Quote/s of the Day – September, the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows
“When she was asked to become the mother of the Messiah, Mary’s faith enabled her to give a humble and generous response…. Mary’s faith was frequently tested during the public life of Jesus, especially when she witnessed the rejection of her son. At the foot of the cross, her pilgrimage of faith had its moment of most severe testing. Mary continued to believe that, because Jesus was the Son of God, His sacrifice would bring salvation to humanity.”
“From Mary we learn to surrender to God’s Will in all things. From Mary we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary we learn to love Christ her Son and the Son of God!”
St Pope John Paul
“From the nature of His work, the Redeemer ought to have associated His Mother with His work. For this reason we invoke her under the title of Co-redemptrix. She gave us the Saviour, she accompanied Him in the work of redemption, as far as the Cross itself, sharing with Him the sorrows of the agony and of the death in which Jesus consummated the redemption of mankind.”
Thought for the Day – 15 September – The Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
“Jesus came into the world to learn how to be a man and by being a man, walk with men. He came into the world to obey and He obeyed. But He learned this obedience from suffering. Adam left Paradise with a promise, a promise that lasted for so many centuries. Today, through this obedience, this self-abnegation, this humiliation, through Jesus, that promise becomes hope. And the people of God walk with sure hope. Even the Mother, ‘the New Eve’, as Paul himself calls her, in order to participate in her Son’s journey, learned, suffered and obeyed. And thus she becomes Mother”.
The Gospel shows us Mary at the foot of the Cross. Jesus says to John, “Behold your mother.” Mary – the Pope said – “is anointed Mother.
And this is our hope. We are not orphans, we have Mothers: Mother Mary. But the Church is Mother and the Mother Church is anointed when it takes the same path of Jesus and Mary: the path of obedience, the path of suffering and when she has that attitude of continually learning the path of the Lord. These two women – Mary and the Church – carry on the hope that is Christ, they give us Christ, they bring forth Christ in us. Without Mary, there would be no Jesus Christ; without the Church, we cannot go forward.
“Two women and two mothers” – continued the Pope Francis – “and next to them our soul, which in the words of Isaac, the abbot of Stella, is “feminine” and is like “Mary and the Church.
Today, looking at this woman by the Cross, steadfast in following her Son in His suffering to learn obedience, looking at her we see the Church and look at our Mother. And also, we look at our little soul that will never be lost, if it continues to be a woman close to these two great women who accompany us in life: Mary and the Church. And just as our fathers left Paradise with a promise, today we can go forward with a hope: the hope that our Mother Mary, steadfast at the Cross and our Holy Mother, the hierarchical Church, give us.” (Pope Francis 15 September 2014 “Santa Marta”)
Our Lady of Sorrows, Our Lady our Mother, Our Lady our Consoler, pray for us all!
Quote/s of the Day – 15 September – The Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
“When a woman is in travail, she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world’ (Jn. 16:21). The first part of Christ’s words refer to the “pangs of childbirth” which belong to the heritage of original sin; at the same time these words indicate the link that exists between the woman’s motherhood and the Paschal Mystery. For this mystery also includes the Mother’s sorrow at the foot of the cross – the Mother who through faith shares in her Son’s amazing “self-emptying”: ‘This is perhaps the deepest ‘kenosis’ of faith in human history.”
St John Paul
“While other martyrs suffered by sacrificing their own lives, the Blessed Virgin suffered by sacrificing her Son’s life, a Life that she loved far more than her own; so that she not only suffered in her soul all that her Son endured in His Body but moreover, the sight of her Son’s torments, brought more grief to her heart, than if she had endured them all in her own person”.
St Anselm
‘By the cross of our salvation
Mary stood in desolation
While the Saviour hung above
All her human powers failing,
Sorrow’s sword, at last prevailing,
Stabs and breaks her heart of love…
Virgin Mary, full of sorrow,
From your love I ask to borrow
Love enough to share your pain.
Make my heart to burn with fire,
Make Christ’s love my own desire,
Who for love of me was slain.’
Stabat Mater
“If you want to assist at Mass, with devotion and with fruit, think of the sorrowful Mother at the feet of Calvary.”
One Minute Reflection – 15 September – The Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
Near the cross of Jesus, there stood his mother…..John 19:25
REFLECTION – During the entire course of her life, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, never deviated in the slightest from the precepts and examples of her Divine Son.
This was true both in the most sweet joys Mary experienced and in the cruel sufferings she underwent, which made the the Queen of Martyrs…..Pope Pius XII
PRAYER – Our Father, when Jesus Your Son, was raised up on the Cross, it was Your will that Mary, His Mother, should stand there and suffer with Him in her heart. Grant that in union with her, the Church may share in the passion of Christ and so be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Be our intercessor and our consolation, Our Lady of Sorrows, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 15 September – The Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
Traditional Prayer to our SORROWFUL MOTHER
O Mother of Sorrows, you, who beneath the Cross of Jesus
were given to us as our Mother, look down with pity on us,
your children, who weep and mourn in this vale of tears.
By that sword of sorrow which pierced your Heart
when you looked upon the Face of your dead Son,
obtain for us that comfort we so sorely need in our sufferings.
You were given to us, as our Mother, in the hour of your greatest grief
that you might be mindful of our frailty and the evils that press upon us.
Without your aid, O Sorrowful Mother, we cannot gain the victory
in this struggle against flesh and blood.
Therefore, we seek your help, O Queen of Sorrows,
lest we fall prey to the wiles of the enemy.
We are orphans in need of the guiding hand of our Mother
amid the dangers that threaten our destruction.
You whose grief was boundless as the sea,
grant us by the memory of those sorrows the strength to be victorious.
Intercede further, O Mother of Sorrows, for us
and all who are near and dear to us,
that we may ever do the Will of your Son
and may direct all our actions to His honour
and to the furtherance of devotion to your sorrows. Amen
Thought for the Day – 12 September – Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary
“The Virgin Mother is constantly present
on this journey of faith of the People of God toward the Light….
All her earthly life was a “pilgrimage of faith”.
For like us, she walked in the shadows and hoped for things unseen.
She knew the contradictions of our earthly life.
She was promised that her Son would be given David’s throne
but, at His birth, there was no room even at the inn.
Mary still believed.
The angel said her child would be called the Son of God
but, she would see Him slandered, betrayed, condemned and left to die as a thief on the Cross.
Even yet, Mary “trusted that the Lord’s words to her would be fulfilled (Luke 1:45)
and that “nothing is impossible wiuth God.” (Luke 1:37)
This woman of faith, Mary of Nazareth, the Mother of God,
has been given to us as a model in our pilgrimage of faith.
From Mary, we learn to surrender to God’s Will in all things.
I entrust you all to Mary, most holy, our Mother in heaven,
the Star of the Sea of our life..pray to her every day..!
Give your hand to Mary most holy, so that she may lead
you to receive Jesus.”
St John Paul (Ingenamenti, 6 October 1979)
Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the Sea, Holy One, our Queen our Mother, Pray for us!
Quote/s of the Day – 12 September – Blessed Feast of the Holy Name of Mary!
“Mary means Star of the sea, for as mariners are guided to port by the ocean star, so Christians attain to glory through Mary’s maternal intercession.”
St Thomas Aquinas
“God the Father gathered all the waters together and called them the seas or maria [Latin, seas]. He gathered all His grace together and called it Mary or Maria . . . This immense treasury is none other than Mary whom the saints call the ‘treasury of the Lord.’ From her fullness all men are made rich.”
St Louis de Montfort
“Look to the star of the sea, call upon Mary … in danger, in distress, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. May her name never be far from your lips, or far from your heart … If you follow her, you will not stray; if you pray to her, you will not despair; if you turn your thoughts to her, you will not err. If she holds you, you will not fall; if she protects you, you need not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is gracious to you, you will surely reach your destination.”
Our Morning Offering – 12 September – Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary
(Hail Mary, the Angelic Salutation)
Whenever I say Hail Mary By Bl Alan de la Roche (1428-1475)
Whenever I say Hail Mary
The court of heaven rejoices
And the earth is lost in wonderment
And I despise the world
And my heart is brim full
Of the love of God.
When I say Hail Mary;
All my fears wilt and die
And my passions are quelled.
If I say Hail Mary;
Devotion grows within me
And sorrow for sin awakens.
When I say Hail Mary
Hope is made strong
In my breast
And the dew of consolation
Falls on my soul
More and more
Because I say Hail Mary.
And my spirit rejoices
And sorrow fades away
When I say
Hail Mary.
Blessed Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary – 12 September
On this day dedicated to the Holy Name of Mary let us repeat that wonderful prayer of Saint Bernard, responding to Pope Benedict XVI’s invitation to “invite everyone to become a trusting child before Mary, even as the Son of God did.Saint Bernard says and we say with him:‘Look to the star of the sea, call upon Mary … in danger, in distress, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. May her name never be far from your lips, or far from your heart … If you follow her, you will not stray; if you pray to her, you will not despair; if you turn your thoughts to her, you will not err. If she holds you, you will not fall; if she protects you, you need not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is gracious to you, you will surely reach your destination”’ (Pope Benedict XVI, address at Heiligenkreuz Abbey, September 9, 2007).
Most Holy Name of Mary:
In accordance with Jewish custom our Lady’s parents named her eight days after her birth and were inspired to call her Mary. The feast of the Holy Name of Mary therefore follows that of her Birthday, as the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus follows Christmas. The feast originated in Spain and was approved by the Holy See in 1513; Innocent XI extended its observance to the whole Church in 1683 in thanksgiving to our Lady for the victory on September 12, 1683 by John Sobieski, king of Poland, over the Turks, who were besieging Vienna and threatening the West. This day was commemorated in Vienna by creating a new kind of pastry and shaping it in the form of the Turkish half-moon. It was eaten along with coffee which was part of the booty from the Turks (this is the origin of the of the croissant).
Under Mary’s Holy Name: Victory in Vienna – King Sobieski sending a message to Pope Innocent XI
The ancient Onomastica Sacra have preserved the meanings ascribed to Mary’s name by the early Christian writers and perpetuated by the Greek Fathers. “Bitter Sea,” “Myrrh of the Sea,” “The Light Giver,” “The Enlightened One,” “Lady,” “Seal of the Lord” and “Mother of the Lord” are the principal interpretations. These etymologies suppose that the Hebrew form of the name is Maryãm, not Miryãm. From the time of St Jerome until the 16th century, preferred interpretations of Mary’s name in the West were “Lady,” “Bitter Sea,” “The Light Giver,” and especially “Star of the Sea.” tella Maris was by far the favoured interpretation. The revival of Hebraic studies, which accompanied the Renaissance, led to a more critical appraisal of the meanings assigned to Our Lady’s name. Miryãm has all the appearance of a genuine Hebrew name and no solid reason has been discovered to warrant rejecting the Semitic origin of the word. The Hebrew name of Mary, Miryãm, (in Latin Domina) means lady or sovereign; this Mary is in virtue of her Son’s sovereign authority as Lord of the World. We call Mary our Lady as we call Jesus our Lord and when we pronounce her name we affirm her power, implore her aid and place ourselves under her protection.
“Therefore a certain Star has risen for us today: Our Lady, Saint Mary. Her name means Star of the sea; no doubt the Star of this sea which is the world. Therefore, we ought to lift up our eyes to this Star that has appeared on earth today in order that she may lead us, in order that she may enlighten us, in order that she may show us these steps so that we shall know them, in order that she may help us so that we may be able to ascend. And therefore it is a beautiful thing that Mary is placed in this stairway of which we are speaking, there where we must begin to climb. As the Evangelist says, Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, so immediately at the very moment of our conversion she appears to us and receives us into her care and enlightens us in her light and accompanies us along this laborious path.” – St Aelred (110-1167).
Thought for the Day – 4 September – The Feast of Our Lady of Consolation
Pope Benedict XVI encouraged the faithful to pray to Our Lady of Consolation, stating “From Her We Can Always Learn How to Look Upon Jesus:”
“As we come to the conclusion of this solemn celebration, we offer a prayer to Mary Most Holy, who in Turin is venerated as the principal patroness with the title Blessed Virgin of Consolation. To her I entrust this city and all those who live here. O Mary, watch over the families and the workers; watch over those who have lost faith and hope; comfort the sick, those in prison and all who suffer. O Help of Christians, sustain the young people, the elderly and persons in difficulty. O Mother of the Church, watch over her pastors and the whole community of believers, that they may be “salt and light” in the midst of the world.
The Virgin Mary is she who more than any other contemplated God in the human face of Jesus. She saw him as a newborn when, wrapped in swaddling clothes, he was placed in a manger; she saw him when, just after his death, they took him down from the cross, wrapped him in linen and placed him in the sepulcher. Inside her was impressed the image of her martyred Son; but this image was then transfigured in the light of the Resurrection. Thus in Mary’s heart was carried the mystery of the face of Christ, a mystery of death and of glory. From her we can always learn how to look upon Jesus with a gaze of love and of faith, to recognise in that human countenance, the Countenance of God.”
To our Lord and our God, Jesus Christ, we pray for a greater love of His Mother and to our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Consolation, we lift our prayers for patience, for support and for comfort in our times of confusion, fear and anxiety. Pray for us, Our Lady of Consolation!
Quote/s of the Day – 4 September – The Feast of Our Lady of Consolation
“Has anyone ever come away from Mary, troubled or saddened or ignorant of the heavenly Mysteries? Who has not returned to everyday life gladdened and joyful because a request has been granted by the Mother of God?”
St Amadeus of Lausanne (1110-1159)
“As the Mother of Christ, Mary is the Mother of our wisdom and justice, of our holiness and redemption. She is more our Mother than the mother of our flesh.”
St Aelred (1109-1166)
“O Mary, I have not doubt that whenever we run to you, we shall obtain all that we desire. Let those then who have no hope, hope in you.”
St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 4 September – The Feast of Our Lady of Consolation
Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.”….John 2:4-5
REFLECTION – “The Church calls Mary the “Queen of Mercy” because we believe she opens the abyss of God’s mercy to whomever she wills, when she wills and as she wills.
No sinner — no matter how great — who has Mary as protector is ever lost.”…St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) – Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – Almighty God, grant that Your faithful, who rejoice in the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, may be delivered from every evil here on earth, through her prayer and come to the enduring joys of heaven. Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit Mary, our Consolation and Comforter, pray for us! Amen.
Our Morning Offering – 4 September – The Feast of Our Lady of Consolation
Prayer to Our Lady of Consolation
O Mary Immaculate, our Mother and Consolation,
I take refuge in your most loving heart
with all the confidence of which I am capable;
you shall be the dearest object
of my love and veneration.
To you, who are the dispenser
of the treasures of Heaven,
I shall always have recourse,
in my sorrows to have peace,
in my doubts to have light,
in my dangers to be defended,
in all my needs to obtain your assistance.
Be therefore my refuge,
my strength,
my consolation, O Mary the Consoler!
At the hour of my death,
graciously receive the last sighs of my heart
and obtain for me a place in your heavenly home,
where all hearts shall praise with one accord
the adorable Heart of Jesus for ever more,
and your most lovable heart, O Mary.
Our tender Mother, Comforter of the afflicted,
pray for us who have recourse to thee.
Grant also peace and holiness to the Church,
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen
AnaStpaul 
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