Mary, Mother of God, no stain of original sin ever defiled your pure soul. The Holy Spirit overshadowed you at the Annunciation, and on Pentecost He made your heart a furnace of Divine love. Mary, My Mother, the divine Motherhood meant for you deepest suffering. As formerly the shepherds and the magi found Jesus close to you, so now may all sinners, unbelievers and pagans find Jesus through you, His Mother. How well your name gives expression to your position and your mission in lifeyour divine Motherhood In virtue of this privilege, you reflect as a spotless mirror the eternal Light of the Word, which is first poured into you and illuminates you. Feast, October 16 (Triduum, October 13-15). You are truly the "Queen of Peace.". Today is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Sorrows Lawain McNeil Sep 15, 2022 Lady of Sorrows from a triptych by the Master of the Stauffenberg Altarpiece, Alsace, c. 1455. As Mother of God, you became a cooperator in the Redemption of mankind. You are beautiful at your presentation in the temple; in prayer before Gabriel as he awaited your answer, in Nazareth's hidden life and later as you followed Jesus and listened to Wisdom speak. Hasten the reign of Christ by ruling over all of us, your children. Mary, My Mother, to conceal the miraculous conception and birth of His Divine Son, the Eternal Father inspired Joseph to marry you before the annunciation by the archangel Gabriel. Mary, Mother of God, your divine maternity is most cherished by you, because it is a token of God's special love for you. Your heart beat in unison with His Heart. Through the mystery of your Visitation enlighten my mind with divine truth, warm my heart with heavenly love; strengthen me to win the victory over my evil inclinations and the power of evil. In this time of crisis there is need that we hasten to you for aid, strength and direction. I share in this joy. One of your greatest delights is to lavish these treasures upon your faithful children. This was a declaration that all Christians are your spiritual children. These mysteries remind me also of your own glory, the Assumption of your soul and body into heaven and your crowning there as Queen of Heaven and Earth. May I always be most grateful by striving to grow in this divine life. Whatever of sanctity, of dignity, of merit, of grace and of glory, that we can imagine, all is in you. 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. From the first instant of your existence your mind was filled by the supernatural light of faith and your soul with love of God. It was in your arms that he found the Savior, to remind me that he who desires to find Jesus, will not find Him otherwise than through you. Enlighten the beginning of my efforts, direct my progress, bring my completed work to perfection. Mary, My Mother, How perfectly you have followed the inspirations of the Holy Spirit and acted on divine wisdom! How unimportant are the infirmities of the body compared to the infirmities of the soul! Mary, My Mother, I wish to recall this triumph and to share in your greatness and glory. Your Heart, Blessed Mother, is always conformable to Our Lord's will. We do not find you in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, when your divine Son was received with so much honor by the people. As your prayer brought about His birth as the Sun of Justice, so also your request decided His rise and shining in His public life. At the very beginning of His public ministry, you observed the hatred and jealousy of His enemies and the false accusations which would bring about His death. You were born into the world in the humble city of Nazareth. Feast, Saturday after the Feast of the Ascension (Triduum, Wednesday before the Feast of the Ascension). This feast was suppressed with the revision of the calendar published in the Roman Missal of 1969. May He who makes little ones to speak divine wisdom, direct my tongue and pour out upon my soul the grace I need ever to follow His and your example in my state of life. I consecrate to you my very being and my whole life: all that I have, all that I love, all that I am. 1. 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. Mary, Mother of God, you are our Mediatrix. But no child ever belonged to its mother as Jesus belonged to you. They observed the Law of God most diligently and spent their days in prayer and in works of mercy. And now in Heaven, when the fruits of the Redemption are applied to our souls, and the graces won for us by the Passion of Jesus are distributed to the redeemed, being united to Him by a close and unbreakable bond, you still continue your part as Mediatrix in the work of our salvation, by offering to the Father the merits of Christ, uniting meanwhile your prayers, and, in a secondary sense, your merits, to the intercession of your Divine Son. Mary, I beg you to lead me to my Sacramental Jesus! 2. He did so through your hands when you presented Him in the Temple, and in union with Him you offered yourself to the Father on Calvary. 3. The Holy Spirit gave you the heart of a bride, all burning with a love pure and ardent. Each time Jesus becomes present in the hands of the priest, the Life given to us by the words of consecration comes originally from. The Son will listen to you, His Mother, and the Father will listen to His Son. 1. It is but a symbol of the endless victories which you are to win over him to the last day. Altogether 24 popes have officially honored Our Lady of Guadalupe. Therefore, I offer Jesus to the Father through your hands, and in Holy Communion I ask for graces through you. Previous; Play Quiz; Lent Day 6 - The Wedding at Cana. Mary is the mother of mankind - she watches . May these graces become most fruitful in my soul till I become like you, another Christ. Mary, My Mother, as Mother of Divine Providence, remember your children in need of God's mercy and help. From the moment you said, "Be it done to me according to thy word," the Father in heaven made Jesus and you, as it were, a redemptive pair; you, of course, have always been dependent on Him. Mary, Mother of God, your charity is strikingly shown forth in the Visitation. After the prophecy of Simeon, the Scriptures mention that "His father and mother" were wondering at those things which were spoken concerning Him. Let me never separate my sufferings from the sufferings of Your divine Son. Thus you became in some way the source of that grace which Jesus would pour forth over all mankind. The Holy Spirit, who in virtue of your Son's merits lived in you, made you a living image of Jesus. You conceived Jesus as the Head of regenerated mankind, the Head of a mystical body whose members we are. But you are Mother only of penitent sinners who have left their evil ways before death. He was with you not only by His sanctifying grace, making you pleasing in His sight, as He is present with all the just. 3. It was indeed a divine life that Jesus led in Your womb, a life most active, and yet one of unbroken calm. Your Immaculate Conception permitted you to love God from the first instant of your existence; your virginity led you to vow an undivided love to Him, your fullness of grace made you capable of loving Him with the most intense love possible. 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! Give me enthusiasm and joy in the knowledge, the love and the service of the Lord. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.". Since this is the mission of your life, to bring souls to God through Jesus, lead me to your loving Son. I am in need of forgiveness of sin, of strength in temptation. After the triumph of your Divine Son on the day of His Ascension, there never was, and there never will be, a triumph like that which you enjoyed on this day. No one could ever love God with the love of a mother. Don Jos's actions made me think of another passage, this time from the Gospel of Luke ( 10:29-37 ). He was with you not only by a special protection guiding you in His ways and leading you securely to salvation. When the Holy Spirit descended, you received the richest outpouring of His graces. Jesus is the only Mediator of justice, and by His merits He obtains for us all graces and salvation but you are the Mediatrix of grace. Be a mother to me and save me. Let me feel some of the sentiments of loving expectation that you felt while waiting for the birth of your Child, so that I may prepare myself for His coming and the graces of the mystery of His Nativity may bear fruit in my soul. Corruption is a consequence of sin, but you were sinless. Our founder, so moved by her image, vowed to live by her exampleand that's a promise our Mercy Home family still upholds today. Mary, My Mother, you and good St. Joseph were married to become the models of family life. On Feb. 11, 2020, I was ordained a bishop and installed as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Gary. 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. Although it is true that Jesus in glory, by means of His divine wounds, is our intercessor before the Father and all God's gifts come to us through His merits, you are the all-powerful suppliant, through whom every prayer reaches up to Him and every grace comes down. Mary, My Mother, I beg you to aid me in being watchful over myself, guarding my exterior and interior senses, avoiding all outward haste and inward passion, trying to make a virtuous action of everything I do, and by talking to God frequently in prayer. Being the new Eve who was to be the Mother of the new Adam you were, by the eternal decree of God and by the merits of Christ, withdrawn from the general law of original sin. You are to be our guide toward the haven of salvation. Whatever graces we receive, come to us through your intercession. Amen. But saints and writers of the Church speak of devotion to you as a sign of perseverance in good and a happy death. Feast Days of Mary January 1Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God *January 8Our Lady of Prompt SuccorFebruary 2Presentation of the LordFebruary 11Our Lady of LourdesMarch 25AnnunciationMay 13Our Lady of FatimaMay 31VisitationJune 27Our Mother of Perpetual HelpJuly 16Our Lady of Mount CarmelAugust 15Assumption *August 22Queenship of MarySeptember 8Birth of . In your motherhood you would need protection and so would the Child in His infancy. We can lose our divine adoption, but you can never lose your divine maternity. But Jesus was constantly sanctifying you, His loving Mother, transforming you ever more and more into Himself by wondrous graces of knowledge of the mystery of the Incarnation, and by graces of love which united you to Him. The reredos is in gold relief, being copied from work in the chapel of the Duchess of Newcastle. Mary, My Mother, your apparition at Guadalupe as the Immaculate Conception is your only recorded appearance in North America. Mary, My Mother, the saints have taught me that the best veneration of you is always imitation. You are Queen of the universe, not by force, but by the power of love. But the same spirit of humility which had induced Jesus to obey the law of circumcision, made you also submit to the law of purification. You fulfill the duties and enjoy the rights of a true mother. Your Son won a treasure of grace for us by the life and death He offered up to the heavenly Father. Though deprived of the joy of His actual presence, you were more intimately united with Him than ever through your sacrificial love, since your will was one with His. How often I do not know where to turn. But I can never be your true child if I am not humble. You so loved the world as to give your only Son for our redemption. Pray to Jesus, the Divine Word and Eternal Wisdom, who is "the life that is the light of men" (John 1, 4), that through you He may teach me His divine wisdom. Jesus invites me to do so, for He said, "Take my yoke upon youMy yoke is easy and My burden light" (Matt. Led by divine inspiration to His house, you prepared yourself for your sublime dignity of Divine Motherhood in silence and solitude with God. On Calvary our redemption was accomplished, by His death, Jesus merited for us the grace to live His life. You rule in heaven and on earth. Bless our prayers and labors for the conversion of the world and support them by your powerful intercession with your Son, Jesus, that His Kingdom of Truth and Life, Holiness and Grace Justice. Preserve their faith, assailed at every hour by the forces opposed to Christ. Humility is not belittling myself, but taking the place which rightly belongs to me, not a higher place, nor a lower, but the true and just place where God wants me. You are a second and more blessed Eve. Intercede for us that we may win the victory over evil and that we may live and reign with Jesus, your Son. You have given us Christ that He may make us live of His life. Mary, Queen of the Apostles, pray for the triumph of God's Kingdom upon earth. Teach me to prove my love for Jesus by visiting Him frequently in His tabernacle home, where He lives as the best Friend I have upon earth, ready to console and strengthen me in my trials, for His Sacred Heart invites me, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you lest.". I want to be devoted to you by giving myself entirely to you and through you to God. Let us thank the Most Blessed Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit for giving us the best mother in the world, so beautiful, pure and spotless in body and soul, who loves each one of us with so great maternal concern and compassion. May my soul always find comfort in your holy name! Teach me to imitate you by accepting willingly all the suffering which my service of God involves, my struggles against temptation, my difficult acts of virtue, my little penancesin union with the Victim Jesus on the altar out of love for God and mankind. Through your prayers may they and their children honor God by a virtuous life so as to be worthy of a heavenly reward. 1. I know that much will be required from those to whom much is given. The pangs of this childbirth were the sufferings you felt on Calvary. You consented to be the Mother of the Redeemer at the Annunciation, and thus you were willing to share in the sufferings of the Redeemer. All the saints suffered during their lifetime, but you are the Queen of them all as Queen of Martyrs. To love Jesus, to do His will, to accept all from His handslet this be my humility, as it was yours! Through your prayers, may Jesus make me live of His life through sanctifying and actual grace. Of course, you never thought of yourself as a sinner for humility is truth, and you knew that you had never offended God. The climax of that sorrow came when the innocent Victim for the sins of mankind was given, dead, into your arms. Your eyes ever watch over us; your ears ever listen to our cries; your hands are ever extended over us to help us and impart heavenly gifts to us; above all, your Heart is full of tenderest care for us. You knew that thousands even of His faithful followers throughout the world would turn from Him and would make His coming the occasion of their eternal ruin. By consenting to give natural life to Jesus, you consented to give us supernatural life. I know that He wants you ever to be my Mother of Perpetual Help so that the graces He has merited for me may effect the salvation of my soul. "Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call His name Jesus. Though receiving all you obtain through Jesus Christ, because you pray and ask for it in the Name of Jesus, yet whatever graces we receive, come to us through your intercession. Your heart sank each time He fell beneath its weight. Teach me to imitate your humility by acknowledging my nothingness and seeking the glory of God in everything. "And thy own soul a sword shall pierce." Make me your faithful child. I am deeply conscious that I am unable to do good. You may have remained in the Temple till the age of twelve. Your charity for the souls redeemed by the precious blood of your divine Son is so great that you ask mercy for those who flee to you for refuge, with all the earnest tenderness of a mother pleading for her only child. Elizabeth proclaimed that you were the Mother of Christ and declared you blessed among women because you were the most holy dwelling of the Eternal God. I implore the help of your protection and choose you as my advocate. Be pleased to intercede with Jesus, your Son, for Christian families. We do not attribute to you the power of producing supernatural grace, even though you are the Mother of God, for this power belongs to God alone. Mary, My Mother, God raised you so high in Himself that He never has created and never will create a holier person more worthy of Himself, of His greatness, of His love, than you, O Virgin most pure. Everyday, somewhere in the world, local, regional or universal feast of Our Lady is celebrated. Jesus did this in union with you. Scarcely had you greeted your aged cousin, when mother and son felt at once the sanctifying effects of your loving presence. You are the throne of divine mercy in whom we find solace of mercy. 2. Make me Eucharist-minded to the extent that my very life may be the Eucharistin union with you, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Everything which Jesus may claim in justice is yours by friendship's title. The word compassion derives from the Latin roots cum and patior which means "to suffer with." They beheld the dwelling place prepared for the Son of God. April 16 - 23,2023. Tell me how to embrace whatever is best that I may attain the great purpose of my lifeheaven and the possession of Godand how to reject whatever is opposed to it or likely to make this attainment difficult. You are the morning star,the morning star that announces the arrival of the sun of justice. The beloved disciple told you what he had seen in the houses of Annas and Caiphas: how Jesus had been accused as a blasphemer for stating that He was the Son of God. He was pleased to help others for your sake. If you had part in the work of the Redemption, then you also had part in all those graces which were prepared for us in view of the merits of Jesus for our salutation. Obtain for me the grace of true conversion. Yet no selfish thought, no bitter resentment has marred your beauty. Not for this reason alone did He love you. Your fullness of grace brought you to a most intimate union with the Author of grace. I, too, am a sinner. Because of sanctifying grace infused into your soul, you were from the first moment of your existence most intimately united with God and endowed with the most precious gifts of heaven. Mary, Mother of God, you are the Virgin most pure because you are full of grace. Your Heart is truly a mirror of all the virtues, a vivid image and a faithful copy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; hence you are called the "Mirror of Justice.". Mary, Mother of God, I believe that it is a divinely revealed dogma that you, Immaculate Mother of God, having completed the course of your earthly life, were assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. Your soul was most beautiful, lovable and immaculate, rich in graces and virtues. Thanks to you, the grace and the sanctifying gifts of the Holy Spirit are scattered abroad over the Church and its members. You are truly the pledge of Divine mercy. I rejoice with the whole Church because you are our life; you bore Jesus, who is the Way and the Truth and the Life and who was to restore to mankind that supernatural life which had been lost. May your name be the last sound that escapes my lips upon this earth and the first I breathe in heaven. About Our Lady of Sorrows This is one of many Marian feast days which occurs throughout the liturgical year. I can picture you alone with your God, following with devotion the life led in common by the virgins of God's house. You are our spiritual Mother in the order of grace. As the loving Mother of Jesus, the glorious daughter of the Father, the cherished Bride of the Holy Spirit, you can never meet with a refusal. Your fear arose entirely from your humility, which was disturbed at the sound of praises so far exceeding your own lowly estimate of yourself. Mother Mary - Our Lady of Compassion - Feast Day. Queen of the Holy Rosary, in times past, when the enemies of the Church sought to break its unity, you came to the aid of your suffering children. In that moment the mystery of love and mercy, promised to mankind thousands of years earlier foretold by so many prophets, desired by so many saints, was accomplished upon earth. By your Divine Motherhood you formed the closest bond of union with the adorable Trinity, the privileged Daughter of the Father, the loving Mother of the Son and the immaculate Spouse of the Holy Spirit. You formed His lips, to teach us. The feast is like an octave for the birthday of Our Lady on September 8th. Having loved your sinful children so much as to sacrifice for them your only Son in His Passion, you loved them to the end by giving them the Holy Eucharist. Furthermore, Jesus made the revelation of His divinity and the strengthening of the faith of His disciples the effect of your intercession. Your example teaches me that Jesus will work miracles for persevering prayer that springs from confidence and humility. You are, indeed, the ladder by which Christians may ascend to heaven; you are their greatest hope, and the whole ground of their hope. December 12, 2021: "Our Lady of Guadalupe came to be the Mother of the Americas, to announce the new birth of Jesus Christ among the peoples and nations of the New World. I promise to devote myself wholeheartedly to the spreading of devotion to your Immaculate Heart so that the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart may come and He may reign with you in my heart and in the hearts of all men. On the right of the Sanctuary stands the shrine of Our Lady of Compassion, under whose protection the church is placed. But it is most reasonable and proper to say that God, who honored and loved You more than all others during your life, and whom He had chosen to be the Mother of His Son and our Redeemer, wills that all graces that are granted to those whom He has redeemed should pass through your hands and be distributed by you in order to exalt you. As a slave of love, I willingly deliver myself to the everlasting service of so wonderful and majestic a Lady. From Him there flowed heavenwards an unceasing stream of glory, the waves of His grace ever poured over the earth.