Honoring the Mother of God

Today is the Memorial of Our Lady of the Snow or Mary of the Snows.  A great legend has it that a childless couple, John and is wife, were told by Mary in a dream that she wanted a church dedicated to her built on the Esquiline Hill, one of the seven in Rome. A snowfall in August, the hottest month in Rome, would indicate exactly where.  Pope Liberius had the same dream; he and John together found the promised snow.  Pope Liberius traced out the footprint and the church was built.  It was later rebuilt in 432 after the Council of Ephesus, which declared Mary the Theotokos, Mother of God, and was dedicated to her on this date in 435. It houses a nativity scene with a relic of the manger in which Jesus was laid; on this day white rose petals are dropped from the ceiling to commemorate the snowfall and Christmas finds another big celebration because of the manger. 
Piety and love of Mary know no bounds; the legend might be just that, a legend, but underlying it is Mary's desire to continue to bring Jesus to us.  Her request to build a church has been repeated over and over again: Guadalupe, Lourdes, for example.  These become places of pilgrimage where miracles of healing of body and soul take place, where Jesus is discovered. Her request achieves its purpose.  Though we may not discover a snow covered hill today, we can discover Jesus again and again through prayer, meditation on Scripture and in the hearts of the good people who surround us.
Have your snow shovel ready!
Bro. Rene