Quote/s of the Day – 8 December – The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
“I am the Immaculate Conception.”
Our Lady of Lourdes to St Bernadette
25 March 1858
“Come, then and search out Your sheep,
not through Your servants or hired men
but do it Yourself.
Lift me up bodily and in the flesh,
which is fallen in Adam.
Lift me up not from Sarah but from Mary,
a Virgin not only undefiled
but a Virgin whom grace had made inviolate,
free of every stain of sin.”
St Ambrose (340-397)
Father and Doctor of the Church
“He came down into the Virgin’s womb,
a womb unstained, unspotted,
hallowed by the touch of divine unction.”
St Amadeus of Lausanne (1108-1159)
O Most Holy Virgin
By St Pope Pius X (1835-1914)
Most holy Virgin,
who pleased our Lord and became His Mother,
Virgin Immaculate in your body and soul,
in your faith and love,
at this solemn jubilee of the promulgation of the dogma
which proclaimed you
to the entire world as conceived without sin,
look kindly on us, unfortunate ones,
who implore your powerful protection.
The infernal serpent,
upon whom the primeval curse was laid,
continues, alas, to attack and tempt
the hapless children of Eve.
Ah! Do you, our blessed Mother,
our Queen and Advocate,
who at the first moment of your conception
did crush the enemy’s head,
do you gather together our prayers
and we beseech you (our hearts one with yours),
present them before God’s throne,
that we may never allow ourselves
to be caught in the snares laid for us
but that we may reach the portal of salvation
and that the Church and Christian society
may once more chant the hymn of deliverance,
of victory and of peace.
Amen
“Enraptured by the splendour of your heavenly beauty
and impelled by the anxieties of the world,
we cast ourselves into your arms,
O Immaculate Mother of Jesus and our Mother Mary,
confident of finding in your most loving heart,
appeasement of our ardent desires
and a safe harbour from the tempests
which beset us on every side.
“O crystal fountain of faith, bathe our minds with the eternal truths!
O fragrant Lily of all holiness,
captivate our hearts with your heavenly perfume!
O Conqueress of evil and death,
inspire in us a deep horror of sin,
which makes the soul detestable to God and a slave of hell!
O well-beloved of God,
hear the ardent cry which rises up from every heart.
Bend tenderly over our aching wounds.
Convert the wicked,
dry the tears of the afflicted and oppressed,
comfort the poor and humble,
quench hatreds, sweeten harshness,
safeguard the flower of purity in youth,
protect the holy Church,
make all men feel the attraction of Christian goodness.”
Ven Servant of God Pope Pius XII (1876-1958)