Blessed Virgin Mary – Page 11

Mary, Mother of God

The sacred Liturgy of the Church fittingly calls to mind three aspects of worship and gives us the essential qualities of Christian life and praise of God. We can note from the Liturgy the (1) humility of all the characters in today’s Gospel, (2) the adoration of the Holy Name of Jesus, (3) and closeness to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God.

Humility proclaims the greatness of God

Approaching to the divine is done only in humility; only in recognizing that we don’t make ourselves; only in knowing who we are in front of God, creator of heaven and earth. The gospel tells how to approach God: like the humble people of history:

Jesus, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, was made flesh, who fulfilled the Law with the rite of circumcision and accepted the name given by the angel
Mary, the teenage virgin who stands in wonder and awe before the Spirit
Joseph, the righteous carpenter, who protected the Gift
shepherds, the rustic men who were amazed and glorified and praise God.

Adoration of the Name of Jesus

The last line in today’s reading from the Book of Numbers says: “So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.” This OT prefiguring of the centrality of the name of Jesus having power is startling and it helps us to keep in mind that Jesus himself said that if you ask anything in his name he will give it to you.

In the Missal of Blessed John XXIII (1962) has the Church celebrate the feast of the circumcision of Jesus, which, besides dedicating a male to God, it is also giving of the name of to the baby. A separate feast day is given for the Holy Name of Jesus in this missal prayed on the first Sunday of teh year, or if Sunday’s dates are 1, 6 or 7, the feast falls to January 2.

But connected here we recall that Mary’s son was given the name “Jesus,” meaning God saves. Paul’s letter to the Philippians tells us that God the Father gave us Jesus’ name so that at hearing his name we would recognize and adore the name of Jesus above all others (2:9). In another place in the NT we hear Saint Peter saying that “there is no other name under heaven , given to men, whereby we must be saved,” and that at the name of Jesus “every knee shall bend, in heaven, on earth and under the earth.”

The spiritual teaching of many saints includes a profound reverence for the divine name of Jesus. One can think of Saint Bernard, Saint Bernardine of Siena, Saint John Capistrano, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the orders such as the Cistercians and Dominicans who promoted the devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. Pope John Paul II restored the feast of the Holy Name in the 2002 Roman Missal as an optional memorial giving it another day, that of January 3

Catholic custom is at the hearing of the name of Jesus one bends the neck in a slight bow as a sign of respect. Ultimately, the feast takes seriously the dominical saying, “hallowed be Thy name.”

Closeness to Mary, the Mother of God

The feast we observe on this the first day of January is an old Marian feast. We recognize that woman gave birth to the Son of God. It is through Mary that we know the face of God, who had a heartbeat. Indeed, through her ‘yes’ to God’s invitation the Eternal Word of God became man, in fact, God-man. Theologically, through Mary the activity of the Holy Spirit is made known to the world. That is why we say, “Come Holy Spirit, come through Mary” as a pious aspiration. In the Year of Grace Pius Parsch says that “she is the priestess who joyfully and solemnly offers on high the Lord’s fruitfruits of sacrifice in redemption” (vol 1, p. 246).

For a man schooled in Jewish theology and the Law, Saint Paul acknowledges and preaches that in the divine plan we personally meet God. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul states: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Further on Paul says that we are “no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an heir, through God.” How did this happen? It happened through a woman allowing herself to be disponable to God. That Mary was close to her son Jesus, who is our brother and Savior, Mary our Mother advocates our cause with her Son. Mary is the mediatrix of graces. That is, she intercedes on our behalf with Jesus. And as some preachers will say, “a Jewish mother always gets what she wants from her son.” Mary, the Mother of God, pleads our cause if we go to her with our heart open and supple for grace to be received.

In looking at what the Liturgy gives to us we can put the words of the Pope on our lips: “In giving ourselves to Christ, our Hope, you, O Mother of God, are always present.”

The Tidings Brought to Mary

Paul Claudel’s extraordinary play, “The Tidings Brought to Mary” will be presented by Blackfriars Repertory Theater and the Storm Theater.

Details:

Saturday, January 15, 2011 at 8:00 pm.

Manhattan Center, 311 West 34th Street (at 8th Avenue), New York, NY 10001.

Paul Claudel’s 1912 play is situated in 15th century France telling the story of two sisters of the Vercors family, one giving her life to God and the other focused on herself.

Monsignor Luigi Giussani said of the play, “The theme of ‘The Tidings Brought to Mary’ can be defined like this: love is the generator of the human person according to its total dimension; that is, to say, love is the generator of each person’s story in that it generates a people.”

Many have said that Tidings is challenging, thought-provoking and well-received. Until Blackfriars Theater produced the play in 2009, it had not been seen in NYC since 1923.

The text of “The Tidings Brought to Mary.”

Read the Introduction to Tidings by Monsignor Luigi Giussani: Tidings Brought to Mary Luigi Giussani Introduction.pdf

A review of the play

To purchase tickets visit this link. All tickets are picked up at the door.

Prayer for Anglicans seeking full communion with the Catholic Church

Eternal Father, we place before you the project of forming
the Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans seeking full communion with the
Catholic Church. We thank you for this initiative of Pope Benedict XVI, and we
ask that, through the Holy Spirit, the Ordinariates may become:

families of charity, peace and the service of the poor,
centres for Christian unity and reconciliation, communities that welcome and
evangelize, teaching the Faith in all its fullness, celebrating the liturgy and
sacraments with prayerful reverence and maintaining a distinctive patrimony of
Christian faith and culture.

Drawing on that heritage we pray:

Go before us, O Lord, in all our doings with thy most
gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help; that in all our works,
begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy Name, and finally
by thy mercy obtain everlasting life; though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

V. Our Lady of Walsingham.

R. Pray for us
as we claim your motherly care.

V. Saint
Therese of the Infant Jesus.

R. Pray for us as we place this work under your patronage.

V. Blessed John
Henry Newman

R. Pray that Christ’s Heart may speak unto our hearts.

V. Saints and
Martyrs of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and North America.

R. Pray for us and accompany us on our pilgrim way.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Most Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

With a look full of hope and compassion Mary says: fear not, God loves you personally

Pope Benedict made the annual visit to Spain’s Square, the Spanish Steps as it’s known, to lay a wreathe at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to offer a prayer of filial devotion and to encourage the faithful in our faith. His address follows:

Also this year
we have made an appointment here, in Piazza di Spagna, to render homage to the
Immaculate Virgin, on the occasion of her solemn feast. To all of you, who have
come in great numbers, as well as all those taking part through radio and
television, I address my cordial greeting. We are gathered around this historic
monument, which today is all surrounded by flowers, sign of the love and
devotion of the Roman people for the Mother of Jesus. And the most beautiful
gift, and most pleasing to her, that we offer is our prayer, the one we bear in
our hearts and which we entrust to her intercession. They are invocations of
gratitude and supplication: of gratitude for the gift of faith and for all the
good that we receive daily from God; and supplication for our different needs,
for the family, health, work, for every difficulty that life has us encounter.

Continue reading With a look full of hope and compassion Mary says: fear not, God loves you personally

Lawrence Lew’s Meditation on the Immaculate Conception

Here’s a meditation on today’s feast of the Immaculate Conception by the Rev’d Br. Lawrence Lew, OP, a friar of the English Dominican Province.

Brother Lawrence is one of the animators of the Dominican students’ blog, Godzdogz.

In the coming year Brother Lawrence will be ordained a priest.

Consecration of Persons to the Immaculate Heart of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary

This prayer of consecration was written by a friend of mine, Father Mark. As he notes, “and may be helpful when one experiences a need to entrust particular souls in difficulty to the Immaculate Conception. As he notes, when a priest prays it, he may want to don the stole and pray it before a blessed image of the Most Holy Virgin. This intercessory consecration is appropriate for the unbinding and healing of situations marked by habitual sin and moral suffering. The Immaculate Virgin Mary is ever-ready to intervene in the lives of her children. She is the Mother of Mercy and the Mediatrix of All Graces.”

In the name of the Father, + and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.

Most holy Virgin Mary, — thou whom the FATHER didst preserve
from the first instant of thy conception from all evil and from the least
shadow of sin, – thou whom the Precious Blood of JESUS didst render immaculate
and all-beautiful, even before that same Blood was formed in thy virginal womb
and poured out upon the altar of the Cross, – thou whom the HOLY GHOST didst
fill full with every grace in view of the glorious motherhood of the Son of God
for which thou wast created, — thou art she who crusheth the head of the ancient
serpent, thou art she who alone overcometh the evil that is in us and around
us.

To thee, O Mary, thy Son hath entrusted the liberation of souls enchained
by sin, the healing of wounded souls, and the sanctification of souls who have
suffered evil’s worst ravages.

Thou hast only to open thy immaculate hands over
them, and they are shot through with the rays of thy purity. Through thee,
entereth the light to shine in the darkest places. Through thee, souls are washed
in a downpour of graces. Through thee, the Holy Spirit succoureth the weakest
souls and giveth to the sterile a wonderful fecundity.

Continue reading Consecration of Persons to the Immaculate Heart of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary

Mary is the model of Christian life, pope reminds

In his pastoral visit to Sicily last week the Holy Father called to mind the beauty and the place of the Mother of God in our lives: she’s an intensely loving mother who truly looks after her children. Here are some excerpts:

To the Virgin Mary I wish to entrust all of the people
of God who live in this beloved land. May she sustain the families in love and
in educational commitment; may she fructify the seeds of vocation that God
liberally sows among the young people; may she instill courage in trials, hope
in difficulties, renewed strength in doing the good. May the Madonna comfort
the sick and all those who are suffering, and help the Christian communities so
that no one in them be forgotten or in need, but that each one, especially the
little and the weak, feel welcomed and valued.”

The also told us that “in Parma, Anna Maria Adorni
is being beatified. In 19th century she was an exemplary wife and mother and
then, having become a widow, she dedicated herself to charitable work among
women in prison and in difficulty, for whose service she founded two religious
institutes. Mother Adorni, because of her constant prayer, was called the
“Living Rosary.” I am glad to mention her at the beginning of the
month of the rosary. May the daily meditation on the mysteries of Christ in
union with Mary, the prayerful Virgin, strengthen us in faith, in hope and in
charity.”

Benedict XVI

address at Palermo’s Foro Italico Umberto I

October 3,
2010

Our Lady of the Rosary

I once told a youth director who was getting “heat” from his colleagues for having his parish youth group pray the rosary that that prayer is really Scripture study. What else could you call the each of the mysteries, the Hail Mary and the Lord’s Prayer? On the simplest level praying the rosary is not only a tool of spiritual education in the School of Mary, but also uniting oneself more and more closely to the Lord.

It is often said that if you want to end sin in your life, evil in the world, that is, to slice the head off evil, then pray the Rosary. I see more rosaries around the rear view mirror or around the neck but so rarely in those same hands fingering the beads of the Mysteries of the Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. In the rosary we trace the lines of salvation history and the beautiful mission of Jesus.

Pope, saints, good priests and religious and grandmothers recommend wholeheartedly our attachment to this divine gift of love.

The previous year’s post for this feast is here.

The infant church in prayer was gathered round

Th’apostles and the Mother of the Lord;

In faithfulness to Christ’s farewell command,

They prayed and waited, trusting in the Word.

With joy we think on incarnation’s grace;

With light we meditate upon Christ’s life;

With sorrow, all his passion keep in mind;

And in his glory, hope beyond all strife.

For Mary’s faithfulness we praise you, Lord,

who heard and trusted in your promise strong;

To you we sing, O Trinity most blessed,

In praise that through the ages echoes long.

10 10 10 10

SURSUM CORDA

Our Lady of Sorrows

There is certain richness these days in the liturgical memorials given to us by the Church (remember on St John Chrysostom on the 13th, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the 14th and Sts Cornelius and Cyprian on the 16th), all pointing to the meaning real Christian witness: that radical, honest, hopeful Christian discipleship means following Christ to the cross, adoring His sacred Passion and living as redeemed persons.

The bookend saints with the Blessed Mother provide us not only good example of what and who the Christian is called to be, but the truth of the Incarnation and the self-giving sacrifice of Jesus: to stand in very close proximity to Christ crucified. By baptism we share in the suffering of Christ’s Passion which gives way to sharing in His resurrection.

The Blessed Mother, today, under the title of Sorrows, reminds us the limitless love of God for us. With Mary, we know how to live the desire of our hearts for compassion, mercy and love. It is only through her that we know how to live in the intimacy of a spousal relationship with Christ and the Church.

For info on the 7 Sorrows of the Blessed Mother read the posts here and here.