O Mary, Queen of the Holy Rosary, I thank you for your maternal protection, and for the many blessings I have received through your powerful intercession. Blessed Mother you asked at Fatima for the daily recitation of the Rosary for peace in the world and in individual souls. I offer my Rosary as a spiritual "Bouquet of Roses" for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in atonement for the offenses committed against your Immaculate Heart, and in petition for the favors I ask in this Novena. With great confidence in your powerful intercession, I place these petitions in your hands, and beseech you to present them to Jesus. He will never refuse what you ask of Him.
(here our prayer intention)
The Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petition, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen
(Add the daily Rosary)
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Our Lady of Rosary Feast ~~ the 7th of October ~~
The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary celebrates the protection of Christians through the intercession of the Mother of God; and, like many feasts toward the end of the liturgical year, it commemorates a struggle with the forces of pagans , with other words against the evil in any kind of representation .
the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary commemorates the victory of Christian naval forces at the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. At a time when Christian Europe was being torn apart by internal strife and the Reformation, Don John of Austria destroyed the Turkish fleet in the Gulf of Lepanto. His victory was attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom rosaries were offered and processions were made in Rome on the day of the battle.
The feast was instituted by Pope St. Pius V shortly after the victory, and Pope Clement XI extended it to the entire Church in celebration of another victory over the Turkish Muslims in 1716.
Let us faithfully pray to Our Lady of the Rosary, let us ask the Virgin Mary to help us to cultivate a habit of interior prayer through the daily recitation of the rosary. This is the object of all of our prayers: to arrive at the point where we can "pray without ceasing," as Saint Paul tells us to do.
To Our Lady of the Rosary
O Virgin Mary, grant that the recitation of thy Rosary may be for me each day, in the midst of my manifold duties, a bond of unity in my actions, a tribute of filial piety, a sweet refreshment, an encouragement to walk joyfully along the path of duty. Grant, above all, O Virgin Mary, that the study of thy fifteen mysteries may form in my soul, little by little, a luminous atmosphere, pure, strengthening, and fragrant, which may penetrate my understanding, my will, my heart, my memory, my imagination, my whole being. So shall I acquire the habit of praying while I work, without the aid of formal prayers, by interior acts of admiration and of supplication, or by aspirations of love. I ask this of thee, O Queen of the Holy Rosary, through Saint Dominic, thy son of predilection, the renowned preacher of thy mysteries, and the faithful imitator of thy virtues. Amen.
the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary commemorates the victory of Christian naval forces at the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. At a time when Christian Europe was being torn apart by internal strife and the Reformation, Don John of Austria destroyed the Turkish fleet in the Gulf of Lepanto. His victory was attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom rosaries were offered and processions were made in Rome on the day of the battle.
The feast was instituted by Pope St. Pius V shortly after the victory, and Pope Clement XI extended it to the entire Church in celebration of another victory over the Turkish Muslims in 1716.
Let us faithfully pray to Our Lady of the Rosary, let us ask the Virgin Mary to help us to cultivate a habit of interior prayer through the daily recitation of the rosary. This is the object of all of our prayers: to arrive at the point where we can "pray without ceasing," as Saint Paul tells us to do.
To Our Lady of the Rosary
O Virgin Mary, grant that the recitation of thy Rosary may be for me each day, in the midst of my manifold duties, a bond of unity in my actions, a tribute of filial piety, a sweet refreshment, an encouragement to walk joyfully along the path of duty. Grant, above all, O Virgin Mary, that the study of thy fifteen mysteries may form in my soul, little by little, a luminous atmosphere, pure, strengthening, and fragrant, which may penetrate my understanding, my will, my heart, my memory, my imagination, my whole being. So shall I acquire the habit of praying while I work, without the aid of formal prayers, by interior acts of admiration and of supplication, or by aspirations of love. I ask this of thee, O Queen of the Holy Rosary, through Saint Dominic, thy son of predilection, the renowned preacher of thy mysteries, and the faithful imitator of thy virtues. Amen.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Feast of Our Lady of Ransom ~~ September 24 ~~
O God, who by means of the most glorious Mother of Thy Son
was pleased to give new children to Thy Church
for the deliverance of Christ's faithful
from the power of the heathen;
grant, we beseech Thee,
that we who love and honor her as the foundress of so great a work may,
by her merits and intercession,
be ourselves delivered from all sin
and from the bondage of the evil one.
Through the same Christ, our Lord.Amen
The Blessed Virgin appeared in 1218 in three separate visions to St. Peter Nolasco, St. Raymund of Penafort, and James, king of Aragon, asking them to found a religious order ( Mercedarian order ) dedicated to freeing Christian captives from the barbarous Saracens, who at that time held a great part of Spain. The Mercedarians' pious work spread everywhere and produced heroes of charity who collected alms for the ransom of Christians, and who often gave themselves up in exchange for Christian prisoners.
Our Lady of Ransom
Mother of Mercy! Virgin Mary blest
Within whose chaste, young bosom hearts find peace
And finding, know the real content of Rest;
The utter fullness that need never cease
Once one has known the safety of this breast;
Once and then many times when one has erred
And seeks mongst men a pity in the face;
An understanding in the stead of squared
Contempt blunt-meted out from every place.
To whom, then, can we turn and quickly go
Assured of mercy and the mother-strength
To lift us up! To whom, then, can we show
The contrite heart; the firm resolve at length
To keep our equilibrium of soul?
.... oh, foolish question uttered by all men
While Mary's heart-pulse throbs to be their goal
And bleeds its mercy ever and again! Amen
was pleased to give new children to Thy Church
for the deliverance of Christ's faithful
from the power of the heathen;
grant, we beseech Thee,
that we who love and honor her as the foundress of so great a work may,
by her merits and intercession,
be ourselves delivered from all sin
and from the bondage of the evil one.
Through the same Christ, our Lord.Amen
The Blessed Virgin appeared in 1218 in three separate visions to St. Peter Nolasco, St. Raymund of Penafort, and James, king of Aragon, asking them to found a religious order ( Mercedarian order ) dedicated to freeing Christian captives from the barbarous Saracens, who at that time held a great part of Spain. The Mercedarians' pious work spread everywhere and produced heroes of charity who collected alms for the ransom of Christians, and who often gave themselves up in exchange for Christian prisoners.
Our Lady of Ransom
Mother of Mercy! Virgin Mary blest
Within whose chaste, young bosom hearts find peace
And finding, know the real content of Rest;
The utter fullness that need never cease
Once one has known the safety of this breast;
Once and then many times when one has erred
And seeks mongst men a pity in the face;
An understanding in the stead of squared
Contempt blunt-meted out from every place.
To whom, then, can we turn and quickly go
Assured of mercy and the mother-strength
To lift us up! To whom, then, can we show
The contrite heart; the firm resolve at length
To keep our equilibrium of soul?
.... oh, foolish question uttered by all men
While Mary's heart-pulse throbs to be their goal
And bleeds its mercy ever and again! Amen
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows
Father,
as Your Son was raised on the cross,
His mother Mary stood by Him, sharing His sufferings.
May Your Church be united with Christ
in His suffering and death
and so come to share in His rising to new life,
where He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Over the centuries, the Holy Catholic Church celebrate and commemorate the spiritual martyrdom of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her compassion with the sufferings of her Divine Son Jesus Christ , our Lord and Savior .
The other Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, held on Friday before Palm Sunday, was originally kept on the Friday after the third Sunday after Easter. Known under the title of, "Commemoratio angustix et doloris B. Marix V," this Feast commemorated the sorrows of Mary during the Passion and death of Christ .
How much greater was the suffering of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For she who enjoyed the fullness of her immaculate state could never conceive doing such deplorable crimes.
Focusing on the compassion of our Blessed Mother, our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, reminded the faithful, “Mary Most Holy goes on being the loving consoler of those touched by the many physical and moral sorrows which afflict and torment humanity. She knows our sorrows and our pains, because she too suffered, from Bethlehem to Calvary. 'And they soul too a sword shall pierce.' Mary is our Spiritual Mother, and the mother always understands her children and consoles them in their troubles. Then, she has that specific mission to love us, received from Jesus on the Cross, to love us only and always, so as to save us! Mary consoles us above all by pointing out the Crucified One and Paradise to us!” (1980).
Blessed Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows for everyone !
Holy Mother Mary , Mother of Sorrow and Divine Mercy , pray for us !
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Blessed Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows( September 15 )
Eternal Father, we offer Thee the Blood, the Passion, and the Death of Jesus Christ, the sorrows of Mary most holy, and of St. Joseph, in attonement for our sins, in aid of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for the needs of holy Mother Church, and for the conversion of sinners.
Virgin most sorrowful, pray for us!
The month of September is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, whose Feast the Church celebrates on September 15 .
The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows draws our hearts towards the Blessed Virgin Mary in compassion for the motherly sufferings that she endured following her beloved son Jesus's sorrowful Passion and burial .
The soul and Imma culate Heart of Mary was pierced when she saw the condition of Jesus on the road to Calvary, when He was crucified, when she stood at the foot of the Holy Cross, when the body of Jesus was taken down from the Cross and when Jesus was buried.
Over the centuries, the Holy Catholic Church celebrated two similar feasts during the liturgical calendar . The purpose of those feasts was firstly to commemorate the spiritual martyrdom of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her compassion with the sufferings of her Divine Son. Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, held on Friday before Palm Sunday, was originally kept on the Friday after the third Sunday after Easter. Known under the title of, "Commemoratio angustix et doloris B. Marix V," this Feast commemorated the sorrows of Mary during the Passion and death of Christ .
This feast is dedicated to the spiritual martyrdom of Mary, Mother of God, and her compassion with the sufferings of her Divine Son, Jesus. In her suffering as co-redeemer, she reminds us of the tremendous evil of sin and shows us the way of true repentance. May the numerous tears of the Mother of God be conducive to our salvation; with which tears Thou, O God, art able to wash away the sins of the whole world.
Join me in praying the Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows , may God bless you all !
Blessed Feast of Nativity of Mary , Holy Mother of God ( September 8 )
Today, September 8 th, we are celebrating the Feast of the Birth of Mary.
This Feast provides us with an occasion for praise and thanksgiving in honour of the personal sanctity and vocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ . Through Mary's Immaculate Conception and Birth was opended the way of salvation for us poor sinners , through Mary we received Jesus , our Lord and Redeemer .
Next to the Holy Nativity of Jesus, Mary's birth offers the greatest possible happiness to the world.
Each time we celebrate her birth we can confidently hope for an increase of peace in our hearts and in the world at large.
We can see every human birth as a call for new hope in the world .
This is all true in a magnificent way in Mary. If Jesus is the perfect expression of God's Love , Mary is the foreshadowing of that Love.
If Jesus has brought to all of us the fullness of salvation , Mary is its dawning .
Let us rejoice for the birth of Mary , ever Virgin and Immaculate Mother of God , let us faithfully pray
Thy birth, O Virgin Mother of God,
heralded joy to all the world.
For from thou hast risen the Sun of justice,
Christ our God.
Destroying the curse, He gave blessing;
and damning death, He bestowed on us
life everlasting.
Blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
For from thou hast risen of Sun of justice,
Christ our God. Amen
(from The Divine Office - Matins )
This Feast provides us with an occasion for praise and thanksgiving in honour of the personal sanctity and vocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ . Through Mary's Immaculate Conception and Birth was opended the way of salvation for us poor sinners , through Mary we received Jesus , our Lord and Redeemer .
Next to the Holy Nativity of Jesus, Mary's birth offers the greatest possible happiness to the world.
Each time we celebrate her birth we can confidently hope for an increase of peace in our hearts and in the world at large.
We can see every human birth as a call for new hope in the world .
This is all true in a magnificent way in Mary. If Jesus is the perfect expression of God's Love , Mary is the foreshadowing of that Love.
If Jesus has brought to all of us the fullness of salvation , Mary is its dawning .
Let us rejoice for the birth of Mary , ever Virgin and Immaculate Mother of God , let us faithfully pray
Thy birth, O Virgin Mother of God,
heralded joy to all the world.
For from thou hast risen the Sun of justice,
Christ our God.
Destroying the curse, He gave blessing;
and damning death, He bestowed on us
life everlasting.
Blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
For from thou hast risen of Sun of justice,
Christ our God. Amen
(from The Divine Office - Matins )
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Feasts of Our Lady for the Twenty-Third Week of Ordinary Time
From the beginning of the week, we might ask Holy Mother of God to gently guide us to trust her Son's Love and to be more tender in loving those people her Divine Son invites us to forgive and be a source of healing.
Throughout this week, we can also give thanks for the ways we are called to be Jesus' followers - not because we are extremely talented or because we are perfect, but because he saw in us something that he could heal and then send us to heal others. We can be especially attentive to the ways we are blessed in our poverty and in the ways we sometimes experience rejection as his disciples.
The feast of Our Lady for this week are
6. Our Lady of the Fountain (near Valenciennes, France)
7. Our Lady of Zyrowice (Poland)
7. Our Lady of Consolata (Turin, Italy)
8. Nativity of Our Lady
8. Our Lady of Apparecida , Patroness of Brazil
9. Our Lady of the Puy (in Velay, France)
10. Our Lady of Tru (near Cologne)
11. Our Lady of Hildesheim (in Duchy of Brunswick, Germany)
12. Most Holy Name of Mary
12. Our Lady of Healing (lower Normandy)
13. Another feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (in Spain)
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Novena for the Birth of Mary ( Maria Bambina novena ) ~~ September 8
The Feast of the Birth of Mary is a opportunity for everyone to reflect upon the moment of Divine Grace , in which God had dwelled within the Blessed Virgin Mary at the moment of her birth.
Secondly, we are provided with the opportunity to reflect upon the anticipation of the people who awaited the Incarnation and birth of the Divine Son of Mary.
Thirdly, we are provided with the opportunity to honour the mother of Our Lord and Saviour.
Mary was created to be a Channel of Mercies. When she came into the world, it was not only for her glory, but also for our good. Through the fullness of her grace, Mary intercedes on our behalf, dispensing to us the grace of God, so that we may be touched by her fullness .
Secondly, we are provided with the opportunity to reflect upon the anticipation of the people who awaited the Incarnation and birth of the Divine Son of Mary.
Thirdly, we are provided with the opportunity to honour the mother of Our Lord and Saviour.
Mary was created to be a Channel of Mercies. When she came into the world, it was not only for her glory, but also for our good. Through the fullness of her grace, Mary intercedes on our behalf, dispensing to us the grace of God, so that we may be touched by her fullness .
Let us faithfully pray the Novena for the Feast of Birth of Mary , Mother of God ( novena for the birth and infancy of Mary , Maria Bambina Novena ):
Holy Child Mary of the royal house of David, Queen of the angels,
Mother of grace and love, I greet you with all my heart.
Obtain for me the grace to love the Lord faithfully during
all the days of my life. Obtain for me, too, a great devotion
to you, who are the first creature of God's love.
Pray the Hail Mary
O heavenly Child Mary, who like a pure dove was born
immaculate and beautiful, true prodigy of the wisdom of
God, my soul rejoices in you. Oh! Do help me to preserve
the angelic virtue of purity at the cost of any sacrifice.
Pray the Hail Mary
Hail, lovely and holy Child, spiritual garden of delight, where,
on the day of the Incarnation, the tree of life was planted,
assist me to avoid the poisonous fruit of vanity and pleasures of the world.
Help me to engraft into my soul the thoughts, feelings,
and virtues of your divine Son.
Pray the Hail Mary
Hail, admirable Child Mary, Mystical Rose, closed garden,
open only to the heavenly Spouse. O Lily of paradise,
make me love the humble and hidden life;
let the heavenly Spouse find the gate of my heart always open
to the loving calls of His graces and inspiration.
Pray the Hail Mary
Holy Child Mary, mystical dawn, gate of heaven,
you are my trust and hope.
O powerful advocate, from your cradle stretch out your hand,
support me on the path of life.
Make me serve God with ardor and
constancy until death and so reach an eternity with you.
Pray the Hail Mary
Prayer
Blessed Child Mary,
destined to be the Mother of God
and our loving Mother,
by the heavenly graces you lavish upon us,
mercifully listen to my supplications.
In the needs which press upon me from every side
and especially in my present tribulation,
I place all my trust in you.
O holy Child,
by the privileges granted to you alone
and by the merits which you have acquired,
show that the source of spiritual favours
and the continuous benefits
which you dispense are inexhaustible,
because your power with the Heart of God is unlimited.
Deign through the immense profusion of graces
with which the Most High has enriched you
from the first moment of your Immaculate Conception,
grant me, O Celestial Child, my petition,
and I shall eternally praise
the goodness of your Immaculate Heart. Amen
Mother of grace and love, I greet you with all my heart.
Obtain for me the grace to love the Lord faithfully during
all the days of my life. Obtain for me, too, a great devotion
to you, who are the first creature of God's love.
Pray the Hail Mary
O heavenly Child Mary, who like a pure dove was born
immaculate and beautiful, true prodigy of the wisdom of
God, my soul rejoices in you. Oh! Do help me to preserve
the angelic virtue of purity at the cost of any sacrifice.
Pray the Hail Mary
Hail, lovely and holy Child, spiritual garden of delight, where,
on the day of the Incarnation, the tree of life was planted,
assist me to avoid the poisonous fruit of vanity and pleasures of the world.
Help me to engraft into my soul the thoughts, feelings,
and virtues of your divine Son.
Pray the Hail Mary
Hail, admirable Child Mary, Mystical Rose, closed garden,
open only to the heavenly Spouse. O Lily of paradise,
make me love the humble and hidden life;
let the heavenly Spouse find the gate of my heart always open
to the loving calls of His graces and inspiration.
Pray the Hail Mary
Holy Child Mary, mystical dawn, gate of heaven,
you are my trust and hope.
O powerful advocate, from your cradle stretch out your hand,
support me on the path of life.
Make me serve God with ardor and
constancy until death and so reach an eternity with you.
Pray the Hail Mary
Prayer
Blessed Child Mary,
destined to be the Mother of God
and our loving Mother,
by the heavenly graces you lavish upon us,
mercifully listen to my supplications.
In the needs which press upon me from every side
and especially in my present tribulation,
I place all my trust in you.
O holy Child,
by the privileges granted to you alone
and by the merits which you have acquired,
show that the source of spiritual favours
and the continuous benefits
which you dispense are inexhaustible,
because your power with the Heart of God is unlimited.
Deign through the immense profusion of graces
with which the Most High has enriched you
from the first moment of your Immaculate Conception,
grant me, O Celestial Child, my petition,
and I shall eternally praise
the goodness of your Immaculate Heart. Amen
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Blessed Feast of Queenship of Mary , Holy Mother of God ( August 22 )
Eight days ago, we were celebrating the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
Today, we are commemorating another beautiful Marian Feast, that of the Queenship of Mary. This special Liturgical Feast was proclaimed by Pope Pius XII on October 11, 1954 through his Encyclical Letter "Ad Caeli Reginam."
The Holy Catholic Church made this proclamation in view of the fact that throughout its history, whether in time of peace or in time of war, the faithful have continuously addressed prayers of petition and hymns of praise and veneration to the Queen of Heaven.
"From early times Christians have believed, and not without reason, that she of whom was born the Son of the Most High received privileges of grace above all other beings created by God. He 'will reign in the house of Jacob forever,' [Lk. 1:32] 'the Prince of Peace,' [Is. 9:6] the 'King of Kings and Lord of Lords.' [Rev. 19:16] And when Christians reflected upon the intimate connection that obtains between a mother and a son, they readily acknowledged the supreme royal dignity of the Mother of God." (Ad Caeli Reginam; # 8)
According to ancient tradition and the sacred liturgy the main principle on which the royal dignity of Mary rests is without doubt her Divine Motherhood. In Holy Writ, concerning the Son whom Mary will conceive, we read this sentence: 'He shall be called the Son of the most High, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end,' [Lk. 1:32-3] and in addition Mary is called 'Mother of the Lord'; [Lk. 1:43] from this it is easily concluded that she is a Queen, since she bore a son who, at the very moment of His conception, because of the hypostatic union of the human nature with the Word, was also as man King and Lord of all things. So with complete justice St. John Damascene could write: 'When she became Mother of the Creator, she truly became Queen of every creature.' [S. Ioannes Damascenus, De fide orthodoxa, 1. IV, c. 14; PL XCIV, 1158 s. B.] Likewise, it can be said that the heavenly voice of the Archangel Gabriel was the first to proclaim Mary's royal office." (Ad Caeli Reginam; # 34)
To understand the Queenship (queen mother) of Mary as the mother of Jesus as the eternal King, it is necessary to know Jewish history.
First of all, it must be shown that Jesus was born of royal family. This proof is found in the following Biblical passages. "And Jesse the father of King David. And David was the father of Solomon." [Mt. 1:6] "So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generation." [Mt. 1:17] "Jesus was the son (as was thought) of Joseph son of Heli, [Lk. 3:23] son of David, [Lk. 3:31] son of Adam..."[Lk. 3:38] "These are the words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David." [Rev. 3:7] "Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered..." [Rev. 5:5] "On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, 'King of kings and Lord of lords.'" [Rev. 19:16] "I am the root and descendant of David." [Rev. 22:16]
Reviewing Jewish history, it is learned that the institution of the "queen mother" was established during the reign of King Solomon. In the Old Testament, we find the following words, "King Solomon had a throne brought for the king's mother, and she sat on his right." [1 Kgs 2:19] Many of the kings who succeeded King Solomon kept this practice. The mother of the king, through who the king received his throne, was trusted as a confident and advisor. So important was the function of the queen mothers in the days of the Old Testament that their names were listed in the succession records of the kings of Judah. [1 Kgs 14:21, 15:13; 2 Kgs. 12:1, 14:2, 15:2, etc...] In one instance of the Jewish history, we find that when the king died, the queen mother ruled for a time. [2 Kgs. 11:1-3]
Considering the fact that Jesus was a descendant of the House of David in which it was the practice of the mother of the king to sit at the right hand of the king as the Queen mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, being the mother of Jesus, is entitled by tradition to sit at the right hand of the Lord Jesus in His eternal Kingdom, she rightfully having inherited the honour and title of Queen Mother as the mother of Jesus who is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
This summarizes why we as Catholics proudly call the Blessed Virgin Mary our Queen and why the Holy Mother Church, in its inspired wisdom, has officially proclaimed this glorious honour.
Today, we are commemorating another beautiful Marian Feast, that of the Queenship of Mary. This special Liturgical Feast was proclaimed by Pope Pius XII on October 11, 1954 through his Encyclical Letter "Ad Caeli Reginam."
The Holy Catholic Church made this proclamation in view of the fact that throughout its history, whether in time of peace or in time of war, the faithful have continuously addressed prayers of petition and hymns of praise and veneration to the Queen of Heaven.
"From early times Christians have believed, and not without reason, that she of whom was born the Son of the Most High received privileges of grace above all other beings created by God. He 'will reign in the house of Jacob forever,' [Lk. 1:32] 'the Prince of Peace,' [Is. 9:6] the 'King of Kings and Lord of Lords.' [Rev. 19:16] And when Christians reflected upon the intimate connection that obtains between a mother and a son, they readily acknowledged the supreme royal dignity of the Mother of God." (Ad Caeli Reginam; # 8)
According to ancient tradition and the sacred liturgy the main principle on which the royal dignity of Mary rests is without doubt her Divine Motherhood. In Holy Writ, concerning the Son whom Mary will conceive, we read this sentence: 'He shall be called the Son of the most High, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end,' [Lk. 1:32-3] and in addition Mary is called 'Mother of the Lord'; [Lk. 1:43] from this it is easily concluded that she is a Queen, since she bore a son who, at the very moment of His conception, because of the hypostatic union of the human nature with the Word, was also as man King and Lord of all things. So with complete justice St. John Damascene could write: 'When she became Mother of the Creator, she truly became Queen of every creature.' [S. Ioannes Damascenus, De fide orthodoxa, 1. IV, c. 14; PL XCIV, 1158 s. B.] Likewise, it can be said that the heavenly voice of the Archangel Gabriel was the first to proclaim Mary's royal office." (Ad Caeli Reginam; # 34)
To understand the Queenship (queen mother) of Mary as the mother of Jesus as the eternal King, it is necessary to know Jewish history.
First of all, it must be shown that Jesus was born of royal family. This proof is found in the following Biblical passages. "And Jesse the father of King David. And David was the father of Solomon." [Mt. 1:6] "So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generation." [Mt. 1:17] "Jesus was the son (as was thought) of Joseph son of Heli, [Lk. 3:23] son of David, [Lk. 3:31] son of Adam..."[Lk. 3:38] "These are the words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David." [Rev. 3:7] "Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered..." [Rev. 5:5] "On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, 'King of kings and Lord of lords.'" [Rev. 19:16] "I am the root and descendant of David." [Rev. 22:16]
Reviewing Jewish history, it is learned that the institution of the "queen mother" was established during the reign of King Solomon. In the Old Testament, we find the following words, "King Solomon had a throne brought for the king's mother, and she sat on his right." [1 Kgs 2:19] Many of the kings who succeeded King Solomon kept this practice. The mother of the king, through who the king received his throne, was trusted as a confident and advisor. So important was the function of the queen mothers in the days of the Old Testament that their names were listed in the succession records of the kings of Judah. [1 Kgs 14:21, 15:13; 2 Kgs. 12:1, 14:2, 15:2, etc...] In one instance of the Jewish history, we find that when the king died, the queen mother ruled for a time. [2 Kgs. 11:1-3]
Considering the fact that Jesus was a descendant of the House of David in which it was the practice of the mother of the king to sit at the right hand of the king as the Queen mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, being the mother of Jesus, is entitled by tradition to sit at the right hand of the Lord Jesus in His eternal Kingdom, she rightfully having inherited the honour and title of Queen Mother as the mother of Jesus who is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
This summarizes why we as Catholics proudly call the Blessed Virgin Mary our Queen and why the Holy Mother Church, in its inspired wisdom, has officially proclaimed this glorious honour.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Pius XII states in the constitution "Munificentissimus Deus," which defined belief in the Assumption as a matter of faith:
"All the arguments and considerations of the Fathers and theologians rest on Sacred Scripture for their ultimate foundation. The Scriptures present the beloved Mother of God as most intimately united with her divine Son as ever sharing in his lot. Hence, it seems all but impossible to see her who conceived Christ. . .as separated from him, if not in soul, yet in body, after her life on earth was over. . .Seeing that by preserving her from the corruption of the tomb he could give her such great honor, we must believe that he actually did so."
St. John Damascene (d. 749) called the Doctor of the Assumption, writes, "On this day the sacred and life-filled ark of the living God, she who conceived her Creator in her womb, rests in the Temple of the Lord that is not made with hands. David, her ancestor, leaps, and with him the angels lead the dance."
Documentation testifies that the feast was celebrated first in the Eastern Church in the second half of the sixth century. Pope Sergius I (687-701) ordered its observance in Rome. At first it was kept as a memorial of Mary's death, her falling asleep (dormition), and it gradually came to be a commemoration of her Assumption as such.
Blessed Feast of Assumption ( August 15 )
This is the most ancient and solemn of the Blessed Virgin Mary's feasts. After a most blessed death Our Lady was triumphantly assumed into Heaven with her immaculate soul and pure body, and was crowned Queen of Heaven by Her own Divine Son.
Let us unite our joy and gratitude with that of the angels and saints in Heaven, as well as that of the Church upon earth, for it is our Heavenly Mother's Assumption Day.
How well did she deserve this immortal crown!
She crushed the serpent's head; she offered herself and her beloved Son unto death for the Redemption of mankind.
She triumphed over the world and the evil.
Let us pray that the Immaculate Virgin Mary may reign as Queen in our hearts, and in the hearts of all mankind. Let us pray to her for the grace of final perseverance in good and a happy death , also let us faithfully pray :
Almighty and everlasting God, Who hast taken up the Immaculate Virgin Mother of Thy Son, with Body and Soul into the heavenly Glory, grant, we beseech Thee, that we may, always intent on higher things, deserve to be partakers of Her Glory.
Through the same Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the Unity of the Holy Ghost, One God, forever, unto ages of ages. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, Who hast taken up the Immaculate Virgin Mother of Thy Son, with Body and Soul into the heavenly Glory, grant, we beseech Thee, that we may, always intent on higher things, deserve to be partakers of Her Glory.
Through the same Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the Unity of the Holy Ghost, One God, forever, unto ages of ages. Amen.
Hymn
Thou Guide of virgin hosts, Fair Mother of the Lord,
Who gavest back what Adam lost, earth's Hope and Heaven's Reward.
Thou Lily'mid the thorns, thou snowy-plumed Dove,
Thou budding Rod that God adorns with healing fruit of love.
Thou unassailed Tower, thou Star that breakest night,
From evil shield us by Thy power, and lead us by Thy light.
The shades of sin dispel, the hidden snares remove,
And midst the ocean's surging swell, a saving pathway prove.
Be praise and honor meet to Jesus, Virgin-born,
To Father and to Paraclete, throughout the endless morn. Amen.
V. Pray for us, O Queen of the Heavens,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promise of Christ.
May the offering of our devotion ascend to Thee, O Lord, and through the intercession of the most blessed Virgin Mary, who was taken up into Heaven, may our hearts be inflamed with the fire of Love, and continually long for Thee.
Who gavest back what Adam lost, earth's Hope and Heaven's Reward.
Thou Lily'mid the thorns, thou snowy-plumed Dove,
Thou budding Rod that God adorns with healing fruit of love.
Thou unassailed Tower, thou Star that breakest night,
From evil shield us by Thy power, and lead us by Thy light.
The shades of sin dispel, the hidden snares remove,
And midst the ocean's surging swell, a saving pathway prove.
Be praise and honor meet to Jesus, Virgin-born,
To Father and to Paraclete, throughout the endless morn. Amen.
V. Pray for us, O Queen of the Heavens,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promise of Christ.
May the offering of our devotion ascend to Thee, O Lord, and through the intercession of the most blessed Virgin Mary, who was taken up into Heaven, may our hearts be inflamed with the fire of Love, and continually long for Thee.
Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the Unity of the Holy Ghost, One God, forever, unto ages of ages. Amen.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Daily meditation in preparation for the Feast the Assumption ( Dormition )
The Catechism, quoting the Byzantine Liturgy, states, "The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians: 'In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death'" (No. 966).
We firmly believe that from the first moment of her conception, Mary was free of all sin including original sin by a special favor of Almighty God. The Archangel Gabriel recognized her as "full of grace," "blessed among women," and "one with the Lord." Mary had been chosen to be the mother of our Savior. By the power of the Holy Spirit, she conceived our Lord, Jesus Christ, and through her, true God became also true man: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." During her lifetime, although the Gospel citations are limited, Mary always presented our Lord to others: to Elizabeth and her son, John the Baptist, who leapt for joy in the womb at the presence of the Lord still in His own mother's womb; to the simple shepherds as well as the wise Magi; and to the people at Cana when our Lord acquiesced to His mother's wish and performed the first miracle. Mary also stood at the foot of the cross with her Son, supporting Him and sharing in His suffering through her love as only a mother could do; moreover, as the exemplary disciple, she stood there courageously with the hope of the resurrection. Finally, she was with the apostles at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended and the Church was born. Therefore, each of us can step back and see Mary as the faithful servant of God who shared intimately in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord.
For these reasons, we believe that the promises our Lord has given to each of us of sharing eternal life, including a resurrection of the body, were fulfilled in Mary. Since Mary was free of original sin and its effects (one of which is corruption of the body at death), since she shared intimately in the life of the Lord and in His passion, death and resurrection, and since she was present at Pentecost, this model disciple appropriately shared in the bodily resurrection and glorification of the Lord at the end of her life.
( taken from Catholic Education Resource Center ~~ Father William Saunders )
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Daily meditation in preparation for the Feast the Assumption ( Dormition )
The magnificent Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary celebrated on August 15 proclaims the deepest and most profound of these Christian mysteries and promises.
Christianity holds forth a surprising happiness and promise of joy. It describes and offers a mystery of life that is full and forever .
Virgin Mary--the Bearer of God who was the first and best disciple of her Son--lived a long life in the presence of God. She experienced a resurrection after falling asleep in death (called Dormition) and a transport to Heaven (called Metestiseen, Assumption). Remarkably, this is the joy that lies in wait for all other disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ whose bodies will rise at the end of time and be with God in Heaven forever.
Let us pray :
Father in Heaven,
all creation rightly gives You praise
for all Life and all Holiness come from You.
In the plan of Your wisdom
she who bore the Christ in her womb
was raised Body and Soul in Glory
to be with Him in Heaven.
May we follow her example
in reflecting Your holiness
and join in her hymn of endless life and praise.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen
Christianity holds forth a surprising happiness and promise of joy. It describes and offers a mystery of life that is full and forever .
Virgin Mary--the Bearer of God who was the first and best disciple of her Son--lived a long life in the presence of God. She experienced a resurrection after falling asleep in death (called Dormition) and a transport to Heaven (called Metestiseen, Assumption). Remarkably, this is the joy that lies in wait for all other disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ whose bodies will rise at the end of time and be with God in Heaven forever.
Let us pray :
Father in Heaven,
all creation rightly gives You praise
for all Life and all Holiness come from You.
In the plan of Your wisdom
she who bore the Christ in her womb
was raised Body and Soul in Glory
to be with Him in Heaven.
May we follow her example
in reflecting Your holiness
and join in her hymn of endless life and praise.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen
(taken from International Committee on English in the Liturgy )
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Daily meditation in preparation for the Feast the Assumption ( Dormition )
All the feast days of Mary mark the great mysteries of her life and her part in the work of redemption.
The central mystery of her life and person is her divine motherhood, celebrated both at Christmas and a week later (Jan. 1) on the feast of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
The Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8) marks the preparation for that motherhood, so that she had the fullness of grace from the first moment of her existence, completely untouched by sin. Her whole being throbbed with divine life from the very beginning, readying her for the exalted role of mother of the Savior.
The Assumption completes God's work in her since it was not fitting that the flesh that had given life to God himself should ever undergo corruption.
The Assumption completes God's work in her since it was not fitting that the flesh that had given life to God himself should ever undergo corruption.
The Assumption is God's crowning of His work as Mary ends her earthly life and enters eternity. The feast turns our eyes in that direction, where we will follow when our earthly life is over.
( taken from The Assumption of Mary: A Belief since Apostolic Times , written by Father Clifford Stevens )
( taken from The Assumption of Mary: A Belief since Apostolic Times , written by Father Clifford Stevens )
Monday, August 10, 2009
Daily meditation in preparation for the Feast the Assumption ( Dormition )
Almighty and everlasting God,
You have taken up body and soul
into the heavenly glory the Immaculate Virgin Mary,
Mother of Your Son: Grant, we beseech You,
that, ever intent upon heavenly things,
we may be worthy to be partakers of her glory.
Through Jesus Christ Your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever. Amen.
( From the Roman Missal )
"We pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory." With these words, Pope Pius XII officially and infallibly declared the Assumption of Mary, the Mother of God (theotokos), to be dogma in 1950. In this pronouncement, Pope Pius was simply stating dogmatically what the Church, East and West, had believed for many thousands of years ago.
The Catholic Catechism further explains:
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians (966).
The Catechism then quotes from the Troparion of the Feast of the Dormition from the Byzantine Liturgy:
In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death. (966)
Thus, the Assumption of Mary is not only a participation in her Son's resurrection, but a preview of our future resurrections. As such, the dogma of Mary's Assumption is firmly rooted in the actions and person of Christ, and in the virtue of Christian Hope.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Our Lady of the Snows Feast~~ August 5 ~~
Devotion to Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Snows dates back to 352 A.D.
In that year a rectangle of snow was discovered on Mount Esquiline, one of the famous Seven Hills of Rome .
According to tradition, on the night of August 4th, a childless aristocratic Roman couple dreamed that the Blessed Virgin Mary instructed them to go to the Esquiline Hill in the morning where they would find a plot of land covered with snow.
Mary told them that a church consecrated to her should be built on the snow-covered plot of land.
On this same night, She also appeared to Pope Liberius in a dream telling him of her desire.
The next morning the couple went to Pope Liberius to tell him about their dream.
The pope then led a procession to the spot indicated in the dream and discovered that snow had indeed fallen on the Esquiline Hill.
Snowfall of any sort was unheard of in Rome at that time of year.
People crowded to see the patch of snow, which persisted despite the heat, amazed that it had fallen in only one place. All of Rome proclaimed the summer snow a miracle, and the couple accepted this as a sign that hey were to use their wealth to help build the church.
As soon as the plot for the building had been staked out the snow melted.
On that site, the pope built a shrine to the Holy Virgin. Originally the church was called Santa Maria ad Nives (St. Mary of the Snows).
Later known as Santa Maria Liberiana and then as Santa Maria ad Praesepe, because relics of the manger of Bethlehem had been brought to the church, the basilica eventually became known as Santa Maria Maggiore St. Mary Major because it is the largest of all the churches in Romededicated to the Blessed Mother.
Construction on the current church structure began in the 5th century. Pope Sixtus III wished to build a church to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary after the Council of Ephesus (AD 431) had solemnly declared her to be the Theotokos, Mother of God .
The Basilica contains the Salus Populi Romani "Protectress of the Roman People" an ancient miraculous image of the Madonna and Infant Jesus composed in the Byzantine style. The image is also known as the Madonna Santa Maria ad Nives.Salus Populi Romana [Salvation of the Roman People] is the title of this famous painting and it is rightly named because for centuries the people of Rome have prayed before it in times of famine, war and national crisis.
The Protectress of the Roman People has saved Rome from numerous afflictions and dangers throughout the city’s history. Many popes and saints have been profoundly devoted to Salus Populi Romani - Madonna Santa Maria ad Nives -Our Lady of the Snows. Far from Rome, in Belleville, Illinois, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate built a shrine to Our Lady of the Snows. The Oblates have missions in Alaska and Canada.
The present-day church is one of the largest basilicas in the world and its Patronal Festival is held on August 5 in remembrance of the miracle of the snow.
During this celebration hundreds of white blossoms are showered from the dome of the chapel.
Prayer to Our Lady of Snows:
Mary, Mother of God, it is our Christian belief that all who fashion their lives in imitation of your Son, Jesus Christ, and have placed their hope in Him are gathered together in a communion of saints. Those who have gone before us live in intimate communion with Christ. You are the most eminent of them, for you were drawn into His life and being as no other. You who gave Him human life followed Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Mary, look at us. Look at all who are centered on your Son. At the present time some of his disciples are pilgrims on earth. Others have died and are being purified, while still others are in glory, contemplating 'in full light, God Himself Triune and One, exactly as He is. All of God's people hunger to be intimately one with Him.
Mary, we are the wayfarers and we hunger for this exchange of spiritual goods with you who were so intimately close to Jesus Christ. Your image, as protectress of the Roman people, reminds us that you invite us to center on Christ. Your arms embrace Jesus fully, effortlessly. Jesus, whose burden is light and yoke is easy, wishes to be as close to every individual as He is to you. You are both wayfarer and guide to us wayfarers on our pilgrimage of faith.
Teach us, Mary, to embrace Christ fully, to make Him our Way, our Truth, our Life. Teach us, Mary, to carry Christ to the world, and, each in our own way, to give Him birth in the hearts of many. Protect your people, Mary; protect your Church.
Through Jesus Christ Our Lord, Amen.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel ( July 16 )
O, most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel,Fruit of the Vine, splendorous of Heaven.
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin,
assist me in this my necessity.
O, Star of the Sea, help me
and show herein you are my mother.
O, Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succour me in my necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power,
O, show me here you are my mother.
O, Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to Thee.
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands.
Amen.
O Mary, Immaculate Queen of Carmel, Mother of God, and my Mother, the wearing of thy holy Scapular signifies that I am entirely thine. Assist me this day, and obtain for me the grace to live faithfully my Scapular Consecration, whereby my heart, my mind, my body, my whole being, is thine without reserve, forever. Amen.
According to the most ancient Carmelite chronicles, the Order has its origins with the disciples of the prophets Elias and Eliseus. They lived in caves on Mount Carmel. They honored the Queen of Heaven as the Virgin who is to give birth to the Saviour. When the reality replaced the symbol, the pious ascetics of Carmel were converted to the Christian Faith. In the 12th century, many pilgrims from Europe who had followed the Crusaders came to join the solitaries. A rule was established and the Order began to spread to Europe.
Amid the many persecutions raised against the Order of Mount Carmel, newly arrived in Europe, Saint Simon Stock, General of the Order, turned with filial confidence to the Blessed Mother of God. As he knelt in prayer on July 16, 1251, in the White Friars’ convent at Cambridge, She appeared before him and presented him with the well-known brown scapular, a loose sleeveless garment destined for the Order of Carmel, reaching from the shoulders to the knees. It was given as an assurance, for all who died wearing it, of Her heavenly protection from eternal death. An extraordinary promise indeed, but one requiring a life of prayer and sacrifice.
Devotion to the blessed habit spread quickly throughout the Christian world. Pope after Pope enriched it with indulgences, and innumerable miracles put their seal upon its efficacy. The first of them was worked at Winchester on a man dying in despair, who when the scapular was laid upon him by Saint Simon Stock at once asked for the Sacraments.
In the year 1636, a certain gentleman, member of a cavalry regiment, was mortally wounded at the battle of Tehin, a bullet having lodged near his heart. He was then in a state of grievous sin, but he had time to make his confession. Afterwards a surgeon probed his wound, and the bullet was found to have driven his scapular into his heart. When it had been withdrawn he soon expired, making profound acts of gratitude to the Blessed Virgin who had prolonged his life miraculously, thereby preserving him from the irremediable death of his soul.
At Lourdes in 1858, the Virgin chose to make Her last apparition on July 16th, feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the day the Church commemorates Her apparition to Saint Simon Stock. And at Fatima on October 13, 1917, it is as Our Lady of Mount Carmel that Mary appeared when She said farewell to the three children. Throughout the ages, the Queen of Carmel has always kept a faithful watch over the destinies of Her cherished children on earth.
(Source: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin )
Monday, March 30, 2009
Lent prayers together with Our Sorrowful Mother
Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows , comforter the afflicted
Most holy Mother of Sorrows, by that soul-piercing martyrdom thou didst undergo at the foot of the Cross during the three hours' agony of Jesus, deign to assist me also, who am the child of thy Sorrows, in my agony, so that by thine intercession I may be found worthy to pass from my deathbed to thy blessed society in Paradise.
From a sudden and unprovided death,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the snares of the devil,
Deliver us , O Lord.
From everlasting death,
Deliver us , O Lord.
Let us pray.
O God, Who for the salvation of mankind hast made for us in the most bitter death of Thy Son both an example and a refuge; grant, we beseech Thee, that we may be found worthy to obtain the fruit of His great love in our final peril at the hour of death, and to be made partakers of our Redeemer's glory. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Most holy Mother of Sorrows, by that soul-piercing martyrdom thou didst undergo at the foot of the Cross during the three hours' agony of Jesus, deign to assist me also, who am the child of thy Sorrows, in my agony, so that by thine intercession I may be found worthy to pass from my deathbed to thy blessed society in Paradise.
From a sudden and unprovided death,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the snares of the devil,
Deliver us , O Lord.
From everlasting death,
Deliver us , O Lord.
Let us pray.
O God, Who for the salvation of mankind hast made for us in the most bitter death of Thy Son both an example and a refuge; grant, we beseech Thee, that we may be found worthy to obtain the fruit of His great love in our final peril at the hour of death, and to be made partakers of our Redeemer's glory. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Daily Prayer to Sorrowful Mother
Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God
and our most compassionate Mother,
we present ourselves in thy sight in all humility,
and with full confidence we implore thee for thy maternal patronage.
Thou hast been proclaimed by Holy Church
the Comforter of the Afflicted,
and to thee constant recourse
is had by the sorrowful in their afflictions,
the sick in their maladies, the dying in their agony,
the poor in their straitened circumstances,
those who stand in all manner of need in both public
and private calamities;
and from thee they all receive consolation and strength.
Our dearest Mother, turn upon us also,
wretched sinners that we are, thy merciful eyes,
and graciously accept our humble and confident prayers.
Aid us in all our spiritual and temporal necessities;
deliver us from all evil, and especially from sin,
which is the greatest evil, and from all danger of falling into it;
obtain for us from thy Son Jesus
every blessing of which thou seest we stand in need,
both in soul and in body, and especially the greatest blessing of all,
which is Divine grace.
Comfort our spirits, troubled and afflicted
in the midst of the many dangers that threaten us and
in the countless miseries and misfortunes that beset us on every side.
This we ask through that immense joy
which filled thy pure soul in the glorious Resurrection of thy Divine Son.
Obtain tranquility for Holy Church,
help and comfort for her visible Head, the Roman Pontiff,
peace for Christian princes,
refreshment in their pains for the Holy Souls in Purgatory;
for sinners, the forgiveness of their sins, and for the just,
perseverance in well-doing.
Receive us all, our most tender Mother,
under thy loving and mighty protection,
that we may be enabled to live virtuously,
die holily and attain to everlasting happiness in heaven. Amen.
(~~ (Rac., No. 419)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Happy Feast of Annunciation of the Lord
Lent's austerity is interrupted as we solemnly keep a feast in honor of the Annunciation. The Annunciation is a mystery that belongs to the temporal rather than to the sanctoral cycle in the Church's calendar. For the feast commemorates the most sublime moment in the history of time, the moment when the Second Divine Person of the most Holy Trinity assumed human nature in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Thus it is a feast of our Lord, even as it is of Mary, although the liturgy centers wholly around the Mother of God. ( — The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch )
Let us faithfully rejoice for the great gift of eternal life given to us through Jesus Christ , from the very moment of Annunciation till Nativity , Passion and sorrowful Death , till the luminous and life giving Resurection .
For this important Feast for mankind , we can pray following Saint Alphonsus Liguori meditations :
First Meditation : When God was pleased to send His Son on earth, that by becoming man He might redeem lost man, He chose Him a Virgin Mother, who, amongst all virgins, was the most pure, the most holy, and the most humble. Behold, whilst Mary was in her poor dwelling, beseeching God to send the promised Redeemer, an Angel stood before her and saluted her, saying , "Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women". And what was the conduct of this humble Virgin when she heard so honorable a salutation? She was not elated, but was silent and troubled, considering herself indeed unworthy of such praises: "she was troubled at his saying".
O Mary,
thou art so humble,
and I am so filled with pride;
obtain for me holy humility.Amen
Second Meditation : Think you that these praises caused Mary at least to suspect that she might be the destined Mother of the Redeemer? No; they only caused her to conceive a great fear of herself; so much so, indeed, that the Angel had to encourage her: "Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found grace with God". He then announced to her that she was the chosen Mother of the Redeemer of the world: "Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus".
Blessed art thou, O Mary,
how dear wast thou to God,
and how dear art thou still to Him!
Have pity on me.Amen
Third Meditation : "And now, O holy Virgin", says Saint Bernard, "why dost thou delay thy consent? The Eternal Word awaits it to clothe Himself with flesh and become thy Son. We also await it, who in misery are condemned to eternal death. If thou consentest, and acceptest to become His Mother, we shall be made free. Quickly, O Lady, answer. Delay not the salvation of the world, which depends on thy consent". But let us rejoice, for Mary already hears the Angel: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word". "Behold", she says, "the slave of the Lord, who is bound to do all that her Lord commands". If He chooses a slave for His Mother, it is not she who is to be praised, but the goodness of that Lord alone, Who is thus graciously pleased to honor her.
O most humble Mary, thou by this thy humility didst so enamor thy God that thou didst draw Him to thee, so as to become thy Son and our Redeemer. I know that thy Son refuses thee nothing that thou askest Him. Ask Him to forgive all the offenses which I have committed against Him; ask Him to grant me perseverance until death. In fine, recommend my soul to Him; for thy recommendations meet with no denial from a Son Who loves thee so much. O Mary, thou hast to save me; thou art my hope. Amen
Let us faithfully rejoice for the great gift of eternal life given to us through Jesus Christ , from the very moment of Annunciation till Nativity , Passion and sorrowful Death , till the luminous and life giving Resurection .
For this important Feast for mankind , we can pray following Saint Alphonsus Liguori meditations :
First Meditation : When God was pleased to send His Son on earth, that by becoming man He might redeem lost man, He chose Him a Virgin Mother, who, amongst all virgins, was the most pure, the most holy, and the most humble. Behold, whilst Mary was in her poor dwelling, beseeching God to send the promised Redeemer, an Angel stood before her and saluted her, saying , "Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women". And what was the conduct of this humble Virgin when she heard so honorable a salutation? She was not elated, but was silent and troubled, considering herself indeed unworthy of such praises: "she was troubled at his saying".
O Mary,
thou art so humble,
and I am so filled with pride;
obtain for me holy humility.Amen
Second Meditation : Think you that these praises caused Mary at least to suspect that she might be the destined Mother of the Redeemer? No; they only caused her to conceive a great fear of herself; so much so, indeed, that the Angel had to encourage her: "Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found grace with God". He then announced to her that she was the chosen Mother of the Redeemer of the world: "Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus".
Blessed art thou, O Mary,
how dear wast thou to God,
and how dear art thou still to Him!
Have pity on me.Amen
Third Meditation : "And now, O holy Virgin", says Saint Bernard, "why dost thou delay thy consent? The Eternal Word awaits it to clothe Himself with flesh and become thy Son. We also await it, who in misery are condemned to eternal death. If thou consentest, and acceptest to become His Mother, we shall be made free. Quickly, O Lady, answer. Delay not the salvation of the world, which depends on thy consent". But let us rejoice, for Mary already hears the Angel: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word". "Behold", she says, "the slave of the Lord, who is bound to do all that her Lord commands". If He chooses a slave for His Mother, it is not she who is to be praised, but the goodness of that Lord alone, Who is thus graciously pleased to honor her.
O most humble Mary, thou by this thy humility didst so enamor thy God that thou didst draw Him to thee, so as to become thy Son and our Redeemer. I know that thy Son refuses thee nothing that thou askest Him. Ask Him to forgive all the offenses which I have committed against Him; ask Him to grant me perseverance until death. In fine, recommend my soul to Him; for thy recommendations meet with no denial from a Son Who loves thee so much. O Mary, thou hast to save me; thou art my hope. Amen
Monday, March 23, 2009
Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary
Devotion to the Sorrows of Mary has always been a favorite devotion among Catholics.
How touching is the beautiful hymn, Stabat Mater Dolorosa, which the Church intertwines with the public recitation of the Way of the Cross. The Church spares no pain to induce her children to venerate the sufferings of their Heavenly Mother. Seven of her sorrows have been chosen for our special veneration.
Holy Church recalls to our mind only seven of Our Lady's Dolors, but who could form an estimate of their real number! The sufferings of the Mother of God cannot be comprehended; they are inconceivable. But although her whole life was, like that of her Divine Son, a continuous series of sufferings and tribulations, the greatest woes and trials came to her during the week of the bitter passion and death of Jesus, when the storm of hatred and fury burst forth with all violence against Him.
Devotion to the sorrows of Mary should be practiced especially by souls who wish to rid themselves of sinful habits. This devotion nourishes the spirit of compunction, affords great consolation, strengthens confidence in God's mercy, draws down the special protection of the Blessed Mother in the hour of temptation and preserves the converted sinner from relapsing into sin.
The Mother of God once said to her faithful servant St. Bridget: "No matter how numerous a person's sins may be, if he turns to me with a sincere purpose of amendment, I am prepared forthwith to receive him graciously, for I do not regard the number of sins he has committed, but look only upon the dispositions with which he comes to me; for I feel no aversion in healing his wounds, because I am called and am in truth the Mother of Mercy."
How touching is the beautiful hymn, Stabat Mater Dolorosa, which the Church intertwines with the public recitation of the Way of the Cross. The Church spares no pain to induce her children to venerate the sufferings of their Heavenly Mother. Seven of her sorrows have been chosen for our special veneration.
Holy Church recalls to our mind only seven of Our Lady's Dolors, but who could form an estimate of their real number! The sufferings of the Mother of God cannot be comprehended; they are inconceivable. But although her whole life was, like that of her Divine Son, a continuous series of sufferings and tribulations, the greatest woes and trials came to her during the week of the bitter passion and death of Jesus, when the storm of hatred and fury burst forth with all violence against Him.
Devotion to the sorrows of Mary should be practiced especially by souls who wish to rid themselves of sinful habits. This devotion nourishes the spirit of compunction, affords great consolation, strengthens confidence in God's mercy, draws down the special protection of the Blessed Mother in the hour of temptation and preserves the converted sinner from relapsing into sin.
The Mother of God once said to her faithful servant St. Bridget: "No matter how numerous a person's sins may be, if he turns to me with a sincere purpose of amendment, I am prepared forthwith to receive him graciously, for I do not regard the number of sins he has committed, but look only upon the dispositions with which he comes to me; for I feel no aversion in healing his wounds, because I am called and am in truth the Mother of Mercy."
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Day 3
Feast of Annunciation
Before Novena prayer for Annuciation http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/Novena/annovena.htm
we can meditate faithfully over the great mystery of the moment of Incarnation of the Word of God , the most Holy and Immaculate Conception .
In the Feast of the Annunciation, the Church commemorates two events important to all humanity. On this day, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that she was to be the Mother of of the Redeemer and Messiah promised for centuries in prophecy. On the same day, the Incarnation took place. God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, assumed a human body and soul and became the Son of Mary and Joseph.
The Incarnation proves that Mary is the Mother of God.
She is the Mother of the Divine Redeemer of the world, the Mother of our Lord and Master, our perfect friend and guide to her Son. After His heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit, there is no-one Jesus honours so much as His Blessed Mother. She intercedes for us to Her Son, and has been blessed with the privilege of appearing to us on occasion, as at Fatima and Lourdes.
The Feast of the Annunciation is an opportunity to bow our heads and thank Our Blessed Mother for her faith and trust, and to offer our own trusting 'Fiat' to God's designs.
Before Novena prayer for Annuciation http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/Novena/annovena.htm
we can meditate faithfully over the great mystery of the moment of Incarnation of the Word of God , the most Holy and Immaculate Conception .
In the Feast of the Annunciation, the Church commemorates two events important to all humanity. On this day, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that she was to be the Mother of of the Redeemer and Messiah promised for centuries in prophecy. On the same day, the Incarnation took place. God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, assumed a human body and soul and became the Son of Mary and Joseph.
The Incarnation proves that Mary is the Mother of God.
She is the Mother of the Divine Redeemer of the world, the Mother of our Lord and Master, our perfect friend and guide to her Son. After His heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit, there is no-one Jesus honours so much as His Blessed Mother. She intercedes for us to Her Son, and has been blessed with the privilege of appearing to us on occasion, as at Fatima and Lourdes.
The Feast of the Annunciation is an opportunity to bow our heads and thank Our Blessed Mother for her faith and trust, and to offer our own trusting 'Fiat' to God's designs.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Day 2
Feast of Annunciation
Before Novena prayer for Annuciation http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/Novena/annovena.htm
is good to remember that through Immaculate Mary at the moment of the Annunciation, Jesus entered the world in His human nature. Through Mary, He became a member of the human race. Through Mary, Jesus was given to the world for the salvation of mankind.
Through Mary, an Immaculate Virgin, Jesus received His human form to become the perfect sacrifice and sin offering according to the Divine will of God the Father. Through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus came an end to the imperfect sacrifices and sin .
Let us pray,
[That we may become more like Christ,
who chose to become one of us.]
Almighty Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
You have revealed the beauty of your power
by exalting the lowly virgin of Nazareth
and making her the mother of our Savior.
May the prayers of this woman
bring Jesus to the waiting world
and fill the void of incompletion
with the presence of her child,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit
one God forever and ever. Amen
Before Novena prayer for Annuciation http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/Novena/annovena.htm
is good to remember that through Immaculate Mary at the moment of the Annunciation, Jesus entered the world in His human nature. Through Mary, He became a member of the human race. Through Mary, Jesus was given to the world for the salvation of mankind.
Through Mary, an Immaculate Virgin, Jesus received His human form to become the perfect sacrifice and sin offering according to the Divine will of God the Father. Through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus came an end to the imperfect sacrifices and sin .
Let us pray,
[That we may become more like Christ,
who chose to become one of us.]
Almighty Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
You have revealed the beauty of your power
by exalting the lowly virgin of Nazareth
and making her the mother of our Savior.
May the prayers of this woman
bring Jesus to the waiting world
and fill the void of incompletion
with the presence of her child,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit
one God forever and ever. Amen
Monday, March 16, 2009
Novena for the Feast of Annunciation ( 25 March )
Today we start to prepare for a great feast for mankind , the holy and glorious moment when Archangel Gabriel brings the news of Joyful Mystery : Annunciation of our Lord Jesus Christ to Immaculate Mary .It was this day on which Our Lord entered the world, and on this day, thirty-three years later, that He left it.
It must be remembered that it was on this day, not Christmas, that Christ came to the world, as a baby inside Mary's womb , that's why true catholics fight for Life , from the very moment of conception .
Our Lady uttered her Fiat -- her words "Let it be done to me according to thy word" -- and the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity condescended to take on a human nature and become man. God became man! through Mary .
Yes, the whole heavens were moved, and we Catholics are moved yet, honoring Christ's Incarnation at each and every Mass when we kneel in gratitude during the Creed, at the words "Et homo factus est" ("And became man"). Angelus Bells at one time (and still in some places) reminded us three times a day -- morning, noon, and evening -- of St. Gabriel's announcement, Mary's fiat, and the Creator of the Sun and Moon and Stars deigning to take on a human nature .
So let us faithfully pray , may God bless you all joining in prayers .
I greet you,
Ever-blessed Virgin,
Mother of God,
Throne of Grace,
miracle of Almighty Power!
I greet you,
Sanctuary of the Most Holy Trinity
and Queen of the Universe,
Mother of Mercy
and refuge of sinners!
Most loving Mother, attracted by your beauty and sweetness, and by your tender compassion, I confidently turn to you, miserable as I am, and beg of you to obtain for me from your dear Son the favor I request in this novena:(mention your request).
Obtain for me also, Queen of heaven, the most lively contrition for my many sins and the grace to imitate closely those virtues which you practiced so faithfully, especially humility, purity and obedience. Above all, I beg you to be my Mother and Protectress, to receive me into the number of your devoted children, and to guide me from your high throne of glory.
Do not reject my petitions, Mother of Mercy! Have pity on me, and do not abandon me during life or at the moment of my death.
Daughter of the Eternal Father, Mother of the Eternal Son, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, Temple of the Adorable Trinity, pray for me. Immaculate and tender Heart of Mary, refuge of the needy and hope of sinners, filled with the most lively respect, love, and gratitude, I devote myself forever to your service, and I offer you my heart with all that I am and all that belongs to me.
Accept this offering, sweet Queen of Heaven and Earth, and obtain for me of your dear Son, Jesus Christ, the favors I ask through your intercession in this novena. Obtain for me also a submission to His adorable Will, the true spirit of a Christian, and the grace of final perseverance. Amen.
Memorare
Remember, most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.
Consecration
Holiest Virgin, with all my heart I venerate you above all the Angels and Saints in paradise as the Daughter of the Eternal Father, and I consecrate to you my soul with all its powers. Hail Mary
Holiest Virgin, with all my heart I venerate you above all the Angels and Saints in paradise as the Mother of the only-begotten Son, and I consecrate to you my body with all its senses. Hail Mary
Holiest Virgin, with all my heart I venerate you above all the Angels and Saints in paradise as the beloved Spouse of the Holy Spirit, and I consecrate to you my heart and all its affections, praying you to obtain for me from the Most Holy Trinity all the graces I need for my salvation. Hail Mary
Ever-blessed Virgin,
Mother of God,
Throne of Grace,
miracle of Almighty Power!
I greet you,
Sanctuary of the Most Holy Trinity
and Queen of the Universe,
Mother of Mercy
and refuge of sinners!
Most loving Mother, attracted by your beauty and sweetness, and by your tender compassion, I confidently turn to you, miserable as I am, and beg of you to obtain for me from your dear Son the favor I request in this novena:(mention your request).
Obtain for me also, Queen of heaven, the most lively contrition for my many sins and the grace to imitate closely those virtues which you practiced so faithfully, especially humility, purity and obedience. Above all, I beg you to be my Mother and Protectress, to receive me into the number of your devoted children, and to guide me from your high throne of glory.
Do not reject my petitions, Mother of Mercy! Have pity on me, and do not abandon me during life or at the moment of my death.
Daughter of the Eternal Father, Mother of the Eternal Son, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, Temple of the Adorable Trinity, pray for me. Immaculate and tender Heart of Mary, refuge of the needy and hope of sinners, filled with the most lively respect, love, and gratitude, I devote myself forever to your service, and I offer you my heart with all that I am and all that belongs to me.
Accept this offering, sweet Queen of Heaven and Earth, and obtain for me of your dear Son, Jesus Christ, the favors I ask through your intercession in this novena. Obtain for me also a submission to His adorable Will, the true spirit of a Christian, and the grace of final perseverance. Amen.
Memorare
Remember, most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.
Consecration
Holiest Virgin, with all my heart I venerate you above all the Angels and Saints in paradise as the Daughter of the Eternal Father, and I consecrate to you my soul with all its powers. Hail Mary
Holiest Virgin, with all my heart I venerate you above all the Angels and Saints in paradise as the Mother of the only-begotten Son, and I consecrate to you my body with all its senses. Hail Mary
Holiest Virgin, with all my heart I venerate you above all the Angels and Saints in paradise as the beloved Spouse of the Holy Spirit, and I consecrate to you my heart and all its affections, praying you to obtain for me from the Most Holy Trinity all the graces I need for my salvation. Hail Mary
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Praying Lent together with Sorrowful Mother of God
As Mother of God, Mary was exalted to an incomparable height of holiness. Who can comprehend the lofty height of her greatness or fathom the abyss of her sanctity? St. Thomas attempted, and concluded that omnipotence itself could not invent a "greater greatness." It was necessary that her sorrows should correspond to her holiness, for the sufferings and tribulations of the Saints always keep apace with their sanctity. What then must Mary's sufferings have been in order to be proportionate to her greatness ---- the greatness of the Mother of God! Who can comprehend the immensity of her graces and merits, and consequently the enormous weight of sufferings required by such holiness, to complete her perfection, to crown her most condignly?
The sorrows of the Mother of God surpassed the power of human endurance. It is the unanimous opinion of spiritual writers that beneath the pressure of her inconceivable sufferings, the Blessed Virgin's life was miraculously preserved. From the moment of Simeon's prophecy she foresaw her sorrows in vivid reality. Without the special aid of God's omnipotence, her soul would have been separated from her body.
True, Mary was marvelously tranquil, because she was wholly submissive to the will of God; but this did not lessen her sorrows. Her nature, never disturbed by sin, possessed an extraordinary tenderness and was susceptible to suffering in an inexpressibly high degree. "Men will never comprehend the anguish of my sorrows!" she revealed to St. Bridget.
The picture of Mary bowed down with sorrow on Calvary teaches us that pain is the twin sister of love on earth.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Our Lady of Lourdes Novena ( Day 9 )
Be blessed, O most pure Virgin,
for having vouchsafed to manifest Your shining with Life,
sweetness and beauty,
in the Grotto of Lourdes,
saying to the child, St. Bernadette:
"I am the Immaculate Conception."
A thousand times we congratulate You
upon Your Immaculate Conception.
And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin,
Mother of Mercy, Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
You know our wants,
our troubles,
our sufferings;
deign to cast upon us a look of mercy.
By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes,
You were pleased to make it a privileged Sanctuary,
whence You dispense Your graces,
and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities,
both spiritual and physical.
We come, therefore,
with the most unbounded confidence
to implore Your maternal intercession.
Obtain for us, O loving Mother,
the granting of our request...
(Make your request here...)
Through gratitude for Your favours,
we will endeavor to imitate Your virtues,
that we may on day share Your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes,
Mother of Christ,
You had influence with Your Divine Son while upon earth.
You have the same influence now in Heaven.
Pray for us;
obtain for us from Your Divine Son
our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.
(Recite the appropriate daily prayer..)
Day 9
O glorious Mother of God,
to You we raise our hearts
and hands to implore Your powerful intercession
in obtaining from the benign Heart of Jesus
all the graces necessary for our spiritual
and temporal welfare,
particularly for the grace of a happy death.
O Mother of our Divine Lord,
as we conclude this novena
for the special favour we seek at this time...
(Make your request here...)
we feel animated with confidence
that Your prayers in our behalf will be graciously heard.
O Mother of My Lord,
through the love You bear to Jesus Christ
and for the glory of His Name,
hear our prayers and obtain our petitions.
O Brilliant star of Purity,
Mary Immaculate,
Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious Assumption,
triumphant in Your Coronation,
show unto us the Mercy of the Mother of God,
Virgin Mary,
Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength,
and consolation.Amen
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us. Amen
Monday, February 9, 2009
Our Lady of Lourdes Novena ( Day 8 )
Be blessed, O most pure Virgin,
for having vouchsafed to manifest Your shining with Life,
sweetness and beauty,
in the Grotto of Lourdes,
saying to the child, St. Bernadette:
"I am the Immaculate Conception."
A thousand times we congratulate You
upon Your Immaculate Conception.
And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin,
Mother of mercy, Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
You know our wants,
our troubles,
our sufferings;
deign to cast upon us a look of Mercy.
By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes,
You were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary,
whence You dispense Your favours,
and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities,
both spiritual and physical.
We come, therefore,
with the most unbounded confidence
to implore Your maternal intercession.
Obtain for us, O loving Mother,
the granting of our request...
(Make your request here...)
Through gratitude for Your favours,
we will endeavor to imitate Your virtues,
that we may on day share Your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Christ,
You had influence with Your Divine Son while upon earth.
You have the same influence now in Heaven.
Pray for us;
obtain for us from Your Divine Son
our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.
(Recite the appropriate daily prayer..)
Day 8
O Immaculate Mother of God,
from Heaven itself You came to appear
to the little Bernadette in the rough Grotto of Lourdes!
And as Bernadette knelt at Your feet
and the magic spring burst forth
and as multitudes have knelt ever since before Your shrine,
O Mother of God,
we kneel before You today
to ask that in Your Mercy
you plead with Your Divine Son
to grant the special favour we seek in this novena...
(Make your request here...)
O Brilliant star of purity,
Mary Immaculate,
Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious Assumption,
triumphant in Your Coronation,
show unto us the Mercy of the Mother of God,
Virgin Mary,
Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength,
and consolation. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.
Amen
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Our Lady of Lourdes Novena ( Day 7 )
Be blessed, O most pure Virgin,
for having vouchsafed to manifest Your shining with Life,
sweetness and beauty,
in the Grotto of Lourdes,
saying to the child, St. Bernadette:
"I am the Immaculate Conception."
A thousand times we congratulate You
upon Your Immaculate Conception.
And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin,
Mother of mercy, Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
You know our wants,
our troubles,
our sufferings;
deign to cast upon us a look of Mercy.
By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes,
You were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary,
whence You dispense Your graces,
and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities,
both spiritual and physical.
We come, therefore,
with the most unbounded confidence
to implore Your maternal intercession.
Obtain for us, O loving Mother,
the granting of our request...
(Make your request here...)
Through gratitude for Your favours,
we will endeavor to imitate Your virtues,
that we may on day share Your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes,
Mother of Christ,
You had influence with Your Divine Son while upon earth.
You have the same influence now in Heaven.
Pray for us;
obtain for us from Your Divine Son Jesus
our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.
(Recite the appropriate daily prayer..)
Day 7
O Almighty God,
who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son,
we humbly beseech You that as we contemplate
the apparition of Our Lady in the Grotto of Lourdes,
we may be blessed with health of mind and body.
And, O most gracious Mother Mary,
beloved Mother of Our Lord and Redeemer,
look with favour upon us as you did that day on Bernadette
and intercede with Him for us
that the favour we now so earnestly seek may be granted to us...
(Make your request here...)
O Brilliant Star of Purity,
Mary Immaculate,
Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious Assumption,
triumphant in Your Coronation,
show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God,
Virgin Mary,
Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength,
and consolation. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.Amen
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Our Lady of Lourdes Novena ( Day 6 )
Be blessed, O most pure Virgin,
for having vouchsafed to manifest Your shining with Life,
sweetness and beauty,
in the Grotto of Lourdes,
saying to the child, St. Bernadette:
"I am the Immaculate Conception."
A thousand times we congratulate You
upon Your Immaculate Conception.
And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin,
Mother of mercy, Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
You know our wants,
our troubles,
our sufferings;
deign to cast upon us a look of mercy.
By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes,
You were pleased to make it a privileged Sanctuary,
whence You dispense Your favours,
and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities,
both spiritual and physical.
We come, therefore,
with the most unbounded confidence
to implore Your maternal intercession.
Obtain for us, O loving Mother,
the granting of our request...
(Make your request here...)
Through gratitude for Your favours,
we will endeavor to imitate Your virtues,
that we may on day share Your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes,
Mother of Christ,
You had influence with Your Divine Son while upon earth.
You have the same influence now in Heaven.
Pray for us;
obtain for us from Your Divine Son
our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.
(Recite the appropriate daily prayer..)
Day 6
O glorious Mother of God,
so powerful under Your special title
of Our Lady of Lourdes,
to You we raise our hearts
and hands to implore Your powerful intercession
in obtaining from the benign Heart of Jesus
all the helps and graces necessary
for our spiritual and temporal welfare
and for the special favour we so earnestly seek in this novena...
(Make your request here...)
O Lady of Bernadette,
with the stars of Heaven in Your hair
and the roses of earth at Your feet,
look with compassion upon us today
as You did so long ago on Bernadette in the Grotto of Lourdes.
O Brilliant star of purity,
Mary Immaculate,
Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious Assumption,
triumphant in Your Coronation,
show unto us the Mercy of the Mother of God,
Virgin Mary,
Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength,
and consolation. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us. Amen
Friday, February 6, 2009
Our Lady of Lourdes Novena ( Day 5 )
Be blessed, O most pure Virgin,
for having vouchsafed to manifest Your shining with life,
sweetness and beauty,
in the Grotto of Lourdes,
saying to the child, St. Bernadette:
"I am the Immaculate Conception."
A thousand times we congratulate You
upon Your Immaculate Conception.
And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin,
Mother of mercy, Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
You know our wants,
our troubles,
our sufferings;
deign to cast upon us a look of mercy.
By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes,
You were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary,
whence You dispense Your favours,
and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities,
both spiritual and physical.
We come, therefore,
with the most unbounded confidence
to implore Your maternal intercession.
Obtain for us, O loving Mother,
the granting of our request...
(Make your request here...)
Through gratitude for Your favours,
we will endeavor to imitate Your virtues,
that we may on day share Your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes,
Mother of Christ,
You had influence with Your Divine Son while upon earth.
You have the same influence now in Heaven.
Pray for us;
obtain for us from Your Divine Son
our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.
(Recite the appropriate daily prayer..)
Day 5
O Mary Immaculate,
Mother of God and our Mother,
from the heights of Your dignity
look down mercifully upon us while we,
full of confidence in Your unbounded goodness
and confident that Your Divine Son
will look favourably upon any request
You make of Him in our behalf,
we beseech You to come to our aid
and secure for us the favour we seek in this novena...
(Make your request here...)
O Brilliant star of purity,
Mary Immaculate,
Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious Assumption,
triumphant in Your Coronation,
show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God,
Virgin Mary,
Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength,
and consolation. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.Amen
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Our Lady of Lourdes Novena ( Day 4 )
Be blessed, O most pure Virgin,
for having vouchsafed to manifest your shining with life,
sweetness and beauty,
in the Grotto of Lourdes,
saying to the child, St. Bernadette:
"I am the Immaculate Conception."
A thousand times we congratulate You
upon Your Immaculate Conception.
And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin,
Mother of mercy, Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
You know our wants,
our troubles,
our sufferings;
deign to cast upon us a look of mercy.
By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes,
You were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary,
whence You dispense Your favours,
and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities,
both spiritual and physical.
We come, therefore,
with the most unbounded confidence
to implore Your maternal intercession.
Obtain for us, O loving Mother,
the granting of our request...
(Make your request here...)
Through gratitude for Your favours,
we will endeavor to imitate Your virtues,
that we may on day share Your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes,
Mother of Christ,
You had influence with Your Divine Son while upon earth.
You have the same influence now in Heaven.
Pray for us;
obtain for us from Your Divine Son
our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.
(Recite the appropriate daily prayer..)
Day 4
O Immaculate Queen of Heaven,
we your wayward,
erring children,
join our unworthy prayers of praise
and thanksgiving to those of the Angels
and Saints
and Your own the One, Holy,
and Undivided Trinity
may be glorified in Heaven and on earth.
Our Lady of Lourdes,
as You looked down with Love and Mercy upon Bernadette
as she prayed her rosary in the Grotto,
look down now, we beseech You,
with Love and Mercy upon us.
From the abundance of graces granted You
by Your Divine Son,
sweet Mother of God,
give to each of us all that Your Immaculate motherly Heart sees we need
and at this moment look with special favour
on the grace we seek in this novena...
(Make your request here...)
O Brilliant star of purity,
Mary Immaculate,
Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious Assumption,
triumphant in Your Coronation,
show unto us the Mercy of the Mother of God,
Virgin Mary,
Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength,
and consolation. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes,pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.
Amen
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Our Lady of Lourdes Novena ( Day 3 )
Be blessed, O most pure Virgin,for having vouchsafed to manifest your shining with life,
sweetness and beauty,
in the Grotto of Lourdes,
saying to the child, St. Bernadette:
"I am the Immaculate Conception."
A thousand times we congratulate You
upon Your Immaculate Conception.
And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin,
Mother of mercy, Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
You know our wants,
our troubles,
our sufferings;
deign to cast upon us a look of mercy.
By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes,
You were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary,
whence You dispense Your favours,
and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities,
both spiritual and physical.
We come, therefore,
with the most unbounded confidence
to implore Your maternal intercession.
Obtain for us, O loving Mother,
the granting of our request...
(Make your request here...)
Through gratitude for Your favours,
we will endeavor to imitate Your virtues,
that we may on day share Your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes,
Mother of Christ,
You had influence with Your Divine Son while upon earth.
You have the same influence now in Heaven.
Pray for us;
obtain for us from Your Divine Son
our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.
(Recite the appropriate daily prayer..)
Day 3
You are all fair, O Mary,
and there is in You no stain of original sin.
O Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to Thee.
O brilliant star of Sanctity,
as on that lovely day,
upon a rough rock in Lourdes
You spoke to the child Bernadette
and a fountain broke from Thee plain earth
and miracles happened
and the great shrine of Lourdes began,
so now I beseech You to hear our fervent prayer and do,
we beseech You,
grant us the petition we now so earnestly seek...
(Make your request here...)
O Brilliant star of purity,
Mary Immaculate,
Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious Assumption,
triumphant in Your Coronation,
show unto us the Mercy of the Mother of God,
Virgin Mary,
Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength,
and consolation. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes,pray for us.
Saint Bernadette,pray for us.Amen
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Our Lady of Lourdes Novena ( Day 2 )
Be blessed, O most pure Virgin,
for having vouchsafed to manifest Your shining with Life,
sweetness and beauty,
in the Grotto of Lourdes,
saying to the child, St. Bernadette:
"I am the Immaculate Conception."
A thousand times we congratulate You
upon Your Immaculate Conception.
And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin,
Mother of mercy, Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
You know our wants,
our troubles,
our sufferings;
deign to cast upon us a look of mercy.
By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes,
You were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary,
whence You dispense Your favours,
and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities,
both spiritual and physical.
We come, therefore,
with the most unbounded confidence
to implore Your maternal intercession.
Obtain for us, O loving Mother,
the granting of our request...
(Make your request here...)
Through gratitude for Your favours,
we will endeavor to imitate Your virtues,
that we may on day share Your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes,
Mother of Christ,
You had influence with Your Divine Son while upon earth.
You have the same influence now in Heaven.
Pray for us;
obtain for us from Your Divine Son
our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.
Day 2
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious in Your assumption, triumphant in Your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us. Amen
Monday, February 2, 2009
Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes ( Feast 11 February )
Be blessed, O most pure Virgin,for having vouchsafed to manifest your shining with life,
sweetness and beauty,
in the Grotto of Lourdes,
saying to the child, St. Bernadette:
"I am the Immaculate Conception."
A thousand times we congratulate you
upon your Immaculate Conception.
And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin,
Mother of mercy, Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
you know our wants,
our troubles,
our sufferings;
deign to cast upon us a look of mercy.
By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes,
you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary,
whence you dispense your favours,
and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities,
both spiritual and physical.
We come, therefore,
with the most unbounded confidence
to implore your maternal intercession.
Obtain for us, O loving Mother,
the granting of our request...
(Make your request here...)
Through gratitude for your favours,
we will endeavor to imitate your virtues,
that we may on day share your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes,
Mother of Christ,
you had influence with your divine son while upon earth.
You have the same influence now in Heaven.
Pray for us;
obtain for us from your Divine Son
our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.Ámen
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.Amen
(Recite the appropriate daily prayer..)
Day One
O Mary Immaculate,
Our Lady of Lourdes,
Virgin and Mother,
Queen of heaven,
chosen from all eternity
to be the Mother of the Eternal Word
and in virtue of this title
preserved from original sin,
we kneel before you as did little Bernadette at Lourdes
and pray with childlike trust in you
that as we contemplate your glorious appearance at Lourdes,
you will look with mercy on our present petition
and secure for us a favourable answer
to the request for which we are making this novena...
(Make your request here...)
O Brilliant star of purity,
Mary Immaculate,
Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious assumption,
triumphant in your coronation,
show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God,
Virgin Mary,
Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength,
and consolation. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes,
pray for us.Amen
Saint Bernadette,
pray for us.Amen
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WEAR THE GARMENT OF GRACE ~~ BROWN SCAPULAR ~~
O Mary, Queen and Mother of Carmel, I come today to consecrate myself to thee, for my whole life is but a small return for the many graces and blessings that have come from God to me through thy immaculate hands.
Since thou look with special kindness on those who wear thy Scapular, I implore thee to strengthen my weakness with thy power, to enlighten the darkness of my mind with thy wisdom, and to increase in me Faith, Hope and Charity that I may repay each day my debt of humble homage to thee.
May thy Holy Scapular bring me thy special protection in my daily struggle to be faithful to thy Divine Son and to thee. May it separate me from all that is sinful in life and remind me constantly of my duty to imitate thy virtues.
From now on, I shall strive to live in God's Presence, and offer all to Jesus through thee. Dearest Holy Mother, support me by thy never-failing love and lead me to paradise through the merits of Christ and thy own intercession. Amen.
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