aeternus

Today is the Carmelite memorial of Our Mother of Divine Grace. What a beautiful title for our Mother is this!

‘The Blessed Virgin Mary was eternally predestined, in the context of the incarnation of the divine Word, to be the Mother of God. As decreed by divine Providence, she served on earth as the loving Mother of the divine Redeemer, his associate, uniquely generous, and the Lord’s humble servant. She conceived, bore, and nourished Christ; presented him to the Father in the Temple; and was united with him in his suffering as he died on the cross. In a completely unparalleled way she cooperated, by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity, with our Saviour’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is Mother to us all in the order of grace’ (Lumen Gentium, the Constitution on the Church, 61).

This miraculous oil painting was rescued from a heap of rubbish and restored in 1610 by Ven. Dominic of Jesus and Mary, Prepositor General of the Order of Discalced Carmelites. According to the testimony of Ven. Dominic, our Lady spoke to him and promised, “‘All those who implore my protection, devoutly honoring this picture, will obtain their petitions, and will receive many graces. Moreover, I shall hearken in a special manner to the prayers that shall be addressed to me for the relief of the souls in purgatory‘”

PRAYER

Virgin most holy,
Mother of the Word Incarnate,
Treasurer of graces,
and Refuge of poor sinners:
we fly to thy motherly affection
with lively faith,
and we beg of thee the grace
ever to do the will of God.
Into thy most holy hands
we commit the keeping of our hearts,
asking thee for health of soul and body,
in the certain hope that thou,
our most loving Mother,
wilt hear our prayer.
Wherefore with lively faith we say:

Hail Mary three times

Prayers taken from a holy card distributed by the Monsatary of Discalced Carmelites, New Orleans, LA, with Nihil obstat and Imprimatur dated March 5, 1949.

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AND hast thou left us, Sister, Mother, Wife,
Without a message or a brief farewell;
With work unfinish’d, with thy days untold,
With all thy redden’d fruitage hanging ripe I
Art thou so weary of the dusty road,
That though th’ allotted span is out of sight,
Thou needs must lie beside the way to sleep ?
I would not grudge thee, dear, to rest, but 0,
My heart is pierced to know that rest for aye!
I cannot lose thee, Sister; thou hast been
My refuge, staff, and comfort through rough ways,
When clouds and darkness swept across the stars,
And all my reckoning in thick gloom was lost.
We cannot lose thee, Mother. Who will lead
Thy children upward on the heavenly way;
Lead gently, firmly, with that guiding hand
Which moulds with wisdom, softens still with love I
Who shall inform thy sons with knightly mind,
Observance to all women, tenderness
With weak and fragile things—the patient strength
Of manhood? Who thy daughters hourly tend
With influence, refinement, knowledge, grace;

Till every natural gift perfected shine
With added culture, crown’d with woman’s crown
Of strength and meekness, framed with loving heart,
And pure religious earnestness of will ?
O, how to lose thee, loyal, loving Wife !
Or who shall gauge the loss of wedded love
Which thou, above all women I have known,
Distill’d from thy great heart in flowing streams !
Thy husband was thy lord, thy law, thy life;
To serve him was thy honour, thy best joy,
His will unspoken, spoken, still fulfill’d,
And all thy aim to bear the larger load.
Well may he praise thee, wifely, noble heart;
Thy children bless thee, Mother!
Yellow leaves
Are falling through the rain as thus I bid
Thy calm white face farewell. Again I tread
Life’s narrow road, and miss thee to the end.

– From: The three kings, and other poems By Emily Bowles

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I came across this quote today which was attributed to St. Therese of Lisieux (though I can not find it translated directly this way). I guess it does not matter so much who wrote the words, what is beautiful ARE the words…

“Virgin full of grace,
I know that at Nazareth you lived modestly,
without requesting anything more.
Neither ecstasies, nor miracles, nor other
extraordinary deeds
enhanced your life,
O Queen of the Elect.

The number of the lowly, “the little ones,” is
very great on earth.
They can raise their eyes to you
without any fear.
You are the incomparable Mother
who walks with them along the common way
to guide them to heaven.

Beloved Mother
in this harsh exile,
I want to live always with you
and follow you every day.
I am enraptured by the contemplation of you
and I discover the depths of the love of your Heart.
All my fears vanish under your Motherly gaze,
which teaches me to weep and to rejoice!

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This prayer was written by our Holy Father in honor of Our Lady of Sheshan. In a letter written to the Catholic Church in China last year, the Holy Father expressed his hope that May 24, the memorial of Our Lady Help of Christians, who is venerated at the shrine of Seshan in Shanghai, would become a day of prayer for the Church in China.

“Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother, venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title ‘Help of Christians,’ the entire Church in China looks to you with devout affection. We come before you today to implore your protection. Look upon the People of God and, with a mother’s care, guide them along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens.

“When you obediently said ‘yes’ in the house of Nazareth, you allowed God’s eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption. You willingly and generously co-operated in that work, allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul, until the supreme hour of the Cross, when you kept watch on Calvary, standing beside your Son, who died that we might live.

“From that moment, you became, in a new way, the Mother of all those who receive your Son Jesus in faith and choose to follow in His footsteps by taking up His Cross. Mother of hope, in the darkness of Holy Saturday you journeyed with unfailing trust towards the dawn of Easter. Grant that your children may discern at all times, even those that are darkest, the signs of God’s loving presence.

“Our Lady of Sheshan, sustain all those in China, who, amid their daily trails, continue to believe, to hope, to love. May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world, and of the world to Jesus. In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high, offering him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love. Help Catholics always to be credible witnesses to this love, ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built. Mother of China and all Asia, pray for us, now and for ever. Amen!”

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This is a short meditation for the day of May 7th as written by John Cardinal Henry Newman from a book of daily reflections on the Litany of Loretto for the month of May. The Cardinal dedicated this book to “To you, boys of the Oratory School, past and present, this collection of devotional papers by Cardinal Newman is dedicated. They are a memento both of the Cardinal’s constant thought of you, and of his confident assurance that, after his death, you would pray for his soul.”

The complete text can be found and read at the Newman Reader website which is an amazing gathering of information about the Cardinal and his life’s works and writings.

May 7

Mary is the “Rosa Mystica,” the Mystical Rose

“HOW did Mary become the Rosa Mystica, the choice, delicate, perfect flower of God’s spiritual creation? It was by being born, nurtured and sheltered in the mystical garden or Paradise of God. Scripture makes use of the figure of a garden, when it would speak of heaven and its blessed inhabitants. A garden is a spot of ground set apart for trees and plants, all good, all various, for things that are sweet to the taste or fragrant in scent, or beautiful to look upon, or useful for nourishment; and accordingly in its spiritual sense it means the home of blessed spirits and holy souls dwelling there together, souls with both the flowers and the fruits upon them, which by the careful husbandry of God they have come to bear, flowers and fruits of grace, flowers more beautiful and more fragrant than those of any garden, fruits more delicious and exquisite than can be matured by earthly husbandman.

All that God has made speaks of its Maker; the mountains speak of His eternity; the sun of His immensity, and the winds of His Almightiness. In like manner flowers and fruits speak of His sanctity, His love, and His providence; and such as are flowers and fruits, such must be the place where they are found. That is to say, since they are found in a garden, therefore a garden has also excellences which speak of God, because it is their home. For instance, it would be out of place if we found beautiful flowers on the mountain-crag, or rich fruit in the sandy desert. As then by flowers and fruits are meant, in a mystical sense, the gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost, so by a garden is meant mystically a place of spiritual repose, stillness, peace, refreshment, and delight.

Thus our first parents were placed in “a garden of pleasure” shaded by trees, “fair to behold and pleasant to eat of,” with the Tree of Life in the midst, and a river to water the ground. Thus our Lord, speaking from the cross to the penitent robber, calls the blessed place, the heaven to which He was taking him, “paradise,” or a garden of pleasure. Therefore St. John, in the Apocalypse, speaks of heaven, the palace of God, as a garden or paradise, in which was the Tree of Life giving forth its fruits every month.

Such was the garden in which the Mystical Rose, the Immaculate Mary, was sheltered and nursed to be the Mother of the All Holy God, from her birth to her espousals to St. Joseph, a term of thirteen years. For three years of it she was in the arms of her holy mother, St. Anne, and then for ten years she lived in the temple of God. In those blessed gardens, as they may be called, she lived by herself, continually visited by the dew of God’s grace, and growing up a more and more heavenly flower, till at the end of that period she was meet for the inhabitation in her of the Most Holy. This was the outcome of the Immaculate Conception. Excepting her, the fairest rose in the paradise of God has had upon it blight, and has had the risk of canker-worm and locust. All but Mary; she from the first was perfect in her sweetness and her beautifulness, and at length when the angel Gabriel had to come to her, he found her “full of grace,” which had, from her good use of it, accumulated in her from the first moment of her being.”

Meditations and Devotions of the late
Cardinal Newman
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
91 AND 93 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
LONDON, BOMBAY, AND CALCUTTA 1907

image above aeternus.com

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Immaculate Heart of Mary,
pray for us.

Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary,
pray for us, and intercede for us.

Mother of Sorrows,
pray for us.

Mother of Mercy,
pray for us.

Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel,
pray for us.

O, Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to Thee.

O, Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to Thee.

O, Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to Thee.

Sweet Heart of Mary,
be our hope and our salvation.

To Jesus through Mary.

Bless us Mary, maiden mild;
bless us, too, Her tender Child.

My Mother, my Hope.

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Oh Mary, we crown you with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May.

Bring flowers of the rarest, bring flowers of the fairest
From garden and woodland and hillside and vale;
Our full hearts are swelling, our glad voices telling
The praise of the loveliest Rose of the vale.

Oh Mary, we crown you with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May.

Our voices ascending, in harmony blending,
Oh, thus may our hearts turn, dear Mother, to you.
Oh, thus shall we prove you how truly we love you;
How dark without Mary life’s journey would be.

Oh Mary, we crown you with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May.

We had a wonderful outdoor May Crowning and mass at the children’s school this morning. The sun was brilliant and the Holy Spirit was joyfully blowing through the tall trees. What a favorite day is May 1 when we celebrate our dear St. Joseph and honor his beautiful spouse, our Blessed Mother, throughout the whole moth!

Today, of course, I can not fail to mention how much trust dear Saint Teresa of Avila put in Saint Joseph. I have a many a friend too who places such trust in him. What a wonderful choice of a soul to call upon when you are in need.
Here is what Teresa says:

“I took for my patron and lord the glorious St. Joseph, and recommended myself earnestly to him. I saw clearly that both out of this my present trouble, and out of others of greater importance, relating to my honour and the loss of my soul, this my father and lord delivered me, and rendered me greater services than I knew how to ask for. I cannot call to mind that I have ever asked him at any time for anything which he has not granted; and I am filled with amazement when I consider the great favours which God hath given me through this blessed Saint; the dangers from which he hath delivered me, both of body and of soul. To other Saints, our Lord seems to have given grace to succour men in some special necessity; but to this glorious Saint, I know by experience, to help us in all: and our Lord would have us understand that as He was Himself subject to him upon earth—for St. Joseph having the title of father, and being His guardian, could command Him—so now in heaven He performs all his petitions. I have asked others to recommend themselves to St. Joseph, and they too know this by experience; and there are many who are now of late devout to him, having had experience of this truth.

Would that I could persuade all men to be devout to this glorious Saint; for I know by long experience what blessings he can obtain for us from God. I have never known any one who was really devout to him, and who honoured him by particular services, who did not visibly grow more and more in virtue; for he helps in a special way those souls who commend themselves to him. It is now some years since I have always on his feast asked him for something, and I always have it. If the petition be in any way amiss, he directs it aright for my greater good…

Those who give themselves to prayer should in a special manner have always a devotion to St. Joseph; for I know not how any man can think of the Queen of the angels, during the time that she suffered so much with the Infant Jesus, without giving thanks to St. Joseph for the services he rendered them then. He who cannot find any one to teach him how to pray, let him take this glorious Saint for his master, and he will not wander out of the way.” [St. Teresa of Avila, the book of her Life Chapter VI]

– photo of Our Lady in the front grotto of school (a.k.a. “the bowel”) 

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My daughter is to receive her first communion in a few weeks and when we were talking at bedtime the other evening she asked me if there was a special novena we could pray for the event. I thought that was such a sweet request and certainly a beautiful gracious thought to come to her. I have gone in search of such a novena. I was hoping to find one quite specific for a FIRST communion but was not able to. However, I did find this beautiful novena dedicated to “Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament”

If anyone knows of another such novena, please pass it along. I am going to make copies of this prayer and distribute it to all the second graders at school. During this “Easter Season of the Eucharist” would it not be great to spread this throughout all our parishes and schools!

Here is the prayer:

FIRST DAY
THE TITLE OF OUR LADY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine. Blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God!
O Virgin Immaculate, Mother of Jesus and our tender Mother, we invoke thee under the title of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, because thou art the Mother of the Savior who lives in the Eucharist, and because it was from thee that He took the Flesh and Blood with which He there feeds us! We invoke thee under that title because, again, thou art the sovereign dispensatrix of all graces and, consequently, of those contained in the august Eucharist, also, because thou didst first fulfill the duties of the Eucharistic life, teaching us by thy example how to assist properly at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, how to communicate worthily, and how to visit frequently and piously the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Versicle:Pray for us, O Virgin Immaculate, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Response: That the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus Christ may come among us!
LET US PRAY

Lord Jesus Christ, our King and our God, who having become Man to make us sharers in Thy Divinity, art truly our Bread in the adorable Eucharist, grant, we beseech Thee, that in venerating so great a Mystery, we may be mindful of the most sweet Virgin Mary, of whom Thou didst will to be conceived by the operation of the Holy Ghost! Grant, also that we may imitate the worship that she rendered while on earth to this most august Sacrament, so we may behold Thy Eucharistic Kingdom spread and flourish throughout the whole world! O Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever!
Amen.

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

O Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the glory of Christians, the joy of the universal Church, and the hope of the world, pray for us. Kindle in all the faithful a lively devotion to the most Holy Eucharist, so that they may be worthy to receive Holy Communion every day. Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us. Let us with Mary Immaculate adore, thank, supplicate, and console the most sacred and beloved Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.

SECOND DAY
MARY AND THE HOLY MASS

O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine. Blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God!
O Virgin Immaculate, after having been present at the death of thy Divine Son on Calvary, where thou didst unite thy immense sorrow to the Redeemer?Ts sacrifice, thou didst frequently assist at the real, though mysterious, renewal of that adorable sacrifice in the celebration of the Holy Mass. Teach us by thy example to esteem as it deserves the divine action performed at the altar, and obtain for us the grace to be able often, and even daily, to assist piously at the Holy Sacrifice.

Versicle:Pray for us, O Virgin Immaculate, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Response: That the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus Christ may come among us!
LET US PRAY

Lord Jesus Christ, our King and our God, who having become Man to make us sharers in Thy Divinity, art truly our Bread in the adorable Eucharist, grant, we beseech Thee, that in venerating so great a Mystery, we may be mindful of the most sweet Virgin Mary, of whom Thou didst will to be conceived by the operation of the Holy Ghost! Grant, also that we may imitate the worship that she rendered while on earth to this most august Sacrament, so we may behold Thy Eucharistic Kingdom spread and flourish throughout the whole world! O Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever!
Amen.

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

O Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the glory of Christians, the joy of the universal Church, and the hope of the world, pray for us. Kindle in all the faithful a lively devotion to the most Holy Eucharist, so that they may be worthy to receive Holy Communion every day. Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us. Let us with Mary Immaculate adore, thank, supplicate, and console the most sacred and beloved Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.

THIRD DAY
MARY AND HOLY COMMUNION

O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine. Blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God!
O Virgin Immaculate, thy Communions were the most fervent, the most holy that were ever made! When thou didst possess thy Divine Son in thy breast, thou didst love Him with a love exceeding that of any other creature soever for his God. Teach us to make Holy Communion the center of our life, and may that life be spent in preparing us for so great an action and in thanking God for so inappreciable a benefit!

Versicle:Pray for us, O Virgin Immaculate, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Response: That the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus Christ may come among us!

LET US PRAY

Lord Jesus Christ, our King and our God, who having become Man to make us sharers in Thy Divinity, art truly our Bread in the adorable Eucharist, grant, we beseech Thee, that in venerating so great a Mystery, we may be mindful of the most sweet Virgin Mary, of whom Thou didst will to be conceived by the operation of the Holy Ghost! Grant, also that we may imitate the worship that she rendered while on earth to this most august Sacrament, so we may behold Thy Eucharistic Kingdom spread and flourish throughout the whole world! O Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever!
Amen.

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

O Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the glory of Christians, the joy of the universal Church, and the hope of the world, pray for us. Kindle in all the faithful a lively devotion to the most Holy Eucharist, so that they may be worthy to receive Holy Communion every day. Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us. Let us with Mary Immaculate adore, thank, supplicate, and console the most sacred and beloved Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.

FOURTH DAY
MARY AND THE REAL PRESENCE

O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine. Blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God!
O Virgin Immaculate, who after the ascension of thy Divine Son, didst console thy exile on earth by thy Real Presence of Jesus in the Sacrament, and didst spend before the tabernacle the greater part of thy days and even thy nights, make us comprehend the treasure we possess on the altar. Inspire us to visit often the God of Love in the Sacrament in which He abides to receive the homage that He deserves by so many titles, and to guide, protect, and console us in this exile!
Versicle:Pray for us, O Virgin Immaculate, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Response: That the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus Christ may come among us!

LET US PRAY

Lord Jesus Christ, our King and our God, who having become Man to make us sharers in Thy Divinity, art truly our Bread in the adorable Eucharist, grant, we beseech Thee, that in venerating so great a Mystery, we may be mindful of the most sweet Virgin Mary, of whom Thou didst will to be conceived by the operation of the Holy Ghost! Grant, also that we may imitate the worship that she rendered while on earth to this most august Sacrament, so we may behold Thy Eucharistic Kingdom spread and flourish throughout the whole world! O Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever!
Amen.

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

O Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the glory of Christians, the joy of the universal Church, and the hope of the world, pray for us. Kindle in all the faithful a lively devotion to the most Holy Eucharist, so that they may be worthy to receive Holy Communion every day. Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us. Let us with Mary Immaculate adore, thank, supplicate, and console the most sacred and beloved Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.

FIFTH DAY
MARY, THE MODEL OF ADORERS

O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine. Blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God!
O Virgin Immaculate, thou art our perfect Model in the service of the Divine Eucharist. With the most lively faith and the most profound respect thou didst adore Jesus hidden under the sacramental veils. After thy example, we desire to render to the Sacred Host all the honor due the Divinity and the glorified Humanity of the Son of God made Man. We wish to maintain at all times in the holy place the modesty and recollection becoming true adorers.

Versicle:Pray for us, O Virgin Immaculate, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Response: That the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus Christ may come among us!

LET US PRAY

Lord Jesus Christ, our King and our God, who having become Man to make us sharers in Thy Divinity, art truly our Bread in the adorable Eucharist, grant, we beseech Thee, that in venerating so great a Mystery, we may be mindful of the most sweet Virgin Mary, of whom Thou didst will to be conceived by the operation of the Holy Ghost! Grant, also that we may imitate the worship that she rendered while on earth to this most august Sacrament, so we may behold Thy Eucharistic Kingdom spread and flourish throughout the whole world! O Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever!
Amen.

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

O Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the glory of Christians, the joy of the universal Church, and the hope of the world, pray for us. Kindle in all the faithful a lively devotion to the most Holy Eucharist, so that they may be worthy to receive Holy Communion every day. Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us. Let us with Mary Immaculate adore, thank, supplicate, and console the most sacred and beloved Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.

SIXTH DAY

MARY, THE MODEL OF THANKSGIVING

O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine. Blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God!
O Virgin Immaculate, who didst return to Jesus so perfect Thanksgiving for the institution of the Divine Eucharist and the ineffable Gift in which the Savior exhausted His power and the treasures of His Heart, teach us to thank thy Divine Son for this great benefit, and especially to make our thanksgiving well when we have had the happiness of receiving Him in Holy Communion.
Versicle:Pray for us, O Virgin Immaculate, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Response: That the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus Christ may come among us!

LET US PRAY

Lord Jesus Christ, our King and our God, who having become Man to make us sharers in Thy Divinity, art truly our Bread in the adorable Eucharist, grant, we beseech Thee, that in venerating so great a Mystery, we may be mindful of the most sweet Virgin Mary, of whom Thou didst will to be conceived by the operation of the Holy Ghost! Grant, also that we may imitate the worship that she rendered while on earth to this most august Sacrament, so we may behold Thy Eucharistic Kingdom spread and flourish throughout the whole world! O Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever!
Amen.

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

O Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the glory of Christians, the joy of the universal Church, and the hope of the world, pray for us. Kindle in all the faithful a lively devotion to the most Holy Eucharist, so that they may be worthy to receive Holy Communion every day. Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us. Let us with Mary Immaculate adore, thank, supplicate, and console the most sacred and beloved Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.

SEVENTH DAY

MARY, THE MODEL OF REPARATION

O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine. Blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God!
O Virgin Immaculate, thou didst adore thy Divine Son in His state of perpetual Victim, always immolated on our altars, incessantly demanding, by His death, grace and mercy for sinners. We unite with thy dolors and thy perfect reparation. We desire to accept our daily trials for love of Him, and with thee to console Jesus for the ingratitude of men and the outrages He daily receives in the Blessed Sacrament.

Versicle:Pray for us, O Virgin Immaculate, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Response: That the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus Christ may come among us!

LET US PRAY

Lord Jesus Christ, our King and our God, who having become Man to make us sharers in Thy Divinity, art truly our Bread in the adorable Eucharist, grant, we beseech Thee, that in venerating so great a Mystery, we may be mindful of the most sweet Virgin Mary, of whom Thou didst will to be conceived by the operation of the Holy Ghost! Grant, also that we may imitate the worship that she rendered while on earth to this most august Sacrament, so we may behold Thy Eucharistic Kingdom spread and flourish throughout the whole world! O Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever!
Amen.

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

O Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the glory of Christians, the joy of the universal Church, and the hope of the world, pray for us. Kindle in all the faithful a lively devotion to the most Holy Eucharist, so that they may be worthy to receive Holy Communion every day. Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us. Let us with Mary Immaculate adore, thank, supplicate, and console the most sacred and beloved Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.

EIGHTH DAY

MARY, THE MODEL OF PRAYER

O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine. Blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God!
O Virgin Immaculate, while the Apostles went to preach the Gospel, thou didst remain close to the tabernacle, supplicating for them the goodness of the Savior, and thy prayer obtained for them the grace to convert the world! Teach us to pray, above all, to pray near the tabernacle, where Jesus wills to abide continually in order to hear our petitions. Teach us to pray for the extension of the Eucharistic kingdom, for the salvation of the whole world, for the exaltation of the Holy Church, and most especially for the sanctification of the clergy and the conversion of sinners.
Versicle:Pray for us, O Virgin Immaculate, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Response: That the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus Christ may come among us!

LET US PRAY

Lord Jesus Christ, our King and our God, who having become Man to make us sharers in Thy Divinity, art truly our Bread in the adorable Eucharist, grant, we beseech Thee, that in venerating so great a Mystery, we may be mindful of the most sweet Virgin Mary, of whom Thou didst will to be conceived by the operation of the Holy Ghost! Grant, also that we may imitate the worship that she rendered while on earth to this most august Sacrament, so we may behold Thy Eucharistic Kingdom spread and flourish throughout the whole world! O Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever!
Amen.

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

O Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the glory of Christians, the joy of the universal Church, and the hope of the world, pray for us. Kindle in all the faithful a lively devotion to the most Holy Eucharist, so that they may be worthy to receive Holy Communion every day. Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us. Let us with Mary Immaculate adore, thank, supplicate, and console the most sacred and beloved Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.

NINTH DAY

MARY, THE DISPENSATRIX OF EUCHARISTIC GRACES

O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine. Blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God!
O Virgin Immaculate, Mother most loving and admirable Model of adorers of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, thou art also the dispensatrix of the graces necessary to fulfill that great duty! Grant us, then, we beseech thee, as the fruit of this novena, the virtues that will render our adoration less unworthy of thy Divine Son. Teach us to honor so well this Mystery of mysteries that we may receive here below the graces it contains, in order to enjoy in heaven the eternal life of which it is the pledge!

Versicle:Pray for us, O Virgin Immaculate, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Response: That the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus Christ may come among us!

LET US PRAY

Lord Jesus Christ, our King and our God, who having become Man to make us sharers in Thy Divinity, art truly our Bread in the adorable Eucharist, grant, we beseech Thee, that in venerating so great a Mystery, we may be mindful of the most sweet Virgin Mary, of whom Thou didst will to be conceived by the operation of the Holy Ghost! Grant, also that we may imitate the worship that she rendered while on earth to this most august Sacrament, so we may behold Thy Eucharistic Kingdom spread and flourish throughout the whole world! O Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever!
Amen.

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

O Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the glory of Christians, the joy of the universal Church, and the hope of the world, pray for us. Kindle in all the faithful a lively devotion to the most Holy Eucharist, so that they may be worthy to receive Holy Communion every day. Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us. Let us with Mary Immaculate adore, thank, supplicate, and console the most sacred and beloved Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.

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I’ve been traveling with the family over our Easter break from school. We had an incredible trip to visit my husband’s parents who are “wintering” in South Carolina. I will share some photos and stories from our excursion later this week. However, today is a festival day and I’d like to write about it. You see, if I have a favorite “mystery” to be thought upon and meditated upon and prayed upon, it would be our feast day today.

Ave Maria gratia plena dominus tacum…

Our Mother, our most perfect mother, most humble maiden, most gentle woman, demure and unassuming child of God.

As the angel told her to “do not be afraid”, I shall gather the courage and ask her to teach me her ways of quiet and modesty of life. I am a poor student, but I wish to emulate her simplicity and love through living in the present moment in unity with the Father’s will. And what can a poor student do? Despite weaknesses and daily failures we must have determination to do better. Determination of our mind to overcome these weaknesses and to be mindful of ourselves and actions will enable us to focus on our task. “Yes, like the eyes of a servant on the hand of his master, Like the eyes of a maid on the hand of her mistress, So our eyes are on the LORD our God, till we are shown favor.” [Psalm 123:2]

I really appreciated the opening line from Pope Saint Leo the Great in this morning’s office of readings. He says:

“Lowliness is assured by majesty, weakness by power, mortality by eternity. To pay the debt of our sinful state, a nature that was incapable of suffering was joined to one that could suffer”

It is a suffering when we see our own weaknesses and sin. Part of our determined effort to overcome this fault is to fix our eyes on the cross and unite our poor suffering with His. It seems rather difficult to unite a suffering to Christ’s when one feels “guilty” for being the cause of its own suffering! To be sure it is sometimes a more difficult suffering to bear. But that is where humility comes in. To humble oneself at the foot of the cross with love and humility for being able to do so little in repayment for the great love our Lord has shown us…

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My favorite thing about Taxi cabs here in St. Louis is this, the red ones have a little sign upon the top of them and all have a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe! I love watching her pop up in front of me while I am driving and I don’t even mind when she “cuts me off”. I only smile and pray thanks to her.

While we celebrate her feast I found this old passage about her from a book on the Google Book search from 1897 which provides an interesting account from over 110 years ago. (We’ll have to be tolerant of the beginning word “legend”. It makes it sound suspicious.)


“The legend runs that in the year 1531 an Indian convert, baptized 
under the name of Juan Diego, was thrice blessed with a vision of the Virgin Mary, who bade him make known to the Bishop of Mexico that she desired a church to be built on the spot where she had appeared, and that she would be a kind and loving mother to the poor Indians and to all who should invoke her aid. But when the bishop, doubting, requested the attestation of some sign or miracle, the Virgin on the third day bade Juan fill his tiluui, or homespun blanket, with flowers. And when he took the flower-laden tihna to the bishop and opened it out before him, lo! it was found that the flowers, though visible to the eye, were not palpable to the touch, and moreover that a marvellous picture was limned upon the blanket in colors which partook of no earthly quality and with an art no human hand could equal. And this picture was the portrait of the Holy Virgin as she had appeared to Juan.

The sign was accepted, the church was built, the picture was hung up within the church. And there it has remained ever since during all the successive enlargements from the original chapel to the present imposing edifice, save that at the time of the terrible floods of 1629, when the ordinary road-bed was submerged, the archbishop and his attendants went by boat, in solemn pilgrimage, to Guadalupe, and transferred the venerated picture to his cathedral. Here it was visited by immense crowds of devotees, day by day, until the waters subsided. By common acclamation relief from the 
total destruction which threatened Mexico was attributed to Our Lady of Guadalupe. “


 After that period,” says Archbishop Corrigan of New York, in anarticle in The Seminary for December, 1895, “devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe spread so rapidly throughout the entire kingdom that it would be worse than useless to adduce proofs to establish its universality. At this day you can hardly enter a shop in the city of Mexico without finding a lamp burning before 
a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe. You can hardly enter a church without seeing an altar erected in her honor. Indeed, the Provincial Council of Antequera or Oaxaca specially ordains that no church be built in the entire province without its special altar in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Every diocese in Mexico dedicates the 12th of every month to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and every year sends thousands of devout pilgrims to her shrine. When tlic patriot priest, Hidaliio, who is called the Washington of Mexico, began the fight for independence in 1810, his standard and his battle-cry were ‘Our Lady of Guadalupe.’ The revolution itself, although it despoiled every other church in Mexico, has ever respected this shrine of Our Lady. In one word, the Virgin of Guadalupe has taken such hold on the Mexican people that to attempt to dislodge her from their affections would be to tear out their hearts by the roots.” 



Archbishop Corrigan was one of the twenty-two foreign prelates who, with the forty-three bishops of Mexico, and fifty thousand pilgrims of all ranks, were present at the coronation of the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe on October 12, 1895. The crown, which is of gold, sparkling with precious stones, and valued at twenty-five thousand dollars, was lifted up to a level with the head in the picture. A number of interesting details are given by Archbishop Corrigan in the article already quoted from. ” 


The material,” he says, ” on which the image is formed is a coarse product of the maguey plant, such as is still used by the Indians for their wraps and for other domestic purposes. The image is painted on this rough canvas, without any sizing or preparation. In fact, the canvas is transparent, the same image 
showing on both sides. At various times the picture has been examined by a committee of experts composed of distinguished artists and of scientific men, and they have deposed under oath that they could not account either for its production or for its preservation. The imago exhibits peculiar characteristics of painting in oil, in water-color, in distemper, and in relief. In fact, these four dissimilar kinds of painting arc discernible in 
different portions of the same canvas ; and, in addition to this, the gilding, which appears in the stars embroidered on the garment of Our Lady and in the texture of the robe itself, as well as in the rays of light which issue from the figure, is not applied according to any known process, and seems rather to have been woven into the fibre than painted on it. “


Apart from the curious commingling of dissimilar kinds of painting on the same canvas, there is this other peculiarity about the picture, that for years it was exposed, without any covering, not only to the smoke of censers and innumerable candles, but to the damp air, charged with saltpetre, which continually arises from the neighboring lakes and marshes, and which affects and corrodes the hardest substances ; and yet, after a period of more 
than three hundred and sixty years, this product of the maguey plant, which ought to have perished long ago, is still in a state of perfect preservation. This is the more remarkable, because experiments have been tried in the same locality with similar material, but with very different results.

An able artist, Don Rafael Gutierrez, took a fine tilma, September 12, 1789, and painted on it a fac-simile of Our Lady of Guadalupe. When finished, it was protected by a glass cover and placed in the neighboring chapel, Del Pocito. The result was that before eight years elapsed it was so discolored and disfigured by the fumes of the saltpetre that it was necessary to withdraw it from public view and relegate it to the sacristy. ”


The great proof of the authenticity of the apparitions,” the archbishop continues, “is the constant and uninterrupted tradition, bearing all the marks of credibility, accepted by all classes of people, and extending from the days of Juan Diego to our own time. This tradition has been twice officially examined and approved by the Holy See. Only last year, after a long and most 
searching examination, Pope Leo XIII. granted a new office and mass in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, by letters dated March 6, 1894. In 1754, Pope Benedict XIV. had already granted a similar favor, although the text relating to the apparition was not so explicit. In fact, hardly a Pontiff has sat on the throne of Peter during the past two hundred and fifty years who has not 
accorded special favors to the sanctuary at Guadalupe.”"

CURIOSITIES OF POPULAR CUSTOMS AND OF RITES, CEREMONIES, OBSERVANCES, AND MISCELLANEOUS ANTIQUITIES BY WILLIAM S. AUTHOR OP COPYRIGHT, 1897, •
T J. B. LtPPIHCOTT COMPiHY. t.ibrar\ of Congress Catatog Card Number 66-23951

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Yesterday at the children’s school they celebrated a special feast day to Mater Admirabilis (Mother most Admirable) a traditional remembrance at Sacred Heart Schools all over the world. The origin of this title of Our Lady came from a Jesuit priest who was told in prayer that this was a favorite of Our Mother’s titles. She wished for a sanctuary to be erected in her name in Rome and she would honor this by making it the site of many cures and conversions. I’m actually not sure this happened at the time, but 200 years later a fresco painting was made at the Sacred Heart’s Monastery of the Trinity in Rome.

The nuns of the Sacred Heart (begun by Saint Madeline Sophie Barat and continued in the United States by Saint Rose Phillipine Duchesne) did not know of our Lady’s fondness for this title when one young artist (and eventual religious of their order) painted the fresco of Our Lady. The fresco shows our Lady at the age of about 15 seated and in quiet prayer as she is about her business of sewing. There are lilies at her side as she listens and meditates on the word which is to be made flesh. The painting was then known around the monastery as “the Madonna of the Lily”.

A priest was supposed to come and bless the new painting, but for some reason or other, he changed his mind and refused. He said he would send someone else in his place. Well, that someone turned out to be Pope Pius IX! When the sister’s uncovered the painting the Pope exclaimed “Mater Admirabilis” and so she got her name! He was so moved by this image that he not only conferred this title upon her but granted that October 20th would always be the feast day in her honor.

Today the children at the school honor her everyday and at her shrine in the upper school hallway they give thanks to her by adorning her with their school accomplishments (see all the trophey’s!) It is also a tradition to leave prayerful petitions on slips of paper which are then placed in her lap. My daughter placed a special petition at the end of the last school year to request her teacher for this year. We did a little prayerful dance and song of happiness when she did get this teacher this year!

Here is a prayer to Mater from the Association Alumnea and Alumni of the Sacred Heart:

Mater Admirabilis, to your friends you open the way of Interior Progress. In contemplating you, O Admirable Mother, the soul thrills with a holy desire to penetrate into that world of love and grace in which your would as made its dwelling. Who better than you can reveal to us this interior life? Who better than you can open us to the life of Jesus and trace in us His divine characteristics? O Mother, let us look at you; in the end a child resembles its mother when its gaze never leaves her face.

You are the silent Virgin!
You are the utterly humble Virgin!
You are the faithful Virgin!

O silent Virgin, you teach us that silence creates in us the gravity that befits our waiting on God; and are we not always waiting thus? Silence, too, must protect God’s dwelling-place; such silence is both an expression of love and a protection for love. O Mother, keep calm and secluded the dwelling of our soul into which Jesus descends every day.

O utterly humble Virgin, you teach us, too, that there can be no progress without a loyal and generous tendency to humility. God’s gifts are only safe in souls who attribute nothing to themselves and are conscious of their poverty. Teach us that unpretentious littleness that knows how to be docile, loves to serve and then slips willingly away. The humility of your heart rose up to God like a melody; it delighted His heart; may ours bring Him down to us.

O faithful Virgin, you are the one who always responded to God’s expectations, who never set the shadow of a hesitation between the call of grace and its realization. Give us that promptitude in love, that soaring eagerness of faith. May sacrifice never halt us; but in the joy which increases our gift a hundredfold, may we answer every grace that solicits us: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord!”

Mother Most Admirable, pray for us!

This is a pretty photo of the school’s chapel after mass. The light was so beautiful coming in from the stained glass on the wall. And in the next photo, you can see all the beautiful “pink” in honor of Mater.

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As it is Sunday, we must first remember Christ’s incredible actions in His holy suffering and death which gained for we unworthy souls our redemption. However, we can also notice that today would have been the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary. I am sure though we are all paying particular attention to Our Mother as October is HER month.

One other bit to remember is that on the holy feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, we may begin a novena to St. Teresa of Avila — “La Madre” as the Carmelites know her dearly. I will write more about this INCREDIBLE woman over these next few days as we prepare for her feast. For now, here is a novena prayer which can be said daily. There is also a great Novena to St. Teresa written by a great admirer of her, Saint Alphonse Ligouri. Saint Alphonse surely appreciated and understood her mystical life of prayer and he kept her close his heart.

You can listen along and pray with the Meditations from Carmel podcast HERE.


Hail, through the most adorable Heart of Jesus,
O seraphic virgin, St. Teresa. We rejoice in your
glory, we give thanks to Our Lord for the favors
and graces bestowed upon you; we praise and
glorify His divine Majesty.

O blessed Saint, vouchsafe continually to pray
for your poor children.

O amiable Teresa, pity our prayers and sighs,
and show us your most ardent charity; secure
for us that divine love which wholly possessed
your inflamed heart. O powerful Teresa, intercede
for us. Obtain for us the graces and favors
we ask in this novena. (Pause for requests to be
made.)

O strong Teresa, fortify us. O heavenly Teresa, pray for us.

O faithful Teresa, most compassionate of our
miseries, look upon your exiled children and
direct our hearts to your amiable Spouse, Jesus
our Redeemer, that we may worthily praise Him
and, with all the love of our hearts, say to Him:
Come, O sweet Jesus, draw us after You and we
will sing Your mercies forever. Amen

St. Teresa, pray for us.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: Graciously hear us, O God our
Salvation, that as we rejoice in the commemoration
of the blessed Teresa, Your virgin and our mother,
so we may be nourished by her heavenly doctrine
and draw from it the fervor of a tender
devotion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of
the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Today, though we are in the middle of our Novena to St. Therese, we should also remember (and thanks to my dear friend for reminding me so that I may remind anyone who happens to be reading today…) that we may begin our Novena to St. Faustina. This is a novena especially to ask for the intercession of Faustina on the anniversary of her death which will be next Friday, October 5.

Not unlike Therese, Faustina was only seven years-old when she first heard Jesus’ voice in her soul. It was his first invitation to her, and stirred her to unite her life totally with His Divine Being. Thus a life devoted to proclaiming His Divine Mercy was initiated. How Faustina gave herself over completely to God by honoring each of His requests to tell the entire World of His Mercy is a heroic tale. And while He blessed her with many consolations, the agony she suffered during the times she felt alone and in the dark were great. As she was battling her own wits and the evil machinations of the diabolical one it was indeed God who was her strength in true faith. However, it is a testament to determination of spirit and complete love of God and abandonment of ones-self that we may admire and imitate in Faustina’s character.

There is another religious to consider this week among the faithful of God’s Holy Will. I am only just learning, but it was Sr. Mary Ephrem, as she was instructed by Our Heavenly Mother to let our country know of her desire for purity of soul to help reclaim the family who is so under assault here in America. (And while this devotion is a private revelation, it has been approved by prominent Bishops, and so can be trusted to be authentic. With the approval of Archbishop Burke, as I have said, I feel completely safe in reading and learning about this particular devotion. Back to the story…) A contemplative, Sr. Ephrem would have greatly realized the necessity of uniting the family in purity so that it may attempt to emulate the purity of the Holy Family of Nazareth. That was the holy home where the Holy Spirit found its indwelling in love uniting God with creation through the Immaculate and her Divine Son. Within this structure came also the love of a most good and humble protector and guardian, Joseph, who’s obedience and nonresistance to the Holy Will of God allowed the completion of the mystery. September 25th was the 51st anniversary of the Virgin appearing to Sr. Ephrem. Here is her account:

On the eve of the feast of the North American Martyrs, September 25, 1956, as I was making the Holy Hour from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m., I was conscious of the distinct and special feeling of the presence of Our Lady. She stood by my side and spoke to me. I felt, rather than saw her, though I did see a part of her white gown and a small portion of her blue sash. I was under the impression that she came as Our Lady of Lourdes, and she herself confirmed this. Our Lady promised that greater miracles than those granted at Lourdes and Fatima would be granted here in America, the United Stares in particular, if we would do as she desires.

These are the words she spoke to me at this time:

“I am pleased, my child, with the love and honor my children in America give to me, especially through my glorious and unique privilege of the Immaculate Conception. I promise to reward their love by working through the power of my Son’s Heart and my Immaculate Heart miracles of grace among them. I do not promise miracles of the body, but of the soul.”

Our lady emphasized this very much. She is anxiously concerned about our inner life.

So, let us pay attention to our inner life today. We could not ask for help from better guides and holy navigators than Saints Therese and Faustina. And, there is NO greater guide to humility and obedience to the Will of our Heavenly Father than our exemplar of most pure body and soul than Our Mother Mary. Oh Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee…

Here is the novena prayer to St. Faustina:

Saint Maria Faustina, you told us that your mission would continue after your death and that you would not forget us. (Diary of St. Faustina, 281, 1582).

Our Lord also granted you a great privilege, telling you to “distribute graces as you will, to whom you will, and when you will” (31).

Relying on this, I ask your intercession for the graces I need, especially

(here mention your special intentions)

Help me, above all, to trust in Jesus as you did and thus to glorify His mercy every moment of my life.

Amen.

The image above was taken on my trip to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa near Doylestown, Pa.

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I beseech thee O Holy Lady Mary,

Mother of God most full of pity,

the daughter of the highest king,

mother most glorious, mother of orphans,

the consolation of the desolate,

the way of them that go astray,

the safety of all that trust in thee,

a virgin before childbearing,

a virgin in childbearing,

and a virgin after childbearing:

the fountain of mercy,

the fountain of health and grace,

the fountain of consolation and pardon,

the fountain of piety and gladness,

the fountain of life and forgiveness.

By that holy unspeakable gladness,

by the which thy spirit did rejoice that hour,

wherein the Son of God was unto thee

by the Angel Gabriel declared and conceived.

And by that holy unspeakable humility,

in which thou didst answer the

Archangel Gabriel:

Behold the handmaid of our Lord,

be it unto me according unto thy word:

and by that divine mystery,

which the Holy Ghost as then did work in thee:

and by the unspeakable grace,

pity, mercy, love, and humility

by the which thy son our Lord Jesus Christ

came down to take human flesh

in thy most venerable womb:

and by the most glorious joys,

which thou hadst of thy son

our Lord Jesus Christ:

and by that holy and most great compassion,

and most bitter grief of thy heart,

which thou hadst when as thou didst behold

thy son our Lord Jesus Christ,

made naked before the cross,

and lifted up upon the same,

hanging, crucified, wounded, thirsting,

and the most bitter drink of gall

and vinegar put unto his mouth.

Thou heardst him cry Eli,

and didst see him die.

And by those five wounds of the same

thy son and by the sore shrinking together

of thy inward parts,

through the extreme grief of this wounds,

and by the sorrow which thou hadst

when thou didst behold him wounded.

And by the fountains of his blood:

and by all his passion,

and sorrow of thy heart,

and by the fountains of thy tears,

that thou wouldst come with all the Saints

and elect of God and hasten unto my help,

and my counsel in all my prayers, and petitions,

in all my distresses and necessities.

As also in all those things,

wherein I am to do anything, speak,

or think,

all the days and nights, hours, and moments of my life.

And obtain for me thy servant of thy beloved son

Our Lord Jesus Christ

the accomplishment of all virtues,

with all mercy, and consolation, all counsel and aid,

all benediction and sanctification,

all salvation, peace and prosperity,

all joy and gladness:

also abundance of all spiritual good things,

and sufficiency of corporal,

and grace of the Holy Ghost,

which may well dispose me in all things,

and may guard my soul,

govern and protect my body,

stir up my mind, order my manners,

approve my acts, suggest holy cogitations,

pardon my evils past,

amend things present, and moderate things to come:

bestow on me an honest, and chaste life,

grant me faith, hope, and charity:

make me firmly to believe the articles of the faith,

and to observe the precepts of the law:

rule and protect the senses of my body,

and evermore deliver me from mortal sins,

and defend me to my life’s end:

that he may graciously and meekly hear,

and receive this prayer,

and give me life everlasting.

Hear and make intercession for me

most sweet virgin Mary Mother of God,and Mercy.

Amen.

O Untouchable, and forever blessed,

singular and incomparable virgin Mary Mother of God,

most grateful temple of God,

the sacristy of the Holy Ghost,

the gate of the kingdom of heaven,

by whom next unto God the whole world liveth,

incline O Mother of Mercy the ears of thy pity unto my unworthy supplications,

and be pitiful to me a most wretched sinner, and be unto me a merciful helper in all things.

O most blessed John, the familiar and friend of Christ,

which of the same Lord Jesus Christ was chosen a virgin,

and among the rest more beloved,

above all instructed in the heavenly mysteries,

for thou wast made a most worthy Apostle and Evangelist:

thee also I call upon with Mary mother of the same Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour,

that thou wouldst vouchsafe to afford me thy aid with hers.

O ye two celestial jewels, Mary, and John.

O ye two lights divinely shining before God.

Chase away by your bright beams the clouds of my offences.

For you are those two in whom the only begotten Son of God,

for the merit of most sincere virginity,

hanging upon the cross confirmed the privilege of his love,

saying thus to the one of you: woman,

behold thy son: and then unto the other:

behold thy mother.

In the sweetness therefore of his most sacred love,

through which by our Lord’s own mouth,

as mother and son you were joined in one,

I a most wretched sinner recommend this day to you both my body and soul that at all hours and moments,

inwardly and outwardly,

you would vouchsafe to be unto me firm guardians,

and before God devout intercessors:

ask earnestly for me I beseech you, health of body and soul.

Procure I beseech you, procure by your glorious prayers,

that the pure spirit,

the best giver of graces,

may vouchsafe to visit my heart and dwell therein,

which may thoroughly purge me from all filth of vice,

lighten and adorn me with sacred virtues:

cause me perfectly to stand,

and persevere in the love of God and my neighbour,

and after the course of this life the most benign comforter may bring me to the joys of his elect,

who with God the Father,

and the Son

liveth and reigneth world without end.

Amen.
This prayer was a favorite of the faithful during the Middle Ages and comes before the The Hours of the Virgin as receited in the Book of Hours. It is from the Latin/English Primer of 1599. The Book of Hours is a prayer book intended for the laity and were based upon the much longer Liturgy of the Hours recited by clergy and religious. Often these books would contain three sets of Hours; the Hours of the Blessed Virgin, the Hours of the Cross, and the Hours of the Holy Spirit. In addition to the Hours, a number of other prayers and popular devotions were often included.

Thank you to the work of Glenn Gunhouse for making it available on his website!

Image above is from Horae Beatae Mariae ad usum Romanum and shows the Nativity of our Lord.

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Here is a lovely interview at AveMaria about how Our Lady of America got to New York… WOW!

And for our Mother from the Catholic Tradition Website:

The Woman prophesied in Eden . . . The Virgin prophesied by Isaias . . . The Beautiful One of the Canticles . . . When the time had finally come, the world knew Her name at last: “And the Virgin’s name was Mary.” This woman uniquely honored with the title, Co-Redemptrix, was rewarded by Her Lord and Redeemer with a queenly crown in His Kingdom . . . and with the role of Mediatrix of All Graces, to dispense those graces which had cost Her Son so dearly on the Cross.

And so, we call out to this Mother and Queen in confidence: Ave Maria . . . Salve Regina . . . Ave Maris Stella . . . Ave Regina Caelorum. Because of this, we honor, respect and set aside in our hearts a special place for Her Holy Name, “Mary,” for it was the beacon of our redemption. During the nine months that Jesus rested in His Mother’s womb, no one encountered Christ except through Mary…

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