Under Mary's Protection

On this day in 1830, St. Marcellin intiated the custom of beginning each day's prayer with the Salve Regina to ask her protection.  The Revolution of 1830 was underway and the Hermitage had been searched from top to bottom for concealed weapons.  St. Marcellin opened every door, even one he had to break open with an ax, as the key was missing, to convince the Gendarmes that the rumors about the munitions were false.  Not knowing what would come next, he decided not to take any chances and again turned to Mary, our Ordinary Resource, for help.  He had already experienced the Memorare in the Snow, so he knew Mary would take good care of her congregation.
Were this not the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Church would be celebrating the Feast of the Dedication of St. Mary of the Snows which commemorates the miraculous snowfall in Rome in the year 352 (or thereabouts) where Mary, in a vision to a patrician named John, expressed her desire for a church dedicated to her. John told Pope Liberius about the vision and certainly the unusual snow in August was a confirmation that Mary was serious.  John built and endowed the church which eventually came to be known as St. Mary Major, one of the four basilicas in Rome.  It is the oldest Church in Rome dedicated to Mary, a beautiful building housing, according to tradition, the manger in which Jesus was laid after his birth, and an altar where only the Pope can offer Mass.
These two commemorations remind us as Marists that our Good Mother deserves a special place in our prayer life and spirituality, and at the same time, offers her protection and motherly care to us without reservation.  As we pray our Rosary today, let us pray from the heart in loving gratitude and experience her maternal presence. 
Bro. Rene