Blessed Virgin Mary: April 2009 Archives

O God, who willed to guide the steps of your priest, saint Louis-Marie, into the way of salvation and of delight in Christ in the company of the Blessed Virgin, grant that we, by following his example, may meditate the mysteries of your love and devote ourselves tirelessly to the upbuilding of your Church.

Saint Louis-Marie's Total Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary can be followed here.

And if you want to know more about the rosary, read a classic: The Secret of the Rosary by Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort.

A brief biography of Saint Louis-Marie can be read here.

All of Montfort's works are worthy of time but especially noteworthy is the Total Consecration.

Holy Virgin, moved by the painful uncertainty we experience in seeking and aquiring the true and the good, we cast ourselves at thy feet and invoke thee under the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel. We beseech thee: come to our aid at this moment in our worldly sojourn when the twin darknesses or error and of evil that plots our ruin by leading minds and hearts astray.

Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea, enlighten the victims of doubt and of error so that they may not be seduced by evil masquerading as good; strengthen them against the hostile and corrupting forces of passion and of sin.

Mother of Good Counsel, obtain for us from thy Divine Son the love of virtue and the strength to choose, in doubtful and difficult situations, the course agreeable to our salvation. Supported by thy hand we shall thus journey without harm along the paths taught us by the word and example of Jesus our Savior, following the Sun of Truth and Justice in freedom and safety across the battlefield of life under the guidance of thy maternal Star, until we come at length to the harbor of salvation to enjoy with thee unalloyed and everlasting peace.

Pope Pius XII

23 January 1953

And it is finished...the sacred liturgies of the Easter Triduum...

And looking up they saw that the stone had been rolled back, for it was very large, alleluia.

O God, on this day through Thine only-begotten Son has overcome death and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life, do Thou follow with Thine aid the desires which Thou does put into our minds and by Thy continual help bring the same to good effect.

The Marian Antiphon concluding Compline during Eastertide is the Queen of Heaven Rejoice.

V. Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia:
R. For He whom you merited to bear, alleluia,
V. Has risen, as He said, alleluia.
R. Pray for us to God, alleluia..

Let us pray:
O God, who by the resurrection of Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, granted joy to the whole world: grant, we beg You, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may lay hold of the joys of eternal life. Through Christ our Lord.

Read about this prayer here; it has an interesting history.

The sacred Liturgy follows the biblical pattern of prayer: sundown to sundown. You will notice that our Jewish brothers and sisters do the same. So one's following the liturgical life of the Church needs to remember that telling time is a bit different in that a liturgical day does not begin with sunrise to sundown. Consequently, the sacred Triduum we've just celebrated started with the Mass of the Lord's Supper and ends not with the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday but at second Vespers on Easter Sunday. This is a topic some family and friends don't easily comprehend.

The essay "Liturgical Time and Space" in The Handbook for Liturgical Studies (in 5 vols) edited by Anscar J. Chupungco, OSB is an excellent resource for these matters liturgical.