According to God's eternal standards, the sanctity proclaimed by Gabriel when he called you "full of grace," was but the beginning of your wonderful growth in holiness. With her you loved to sing the psalms and canticles of the inspired authors of your nation. You are to be our guide toward the haven of salvation. They had seen Adam created in grace, and John the Baptist, spotless from his birth, because he had been cleansed from original sin before birth. Never were you guilty of the least fault; never did you offer the least resistance to grace. Look with pity on me for in You is my hope. Through love you consecrated yourself with all your powers to God as the highest form of beauty and goodness. The closer a soul is to God, the farther it is from sin. Mary, My Mother, at my baptism you gave me life at the moment when sanctifying grace was infused into my soul at the baptismal font. It is the ideal and providential moment to entrust . I need you desperately. Who can describe the merits and graces that adorned your soul at the glorious instant of your Nativity at a period when all other children have no merit! I will not be discouraged, but rather go with confidence to you, the throne of grace. At the same time your name brings before me your virtues, your merits, your beauty. This wisdom and prudence showed itself at a very early age, when you willed to devote yourself entirely to God and were presented by your saintly parents, at your own request, for the temple service. On the appointed day, at nightfall, accompanied by friends, he went in procession to your parents' house, to conduct you to his own home. Have pity on the sinners of the world. Your soul contained all the marvels of God's grace, for which reason the Church calls you the Singular Vessel of Devotion. Mary, Mother of God, you are my Model of perfect dedication to God. With your own eyes you saw Him brought first to Pilate, then to Herod and then again to Pilate. With your heart breaking with sorrow, you had to die a spiritual death in order to become my spiritual Mother. Hasten the reign of Christ by ruling over all of us, your children. The Holy Spirit dwells in you as in a temple. God sent Gabriel, one of His glorious archangels, to deliver the most important message in the history of mankind, announcing the coming of the Savior of the world and the selection of you to be His Mother. Protect me from the snares of the world, the flesh and the devil. You have such a desire to save sinners that you look for them in order to help them. But by the greater light you possessed for recognizing the infinite greatness and goodness of God, you recognized also your own littleness, and, therefore, you humbled yourself more than all others: you ever had before your eyes the majesty of God against your nothingness as His creature. Help us that our souls may be cleansed from the stains of sin. When still a child you consecrated yourself entirely to God, the Love of chaste souls; and afterwards you would rather be deprived of the great dignity of Divine Motherhood than to lose your virginity. Our Lady of Compassion Catholic Primary School You are not only the Mother of the guilty but also Mother of Jesus, their Judge. Why Do We Call Mary 'Mother Of Mercy' - The Divine Mercy That very same Christ is mine in the Holy Eucharist when I look upon Him as a Victim on our altars, when I kneel before Him as my Friend in the Tabernacle; when I receive Him into my soul as my Guest in Holy Communion. May 24 - Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians ~ Dom Prosper Gueranger 1. Help me to love God with my whole soulso that all the faculties of my soul may be consecrated to Him, and that I may make use of them only to make Him known, loved and served. Jesus died because He willed to die. I come to you with confidence, knowing that through you all glory, honor and holiness given to the human race from the first Adam to the last ages has been granted, is being granted and will be granted to apostles, prophets, martyrs and all the just. It was your duty to represent the whole of mankind and to offer those acts of adoration faith, hatred of sin, love and prayer, which were due from those who shared in this sacrifice. It is impossible for any one to perish who sincerely and humbly cultivates devotion to you. To you we owe the life of grace, without which there is no escape from the death of sin. Mary, Mother of God, since the United States was dedicated to your Immaculate Conception, be pleased to take our country under your special protection and grant that, guided by justice and nurtured by charity, it may serve God faithfully and be blessed with peace and prosperity. That grace made you holy and most pleasing in God's eyes, the special object of His love. Through your prayers, may Jesus make me live of His life through sanctifying and actual grace. In becoming His Mother, you became ours. Saints Stories for All Ages Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day December 12 Printer Friendly On December 9, 1531, a 57-year-old Aztec, Juan Diego, saw the Blessed Mother on a hill in Mexico City. You died as you had lived, entirely detached from the things of the world, you died in the most perfect peace and in the certainty of eternal glory. OUR LADY OF SORROWS Feast day- September 15, 2022. It was an answer which had scarcely fallen from your lips, before It drew the only-begotten Son of God from the bosom of His Eternal Father, to become Man in your most pure womb! Your soul is the creation and the masterpiece of almighty workmanship. Obtain for me from Jesus the heavenly gifts of humility, chastity and meekness, which were the fairest adornments of your immaculate soul. From your pure blood the Holy Spirit formed the pure Body of Jesus. The saints tell me that it is the foundation and guard of all virtues, since without humility a soul can possess no other virtue. What merits did not your perfect immolation gain! How great was your trust in God! (1) The seven founders of the Servite Order, in 1239, five years after they established themselves on Monte Senario, took up the sorrows of Mary, standing under the Cross, as the principal devotion of their order. All that I am or have. God is infinite good; sin, horrible evil. Though you prophesied that all generations would call you blessed, you attributed all holiness to God. Everything that God may send me, or permit in my life, whether favorable or unfavorable, sweet or bittereven illness, is acceptable to me, for I have resolved, after your example to conform myself to the Divine Will in all things. Feast, October 7 (Novena, Sept. 28-Oct. 6). 2. 3. The divine maternity explains everything in you; without this maternity nothing in you can be explained. Within your humble home in the little town of Nazareth, the Holy Spirit willed to perform a miracle that was the masterpiece of infinite powerthe Incarnation of the Son of God. Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe - Manila Bulletin Never did a mother love her son as you loved Jesus; and so never did a mother share in her son's agony so deeply as you shared the Passion. It was indeed a divine life that Jesus led in Your womb, a life most active, and yet one of unbroken calm. We ask you to procure for us, by your prayers the great grace of final perseverance so that those who are joined to honor you in the kingdom of your Son on earth may be together always in heaven. Mary, My Mother, you and good St. Joseph were married to become the models of family life. To understand your dignity as Mother of God in all its fullness, we would have to understand fully the dignity of the Son of God whose Mother you are. God enriched your soul with such a love above all other creatures that in you alone He found His fullest delights. He has reconciled us to God. You bore your sorrows bravely because you received them from God's hands. Mary, Mother of God, I believe that as Mediatrix with Jesus you share also in His sovereign dominion over the universe. Mary, My Mother, may the faithful recitation of my Rosary be a sign of my gratitude to Jesus and to you for all you have done for me in bringing about my Redemption. Manila Archdiocese Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula will preside over the grand fiesta mass at 12 noon Sunday, Dec. 12, at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Guadalupe Nuevo, Makati City, in solemn commemoration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the principal patroness of the Philippines, Mexico, and the Americas, and the protector of the unborn. You said Yes so that we might live. How I long to repeat It unceasingly so as to spread its fame, to carry that fame to every shore, to imprint it on every mind. Mary, Mother of God, may the perfect gift of yourself to God through love in your presentation in the temple be an inspiration to me. Had the angel said you were the most wicked sinner in the world, your wonder would not have been so great, as it was at the sound of his praises. You showed singular prudence during your life. We have the sublime dignity of being children of God by adoption; Jesus alone is His Son by nature. Filled with deep humility, and yet on fire with desire to unite yourself still more closely to God, you abandoned yourself entirely to the Divine will and answered, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word" (Luke 1, 38). This miraculous defeat broke the back . I breathe the name of one who is virgin and mother, Mother of God and Mother of men, my Mother. Mary, Mother of God, you are so filled with compassion that you deserve to be called not only merciful but even mercy itself. It was fitting that the God of all purity should spring from the greatest purity. In His infancy Jesus depended upon your loving care, and in death when He was abandoned by all, even by His Father, He still had your heart. Since the conception of the Son of God is all holy, all pure, infinitely removed from every appearance of sin, it was supremely fitting that your conception should be equally far from sin. You presented Him in sacrifice to the Father as your God and the Son of Man, as your offering and the offering of humanity for the redemption of the world. Mother of Perpetual Help, pray for me! Mary, Queen of the Apostles, pray for the triumph of God's Kingdom upon earth. You stand alone on a throne of greatness and perfection far above the rest of creatures. Mary, Mother of God, because of your influence in obtaining helpful remedies against spiritual and bodily maladies, the Church calls you the "Health of the Sick." You abound in divine life for yourself; for us you abound in grace. A blessed feast of OUR LADY of the MIRACULOUS MEDAL to you. Seasons and Feast Days Prayer Requests You brought forth Jesus, your First-born, without pain; but in giving birth to your second-born, what agony did you not have to endure? Monday, September 15, 2014. Mary, Mother of God, already in your childhood you dedicated yourself to the love and service of God. Amen. 18, 3). His Holiness St. John Paul II visited her Sanctuary four times: on his first apostolic trip outside Rome as Pope in 1979, and. Let me never be influenced by temporal considerationswealth, honors and pleasuresthat I may always follow the counsel of Jesus: "Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be given you besides" (Luke 12, 31). I can best thank Jesus for His dying bequest by striving daily to become like John in his love and imitation of you. 3. The Holy Spirit gave you the heart of a bride, all burning with a love pure and ardent. All the saints suffered during their lifetime, but you are the Queen of them all as Queen of Martyrs. As breathing is not only a sign but even a cause of life, so your name, which is constantly found on the lips of your servants, both proves that they are spiritually alive, and at the same time causes and preserves their life, and gives them every help in their needs. He forms Himself in me by supernatural principles, which He implants in my mind; by supernatural intentions and meritorious actions. To single nations, to private families, to individual persons, you have always provided help, given solace and rekindled hope, especially when they turned to you with Rosary in hand. Just as in my tenderest years I learned to love God at my mother's knee, so now I desire to learn to love my Eucharistic God, as it were, at your knee, for I firmly believe that you are the shortest and surest way to the Heart of the Eucharistic Christ. Let this be my consolation to know that I am doing God's Will. "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." Rather, your sorrows were ordained by God from all eternity as part of the penalty to be paid for sin and were to mingle with the sufferings of your Son in that great sacrifice which was to redeem the world. The Expectation Of The Blessed Virgin Mary, Feast, December 18 (Triduum, December 15-17 or until Christmas). If I have humility, God may flood my soul with grace here and exalt it eternally in heaven. In becoming my Mother, you became the Queen of Martyrs! What a difference between the woeful prediction of Simeon and the joyous tidings of the archangel Gabriel announcing the greatness of the Redeemer of mankind! Only thus could you become one with Your God in the salvation of souls. Moreover, I am confident that you will obtain for me. You were united with Jesus when He bestowed special favors. This apostolic mission is a consequence of your office as Mother, as Co-Redemptrix and as Dispenser of all graces. Mary, Mother of God, I admire Your obedience and humility in submitting to the law of purification by presenting yourself in the temple like every other Jewish Mother, forty days after the birth of Jesus. The seven sorrows are: The prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35) Through prayer may grace fill my soul with the life of God and transform me into a living image of Jesus, just as you were. 55. . You formed His eyes, to look upon us with mild and pitying glance and to weep over us. Mary, Mother of God, at Pentecost you were with the Apostles, preparing for the Holy Spirit the promised Gift of your Son. Mary, Mother of God, how wonderful was your own interior life as you carried the Son of God in your womb and awaited His coming! Everyday, somewhere in the world, local, regional or universal feast of Our Lady is celebrated. The feast is like an octave for the birthday of Our Lady on September 8th. It was not enough for the Infinite Lover of souls to free us from the slavery of hell by His Passion and death and to bestow upon us His body and blood, soul and divinity. You did not shrink from the disgrace of being recognized as the Mother of one condemned to die a shameful death. Mary, My Mother, your name means Star of the Sea. The Church teaches that final perseverance in good and a happy death are graces so great that no one can obtain them by his own merits or without special help from God. Because you freely consented to become the Mother of God, you experienced mentally all the bitterness of your Son's Passion and death. 1. I plead for these sinners and I beg you to help them to break their chains, to shake off their human respect, to hope in the mercy of your Son. Pray for us Christians who sigh to you in this vale of tears so that we may be comforted, enlightened, strengthened, guided, and finally saved! God wants His gifts recognized. Your prayers are those of a Mother and, therefore, have a certain maternal authority with Jesus Christ so that you obtain the grace of pardon even for those who, though guilty of grievous crimes, commend themselves to you. Recipes for September ~ Month Dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows - Blogger We all rejoice because all the graces and spiritual benefits we have received and shall receive, all our future glory comes from this exalted mystery of the Incarnation. Mother Mary - Our Lady of Compassion I can picture you alone with your God, following with devotion the life led in common by the virgins of God's house. Our eyes are upraised to you in sorrow and in joy. This is my sure way of reaching heaven and my God. The Communion was your life of union with Jesus in the Eucharist after His Ascension. Help me to be deeply grateful for God's generosity toward me. No one could have had a closer approach to God than you, for it is impossible for any creature to be closer to God's Son than His own Mother. Your kingdom, like His, is a kingdom of imperishable glory, because yours is a throne of clemency, mercy and pardon. God bless. 3. Parting with your dying Son was the height of your sorrow. You love us as a mother loves her children. Let me never separate my sufferings from the sufferings of Your divine Son. But this prophecy did not disturb your peace of mind because your will was one with the will of God. En life's dark hours you always remembered that you were God's handmaid, and you always wanted everything to be done according to His holy Will. For the first time in the public life of Jesus you appeared in the exalted character of our Advocate, a character which would be yours as long as time would last. The Church has always taught that God has entrusted to your hands all heavenly treasures, and many of the saints assure me that you give to your clients as much of these treasures as you wish and when you wish to do so. The words of the prophet are applied to you: "O all you that pass by the way, attend, and see if there be sorrow like unto my sorrow.". You possessed, according to the words of the Archangel, such a fullness of grace that you were worthy to become the Mother of God. 3. How many and how great then, were the graces you received in order to reach the eminent virtue that was yours when, on Calvary, you became the Queen of Martyrs. Like you, he was of the tribe of Juda and the family of David. I already know of your great love for me for the sake of your Son who entrusted the care of my soul to you. What songs of gladness by the elect as you were crowned by the Blessed Trinity and made Queen of heaven, advocate of the human race and dispenser of the graces of the Redemption! Our Lady of Guadalupe, whom we acclaim our Queen and Mother, lead our country to God. OLMC Feast Website About The Feast Page Due to her feast day on September 15, the month of September has traditionally been set aside to honor Our Lady of Sorrows. Advise me what to do. December 9 marks the feast day of Saint Juan Diego and December 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. "Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. God's grace can also do wonders in me if only I do not refuse to cooperate with it. You really had the right to offer Jesus to His Heavenly Father in this mystery. Since you are my Mother, I share in the love you have for your Divine Son. We take a look at the story behind the indigenous peasant who came across the Patron of the Americas, and how he fought for her message to be heard. Turin Our Lady of Consolation, Turin This icon was presented to the city of Turin. Mary, Mother of God, you are Our Lady of Good Counsel because of the divine wisdom and prudence which you received from the Holy Spirit. I feel this threefold inclination to evil. You are the most beautiful of creatures, the one in whom there is no spot, God's masterpiece. Coming from the Latin words cum and patior, compassion means to suffer. I beg you to take care of me for I am a poor sinful child. The Virgin of Vladimir, also known as Vladimir Mother of God, Our Lady of Vladimir (Russian: , Ukrainian: ), and the Theotokos of Vladimir (Greek: ), is a 12th-century Byzantine icon depicting the Virgin and Child and an early . Altogether 24 popes have officially honored Our Lady of Guadalupe. The virtue of holy prudence guides man in his choice of purposes and in the best means to attain them. You are the Mediatrix of our peace with God and the Giver of heavenly graces. Your redemption was the very masterpiece of Christ's redeeming wisdom. Your extreme hatred of sin was the measure of your supreme love of virtue. Dec. 12: OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE MASS PRAYERS AND PROPER READINGS. The holier a person is and the greater the intimacy of his union with God, the greater also is the power of his prayers. 2. I did it not once or twice but numberless times. You are only a pure creature, who receives whatever you obtain as a pure favor from God. America Needs Fatima The sacrifice of the cross began at Bethlehem. Mary, Mother of God, your divine maternity is most cherished by you, because it is a token of God's special love for you. Mary, Mother of God, your charity is strikingly shown forth in the Visitation. Figures below show what proportion of half-day sessions were missed by pupils and how this compares to local and national averages. Here there was a sacrifice, and Jesus was the Victim. Intense love for the Infinite God withdrew your soul from this earthly life, and caused you death. No apostolic act bears fruit without grace. The supernatural life is the life of Jesus in us through grace. Who can describe the anguish of your generous soul when with your Divine Babe in your arms you were willing to sign His death warrant with your own hands? Enlighten the beginning of my efforts, direct my progress, bring my completed work to perfection. In the . From you all missionaries have received the salvation which they bring to the nations. Your Heart, Blessed Mother, is always conformable to Our Lord's will. As you cradled the new-born Savior and nourished and cared for Him, so at Pentecost you cradled the new-born Church, watched over its frail, delicate body and fostered and nourished it with motherly care. Feast, October 16 (Triduum, October 13-15). When you agreed to the proposal made to you by the Angel, you gave Jesus to us by your own free act. Shed upon me more and more the living light of that faith which made you blessed. Mary, Mother of God, I thank you for being my companion in suffering. He renders it possible to give greater expression to His own love and mercy through your Heart. You were borne aloft to the palace of your Beloved. Provide for our needs of soul and of body. Excerpted from Our Lady of Sorrows by Fr. How often am I confused in the problems of life. O powerful answer which rejoiced Heaven and brought an immense sea of graces and blessings into the world! Feast, Saturday before the before the last Sunday in August (Triduum, Wednesday last Sunday in August). You concealed even from your beloved spouse, Saint Joseph, the important fact that you were the chosen Mother of God, and you awaited God's good pleasure to reveal the great mystery to him. Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows | Salt + Light Media If we could not say that you are the Mother of God for having given a body to the Son of God, then we could neither adore this Body; nor would we have been redeemed by the sacrifice of this Body on the cross, nor would we be united to the divinity in receiving this Body in the Eucharist. Mary, My Mother, you were never without grace. Though you did not know the meaning of the archangel's inspired words, you serenely submitted to the will of God. Help me to cling tightly to Jesus and to you. COLUMN: Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes: World Day of the Sick--2/7/2021 Our Lady of Lourdes, We pray to you especially for our own conversion and that of all sinners. For He was everything to you, and all else was nothing without Him. I give you my love by consecrating myself entirely to you, in joy and in sorrow, by complete abandonment to the divine will. Mary, My Mother, give me a rich share in the graces merited for me by your Son. You truly deserve to be called the Mediatrix of Grace. How precious is your love, my Mother! Your faith taught you that the predictions of both were inspired by the Holy Spirit. His mother named him after the great St. Francis of Assisi. 2. You are a Mediatrix in union with Christ from whom your mediation draws all its power. For the first time after four thousand years God in His Wisdom and power and love, created again a human being in that state in which He had created our first parents. The Feasts of Our Lady Note: Only Universal Feasts have the Month cited with each Feast; Local Feasts, etc., are cited by date within each month, unless the particular Local Feast begins a month. If the honor of parents descends upon their children, what glory and joy for all of us, your children, to see you raised to such heights of glory! For the small sacrifice of being devoted to you I can obtain a happy death and eternal life. Mary, My Mother, I am happy to be your child. I give you my will by an absolute confidence in you, a confidence founded on your power and your goodness.