Category: MORNING Prayers

Posted in CONSECRATION Prayers, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Prayer of Pope Francis on the Centenary of Our Lady of Fatima – 13 May 2017

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Prayer of Pope Francis on the Centenary of Our Lady of Fatima – 13 May 2017

HAIL HOLY QUEEN - POPE FRANCIS

Hail Holy Queen,
Blessed Virgin of Fatima,
Lady of Immaculate Heart,
our refuge and our way to God!

As a pilgrim of the Light that comes to us from your hands,
I give thanks to God the Father, who in every time and place is at work in human history;
As a pilgrim of the Peace that, in this place, you proclaim,
I give praise to Christ, our peace, and I implore for the world concord among all peoples;

As a pilgrim of the Hope that the Spirit awakens,
I come as a prophet and messenger to wash the feet of all, at the same table that unites us.

Refrain (sung by the assembly):

Ave O Clemens, Ave O pia!
Salve Regina Rosarii Fatimae.
Ave O clemens, Ave O pia!
Ave O dulcis Virgo Maria!

The Holy Father:

Hail, Mother of Mercy,
Lady robed in white!
In this place where, a hundred years ago
you made known to all the purposes of God’s mercy,
I gaze at your robe of light
and, as a bishop robed in white,
I call to mind all those who,
robed in the splendour of their baptism,
desire to live in God
and tell the mysteries of Christ in order to obtain peace.

Refrain…

The Holy Father:

Hail, life and sweetness,
Hail, our hope,
O Pilgrim Virgin, O Universal Queen!
In the depths of your being,
in your Immaculate Heart,
you keep the joys of men and women
as they journey to the Heavenly Homeland.
In the depths of your being,
in your Immaculate Heart,
you keep the sorrows of the human family,
as they mourn and weep in this valley of tears.
In the depths of your being,
in your Immaculate Heart,
adorn us with the radiance of the jewels of your crown
and make us pilgrims, even as you were a pilgrim.
With your virginal smile,
enliven the joy of Christ’s Church.
With your gaze of sweetness,
strengthen the hope of God’s children.
With your hands lifted in prayer to the Lord,
draw all people together into one human family.

Refrain:

The Holy Father:

O clement, O loving,
O sweet Virgin Mary,
Queen of the Rosary of Fatima!
Grant that we may follow the example of Blessed Francisco and Blessed Jacinta,
and of all who devote themselves to proclaiming the Gospel.
Thus we will follow all paths
and everywhere make our pilgrim way;
we will tear down all walls
and cross every frontier,
as we go out to every periphery,
to make known God’s justice and peace.
In the joy of the Gospel, we will be the Church robed in white,
the whiteness washed in the blood of the Lamb,
blood that today too is shed in the wars tearing our world apart.
And so we will be, like you, an image of the column of light
that illumines the ways of the world,
making God known to all,
making known to all that God exists,
that God dwells in the midst of his people,
yesterday, today and for all eternity.

Refrain…

The Holy Father, with all the faithful:

Hail, Mother of the Lord,
Virgin Mary, Queen of the Rosary of Fatima!
Blessed among all women,
you are the image of the Church robed in paschal light,
you are the honour of our people,
you are the victory over every assault of evil.
Prophecy of the merciful love of the Father,
Teacher of the Message of Good News of the Son,
Sign of the burning Fire of the Holy Spirit,
teach us, in this valley of joys and sorrows,
the eternal truths that the Father reveals to the little ones.
Show us the strength of your protective mantle.
In your Immaculate Heart,
be the refuge of sinners
and the way that leads to God.
In union with my brothers and sisters,
in faith, in hope and in love,
I entrust myself to you.
In union with my brothers and sisters, through you, I consecrate myself to God,
O Virgin of the Rosary of Fatima.
And at last, enveloped in the Light that comes from your hands,
I will give glory to the Lord for ever and ever. Amen.

Refrain…

[Original text: Portuguese] [Vatican-provided text]

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Thought for the Day – 13 May 2017 – The Centenary of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima and the Canonisation of the Blesseds Francisco and Jacinta Marto

Posted on by AnaStpaul
“Yes, Jacinta and Francisco I will take soon but you will stay some time longer.    Jesus wants to use you to let others know and love me.    He wants to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world.   To whoever embraces it I promise salvation and that their souls will be dear to God like flowers placed by me to adorn his Throne.” – Our Lady to Lucia dos Santos, Fatima Portugal 1917
Saint Pope John Paul II beatified them on 13th May 2000.
PRAYER
Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly and I thank Thee for the Apparitions of the Most Holy Virgin in Fatima.
By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I implore Thee if it should be for Thy greater glory and the good of our souls – to glorify in the sight of thy Holy Church Blessed Jacinta and Francisco Marto, granting us through their intercession the grace which we now implore. Amen.
*Francisco Marto (June 11, 1908 – April 4, 1919), his sister Jacinta Marto (March 11, 1910 – February 20, 1920), also known as Blessed Francisco Marto and Blessed Jacinta Marto, and their cousin Lúcia Santos (1907–2005) were children from Aljustrel near Fátima, Portugal who said they witnessed three apparitions of an angel in 1916 and several apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1917.   Mary was given the title Our Lady of Fátima as a result, and Fátima became a major centre of world Christian pilgrimage.
The youngest children of Manuel and Olimpia Marto, Francisco and Jacinta were typical of Portuguese village children of that time. They were illiterate but had a rich oral tradition.
According to Lúcia’s memoirs, Francisco had a placid disposition, was somewhat musically inclined, and liked to be by himself to think.    Jacinta was affectionate if a bit spoiled.    She had a sweet singing voice and a gift for dancing.    Following their experiences, their fundamental personalities remained the same.    Francisco preferred to pray alone, saying that this would “console Jesus for the sins of the world”.    Jacinta said she was deeply affected by a terrifying vision of Hell shown to the children at the third apparition and deeply convinced of the need to save sinners through penance and sacrifice as the Virgin had told the children to do.    All three children, but particularly Francisco and Jacinta, practised stringent self-mortifications to this end.
The brother and sister, who tended to their families’ sheep with their cousin Lucia in the fields of Fatima, Portugal, are said to have witnessed, on May 13, 1917, the first apparition of Mary. At the time of the apparition, Francisco was 9 years old, and Jacinta was 7.
During the first apparition, Mary is said to have asked the three children to say the Rosary and to make sacrifices, offering them for the conversion of sinners.    She also asked them to return to that spot on the thirteenth of each month for the next six months
The siblings were victims of the great 1918 influenza epidemic that swept through Europe that year.   In October 1918, Mary supposedly appeared to them and said she would to take them to heaven soon.   Both lingered for many months, insisting on walking to church to make Eucharistic devotions and prostrating themselves to pray for hours, kneeling with their heads on the ground as they said the angel had instructed them to do.
Francisco declined hospital treatment on April 3, 1919, and died at home the next day. Jacinta was moved from one hospital to another in an attempt to save her life, which she insisted was futile.    She developed purulent pleurisy and endured an operation in which two of her ribs were removed.    Because of the condition of her heart, she could not be anesthetized and suffered terrible pain, which she said would help to convert many sinners.    On February 19, 1920, Jacinta asked the hospital chaplain who heard her confession to bring her Holy Communion and give her the Anointing of the Sick because she was going to die “the next night”.    He told her that her condition was not that serious and that he would return the next day.   The next day Jacinta was dead; she had died, as she had often said she would, alone.
In 1920, shortly before her death at age nine, Jacinta Marto reportedly discussed the Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary with a then 12-year-old Lúcia Santos and said:
“When you are to say this, don’t go and hide. Tell everybody that God grants us graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary;  that people are to ask her for them; and that the Heart of Jesus wants the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be venerated at his side. Tell them also to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace, since God entrusted it to her.”
The cause for the siblings’ canonization began in 1946. Exhumed in 1935 and again in 1951, Jacinta’s face was found incorrupt;  Francisco’s had decomposed.
On May 13, 2000, they were declared “blessed” in a decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.   Jacinta is the youngest non-martyred child ever to be beatified.
In her biography of Jacinta, Lúcia said that Jacinta had told her of having had many personal visions outside of the Marian visitations; one involved a pope who prayed alone in a room while people outside shouted ugly things and threw rocks through the window.   At another time, Jacinta said she saw a pope who had gathered a huge number of people together to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Jacinta and Francisco are both buried at the Our Lady of Fátima Basilica.
And so we learn from little children – we learn how to be Saints!
Saints Francisco and Jacina, Pray for us!
FRANCISCO & JACINTA - PRAY FOR US
Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Quote of the Day – 13 May

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 13 May

‘Pilgrims With Mary… But Which Mary?’ Pope Francis Asks in Fatima

At Vigil Before Reciting Rosary Reminds, ‘To Be Christian, We Must Be Marian’

CENTNARY-POPE FRANCIS GIFT

“Dear Pilgrims to Mary and with Mary!

Thank you for your welcome and for joining me on this pilgrimage of hope and peace.  Even now, I want to assure all of you who are united with me, here or elsewhere, that you have a special place in my heart.    I feel that Jesus has entrusted you to me (cf. Jn 21:15-17) and I embrace all of you and commend you to Jesus,  “especially those most in need” – as Our Lady taught us to pray (Apparition of July, 1917).   May she, the loving and solicitous Mother of the needy, obtain for them the Lord’s blessing!   On each of the destitute and outcast robbed of the present, on each of the excluded and abandoned denied a future, on each of the orphans and victims of injustice refused a past, may there descend the blessing of God, incarnate in Jesus Christ.   “The Lord bless you and keep you.  The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you.  The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace” (Num 6:24-26).

This blessing was fulfilled in the Virgin Mary.    No other creature ever basked in the light of God’s face as did Mary;  she in turn gave a human face to the Son of the eternal Father.   Now we can contemplate her in the succession of joyful, luminous, sorrowful and glorious moments of her life, which we revisit in our recitation of the rosary.    With Christ and Mary, we abide in God.    Indeed, “if we want to be Christian, we must be Marian; in a word, we have to acknowledge the essential, vital and providential relationship uniting Our Lady to Jesus, a relationship that opens before us the way leading to him”  (PAUL VI, Address at the Shine of Our Lady of Bonaria, Cagliari, 24 April 1970).    Each time we recite the rosary, in this holy place or anywhere else, the Gospel enters anew into the life of individuals, families, peoples and the entire world.

Pilgrims with Mary…  But which Mary?   A teacher of the spiritual life, the first to follow Jesus on the “narrow way” of the cross by giving us an example, or a Lady “unapproachable” and impossible to imitate?    A woman “blessed because she believed” always and everywhere in God’s words (cf. Lk 1:42.45), or a “plaster statue” from whom we beg favours at little cost?    The Virgin Mary of the Gospel, venerated by the Church at prayer, or a Mary of our own making: one who restrains the arm of a vengeful God; one sweeter than Jesus the ruthless judge; one more merciful than the Lamb slain for us?

Great injustice is done to God’s grace whenever we say that sins are punished by his judgment, without first saying – as the Gospel clearly does – that they are forgiven by his mercy!   Mercy has to be put before judgment and, in any case, God’s judgment will always be rendered in the light of his mercy.    Obviously, God’s mercy does not deny justice, for Jesus took upon himself the consequences of our sin, together with its due punishment.  He did not deny sin, but redeemed it on the cross.    Hence, in the faith that unites us to the cross of Christ, we are freed of our sins; we put aside all fear and dread, as unbefitting those who are loved (cf. 1 Jn 4:18).   “Whenever we look to Mary, we come to believe once again in the revolutionary nature of love and tenderness.   In her, we see that humility and tenderness are not virtues of the weak but of the strong, who need not treat others poorly in order to feel important themselves…  This interplay of justice and tenderness, of contemplation and concern for others, is what makes the ecclesial community look to Mary as a model of evangelization” (Ap. Exhort. Evangelii Gaudium, 288).   With Mary, may each of us become a sign and sacrament of the mercy of God, who pardons always and pardons everything.

“Hand in hand with the Virgin Mother and under her watchful gaze, may we come to sing with joy the mercies of the Lord, and cry out:  “My soul sings to you, Lord!”    The mercy you have shown to all your saints and all your faithful people, you have also shown to me.    Out of the pride of my heart, I went astray, following my own ambitions and interests, without gaining any crown of glory!   My one hope of glory, Lord, is this: that your Mother will take me in her arms, shelter me beneath her mantle and set me close to your heart.  Amen.”

Franciscus – Fatima 12 May 2017

[Vatican-provided text]

Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

One Minute Reflection – 13 May

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 13 May

Mine are counsel and advice;  mine is strength;  I am understanding…….Proverbs 8:14

Proverbs 8-14

REFLECTION – “When we dedicate ourselves to Mary, we become instruments in her hands just as she is an instrument in God’s hands.
Let us then be guided by her for she will provide for the needs of body and soul and overcome all difficulties and anxieties.”……………..St Maximillian Kolbe

WHEN WE DEDICATE-WST MAXIMILLIAN

PRAYER – “Hail, Mother of the Lord,
Virgin Mary, Queen of the Rosary of Fatima!
Blessed among all women,
you are the image of the Church robed in paschal light,
you are the honour of our people,
you are the victory over every assault of evil.”……………..Excerpt from the Prayer of Pope Francis at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima, yesterday after his arrival in Fatima – 12 May 2017 Pray for us Holy Mother of God and our Mother, Our Lady of Fatima Hail!

excerpt pope francis 12 may 2017

pray-for-us-mother-of-god - 14 may 2017

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 13 May

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 13 May

Mary, our Queen and Mother of Mercy
By St ANTHONY OF PADUA (1195-1231)
Doctor evangelicus (Evangelical Doctor)

Mary, our Queen,
Holy Mother of God,
we beg you to hear our prayer.
Make our hearts overflow with Divine grace
and resplendent with heavenly wisdom.
Render them strong with your might
and rich in virtue.
Pour down upon us the gift of mercy
so that we may obtain the pardon of our sins.
Help us to live in such a way
as to merit the glory and bliss of heaven.
May this be granted us by your Son Jesus
Who has exalted you above the angels,
has crowned you as Queen,
and has seated you with Him
forever on His refulgent throne.
Amen

MARY OUR QUEEN AND MOTHER OF MERCY - ST ANTHONY OF PADUA

Posted in MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH

Announcing a Novena from Ascension to Pentecost Beginning Friday 26 May – the Day after Ascension Thursday

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Announcing a Novena from Ascension to Pentecost
Beginning Friday 26 May – the Day after Ascension Thursday

The novena in honour of the Holy Spirit is the oldest of all novenas, since it was first made at the direction of Our Lord Himself when He sent His Apostles back to Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Spirit on that first Pentecost.    It is still the only novena officially prescribed by the Church.    Addressed to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, it is a powerful plea for the light and strength and love so sorely needed by every Christian.

announcing - entecost novena

Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 12 May

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Thought for the Day – 12 May

Then (and in many places) NOW, it is a crime merely to bear the name of Christian – it is a CRIME punishable by death!
In spite of this, many became and become Christians and so many went cheerfully to their deaths.
“O miracle of faith!” wrote St Pope Damasus. “Suddenly they cease from their fury, they become converted, they flee from the camp of their wicked leader.    Professing the faith of Christ, they are happy to witness to its triumph.”

Learn from the words of Damasus what great things the glory of Christ can accomplish. As the thought-provoking saying goes: “If you were arrested for being Christian, would there be sufficient evidence to convict you?”

IF YOU WERE ARRESTED

As in the case of many early martyrs, the Church clings to its memories though the events are clouded in the mists of history.    It is a heartening thing for all Christians to know that they have a noble heritage.    Our brothers and sisters in Christ have stood in the same world in which we live—militaristic, materialistic, cruel and cynical—yet transfigured from within by the presence of the Living One.    Our own courage is enlivened by the heroes and heroines who have gone before us marked by the sign of faith and the wounds of Christ.

Sts Nereus, Achilleus and Pancras – please pray for us all!

sts nereus, achilleus and pancras pray for us.jpg 2

 

 

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 12 May

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Quote/s of the Day – 12 May

“Whoever consistently looks at God and themselves
through this attractive mirror (Mary), will sooner or later
turn into another Mary.”

Servant of God, Fr Joseph Kentenich (1885-1968) – Founder of Schoenstatt

WHOEVER-FR JOSEPH KENTENICH - SCHOENSTATT

“If the Church shows respect and veneration for everything
that came in contact with the Saviour’s Body: the Cross,
the Nails, the Thorns, the Winding Sheet of His Sepuchre,
the Swathing-bands of His infancy and similar things – what
honour must be due to this venerable body of the
Blessed Virgin from which the Body of the Redeemer was formed!”

St John Eudes

IF THE CHURCH-ST JOHN EUDES

“The flesh of Christ is the flesh of Mary
and although it was raised to great glory
in His Resurrection, yet it still remained
the same that was taken from Mary.”

St Augustine (354-430) – Fathe & Doctor gratiae (Doctor of Grace)

the-flesh-of-christ-st-augustine.2017

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 12 May

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 12 May

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading,
kept in heaven for you………1 Peter 1:3-4

1 PETER 1-3,4

REFLECTION – “You have within you everything that
you need to purchase the kingdom of heaven.
Joy will be purchased by your sorrow,
rest by your labour,
glory by your humiliation
and eternal life by your passing death.”……St Augustine, Father and Doctor of the Church (354-430) Doctor gratiae (Doctor of Grace)

YOU HAVE WITHIN YOU - ST AUGUSTINE

PRAYER – Loving Father, teach me how to make very event on earth lay up treasures for me in heaven.   Help me to endure my sorrows, labours, humiliations and death willingly so as to attain heaven.   Holy Martyrs Sts Nereus, Achilleus and Pancras, Pray for us, amen!

sts nereus, achilleus and pancras pray for us

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 12 May

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 12 May

Mary our Mother!
By St Anselm (1033-1109)
Doctor magnificus (Magnificent Doctor);
Doctor Marianus (Marian Doctor)

Mother of Salvation
Blessed Lady,
you are the Mother of Justification
and of those who are justified;
the Mother of Reconciliation
and of those who are reconciled;
the Mother of Salvation
and of those who are saved.
What a blessed trust,
and what a secure refuge!
The Mother of God is our Mother.
The Mother of the One in whom alone
we hope and whom alone we fear, is our Mother!
The One who partook of our nature,
and by restoring us to life
made us children of His Mother,
invites us by this to proclaim
that we are His brothers and sisters.
Therefore, our Judge is also our Brother.
The Saviour of the world is our Brother.
Our God has become, through Mary, our Brother!

MARY OUR MOTHER - ST ANSELM

Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 11 May

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Thought for the Day – 11 May

The life of Saint Ignatius reminds us that even the most menial of tasks, if offered to the Lord, are pleasing to Him.
During his daily rounds, Saint Ignatius of Laconi did more than beg, of course.    He served as a model of perfect Christian humility and self-denial.    He instructed the community children in the tenets of the Christian faith—most of whom were too poor to attend school and instead worked as he had done.   He comforted the ill and provided encouragement to those who constantly struggled.    Numerous miracles were reported at his pious intercession.   Never having been educated himself, Saint Ignatius was illiterate and his words far from polished or eloquent.    He recognised his limitations and constantly directed any praise or recognition from himself to the Lord, where all good things originate.   The lessons from this Saint are countless, they are difficult for us to attain, most especially in the fast-paced, money-driven society in which we live.   Let us always keep in mind and before our eyes God’s love and mercy, that high-paying jobs are not what He requires of us!   To those who came to St Ignatius for comfort, he would advise, “Trust God.”

Lord God, You led Saint Ignatius along the way of humility, innocence, and fraternal charity to the heights of sanctity.    Help us to imitate his virtues and to practice charity, trust in You and obedience, on earth in word and deed. Amen.

St Ignatius of Laconi, Pray for us!

st ignatius of laconi pray for us.jpg 2

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 11 May

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Quote/s of the Day – 11 May

“By asking the beloved disciple
to treat Mary as his mother,
Jesus founded Marian devotion.”

St John Paul (1920-2005)

BY ASKING THE BELOVED DISCIPLE - ST JOHN PAUL

“The Mother of God,
is the Ladder of Heaven.
God came down by this Ladder
that men might,
by Mary,
climb up to Him in Heaven.”

St Fulgentius (460-533)

THE MOTHER OF GOD-ST FULGENTIUS

“Consider this great mystery!
The Son of God has passed whole and entire,
from the heart of the Father
to the womb of Mary
and from the womb of the Mother
to the lap of the Church.”

St Peter Damian (1007-72) Doctor of the Church

CONSIDER THIS GREAT MYSTERY-ST PETER DAMIAN

“Let us not imagine that we obscure
the glory of the Son by the great praise
we lavish on the Mother;
for the more she is honoured,
the greater is the glory of her Son.
There can be no doubt that whatever we say
in praise of the Mother gives equal praise to the Son.”

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) – Doctor of the Church

LET US NOT IMAGINE-ST BERNARD

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 11 May

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One Minute Reflection – 11 May

Blest are you among women and blest is the fruit of your womb……….Luke 1:42

luke 1-42

REFLECTION – “Do you wish to know the most intimate perfections of Jesus and the most hidden attractions of His love?
Then seek them in the heart of Mary!”………..St Peter Julian Eymard  Today’s Saint, St Ignatius of Laconi also practised a strong devotion to Our Blessed Mother, praying daily for her intercession.    He attributed many miraculous events in his simple life to her grace and assistance.

DO YOU WISH TO KNOW - ST PETER EYMARD

PRAYER – Lord Jesus, keep ever before me the tried and trusted Christian motto: “To Jesus through Mary.” And let me learn to seek You in her Mother’s heart! St Ignatius of Laconi, please assist us by your intercession to grow in love and trust in the Mother of God, amen!

st ignatius of laconi pray for us

 

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 11 May

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Our Morning Offering – 11 May

Mother of my God, Lady Mary, Queen of Mercy
By St Alphonsus Ligouri (1696-1787)
Doctor zelantissimus (Most Zealous Doctor)

Mother of my God and my Lady Mary;
as a beggar, all wounded and sore,
presents himself before a great Queen,
so do I present myself before you,
who are Queen of heaven and earth.
From the lofty throne on which you sit,
disdain not, I implore you,
to cast your eyes on me,
a poor sinner.
God has made you so rich
that you might assist the poor,
and has made you Queen of Mercy
in order that you might relieve the miserable.
Behold me then and pity me:
behold me and abandon me not,
until you see me changed
from a sinner into a saint. Amen

MOTHER OF MY GOD - ST ALPHONSUS

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 10 May

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Quote/s of the Day – 10 May

“A single ‘Blessed be God!’ when things go wrong, is of more value than a thousand acts of thanksgiving, when things are to our liking.”

A SINGLE BLESSED BE GOD - ST JOHN OF AVILA

“Turn yourself round like a piece of clay
and say to the Lord:
I am clay, and you, Lord, the potter.
Make of me what you will.”

turn yourself round-stjohnofavila

“Your life consists in drawing nearer to God.
To do this you must endeavour to detach yourself
from visible things and remember that
in a short time they will be taken from you.”

St John of Avila – Doctor of the Church

YOUR LIFE CONSISTS - ST JOHN OF AVILA

“The Blessed Sacrament is indeed
the stimulus for us all,
for me as it should be for you,
to forsake all worldly ambitions.”

St Damian de Veuster – St Damian of Molokai

THE BLESSED SACRAMENT - ST DAMIAN DE MOLOKAI

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 10 May – the Memorial of St John of Avila (1499-1569) Doctor of the Church

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Thought for the Day – 10 May – the Memorial of St John of Avila (1499-1569) Doctor of the Church

St Teresa of Ávila, herself a Doctor of the Church, praised John of Ávila for his mastery of elements of the spiritual life.    While he remains a little known and quoted figure, one saint celebrated among many, Master Ávila stands before us today as a witness to the need for continual reform, a commitment to reflection and renewal within the Church and for each one of us as followers of Jesus.

He understood that it is only through a spirit-filled engagement with the Word of God and a steadfast commitment to the pursuit of virtue that individual Christians would be able to fulfil the demands of the Gospel.    In one of his sermons for Pentecost, John of Ávila asked his hearers,  “What effect did the coming of the Holy Ghost have on the Church?   What did the Holy Ghost accomplish in the hearts of those believers to whom He came?   He gave them life, gave them gifts of infinite value, strengthened them and brought them near perfection.”    St John of Ávila, in his life, his teachings and in his legacy, reveals that the Holy Spirit remains at work in the Church and, in this lesser known saint (sadly one who needs to be studied by all) of more than four centuries ago we discover a man, a saint, whose heart burned so purely with the fire of this same Spirit that he remains a light for us today.    (BROTHER HENDERSON, O.S.B., is a Benedictine monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey.)

And to help us along the way, that is the only way, the way of the Cross of Christ, perhaps this practical bit of advice left us by St John of Avila, will be of assistance in our spiritual growth.   St John of Avila, please pray for us for we all wish to join you as Saint in heaven!

This Doctor and Teacher of our Faith, St John of Avila divides the week into stages of the Passion of Christ:

• Monday think of our Lord’s agony in the garden and what passed in the house of Annas and Caiphas

• Tuesday, of the accusations, the removal from judge to judge, and the flagellation

• Wednesday, of the crowning with thorns and the mockery

• Thursday, of the washing of the feet, and the Blessed Eucharist

• Friday, of the sentence, the carrying of the cross, the crucifixion and death

• Saturday, of the piercing of the side, the taking down from the cross, the burial, and the grief of the Blessed Virgin

• Sunday, of the resurrection and the state of future glory.

st JOHN OF AVILA PRAY FOR US.jpg no 2

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 10 May

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Our Morning Offering – 10 May

MARY, our MOTHER
SAINT BERNARD (1090-1153)

Mary, our Mother,
the whole world reveres you
as the holiest shrine of the living God,
for in you the salvation of the world dawned.
The Son of God was pleased
to take human form from you.
You have broken down the wall of hatred,
the barrier between heaven and earth
which was set us by the
disobedience of Adam and Eve.
In you heaven met earth
when divinity and humanity
were joined in one person – the God-Man.
Mother of God,
we sing your praises,
but we must praise you even more.
Our speech is too feeble to honour you as we ought,
for no tongue is eloquent enough
to express your excellence.
Mary, most powerful,
most holy, and worthy of all love.
Your name brings new life,
and the thought of you inspires love
in the hearts of those devoted to you. Amen

MARY OUR MOTHR BY ST BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX

Posted in MORNING Prayers

The 54th World Day of Prayer for Vocations – Vocations Sunday – 7 May 2017

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The 54th World Day of Prayer for Vocations – Vocations Sunday – 7 May 2017

vocations sunday 7 may

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
FOR THE 54th WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS

Led by the Spirit for Mission

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In the last few years, we have considered two aspects of the Christian vocation: the summons to “go out from ourselves” to hear the Lord’s voice, and the importance of the ecclesial community as the privileged place where God’s call is born, nourished and expressed.

Now, on this 54th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, I would like to reflect on the missionary dimension of our Christian calling. Those who drawn by God’s voice and determined to follow Jesus soon discover within themselves an irrepressible desire to bring the Good News to their brothers and sisters through proclamation and the service of charity. All Christians are called to be missionaries of the Gospel! As disciples, we do not receive the gift of God’s love for our personal consolation, nor are we called to promote ourselves, or a business concern. We are simply men and women touched and transformed by the joy of God’s love, who cannot keep this experience just to ourselves. For “the Gospel joy which enlivens the community of disciples is a missionary joy (Evangelii Gaudium, 21).

Commitment to mission is not something added on to the Christian life as a kind of decoration, but is instead an essential element of faith itself. A relationship with the Lord entails being sent out into the world as prophets of his word and witnesses of his love.

Even if at times we are conscious of our weaknesses and tempted to discouragement, we need to turn with God with confidence. We must overcome a sense of our own inadequacy and not yield to pessimism, which merely turns us into passive spectators of a dreary and monotonous life. There is no room for fear! God himself comes to cleanse our “unclean lips” and equip us for the mission: “Your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out. Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I, send me’” (Is 6:6-8).

In the depths of their heart, all missionary disciples hear this divine voice bidding them to “go about”, as Jesus did, “doing good and healing all” (cf. Acts 10:38). I have mentioned that, by virtue of baptism, every Christian is a “Christopher”, a bearer of Christ, to his brothers and sisters (cf. Catechesis, 30 January 2016). This is particularly the case with those called to a life of special consecration and with priests, who have generously responded, “Here I am, Lord, send me!” With renewed missionary enthusiasm, priests are called to go forth from the sacred precincts of the temple and to let God’s tender love overflow for the sake of humanity (cf. Homily at the Chrism Mass, 24 March 2016). The Church needs such priests: serenely confident because they have discovered the true treasure, anxious to go out and joyfully to make it known to all (cf. Mt 13:44).

Certainly many questions arise when we speak of the Christian mission. What does it mean to be a missionary of the Gospel? Who gives us the strength and courage to preach? What is the evangelical basis and inspiration of mission? We can respond to these questions by meditating on three scenes from the Gospels: the inauguration of Jesus’ mission in the synagogue at Nazareth (cf. Lk 4:16-30); the journey that, after his resurrection, he makes in the company of the disciples of Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35) and, finally, the parable of the sower and the seed (cf. Mt 4:26-27).

Jesus is anointed by the Spirit and sent. To be a missionary disciple means to share actively in the mission of Christ. Jesus himself described that mission in the synagogue of Nazareth in these words: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” (Lk 4:18-19). This is also our mission: to be anointed by the Spirit, and to go out to our brothers and sisters in order to proclaim the word and to be for them a means of salvation.

Jesus is at our side every step of the way. The questions lurking in human hearts and the real challenges of life can make us feel bewildered, inadequate and hopeless. The Christian mission might appear to be mere utopian illusion or at least something beyond our reach. Yet if we contemplate the risen Jesus walking alongside the disciples of Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-15), we can be filled with new confidence. In that Gospel scene, we have a true “liturgy of the street”, preceding that of the word and the breaking of the bread. We see that, at every step of the way, Jesus is at our side! The two disciples, overwhelmed by the scandal of the cross, return home on the path of defeat. Their hearts are broken, their hopes dashed and their dreams shattered. The joy of the Gospel has yielded to sadness. What does Jesus do? He does not judge them, but walks with them. Instead of raising a wall, he opens a breach. Gradually he transforms their discouragement. He makes their hearts burn within them, and he opens their eyes by proclaiming the word and breaking the bread. In the same way, a Christian does not bear the burden of mission alone, but realizes, even amid weariness and misunderstanding, that “Jesus walks with him, speaks to him, breathes with him, works with him. He senses Jesus alive with him in the midst of the missionary enterprise” (Evangelii Gaudium, 266).

Jesus makes the seed grow. Finally, it is important to let the Gospel teach us the way of proclamation. At times, even with the best intentions, we can indulge in a certain hunger for power, proselytism or intolerant fanaticism. Yet the Gospel tells us to reject the idolatry of power and success, undue concern for structures, and a kind of anxiety that has more to do with the spirit of conquest than that of service. The seed of the Kingdom, however tiny, unseen and at times insignificant, silently continues to grow, thanks to God’s tireless activity. “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep or rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how” (Mk 4:26-27). This is our first reason for confidence: God surpasses all our expectations and constantly surprises us by his generosity. He makes our efforts bear fruit beyond all human calculation.

With this confidence born of the Gospel, we become open to the silent working of the Spirit, which is the basis of mission. There can be no promotion of vocations or Christian mission apart from constant contemplative prayer. The Christian life needs to be nourished by attentive listening to God’s word and, above all, by the cultivation of a personal relationship with the Lord in Eucharistic adoration, the privileged “place” for our encounter with God.

I wish heartily to encourage this kind of profound friendship with the Lord, above all for the sake of imploring from on high new vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life. The People of God need to be guided by pastors whose lives are spent in service to the Gospel. I ask parish communities, associations and the many prayer groups present in the Church, not to yield to discouragement but to continue praying that the Lord will send workers to his harvest. May he give us priests enamoured of the Gospel, close to all their brothers and sisters, living signs of God’s merciful love.

Dear brothers and sisters, today too, we can regain fervour in preaching the Gospel and we can encourage young people in particular to take up the path of Christian discipleship. Despite a widespread sense that the faith is listless or reduced to mere “duties to discharge”, our young people desire to discover the perennial attraction of Jesus, to be challenged by his words and actions, and to cherish the ideal that he holds out of a life that is fully human, happy to spend itself in love.

Mary Most Holy, the Mother of our Saviour, had the courage to embrace this ideal, placing her youth and her enthusiasm in God’s hands. Through her intercession, may we be granted that same openness of heart, that same readiness to respond, “Here I am”, to the Lord’s call, and that same joy in setting out (cf. Lk 1:39), like her, to proclaim him to the whole world.

From the Vatican, Franciscus

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 5 May

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Our Morning Offering – 5 May

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF MERCY
By St. Augustine

Blessed Virgin Mary,
who can worthily repay you with praise
and thanks for having rescued a fallen world
by your generous consent!
Receive our gratitude,
and by your prayers obtain the pardon of our sins.
Take our prayers into the sanctuary of heaven
and enable them to make our peace with God.
Holy Mary, help the miserable,
strengthen the discouraged,
comfort the sorrowful,
pray for your people,
plead for the clergy,
intercede for all women consecrated to God.
May all who venerate you
feel now your help and protection.
Be ready to help us when we pray,
and bring back to us the answers to our prayers.
Make it your continual concern
to pray for the people of God,
for you were blessed by God
and were made worthy to bear the Redeemer of the world,
who lives and reigns forever.
Amen

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF MERCY-ST AUGUSTINE

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 4 May

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Our Morning Offering – 4 May

O Mary, Help of Christians
By St John Bosco

O Mary, powerful Virgin,
you are the mighty and glorious
protector of the Church;
you are the marvelous help of Christians;
you are terrible as an army in battle array;
you alone have destroyed every heresy
in the whole world.
In the midst of our anguish,
our struggles
and our distress,
defend us from the power of the enemy
and at the hour of our death
receive our souls in paradise. Amen

O MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS - ST JOHN BOSCO

Posted in MORNING Prayers, NOTES to Followers

“Gone Fishing”…….

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Dear All

I will be out of town for about a week – expected back on Wednesday 10 May or Thursday 11th – see you soon.   A few forward posts might pop through if I find the time,

I’ll miss you all and be praying for you!

gone fishing

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

Thought for the Day – 3 May

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Sts Philip and James left all to follow Jesus, to become His heralds to the whole world.   They faced only difficulties, opposition and – finally – death by violence.   We cannot avoid the difficulties that come with professing our faith and we are all called to be apostles.   Let us pray for the courage to face our task with the same courage with which the Apostles faced theirs.   As in the case of the other apostles, we see in James and Philip human men who became foundation stones of the Church and we are reminded again that holiness and its consequent apostolate are entirely the gift of God, not a matter of human achieving.    All power is God’s power, even the power of human freedom to accept his gifts. “You will be clothed with power from on high,” Jesus told Philip and the others.   Their first commission had been to expel unclean spirits, heal diseases, announce the kingdom.    They learned, gradually, that these externals were sacraments of an even greater miracle inside their persons—the divine power to love like God.

Sts Philip and James, Pray for us!

STS PHILIP AND JAMES PRAY FOR US 2

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS

Quote of the Day – 3 May

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Quote of the Day – 3 May

“To love is to be transformed into what we love.
To love God is therefore to be transformed into God!”

St John of the Cross

 

ST JOHN OF THE CROSS MY PIC

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

One Minute Reflection – 3 May

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One Minute Reflection – 3 May

What was from the beginning, what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon
and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life
for the life was made visible;  we have seen it and testify to it……….1 John 1:1-2

REFLECTION – “Two of the favoured witnesses of our beloved Jesus’ Resurrection come before us today.    Sts. Philip and James are here, bearing testimony to us that their Master is truly risen from the dead, that they have seen Him, that they have touched Him, that they have conversed with Him during these forty days.   And, that we may have no doubt as to the truth of their testimony, they hold in their hands the instruments of the martyrdom they underwent for asserting that Jesus, after having suffered death, came to life again and rose from the grave.”………………..Abbot/Dom Prosper Guéranger

TWO OF THE FAVOURED - Dom Prosper Guéranger

PRAYER – O God, who gladden us each year with the feast day of the Apostles Philip and James, grant us, through their prayers, a share in the Passion and Resurrection of your Only Begotten Son, so that we may merit to behold You for eternity. Through 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.

STS PHILIP AND JAMES PRAY FOR US

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 3 May

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Our Morning Offering – 3 May

Most Holy Mary
By St John of the Cross

Most holy Mary,
Virgin of virgins,
shrine of the most Holy Trinity,
joy of the angels,
sure refuge of sinners,
take pity on our sorrows,
mercifully accept our sighs
and appease the wrath
of your most holy Son. Amen

MOST HOLY MARY BY ST JOHN OF THE CROSS

 

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

The Athanasian Creed

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The Athanasian Creed, also known as Pseudo-Athanasian Creed or Quicunque Vult (also Quicumque Vult), is a Christian statement of belief focused on Trinitarian doctrine and Christology.    The Latin name of the creed, Quicunque vult, is taken from the opening words, “Whosoever wishes”.    The creed has been used by Christian churches since the sixth century.    It is the first creed in which the equality of the three persons of the Trinity is explicitly stated.    It differs from the Nicene-Constantinopolitan and Apostles’ Creeds in the inclusion of anathemas, or condemnations of those who disagree with the creed (like the original Nicene Creed).

Widely accepted among Western Christians, including the Roman Catholic Church and some Anglican churches, Lutheran churches (it is considered part of Lutheran confessions in the Book of Concord) and ancient, liturgical churches generally, the Athanasian Creed has been used in public worship less and less frequently.

It was designed to distinguish Nicene Christianity from the heresy of Arianism. Liturgically, this Creed was recited at the Sunday Office of Prime in the Western Church; it is not in common use in the Eastern Church.    The creed has never gained acceptance in liturgy among Eastern Christians since it was considered as one of many unorthodox fabrications that contained the Filioque clause.    Today, the Athanasian Creed is rarely used even in the Western Church.    When used, one common practice is to use it once a year on Trinity Sunday.

onetwo

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 2 May

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Thought for the Day – 2 May

At certain periods in Church history, it is one man who saves the Church for orthodoxy, one human instrument that Goduses to further His work.   Athanasius suffered many trials while he was bishop of Alexandria.    He was given the grace to remain strong against what probably seemed at times to be insurmountable opposition.    Athanasius lived his office as bishop completely.    He defended the true faith for his flock, regardless of the cost to himself.    In today’s world we are experiencing this same call to remain true to our faith, no matter what.   We should all realise how important we are to the good of others and that, without us, certain people would never hear of God or come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ.   Upon our orthodoxy and fidelity may well depend the growth in faith of many others – what a thought!   Therefore, we need to learn and know the truth as St Athanasius said “You will not see anyone who is really striving after his advancement who is not given to spiritual reading. And as to him who neglects it, the fact will soon be observed by his progress.”

St Athanasius, pray for us!

ST ATHANASIUS PRAY FOR US 2.jpg

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 2 May

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Quote/s of the Day – 2 May

“The Word who became all things for us, is close to us, our Lord Jesus Christ who promises to remain with us always.    He cries out, saying:  See, I am with you all the days of this age.    He is himself the shepherd, the high priest, the way and the door and has become all things at once for us.”

THE WORD HAS BECOME-ST ATHANASIUS

“Christians, instead of arming themselves with swords, extend their hands in prayer.”

“Let us remember the poor and not forget kindness to strangers;  above all, let us love God with all our soul and might and strength and our neighbour as ourselves.”

CHRISTIANS, INSTEAD OF - St Athanasius

“But what is also to the point, let us note that the very tradition, teaching and faith of the Catholic Church from the beginning was preached by the Apostles and preserved by the Fathers.    On this the Church was founded – and if anyone departs from this, he neither is, nor any longer ought to be called, a Christian.”

BUR WHAT IS ALSO TO THE POINT-ST ATHANASIUS

St Athanasius  (297-373) Father & Doctor of the Church

 

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 2 May

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One Minute Reflection – 2 May

Christ….will give a new form to this lowly body of ours and remake it according to the pattern of his glorified body…………Phil 3:21

REFLECTION – Our human body has acquired something great through its communication with the Word.    From being mortal it has been made immortal; though it was a living body it has become a spiritual one…………St Athanasius (297-373) Father and Doctor of the Church

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, help me to respect my body and not subject it to sin.   Let me keep it ready to receive the fullness of the new form given by Your Son, in heaven.    St Athanasius, you taught the world the truth of Christ, please pray for us, amen.

PHILIPPIANS 3-21OUR HUMAN BODY-ST ATHANASIUSst athanasius pray for us

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 2 May

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Our Morning Offering – 2 May

PRAYER TO MARY, MOTHER OF GRACE
By St Athanasius (297-373)

It is becoming for you, O Mary,
to be mindful of us,
as you stand near Him who bestowed upon you all graces,
for you are the Mother of God and our Queen.
Come to our aid for the sake of the King,
the Lord God and Master who was born of you.
For this reason you are called “full of grace.”
Be mindful of us, most holy Virgin and bestow on us gifts
from the riches of your graces, O Virgin full of grace.
Amen

PRAYER TO MARY MOTHER OF GRACE-ST ATHANASIUS