☙ The Blessed Virgin Mary ☙

“Explaining the Faith” is a powerful teaching series by Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, of the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, MA. Each talk offers clear, passionate explanations of key Catholic topics—ranging from Marian apparitions and angels to doctrine, devotions, and Church history. Whether you’re deep in your faith or just beginning the journey, these lectures illuminate the timeless truths of Catholicism with clarity, depth, and pastoral heart. Fr. Chris Alar, MIC is a priest of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, currently serving as Provincial Superior of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy Province (United States, England, Argentina). Formerly a successful engineer and business owner, he holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He entered religious life in 2006 and was ordained a priest on May 31, 2014, after seminary formation at Franciscan University of Steubenville and Holy Apostles Seminary.

“Explaining the Faith” is a powerful teaching series by Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, of the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, MA. Each talk offers clear, passionate explanations of key Catholic topics—ranging from Marian apparitions and angels to doctrine, devotions, and Church history. Whether you’re deep in your faith or just beginning the journey, these lectures illuminate the timeless truths of Catholicism with clarity, depth, and pastoral heart. Fr. Chris Alar, MIC is a priest of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, currently serving as Provincial Superior of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy Province (United States, England, Argentina). Formerly a successful engineer and business owner, he holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He entered religious life in 2006 and was ordained a priest on May 31, 2014, after seminary formation at Franciscan University of Steubenville and Holy Apostles Seminary.

☙ Marian Apparitions | Part 1 ☙ “Explaining the Faith” is a powerful teaching series by Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, of the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, MA. Each talk offers clear, passionate explanations of key Catholic topics—ranging from Marian apparitions and angels to doctrine, devotions, and Church history. Whether you’re deep in your faith or just beginning the journey, these lectures illuminate the timeless truths of Catholicism with clarity, depth, and pastoral heart. Fr. Chris Alar, MIC is a priest of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, currently serving as Provincial Superior of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy Province (United States, England, Argentina). Formerly a successful engineer and business owner, he holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He entered religious life in 2006 and was ordained a priest on May 31, 2014, after seminary formation at Franciscan University of Steubenville and Holy Apostles Seminary.

☙ Our Lady of Good Success ☙ Our Lady of Good Success is one of the most remarkable Marian apparitions in Church history, given in Quito, Ecuador, to the Spanish Conceptionist abbess Mother Mariana de Jesús Torres in the late 1500s and early 1600s. Mary entrusted to her a series of prophetic messages for the future Church — especially concerning a coming era of moral confusion, assaults on the family, corruption within religious institutions, and a time when faith would seem to flicker like a dying candle. Yet every warning was paired with a profound promise of ultimate triumph through Christ and His Mother. Her title “Good Success” doesn’t mean worldly achievement, but the successful completion of God’s plan in souls who cling to Him with faith, humility, and perseverance. Mary appeared radiant, crowned, holding the Christ Child, and offering her crosier as a sign that she herself would guide and protect the Church in turbulent centuries to come. She spoke of a hidden remnant who would remain faithful, and of a future purification after which devotion would burn brighter than ever. Her messages are strangely contemporary: they describe a world exhausted by sin, confused about identity, and aching for hope. And yet the heart of the apparition is pure tenderness — a reminder that Mary walks with us through the darkest seasons, preparing the victory of her Son in ways we cannot yet see.

In 1917, in a small Portuguese village called Fatima, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children — Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta — with a message meant not just for their time, but for the whole world. Across six apparitions, she urged humanity toward conversion of heart: prayer, penance, and deep trust in God’s mercy. She asked especially for the daily Rosary, devotion to her Immaculate Heart, and the offering of our sufferings for the salvation of souls. Through these simple children, Mary revealed prophetic insights about war, the rise of atheism, the need for reparation, and the ultimate triumph of her Heart in God’s plan. The heart of Fatima is not fear, but hope. Mary did not come to frighten the world — she came as a mother pleading with her children to return to the path of grace. Her message is profoundly Eucharistic, deeply Christ-centered, and rooted in the mercy of God. Fatima continues to resonate today because it speaks to every generation: pray, repent, entrust your life to Jesus, and join Mary in her mission to bring souls back to Him. Her Immaculate Heart will triumph — not by force, but by the quiet victory of grace over darkness.

The Church begins every new year by placing the whole world under the protection of a Mother. This feast proclaims the most ancient truth about Mary: that the Child she bore is truly God, and therefore she is rightly called Theotokos — “God-bearer.” It’s not just a Marian title. It’s a Christological declaration. If Mary is the Mother of God, then Jesus is not a symbol, not partly divine, not an adopted son — He is God in the flesh, dwelling in a human womb. On this day, we honor: • the humanity of Jesus • the divinity of Jesus • the dignity of the incarnation • the motherhood of Mary • the tenderness of God entering the world through her “yes” And because she is Mother of God, she is also mother to all who belong to Christ. This solemnity reminds us that the year ahead can be entrusted to her maternal care — our wounds, our hopes, our battles, our fears. If God Himself entrusted His first breaths to Mary, then we can safely entrust our own lives to her as well.

In this powerful teaching, Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, explores the profound Marian messages revealed through Our Lady of Pontmain and Our Lady of Perpetual Help. At Pontmain, Mary appeared in the midst of war and fear to offer a simple yet transformative message of hope: “Pray, my children. God will hear you in a short time.” Her presence brought peace to an anxious village and reminded the Church that trust and prayer can move the Heart of God. Fr. Chris then unfolds the meaning of the ancient icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a timeless image of Mary’s unfailing maternal care. Here, Mary invites the faithful to bring every fear, burden, and suffering to her so that she may lead them to her Son. Together, these two devotions reveal a Mother who consoles, intercedes, and strengthens her children in every trial. This talk offers a powerful reminder that hope is never far from those who call upon Mary with confidence.

“Explaining the Faith” is a powerful teaching series by Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, of the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, MA. Each talk offers clear, passionate explanations of key Catholic topics—ranging from Marian apparitions and angels to doctrine, devotions, and Church history. Whether you’re deep in your faith or just beginning the journey, these lectures illuminate the timeless truths of Catholicism with clarity, depth, and pastoral heart. Fr. Chris Alar, MIC is a priest of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, currently serving as Provincial Superior of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy Province (United States, England, Argentina). Formerly a successful engineer and business owner, he holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He entered religious life in 2006 and was ordained a priest on May 31, 2014, after seminary formation at Franciscan University of Steubenville and Holy Apostles Seminary.

Our Lady of Guadalupe stands as one of the most tender and powerful revelations of God’s mercy in history. In 1531, the Mother of Jesus chose to appear not to kings or scholars, but to a humble Indigenous man, Saint Juan Diego, speaking in his own language and clothing herself in symbols that proclaimed the Gospel to a wounded people. Her image — miraculously imprinted on Juan Diego’s tilma — radiates a love that bridges cultures, heals divisions, and draws countless souls to Christ. She is the Mother who comes close, the Mother who listens, the Mother who says, “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” To behold Our Lady of Guadalupe is to encounter a compassion that has no walls and a hope that cannot fade. For nearly 500 years, Her presence has consoled the suffering, protected the vulnerable, and ignited conversions across the world. In Her, we see God’s tenderness made visible — a reminder that Heaven is never far from earth, and that every person, no matter how small, is seen and cherished. May Her mantle cover you, and may Her Son bless you, as you draw near to the mystery of this miraculous image.

In 1973, in a quiet convent in Akita, Japan, Sister Agnes Sasagawa received a series of apparitions from the Blessed Virgin Mary that would shake the modern Church. The statue through which Mary spoke — a simple wooden image of the Mother of God standing before the Cross — wept human tears on over a hundred occasions, even shedding blood. The messages entrusted to Sister Agnes echoed the urgency of Fatima: a warning of widespread apostasy, internal division within the Church, and suffering that would purify the world. At the same time, Mary called the faithful to prayer, reparation, and the protection of the Holy Eucharist, reminding us that Heaven still intervenes in history with both tenderness and severity. The apparition of Akita is striking not only for its miraculous signs, but for its sobering clarity. Mary spoke as the sorrowful Mother of All Nations, pleading with humanity to turn back to God before chastisements escalate. Her message emphasizes the Rosary, penance, and fidelity to Christ crucified — a call especially urgent in our present age. Whether one approaches Akita with belief or cautious reflection, it stands as one of the most compelling Marian interventions of the 20th century: a mother grieving for her children, yet guiding them toward mercy while time remains.