This most Holy Synod [Vatican II] deliberately teaches this
Catholic doctrine and at the same time admonishes all the sons of the Church
that the cult, especially the liturgical cult, of the Blessed Virgin, be
generously fostered, and the practices and exercises of piety, recommended by
the magisterium of the Church toward her in the course of centuries be made of
great moment, and those decrees, which have been given in the early days
regarding the cult of images of Christ, the Blessed Virgin and the saints, be
religiously observed. But it exhorts theologians and preachers of the
divine word to abstain zealously both from all gross exaggerations as well as
from petty narrow-mindedness in considering the singular dignity of the Mother
of God. Following the study of Sacred Scripture, the Holy Fathers, the
doctors and liturgy of the Church, and under the guidance of the Church’s
magisterium, let them rightly illustrate the duties and privileges of the
Blessed Virgin which always look to Christ, the source of all truth, sanctity
and piety. Let them assiduously keep away from whatever, either by word or
deed, could lead separated brethren or any other into error regarding the true
doctrine of the Church. Let the faithful remember moreover that true devotion
consists neither in sterile or transitory affection, nor in a certain vain
credulity, but proceeds from true faith, by which we are led to know the
excellence of the Mother of God, and we are moved to a filial love toward our
mother and to the imitation of her virtues. (Lumen gentium, 67)
Category: Blessed Virgin Mary
Consider living according to the virtues of Mary, Mother of God
…true devotion to our Lady is holy, that is, it leads
us to avoid sin and to imitate the virtues of Mary. Her ten principal virtues
are: deep humility, lively faith, blind obedience, unceasing prayer, constant
self-denial, surpassing purity, ardent love, heroic patience, angelic kindness,
and heavenly wisdom.
Saint Louis-Mary de Montfort, True Devotion to the
Blessed Mother
Blessed Mother
Our Lady of Fatima
Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary and worthy of all praise. For the sun of justice, Christ our God, was born of you.
Lord, take away the sins of your people. May the prayers of Mary the mother of your Son help us, for alone and unaided we cannot hope to please you.
Today is the 28th anniversary of the attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II by the Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca. The pope credited his survival to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and subsequently made a pilgrimage to her shrine in Portugal to place the bullet in her crown.
The press reports that he now wants to convert to Christianity after his release from prison on January 18, 2010. May the Holy Spirit warm the heart of Agca and the rest of us to closely follow Christ.
The booklet published by the Catholic Information Service titled “The Message of Our Lady of Fatima” by Father Frederick L. Miller will give you the needed theology and context for this 1917 Marian apparition.
Pray the Rosary!
Remember, O Creator Lord
Remember, O Creator Lord,
that in the Virgin’s sacred womb
Thou wast conceived, and of her flesh
didst our mortality assume.
Mother of grace, O Mary blest,
to thee, sweet fount of love, we fly;
shield us through life, and take us hence
to thy dear bosom when we die.
O Jesu! born of Mary bright!
Immortal glory be to Thee;
praise to the Father infinite,
and Holy Ghost eternally. Amen.
This
is the traditional hymn for the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary for
the hours of Terce, Sext, None, and Compline.
Maternal encouragement of the Blessed Virgin Mary: May, the month of Mary
Mary helps us,
she encourages us to ensure that every moment of our life is a step forward on
this exodus, on this journey toward God. May she help us in this way to make
the reality of heaven, God’s greatness, also present in the life of our world.
Is this not basically the paschal dynamism of the human being, of every person
who wants to become heavenly, perfectly happy, by virtue of Christ’s
Resurrection? And might this not be the beginning and anticipation of a
movement that involves every human being and the entire cosmos? She, from whom
God took his flesh and whose soul was pierced by a sword on Calvary, was
associated first and uniquely in the mystery of this transformation for which
we, also often pierced by the sword of suffering in this world, are all
striving.
Pope Benedict XVI, Homily on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the BVM, August 15, 2008
Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort
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.
Prayer to Our Lady of Good Counsel
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
Easter Vespers II and the Eastertide Marian Antiphon
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.
At the message of the Angel
Hail, Mary, full of grace. The is with thee.
Hail, thou star of ocean!
Portal of the sky!
Ever Virgin Mother
Of the Lord most high!
Oh, by Gabriel’s Ave,
Uttered long ago,
Eva’s name reversing,
‘Stablish peace below.
Break the captive’s fetters;
Light on blindness pour;
All our ills expelling,
Every bliss implore.
Show thyself a mother;
Offer Him our sighs,
Who for us incarnate
Did not thee despise.
Virgin of all virgins!
To thy shelter take us;
Gentlest of the gentle!
Chaste and gentle make us.
Still as on we journey,
Help our weak endeavor;
Till with thee and Jesus
We rejoice for ever.
Through the highest heaven,
To the Almighty Three,
Father, Son, and Spirit,
One same glory be. Amen.
At his general audience on march 24, 2004, Pope John Paul II said the following about today’s feast of the Annunciation of the Lord:
This feast, which this year falls in the middle of Lent, on one hand refers us to the beginnings of salvation, and on the other invites us to turn our gaze to the paschal mystery. We look at Christ crucified who has redeemed humanity, fulfilling to the end the will of the Father. On
Associated to the mystery of the Incarnation, Our Lady is co-participant in the mystery of redemption. Her fiat, which we recall tomorrow, echoes that of the incarnate Word. In profound symphony with Christ’s and the Virgin’s fiat, each one of us is called to unite his own “yes” to the mysterious plans of
Nine Month Novena in Honor of the Virgin of the Incarnation
This novena is prayed each day from the Solemnity of the Annunciation to
the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, March 25 – December 25
Salve
O Virgin of the Incarnation, a thousand times we praise thee, a thousand times we greet thee, for the joy thou did know when the Son of God became flesh in thy womb. Because thou are most powerful, O Virgin Mother of God, grant what we beseech thee for the love of God: (here name the three intentions).
Memorare (Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary…)
Hail Mary
May the heart of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection at every moment in all the tabernacles of the world and in the hearts of all, even until the end of time. Amen.