feast of Blessed John XXIII, as well as the feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the day chosen to convene the historic Second Vatican Council in 1962. The first image of the Holy Father I present is one I painted for the occasion of his beatification by John Paul II, it is now in the possession of the Cathedral of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The second photograph captures the wonderful kindly spirit that was his.

I wrote to him when I was little and received a beautiful picture of His Holiness, with a little note, that unfortunately has been lost. (My mother hid it for safe keeping and I never knew what became of it after that.) He was universally loved, and is now venerated among the saints of God.

Pray for us Blessed John XXIII.

[snip] Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar today was the feast of the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The theological controversies regarding the divinity of Christ which disturbed the Church during the fourth and fifth centuries led to a denial of the divine maternity of Mary. The heretics refused to honor Mary as Mother of God. The Council of Ephesus in 431 declared that the Blessed Virgin "brought forth according to the flesh the Word of God made flesh" and that in consequence she is the Mother of God. Thus she is rightly given the title of divine maternity. In 1931, on the fifteenth centenary of this great Council, Pius XI instituted today's feast. By this act the pope wished to emphasize not only Mary's divine maternity, but also her motherhood of all the members of Christ's Mystical Body. [snip] Go to Catholic Culture for further reading.

(And do not neglect to visit tonight - and tomorrow for his homily - Don Marco's "Vultus Christi" a superb blog, for his posts concerning Bl. John XXIII.)