A story for every day...

Help of those who cry, Mary is also the protector of those who suffer for the name of her divine Son. That is why so many Christian heroes, who in different eras have perpetuated in the Church the glorious testimony of blood, have always invoked her in their battles. One of these valiant athletes, the Korean Paul Mi, had been thrown into prison after a dreadful torture, when he heard a voice distinctly uttering these words, “The Lord is with you.” Was it the voice of an angel that Mary sent to Her servant to comfort him by telling him the words that She herself had gathered from the mouth of the divine messenger, at the moment when the great mystery of the Incarnation was accomplished in Her? The text of the report suggests this, although it does not say it clearly: the fact remains that the confessor of the faith felt wonderfully encouraged. So when, several days later, he entered the court again, close to expiring under the violence of the torments, he gathered what remained of his strength, raised his head, and with a dying voice murmured this touching farewell: Ave, Maria!