Posted in MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, MOTHER of GOD, OUR Cross, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 8 September – Mary, Mother of God

Thought for the Day – 8 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Mary, the Mother of God

“St Matthew (Cf Mt 12:46-50) and St Mark (Cf Mk 3:31-35), relate how Jesus was preaching one day in Galilee, surrounded by His Apostles and by a large crowd, when a man approached and said: “Behold, thy mother and thy brethren are standing outside, seeking thee.”
“Who is my mother,” He answered, “and who are my brethren?”
Then He extended His hand towards His disciples and said: “Behold, my mother and my brethren! For whoever does the will of my Father in Heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

These words were directed at us, not at Our Lady.
Not only was she the Immaculate Mother of Jesus Christ but, she performed lovingly, on all occasions, the Will of the heavenly Father.
She did His Will, in poverty and obedience, in exile and on Mount Calvary.
Therefore, she was God’s Mother in the spiritual, as well as, in the physical sense of the word, insofar, as she was constantly united to Him by a bond of love and of conformity with His desires.

Christ’s words indicate, that Mary’s perfect and continuous acceptance of God’s Will, was even more pleasing to God, than the dignity of the divine Motherhood.

We cannot equal her in dignity but, we can imitate her in this other respect.
Jesus will look on us as His brothers and as worthy sons of Mary, if we carry out His Will in all things.
It is not always easy to do this.
It is not easy, when we are strongly tempted to commit sins of pride, anger or impurity.
It is not easy, when we are overcome by sorrow or by sickness, when we are let down or misunderstood by others, when we are in want and, when we feel that we are collapsing beneath the weight of our cross.
At times like these, we should pray for Mary’s spirit of complete acceptance of the Will of God.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/09/08/thought-for-the-day-8-september-mary-mother-of-god/

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MOTHER of GOD, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The NATIVITY of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 8 September – The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God

Quote/s of the Day – 8 September – Feast of theNativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

She is the flower of the field
from whom bloomed
the precious Lily of the Valley.

St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of Grace

And some seed fell on good ground
Luke 8:8

Rejoice, O Mary, House of the Lord,
earth trodden by the Footsteps of God…
Rejoice, O Paradise
more happy than the Garden of Eden,
where every virtue has been seeded
and where the Tree of Life has grown.

St Theodore the Studite (750-826)
Father, Abbot, Theologian, Writer

(Sermon 2 for the Nativity of Mary)

O Mary, Mother of God
By St Ephrem of Syria (306-373)
Father and Doctor of the Church

O Virgin most pure, wholly unspotted,
O Mary, Mother of God,
Queen of the universe,
thou art above all the saints,
the hope of the elect
and the joy of all the blessed.
It is thou who hast reconciled us with God;
thou art the only refuge of sinners
and the safe harbour of those
who are shipwrecked;
thou art the consolation of the world,
the ransom of captives,
the health of the weak,
the joy of the afflicted
and the salvation of all.
We have recourse to thee
and we beseech thee
to have pity on us.
Amen.

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MOTHER of GOD, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on GRACE, The NATIVITY of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 8 September – ‘ … The Nativity of the whole world’s joy! …’

One Minute Reflection – 8 September – Feast of theNativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Proverbs 8:22-35, Matthew 1:1-16; 18-23 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son … ” – Matthew 1:23

REFLECTION – “Come, you nations; come, all peoples of every race and language, every age and rank. Joyfully let us celebrate the nativity of the whole world’s joy! If even the pagans honour the birthday of their king … what ought not we to do to honour that of the Mother of God, through whom all humanity has been transformed and the pain of Eve, our first mother, has been turned to joy? For Eve heard God’s sentence: “You will bring forth children in pain” (Gn 3:16) but Mary: “Rejoice, most highly favoured … the Lord is with you” (Lk 1:28). …

Let all creation celebrate and sing the holy childbirth of a holy woman, for she has brought a lasting treasure into the world. … Through her, the creative Word of God has been united to the whole creation and we celebrate the ending of human barrenness, the ending of the sickness that kept us from possessing all our good. … Nature has given way to grace … As the Virgin Mother of God had to be born of barren Anna, so nature remained without fruit until grace had produced its own. It was to open the womb of its mother, she who would give birth to “The Firstborn of all creation” in whom “all things hold together” (Col 1:15,17).

O blessed couple, Joachim and Anna! All creation owes you thanks; through you it has offered the Creator the best of all His gifts: a Mother worthy of veneration, the only Mother worthy of the One who created her!”- St John Damascene (675-749) Monk, Theologian, Father and Doctor of the Church – Homily on the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, 1-2 (cf SC 80, p. 48)

PRAYER – Lord God, the day of our salvation dawned when the Blessed Virgin gave birth to Your Son. As we celebrate her nativity, grant us Your grace and Your peace. Through Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, The NATIVITY of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 8 September – The Birthday of Our Queen

Our Morning Offering – 8 September – The Nativity of the Most Blessed and Ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of God
(If anyone has more information regarding Sister Francis Marie please comment below.)

The Birthday of Our Queen
By Sister Francis Marie

(Hymn published in 1948).

All hail, O new world! Come and see
Here in a cradle lies our Queen,
Mother of God, one day to be,
O come and see this heavenly scene.

A beauteous, fragrant rose-bud,
Immaculate! God’s own flower,
His masterpiece of royal blood
Who came to earth this midnight hour!

Thousands of Angels stand to guard
This mystical counterpart of God
And Seraphs play sweet lullabies
Upon their harps, as Cherubs laud.

Hail holy babe! Hail full of grace!
With wee hands clasped, with eyelids closed
She talks with God – face to face!
Amen

Posted in Against EPIDEMICS, EPILEPSY, PATRONAGE - POLICE, SOLDIERS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 8 September – St Adrian (Died 306) Confessor, Martyr

Saint of the Day – 8 September – St Adrian (Died 306) Confessor, Lay Martyr, Royal Court Guard in Roman Imperial Court at Nicomedia in Asia-Minor during the time of Emperor Maximian in the early 4th Century. Patronages – against the plague/epidemics, against epilepsy, arms dealers, butchers, guards, soldiers. Also known as – Hadrian.

The Roman Martyrology reads this day: “At Nicomedia, St Adrian, with twenty three other Martyrs, who ended their Martyrdom on the 4th day of March by having their limbs crushed, after enduring many torments, under the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian. Their remains were carried to Byzantium by the Christians and buried with due honours. Afterwards, the body of St Adrian was taken to Rome on this day, on which his festival is celebrated.”

Adrian was a paganGuard at the Imperial Court of Nicomedia. Impressed by the courage of a group of Christians who were being tortured, he declared himself a Christian and was imprisoned with them and suffered excruciating tortures before he was put to death.

After his execution, the executioners wanted to burn the bodies of the dead but a storm arose and quenched the fire. His young wife, Natalia, who was present at his death, comforted him in his agony, recovered one of his severed hands and took it to Argyropolis near Constantinople, where she fled to escape the importunities of an Imperial Official of Nicomedia, who wanted to marry her. She died there peacefully on 1 December in the same year as her husband.

French Statue of St Adrian

Saint Adrian/Hadrian was the chief military Saint of Northern Europe for many Centuries second only to Saint George and is much revered in Belgium, Germany and the north of France. He is usually represented armed, with an anvil in his hands or at his feet.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY, The NATIVITY of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

The Nativity of the Most Blessed and Ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Marian Feast Days around the world and the Saints for 8 September

St Adam Bargielski
St Adela of Messines
St Adrian (Died 306) Confessor, Lay Martyr
Bl Alanus de Rupe

St Disibod of Disenberg
St Ethelburgh of Kent
St Faustus of Antioch
St Isaac the Great
Blessed István Pongrácz
St Kingsmark
St Peter of Chavanon
Bl Seraphina Sforza

St Timothy of Antioch