Mirror of Purity

Mirror of purity, O Immaculate Virgin Mary!

I rejoice sovereignly in seeing that, from thy

Conception, the most sublime and most perfect

virtues were infused into thee, and also, all the

gifts of the Holy Spirit.  I thank and praise the

Blessed Trinity for having conferred on thee

so great privileges, and I supplicate thee,

O sweet mother, to obtain for me the grace to

practice virtue, and to render myself worthy

to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Pardon, O Lord, the shortcomings of thy

servants that we, who of ourselves can do

nothing to please Thee, may by the intercession

of the Mother of Thy Son, our Lord, be

brought to eternal life. Amen.

Virginal Body

 

Our Lady's Incomparable Love for Her Virginal Body
In good truth, a Christian is to love his body as a living image of Our Savior incarnate, as having issued from the same stock, and consequently belonging to him in parentage and consanguinity; especially after we have renewed the alliance, by the real reception of the divine body of Our Redeemer, in the most adorable sacrament of the Eucharist, and when by Baptism, Confirmation and other Sacraments we have dedicated and consecrated ourselves to the sovereign goodness.

But as to the Blessed Virgin,—O God, with what devotion must she have loved her virginal body! Not only because it was a sweet, humble, pure body, obedient to divine love, and wholly embalmed with a thousand sweetnesses, but also because it was the living source of Our Savior's, and belonged so strictly to him, by an incomparable appurtenance. For which cause when she placed her angelic body in the repose of sleep: Repose then now, would she say, O Tabernacle of Alliance, Ark of Sanctity, Throne of the Divinity, ease thyself a little of thy weariness, and repair thy forces, by this sweet tranquility.

by St. Francis de Sales

Our Sorrowful Mother

Most blessed and afflicted Virgin Queen of

Martyrs, who didst stand generously beneath

the cross, beholding the agony of thy dying

Son; by the sword of sorrow which then pierced

thy soul by the sufferings of thy sorrowful

life, by the unutterable joy which now more

than repays thee for them; look down with a

mother's pity and tenderness, as I kneel before

thee to compassionate thy sorrows, and to lay

my petition with childlike confidence in thy

wounded heart.  I beg of thee, O my Mother,

to plead continually for me with thy Son, since

He can refuse thee nothing, and through the

merits of His most sacred Passion and Death,

together with thy own sufferings at the foot of

the cross, so to touch His Sacred Heart, that I

may obtain my request.

For to whom shall I fly in my wants and miseries,

if not to thee, O Mother of mercy, who,

having so deeply drunk the chalice of thy Son,

canst most pity us poor exiles, still doomed to

sigh in this vale of tears?  Offer to Jesus but one

drop of His Precious Blood, but one pang of

His adorable Heart; remind Him that thou art

our life, our sweetness, and our hope, and thou

wilt obtain what I ask, through Jesus Christ our

Lord.  Amen

Hail Mary, Virgin Most Sorrowful, Pray for us.

(Seven Times each)

Sacred Heart of Jesus

O God, who in the heart of thy Son, wounded

by our sins, dost deign mercifully to bestow

upon us the infinite treasures of thy love, grant

we beseech thee, that we who now pay Him

the devout homage of our piety may also

perform the duty of worthy satisfaction.

Through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord, who

livest and reignest with thee in the unity of the

Holy Spirit, God, world without end.  Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes

"The age of miracles is passed."

Thus spoke the cynical voice of a doubting

age.  God had been shouldered out of His

universe.  There was no place for Him in the

exclusive little system that man had developed

to his own complete satisfaction.

Men looked to earth and hoped to make it

their heaven.

Women embraced love that was not love and

wondered why their hearts were hungry.

There were wars and famine, cruelty and

greed, lust and disbelief in God and in man

...and heaven and Mary very far away.

Then one lovely day, upon a bare rock in

southern France a fair lady spoke to a child

... a fountain broke from the barren earth...

miracles piled on miracles... and Lourdes

was born.

It was Mary's challenge of faith to a world

which had lost faith in her Son.

O God, who by the Immaculate conception

of the Virgin didst prepare a worthy dwelling

place for thy Son, we humbly beseech thee

that we, who celebrate the apparition of the

same Blessed Virgin, may obtain health of

soul and body through the same Lord Jesus

Christ, thy Son, who livest and reignest with

thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world

without end.  Amen

Saturday: A Marian day

Saturday: A Marian day

Saturday is the day blessed by God more than any other day. God blessed the seventh day (cf. Gn 2:3) and Mary is "blessed amongst women" (Lk 1:42).

Saturday is the day sanctified by God, and Mary is also "full of grace" (Lk 1:28). It is right therefore to dedicate this holy day to the all-holy woman. Saturday is also the day when God completed the work of nature, and in Mary, God completed the work of grace.

Saturday is the day when God, after creating all things, rested (cf. Gn 2:2); but God's true "rest" is in Mary, of whom the liturgy applied what is said in Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus) 24:8: my Creator rested in my tent or my tabernacle, because God rests in a soul who contents him, and that soul is Mary. Humbert wrote:

"Saturday and the Virgin are thus closely associated—Saturday is the day and Mary the place where God rests."
Blessed Humbert de Romans (d. 1277)
Adapted from In Quare b.Virgini sabbatum dicatur: De vita regulari, II

They Have No Wine

 

Jesus' Mother Tells Him: “They Have No Wine”

When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3).

Mary's heart is a vast treasure, and her mouth is the canal of that great treasure, showing us a glimpse of it. This mouth full of honey, gold and precious gems doesn't open very often, this is why we must open our soul to avidly receive each one of her words, and consider them well.

Mary is praying to her Son. She is praying as a mother. We should pay attention to this since Mary once said: Ecce ancilla Domini (Behold the handmaid of the Lord). She isn’t praying like a servant anymore, but like a mother. Let’s try to imagine Mary's eyes as she looks humbly at her beloved Son and makes her request. Just consider her heart and the feelings that fill it.

She desired two things: first of all she wants her Son's glory to be manifested on that occasion and secondly she hopes for the welfare and consolation of the guests. These two desires are worthy of the perfect love dwelling in Mary's heart.

Another point to observe is that Mary's life is one of silence; all the wonders of her incomprehensible love were kept within her heart. When she had to speak, she did so in as few words as possible; she hardly spoke even to her Son.

Mary teaches us in three words an admirable way of praying: she only points to needs, and the Lord recognizes her wish, both in her heart and in her eyes. This is a most perfect way to pray, to open the wounds of our hearts before the very sweet Master, then let our souls rest in him, abandoning ourselves to his great love and mercy. We can remain in loving contemplation to receive the effect of his tenderness upon us.
by François Libermann

Mary's Faith

At the Wedding of Cana: Mary's faith

In the episode of the wedding at Cana, St John presents Mary’s first intervention in the public life of Jesus and highlights her co-operation in her Son’s mission.

At the beginning of the account the Evangelist tells us that “the mother of Jesus was there” (Jn 2:1), and, as if to suggest that her presence was the reason for the couple's invitation to Jesus and his disciples, he adds “Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples” (Jn 2:2).

With these remarks, John seems to indicate that at Cana, as in the fundamental event of the Incarnation, it is Mary who introduces the Savior.

The meaning and role of the Blessed Virgin’s presence become evident when the wine runs out. As a skilled and wise housewife, she immediately notices and intervenes so that no one’s joy is marred and, above all, to help the newly married couple in difficulty.

Turning to Jesus with the words: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3), Mary expresses her concern to him about this situation, expecting him to solve it. More precisely, according to some exegetes, his Mother is expecting an extraordinary sign, since Jesus had no wine at his disposal.

The choice made by Mary, who could perhaps have obtained the necessary wine elsewhere, shows the courage of her faith, since until that moment Jesus had worked no miracles, either in Nazareth or in his public life. At Cana, the Blessed Virgin once again showed her total availability to God.

At the Annunciation she had contributed to the miracle of the virginal conception by believing in Jesus before seeing him. Here, her trust in Jesus' as yet unrevealed power causes him to perform his “first sign,” the miraculous transformation of water into wine.

In that way she precedes in faith the disciples who, as John says, would believe after the miracle: Jesus “manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him” (Jn 2:11). Thus, Mary strengthened their faith by obtaining this miraculous sign. 

by Pope John Paul II

Our Lady of Fatima

Fatima was long a name filled with anti-Christian associations.

It had been borne by the only daughter

of Mohammed, prophet of the first Red peril.

In God's sweet providence during the rise of

the second Red peril, atheistic communism,

the name Fatima suddenly assumed a beautiful

Christian meaning.

For to three little Portuguese shepherds

in Fatima, two girls and a boy, appeared Our

Lady of the Rosary.

In the third year of World War I she came to

speak words that promised peace.

She held in her hand the weapon that men

could use forever to end all wars-the rosary.

She spoke of her pure and immaculate heart

to women tempted to sin.

And in all this a new vision of Mary, Mother

of us all, was given to the world.

The Prayer of the Queen of the Rosary

O God, whose only-begotten Son by His

life, death and Resurrection hath purchased

for us the reward of eternal salvation, grant,

we beseech thee, that meditating on these

mysteries in the most holy rosary of the

Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate

what they contain, and obtain what they promise.

Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, who

livest and reignest with God the Father in the

unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without

end. Amen

Solemnity of Mary

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God The Roman liturgy of January 1st invites us to experience the intercession of Mary, Mother of God and our Mother in the order of grace. In the 7th century: O God who, through the blessed Mary's fertile virginity, has offered to the human race the treasures of eternal salvation, grant us, we beseech you, to experience the benefits from the One who helped us receive the author of life. (Collect of the Gregorian Sacramentary, 7th century, Gr H 82) This 7th-century collect, with almost no transformation, is still used today: O God, who through the fruitful virginity of Mary bestowed on the human race the grace of eternal salvation, grant, we pray, that we may experience the intercession of her, through whom we were found worthy to receive the author of life, 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.
	Paul Missal; January 1st

Miraculous Medal Prayer I

Behold me at thy feet, O Virgin Immaculate

for the purpose of rejoicing with thee in this

that from all eternity thou wast chosen to be

the Mother of the Eternal Word, and in virtue of

this title, wast preserved from original sin.

I thank and bless the Holy Trinity, by whom

thou wast adorned with such privileges in thy

Conception, and I humbly beseech thee to

obtain for me the grace to overcome the sad

effects which original sin has produced in me.

Most Holy Virgin, I believe and confess thy

holy and Immaculate Conception pure and

without stain; O most pure Virgin, through thy

virginal purity, thy Immaculate Conception

thy glorious quality of Mother of God, obtain

for me of thy dear Son, humility, charity, great

purity of heart, of body and of mind, the gift of

prayer, a holy life, and a happy death.

O Mary conceived without sin,

Pray for us who have recourse to thee.

(Three Times)

Our Lady of The Miraculous Medal

All fair art thou, O Mary!
The original stain is not in thee.
Thou art the glory of Jerusalem.
Thou art the joy of Israel.
Thou art the honor of our people.
Thou art the advocate of sinners.
O Mary!
Virgin most prudent.
Mother most tender.
Pray for us.
Intercede for us with our Lord Jesus Christ.
In thy conception, Virgin, thou wast immaculate.
Pray for us to the Father, whose Son was born of thee.
                             
                              Let us pray
O God, who through the Immaculate Conception
of the Virgin didst prepare a worthy
dwelling place for thy divine Son: grant that,
as in view of the death of that Son, thou didst
preserve her from all taint, so thou wouldst
vouchsafe unto us that, cleansed from all sin
by her intercession, we too may arrive at thine
eternal glory.  Through Christ our Lord. Amen

All Souls Novena

Sin is the one thing that holds back the

Progress of men and women.  True progress is

man's ascent to God.  Only sin blocks his path.

Vice and crime throw human beings back

to animal levels when they should be mounting

towards the angels.

Death in mortal sin means the complete

failure that is hell.  It flings a man, who is destined

for eternal happiness, into eternal loss and pain.

Death in venial sin or with the punishment

due to sin still on the soul means a halt in the

progress toward heaven.  The poor soul-poor

indeed in his eagerness to reach God and the

tedious, painful delay that keeps him from

God-must linger in God's prison house.

This is the sad land of purgatory.

It is a place of anxious, almost impatient waiting.

Since there are in purgatory relatives we

loved and friends we knew and thousands of

others who call to us for help, we pause and say:

O God, the creator and redeemer of all the

faithful, grant to the souls of thy servants and

handmaids departed, the remission of all their

sins; that through pious supplications they may

obtain the pardon they have always desired.

Who livest and reignest with God the Father in

the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without

end. Amen