The cardinal of Sarajevo, Vinko Puljic, said that the Holy See will make an official statement about the supposed apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Medjugorje. These sightings of Mary have been happening since 1981 to six people. The news story is seen here. This is a welcomed and necessary pastoral development.
Tag: Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary sustains our hearts
In danger, in distress, in uncertainty, think of Mary, call upon Mary. She never leaves your lips, she never departs from your heart; and so that you may obtain the help of her prayers, never forget the example of her life. If you follow her, you cannot falter; if you pray to her, you cannot despair; if you think of her, you cannot err. If she sustains you, you will not stumble; if she protects you, you have nothing to fear; if she guides you, you will flag; if she is favorable to you, you will attain your goal….
(Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Hom. II super Missus est, 17: PL 183, 70-71.)
Medjugorje still garners attention
Until recently I really didn’t pay too much attention to
“new apparitions” of the Blessed Mother. I had all I can do to maintain what
knew or to explore what I wanted what I felt I needed to know about some of the
trends in Marian devotion. One more apparition of the BVM, even if current and seemingly
well-practiced, is not always interesting to me because of a perception that
yet another devotion to the Virgin Mary is creeping its way onto my plate
without ecclesial approval. Skepticism may be from the devil. I have raised the question about the truthfulness of this appearance of the BVM. But as Providence
would have, the apparitions of Mary from Medjugorje have found me. A few people
have written to me in the past suggesting that I have misread the situation
(perhaps I have) in a place like Medjugorje. Now I have a friend, a Franciscan
sister, keeping me informed on Marian visits. It’s all helpful, indeed and I
appreciate the feedback.
Reading the Catholic news services this morning I
noticed an article saying that the Bosnian cardinal, Vinko Puljic, thinks
someone at the Holy See (the pope?) is going issue a directive on Medjugorje’s claim
on the BVM making frequent visits there since the early 1980s. It is only speculation
at this point that the Holy See will say anything soon, but I do think he’s right in asking for such a directive to
appear for pastoral reasons. A little more guidance from the Holy See would be
extremely helpful. An evaluation of what has happened and what is happening
could set the record straight and help direct a reasonable pastoral response.
Throwing clichés and acidic words around on matters of doctrine, people
involved and spiritual practice is tantamount to spiritual malpractice. Plus,
fidelity to the teaching office of the Catholic Church is essential for true
Catholics. I just hope the Holy See takes Cardinal Puljic’s suggestion.
Our Lady of the Rosary
O God, Whose only-begotten Son by His life, death and resurrection hath purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation, grant we beseech Thee, that meditating on these mysteries in the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise.
I want to recommend Ruth Rees’s The Rosary in Space and Time which is an accessible and exceptional look into the most important devotional prayers we have: the Rosary. She explores the biblical, liturgical, and practical dimensions of the rosary. A convert from Judaism and a professional actress and writer, Rees brings us (me) to a deeper appreciation of this compendium of the Gospels.
Our Lady of Sorrows
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Stabat Mater dolorosa
iuxta crucem lacrimosa,
dum pendebat Filius.
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The grieving Mother stood
beside the cross weeping
where her Son was hanging.
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Cuius animam gementem
contristatam et dolentem
pertransivit gladius.
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Through her weeping soul,
compassionate and grieving,
a sword passed.
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O quam tristis et afflicta
fuit illa benedicta
mater Unigeniti!
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O how sad and afflicted
was that blessed
Mother of the Only-begotten!
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Quae maerebat et dolebat
pia mater cum videbat
nati poenas incliti.
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Who mourned and grieved,
the pious Mother, with seeing
the torment of her glorious Son.
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Quis est homo qui non fleret,
matrem Christi si videret
in tanto supplicio?
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Who is the man who would not weep
if seeing the Mother of Christ
in such agony?
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Quis non posset contristari,
piam matrem contemplari
dolentum cum Filio?
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Who would not be have compassion
on beholding the devout mother
suffering with her Son?
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Pro peccatis suae gentis
vidit Iesum in tormentis
et flagellis subditum.
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For the sins of His people
she saw Jesus in torment
and subjected to the scourge.
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Vidit suum dulcem Natum
morientem, desolatum,
cum emisit spiritum.
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She saw her sweet Son
dying, forsaken,
while He gave up His spirit.
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Christe, cum sit hinc exire,
da per matrem me venire
ad palmam victoriae. Amen.
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Christ, when it is henceforth in need to pass away,
grant that through your Mother I may come
to the palm of victory. Amen.
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Holy Name of Mary
You have been blessed, O Virgin Mary, above all other women on earth by the Lord, the Most High God, for God has so exalted your name that human lips will never cease to praise you.
Lord our God, when Your Son was dying on the altar of the cross, he gave us as our mother the one he had chosen to be His own mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary; grant that we who call upon the holy name of Mary, our mother, with confidence in her protection may receive strength and comfort in all our needs.
This feast was restored an optional memorial in our sacred Liturgy by the Servant of God Pope John Paul II when he published the 2002 Roman Missal (the translation is due out this century). The Preface of today’s Mass is worth adding to our examination of conscience today and I highly recommend using the liturgical texts to assist us here. In part the Preface reads:
“… But by Your loving providence the name of the Virgin Mary also should echo and re-echo on the lips of the faithful people who turn to her with confidence as their star of hope, call on her as their mother in time of danger, and seek her protection in their hour of need.”
The sentiments expressed by the Church’s Liturgy ought to call to mind the venerable prayer of the Memorare in which we ask Mary in confidence to be at our side at all times. Those who remain close to Mary, the Mother of God are always helped.
Good question: What Happened at Medjugorje?
A fitting look into a Marian apparition on the Feast of the Nativity of Mary at First Things, “What Happened at Medjugorje?” It’s amazing that this “apparition” of the Blessed Virgin is getting a lot of press these days.
Saint Anselm’s prayer for the Birth of Our Lady
In Honor of Our Lady’s Nativity
Saint Anselm of Canterbury
Vouchsafe
that I may praise thee, O sacred Virgin; give me strength against thine
enemies, and against the enemy of the whole human race. Give me strength humbly
to pray to thee. Give me strength to praise thee in prayer with all my powers,
through the merits of thy most sacred nativity, which for the entire Christian
world was a birth of joy, the hope and solace of its life.
that I may praise thee, O sacred Virgin; give me strength against thine
enemies, and against the enemy of the whole human race. Give me strength humbly
to pray to thee. Give me strength to praise thee in prayer with all my powers,
through the merits of thy most sacred nativity, which for the entire Christian
world was a birth of joy, the hope and solace of its life.
When thou wast born,
O most holy Virgin, then was the world made light. Happy is thy stock, holy thy
root, and blessed thy fruit, for thou alone as a virgin, filled with the Holy
Spirit, didst merit to conceive thy God, as a virgin to bear Thy God, as a
virgin to bring Him forth, and after His birth to remain a virgin.
O most holy Virgin, then was the world made light. Happy is thy stock, holy thy
root, and blessed thy fruit, for thou alone as a virgin, filled with the Holy
Spirit, didst merit to conceive thy God, as a virgin to bear Thy God, as a
virgin to bring Him forth, and after His birth to remain a virgin.
Have mercy
therefore upon me a sinner, and give me aid, O Lady, so that just as thy
nativity, glorious from the seed of Abraham, sprung from the tribe of Juda,
illustrious from the stock of David, didst announce joy to the entire world, so
may it fill me with true joy and cleanse me from every sin.
therefore upon me a sinner, and give me aid, O Lady, so that just as thy
nativity, glorious from the seed of Abraham, sprung from the tribe of Juda,
illustrious from the stock of David, didst announce joy to the entire world, so
may it fill me with true joy and cleanse me from every sin.
Pray for me, O
Virgin most prudent, that the gladsome joys of thy most helpful nativity may
put a cloak over all my sins. O holy Mother of God, flowering as the lily, pray
to thy sweet Son for me, a wretched sinner. Amen.
Virgin most prudent, that the gladsome joys of thy most helpful nativity may
put a cloak over all my sins. O holy Mother of God, flowering as the lily, pray
to thy sweet Son for me, a wretched sinner. Amen.
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
It is the nativity of the glorious Virgin Mary, sprung from the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Juda, of the renowned family of David.
We beseech Thee, O Lord, grant to Thy servants the gift of Thy heavenly grace, that as the childbearing of the Blessed Virgin was the beginning of salvation, so the joyful festival of her nativity may bring us an increase of peace.
Today is one three days on the liturgical calendar that the church celebrates someone’s birth; the other two are Jesus and John the Baptist. What we know of the birth of Mary comes from the extra-canonical gospels: The Gospel of the Nativity of Mary and the Proto-evangelium of Saint James. This is one of those feasts that came from Eastern Church, likely in Syria in the 6th century. It gained popularity that in the 7th century it was added to liturgical calendar of the Church of Rome (It was Pope Sergius I who wrote a Litany and organized a procession for the feast.) and the collects are found in various missals. Various dioceses may have some type of observance beginning in the 8th to the 10th centuries. That said, in some parts of the Church where the missals included the collects of the Assumption, this feast of Nativity of Mary is absent.
Our Lady of Czestochowa, a morning prayer
A Morning Prayer to
Our Lady of Czestochowa
Holy Mother of
Czestochowa, thou art full of grace, goodness and mercy. I consecrate to thee
all my thoughts, words and actions -my soul and body. I beseech thy blessings
and especially prayers for my salvation. Today, I consecrate myself to thee,
Good Mother, totally -with body and soul amid joy and sufferings to obtain for
myself and others Thy blessings on this earth and eternal life in Heaven. Amen.
Czestochowa, thou art full of grace, goodness and mercy. I consecrate to thee
all my thoughts, words and actions -my soul and body. I beseech thy blessings
and especially prayers for my salvation. Today, I consecrate myself to thee,
Good Mother, totally -with body and soul amid joy and sufferings to obtain for
myself and others Thy blessings on this earth and eternal life in Heaven. Amen.