by thinkingfromhope | Jul 29, 2020 | 10x your Hope
How did the Virgin Mary’s wedding ring end up in Italy?
By Jennifer Lindberg
I thought Perugia, Italy was only known for its chocolate, but there’s something sweeter here than meets the eye.
It’s an amazing tale fraught with the intrigue of theft and miracles of how the wedding ring of the Virgin Mary is kept in the Cathedral of Perugia, Italy. Every July 31, which is also the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Cathedral in Perugia celebrates the marriage of Mary and St. Joseph by displaying her wedding ring in a special reliquary. Hanging inside is the Virgin Mary’s quartz jewel ring. Standing before it has accomplished many miracles for people, especially those with eye problems. The ring is priceless– taking 14 different keys held by different people– to unlock the chest holding the relic for the faithful to venerate and ponder its significance.
Artists Perugino and Raphael capture the moment in paint, the faithful pilgrimaging to Perugia carry it in memory.
This is what we know:
- A goldsmith from Chiusi, Italy named Ainerio received the ring as a gift from a Jewish merchant of precious stones.
- Ainerio, the goldsmith, places the ring in the family crypt for safe-keeping, soon forgetting it until his son dies early, rebuking his father from the grave for abandoning the precious relic.
- Ainero gives the ring to the convent of St. Mustiola so the object could be honored publicly.
- A Catholic friar steals the ring in July 1473, for revenge for his vile treatment of being accused of stealing a gold chalice that he was imprisoned for in chains. Escaping from prison, he takes the ring, having to stop in Perugia because of dense fog.
- The friar confesses taking the ring and Perugia becomes the official owner of the ring, while the friar goes back to jail.
- An 18th century visionary, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, confirms the ring’s authenticity in a vision.
While no one can be sure this is the ring of the Virgin Mary, it illustrates the importance of marital love. Tradition states people about to be married use to take their wedding-rings to touch it.
So, the next time you visit to Perugia, venerate this holy relic, renew your marriage vows, and then have chocolate for dessert.
(Jennifer Lindberg is an author who writes about pilgrimage travel, hope, and divine mercy. Find her on Instagram.)
by thinkingfromhope | Jul 27, 2020 | 10x your Hope
Divine Mercy is not a new idea. It’s eternal and always proclaimed by God. Introducing the Divine Mercy Devotion in the late 1930s fell to a poor, Polish nun, St. Faustina Kowalska. Jesus asked for new forms to promote the Divine Mercy, such as an Image of Divine Mercy, a special chaplet to be prayed, and the Feast of Divine Mercy celebrated on the Sunday after Easter.
Help promote this devotion that was officially approved for the universal Church on April 30, 2000 when St. Faustina was canonized a saint in the universal church and on the same day, now St. John Paul II proclaimed the Feast of Divine Mercy be celebrated and placed on the liturgical calendar.
We are living at a time when this devotion is in its infancy — in a Catholic Church at is more than 2,000 years old– this devotion is new!
Come along with me as we learn about Divine Mercy together and how it can impact our lives and the lives of others.
Get my Book: It’s Three O’clock Somewhere, How to Live the Divine Mercy Devotion Any Time of Day
by thinkingfromhope | Jul 15, 2020 | 10x your Hope
By Jennifer Lindberg
Mercy wasn’t on my mind. A long to-do list and a nap before my midnight adoration hour were crowding my thoughts as I sought to end a church meeting in record-time.
I was regretting my “Yes,” to run the meeting, thinking it was a task best left to a survey. I wanted to connect with these women, but I was tired with a staggering work week ahead of me.
God was about to teach me how to do my first deed of mercy as outlined in the Divine Mercy Message by inspiring me to give away one of my most precious possessions: my Divine Mercy Chaplet. It wasn’t just any chaplet. It was brought back from Poland for me by a dear nun friend who had placed the chaplet on the grave of St. Faustina. It had made its rounds through Poland to holy sites and I cherished it. It was beautiful with red beads and a medal of St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy Image.
But a short-haired brunette woman would soon become its new owner. This woman had attended a Catholic women’s retreat, finding deep peace. She wasn’t even Catholic, but a small voice in my head told me to give her my Divine Mercy Chaplet. There was no way I was giving away my chaplet. I was sure I’d heard this prompting wrong. I was also sure it would go away because I didn’t even have the chaplet with me. It was so special to me, I kept it on my prayer table at home. It never left the house.
“Go get it,” I heard in my heart. The constant command wouldn’t go away. I excused myself and asked my friend to take over before heading home, only five minutes from church. Returning, I approached the woman. “You are to have this,” I said. “Please take care of it. This is a very special chaplet.”
I knew I’d never get another one like it, but I felt great peace. I thought I’d never see the woman again. I was wrong. Months later, I was volunteering at a Catholic conference when this same woman approached me.
“I’m Catholic now,” she said. “And it’s all because you gave me that chaplet.”
She had been looking for a sign to be Catholic and placing the chaplet in her hands became a turning point for her. She knew the chaplet was very special to me and hard to surrender. It inspired her to find out more about the devotion and pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. God used my special chaplet to show me He uses us in many ways to spread His message of Divine Mercy.
Jesus told St. Faustina that everything can be obtained by praying the chaplet. (Diary of St. Faustina, 1128.)
Find out more practical ways to promote this devotion and how it can be blessing in your life with my free eBook download of It’s Three O’clock Somewhere, How to Live the Divine Mercy Devotion Any Time of Day.
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by thinkingfromhope | Jul 15, 2020 | 10x your Hope
Have you heard about, “Jesus, I Trust in You?”
By Jennifer Lindberg
There’s a remarkable phrase that brings peace to my deepest fears, underlying anxiety, and hopeless worries. It’s “Jesus, I Trust in You.”
Because in a normal life, much less the lives we are all living right now with pandemic fall-out, unrest, and uncertain futures, it’s easy to get worked up.
Trust issues are a daily battle that is usually fought in our hearts and minds. It seems we need a daily reminder of who to trust and who holds the world in the palm of his hand.
The easiest way I’ve found to trust is the Divine Mercy Devotion. Christ knowing our human nature made it a point to have us repeat, “Jesus, I Trust in You.” Declaring it so essential, He commanded St. Faustina to have those words painted under the Image of Divine Mercy. This sends a clear message that Christ knows what we need and what we lack almost every day: trust.
People worry about things. They worry about medicine for a loved one, a disease, COVID-19, a job loss, a career mistake, death, grief, failure, and the list continues like a broken record grating on our nerves and never letting us hum the tune of joy. It does us no good to worry when we cannot control such large outcomes. We must pray, live the commandments, follow God, and trust.
It’s so easy to say and harder to do at times due to pinpricks of defeat, fear, and hurt that makes us feel our vulnerability, rather acutely. Those emotions drive us instead of deep, abiding trust. Christ wanted five simple words, “Jesus, I Trust in You,” on the painting of Him walking towards us with red and white rays coming from His heart. It is a chant for us, a meditation, and a way to cope. Trusting in the goodness of God regardless of outcome, or circumstance takes practice, every day. Saying this phrase when we start to worry, fret, or become afraid turns our minds away from our own feebleness to the great grandeur of God. It takes us outside ourselves to rely on the One who made everything for us and sets our path.
This everyday battle can be fought with, “Jesus, I Trust in You.”
There is a very beautiful litany St. Faustina wrote in her diary about trust based on the Eucharist, the source and summit of our faith.
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when the burdens are beyond my strength and I find my efforts are fruitless.
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when storms toss my heart about and my fearful spirit tends to despair.
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my heart is about to tremble and mortal sweat moistens my brow.
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when everything conspires against me and black despair creeps into my soul.
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my eyes will begin to grow dim to all temporal things and for the fist time my sprit will behold the unknown worlds.
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my task will be beyond my strength and adversity will become my daily lot.
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when the practice of virtue will appear difficult for me and my nature will grow rebellious.
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when hostile blows will be aimed against me.
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when your judgements will resound over me; it is then I will trust in the sea of Your mercy.
Most Holy Trinity, I trust in Your infinite mercy. God is my Father and so I, His child, have every claim to His divine Heart; and the greater the darkness, the more complete our trust should be. (Diary 356,357)
Get the Download of St. Faustina’s Litany of Trust
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