Category: MATER DOLOROSA – Mother of SORROWS

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Thought for the Day – 29 October – Mary, Our Hope – “our life, our sweetness and our hope.”

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Thought for the Day – 29 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

“Month of the Holy Rosary”
“Mary, Our Hope”

“In the beautiful prayer, known as the Salve Regina or Hail, Holy Queen, the Church salutes Mary as “our life, our sweetness and our hope.”
Mary is our hope, because, she gave us our Saviour, Jesus and, because, she prays to Him continually for the graces which we need.
Following the example of Luther, modern protestants raise the objection that Mary cannot be regarded as a source of hope, because, all our trust should be placed in God.
Anyone who places his trust in creatures, draws down God’s curse upon himself, they say and, they go on to quote from Jeremias: “Cursed be the man who trusteth in man” (Jer 17:5).
But this is true only, when we trust in creatures independently of God, as if we can derive any good from them, without recourse to God.
We invoke Mary, however, as the Mother of God and our mediatrix with Him.
She is our hope, insofar as she obtains for us from God, the graces and favours which we require.
St Bernard assures us, that God has placed in Mary’s hands, all the riches which He wishes to bestow on us (Serm de aquaed).
“He will never experience eternal ruin,” says St Anselm, “for whom Mary has once prayed.”
St Bernard calls upon Mary as the foundation of all his hope (Ibid).
Let us remember, that Mary is our loving Mother who wishes us to pray to her because, she knows that if she intercedes on our behalf, she will certainly be heard.
It should be most consoling to us to have such a good and powerful Mother in whom, we can safely trust in every peril and in every necessity.
Let us pray to her with love and faith, in the certainty that, we shall be answered in the way that is best for us.
Let us say along with St John Damascene: “O Mother of God, if I place my trust in you, I shall be saved. If I am under your protection, I have nothing to fear because to be devoted to you, is to possess a weapon of salvation which God grants only to those, whom He desires to redeem” (Serm de Nat, cap 4).”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in GOOD FRIDAY, HOLY WEEK, HOLY WEEK 2019, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, ROSARY REFLECTIONS and QUOTES, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 12 October – The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery – The Road to Calvary

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Thought for the Day – 12 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

“Month of the Holy Rosary”
The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery
The Road to Calvary

“Scourged, crowned with thorns and derided, Jesus is finally condemned to death.
Burdened with the Cross, He sets out for the place of execution in the midst of a crowd of enemies, blasphemers and idle speculators.
Among them , there is only a tiny group which sympathises with Jesus, namely, Mary His Mother, the devout women and the beloved Apostle, St John.

The divine Redeemer goes forward laboriously beneath the heavy weight of the Cross.
He has already lost a large quantity of blood in Gethsemane and during the scourging and crowning with thorns.
His strength seems to be failing but love sustains Him.
Looking feebly around Him, He sees the mocking Jews, the indifferent and disrespectful Roman soldiers and a throng of curious spectators looking for something to amuse them.
Is there nobody else?
Where are those whom He cured miraculously and those whom He comforted and forgave?
Has nobody any pity for Him?
Suddenly the crowd falls silent.
A woman, pale and tearful, is approaching Him, supported by her friends.
She defies the commands of soldiers and the scowls of the executions and comes close to Him.

Here and there, a murmur is heard – It must be His Mother, poor woman!
Jesus and Mary gaze at one another.
It would be impossible for us to guess at the immense depths of love contained in that loving exchange of glances.
Neither utters a word, for no words could express their anguish, nor manifest their love.
They look and understand one another, offering themselves as a holocaust for the redemption of wayward humanity.

Nevertheless, in this silent meeting, there was great consolation for the Heart of Jesus, for He had found someone who loved and understood Him, amongst those malicious throngs.
Why do we not sympathise with Him too and love Him with all our hearts?”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on MARTYRDOM, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 9 October – The Second Sorrowful Mystery, The Scourging

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Thought for the Day – 9 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

“Month of the Holy Rosary”
The Second Sorrowful Mystery
The Scourging

“Tradition holds that Mary followed Jesus through the various stages of His Passion.
It is impossible to believe that she would have abandoned Him in these tragic hours.
She must, at least, have known of the cruel flogging which He endured and, while His body was being torn by lashes, she was most probably not far away, participating, by her maternal sorrow, in her Son’s torment.
Here, then, was a double Martyrdom – the Martyrdom of Blood and the Martyrdom of tears.

Life demands the shedding of blood and the shedding of tears!
What are the motives which cause you sorrow in life?
Are yours the tears of unsated ambition, of frustrated caprice, or of discouragement in times of trouble?
Such tears are not worthy of a Christian.
His, should be tears of repentance for his sins and tears of love for Jesus and Mary.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, GOOD FRIDAY, HOLY WEEK 2019, HYMNS, MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 27 September – God Of Mercy! Let Us Run! Summæ Deus Clementiæ

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Our Morning Offering – 27 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross”

God Of Mercy! Let Us Run!
Summæ Deus Clementiæ (Most High God of Mercy)
Transl. By Fr Frederik William Faber CO (1814-1863)

God of Mercy! let us run
Where Thon fount of sorrows flows;
Pondering sweetly, one by one,
Jesu’s Wounds and Mary’s woes.

Ah! those tears Our Lady shed,
Enough to drown a world of sin;
Tears which Jesu’s sorrows fed,
Peace and pardon well may win!

His five Wounds a very home
For our prayers and praises prove;
And Our Lady’s Woes become
Endless joys’in Heaven above.

Jesu, Who for us didst die,
All on Thee, our love we pour;
And in the Holy Trinity
Worship Thee forever more.

This Hymn is used for Lauds on the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Breviary.
This is the full, original text from an 1852 edition of Fr. Faber’s Hymnal Jesus and Mary. It is listed for The Dolours of Our Lady.

Words: Ascribed to Bishop Callisto Palumbella OSM (1687-1759) (1720)
Translated by Fr Frederick William Faber CO (1814-1863)
(1849) Note: Fr Faber died on 26 September 1814
Tune: “Nun Lasst Uns Geh’n” Dresden, 1694.
Words: 7.7.7.7

Posted in MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The LAMB of GOD, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 19 September – The Crucifixion

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Thought for the Day – 19 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Crucifixion

“At last, Jesus reaches Calvary, breathless and reduced to utter exhaustion.
The instrument of torture is taken from Him and laid upon the ground.
Our divine Redeemer suffers acute pain, as He is again stripped of His garments, which have stuck to His wounds.
Now, He is stretched, an innocent victim, on the altar of sacrifice, the Cross.
One of the executioners grasps His hand, pierces it with a large nail and attaches it to the wood.
Then, he does the same with the other hand and with the two feet.
His Mother is close at hand.
She feels in her heart the blows of the hammer which lacerate the living flesh of Jesus.
Jesus remains silent “as a meek lamb that is carried to be a victim” (Jer 11:19).

Now, the executioners raise the Cross and fixes it in the hole already prepared.
The shock of this impact sends a shudder of terrible pain throughout the Victim’s members and entire frame.
Behold Him now, suspended between Heaven and earth, the Mediator between God and humanity, the Victim of Expiation for the innumerable sins of men.

Come near to the Cross and kiss the bloodstained feet.
While the Jews are insulting Him and most of the Apostles have abandoned Him, let us tell Him how much we love Him.
Let us tell Him of our sorrow for our sins and of our determination to make amends for our faults and for our ingratitude, by living in accordance with His teachings and example.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, franciscan OFM, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS to the SAINTS, Prayers to the SORROWFUL MOTHER, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 18 September – To Our Lady of Sorrows By St Bonaventure

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Our Morning Offering – 18 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross”

To Our Lady of Sorrows
By St Bonaventure (1217-1274)
Seraphic Doctor of the Church

O most holy Virgin,
Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
by the overwhelming grief thou experienced
when thou witnessed the Martyrdom,
the Crucifixion and the Death,
of Thy Divine Son,
look upon me, with eyes of compassion
and awaken in my heart,
a tender commiseration for those sufferings
and a sincere detestation of my sins,
in order that,
being disengaged from all undue affection
for the passing joys of this earth,
I may sigh after the eternal Jerusalem
and that, henceforward, all my thoughts
and all my actions may be directed
towards this one most desirable object,
the honour, glory and love
of our divine Lord Jesus,
and to thee,
the Holy and Immaculate
Mother of God.
Amen.

Posted in CATECHESIS, DYING / LAST WORDS, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, QUOTES on CONSOLATION, QUOTES on COURAGE, St Francis de Sales, The PASSION, The SEVEN LAST WORDS of CHRIST

Thought for the Day – 15 September – ‘Her heart was crucified …’

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Thought for the Day – 15 September – The Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Our Lord’s Third Word … – By St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor Caritas

“Her heart was crucified
with the same nails
which Crucified Our Lord’s Body …”

“OUR LORD’S THIRD WORD was one of consolation.
He spoke it to His sacred Mother who was at the foot of the Cross, pierced by a sword of sorrow [Lk 2:35] but certainly not swooning, nor with faint heart, as artists have falsely and impertinently painted her.
The Evangelist clearly says the contrary, insisting that she remained standing with an incomparable firmness [Jn.19:25].
That courage did not keep her from the grieving which she endured with the generous and magnanimous heart belonging to her alone.
O God! what agonies were hers!
They are inexplicable and inconceivable.
Her heart was crucified with the same nails which Crucified Our Lord’s Body, for now she would be without both Child and husband.

Seeing her in this distress, our dear Saviour said a word of consolation to her. But this consoling and tender word was not given to lift her heart from such great desolation.
The heart of this perfectly submissive and resigned holy Virgin needed to be extremely strong and Our Lord, Who knew her so well, dealt with her accordingly.
Indicating St John, His Heart’s beloved disciple, He said: Woman, there is your son. [Jn 19:26.] He gave him to her to care for her, for this holy Virgin was not thinking of herself at all. Her every thought was centered around her Divine Son’s Sorrows, Sorrows which she herself pondered in her soul [cf Lk 2:35, 51] while at the Foot of His Cross.” – (Sermons of St Francis de Sales for or Lent).

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Quote/s of the Day – 15 September – Hail Mary, Full of Sorrows!

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Quote/s of the Day – 15 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” and The Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin

Hail Mary, Full of Sorrows!
A Short Prayer to the Most Holy Virgin
in her Desolation
By Pope Pius IX (1792-1878)
Papal Reign 1846-1878
(+102 Raccolta)

His Holiness Pope Pius IX, by a Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, of 23 December 1847, deigned to grant:

An Indulgence of 100 days to all the faithful, everytime they say, with contrite heart, the following prayer in honour of the most Holy Virgin in her desolation.

HAIL MARY,
full of sorrows!
the Crucified is with thee;
tearful art thou amongst women
and tearful is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of the Crucified,
grant tears to us crucifiers of thy Son,
now and at the hour
of our death.
Amen.

LATIN

Ave Maria,
doloribus plena,
Crucifixus tecum;
lacrymabilis te in mulieribus
et lacrymabilis Fructus ventris tui, Jesus.
Sancta Maria,
Mater Crucifixi,
lacrymas impertire nobis crucifixoribus Filii tui,
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.

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One Minute Reflection – 15 September – Now there stood by the Cross of Jesus, Mary, His Mother …”

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One Minute Reflection – 15 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” and The Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin – Judith 13:22; 13:25 – John 19:25-27 – Scripture search here:

“Now there stood by the Cross of Jesus, Mary, His Mother …” –John 19:25

REFLECTION – “Like a sheep beholding its lamb being led to the slaughterhouse (Is 53 :7), Mary followed behind with the other women, consumed with sorrow and crying: “Where are Thou going, my Child? Why do Thou end Thy swift course (Ps 18:6) in this way? Are there still other wedding feasts in Cana? Is it there that Thou are now going so swiftly, to make wine for them out of water? May I come with Thee, O my Child, or would it be better to wait? Speak one word to me, O Word, do not pass before me in silence…, oh Thou Who are my Son and my God…

“Thou art going towards an unjust death and no-one shares Thy suffering. Peter does not go with Thee, he who said: “Even if I have to die, I will never deny Thee” (Mt 26:35). Thomas, who exclaimed: “Let us all die with Him!” (Jn 11:16), has left Thee. And the others too, Thy friends, those who are to judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Mt 19:28), where are they now!? Not one remains. But Thou alone, O my Child, Thou dies for all. This is Thy recompense for having saved and served all humankind, my Son and my God.”

Turning to Mary, His Mother, He who came forth from her, cried out: “Mother, why do thy weep?… Am I not to suffer? Not to die? Then how could I save Adam? Am I not to dwell in the tomb? How should I bring back to life, those who inhabit the dwelling of the dead? Why do thou weep? Shout aloud, rather: ‘My Son and my God, is suffering of His Own Free Will.’ O wise Virgin do not make thyself like those who are foolish (Mt 25:1); thou stands in the wedding hall, do not become as though thou stood outside… Weep no longer, then but rather say: ‘Take pity on Adam, be merciful towards Eve, O my Son and my God.’

“Be assured, O Mother, thou will be the first to see Me come from the Tomb. I will come to show thee from what misfortunes I have redeemed Adam, what efforts I have expended for his sake. To My friends, I shall reveal their marks which I will show in My Hands. Then thou will see Eve alive, as she was before and in thou joy, thou will cry out: ‘He has saved my parents, my Son and my God!’ – St Romanos Melodios (c490-c556) Monk, Composer of Hymns, Poet (Hymn 25, The Blessed Virgin Mary at the Cross).

PRAYER – O God, in Whose Passion the sword, according to the prophecy of blessed Simeon, pierced through the soul of Mary, the glorious Virgin and Mother, mercifully grant that we, who reverently commemorate her piercing through and her suffering, may, by the interceding glorious merits of all the Saints faithfully standing by the Cross, obtain the abundant fruit of Thine Passion. Who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, Prayers to the SORROWFUL MOTHER, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS

Our Morning Offering – 15 September – What A Sea Of Tears And Sorrow

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Our Morning Offering – 15 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” and the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady

O Quot Undis Lacrimarum
What A Sea Of Tears And Sorrow
Breviary Hymn for the
Feast of the Seven Sorrow
Attrib. Bishop Callisto Palumbella OSM (1687-1749)
Trans. Fr Edward Caswell COrat (1814–1878)

What a sea of tears and sorrow
Did the soul of Mary toss
To and fro upon its billows,
While she wept her bitter loss;
In her arms her Jesus holding,
Torn so newly from the Cross.

Oh, that mournful Virgin-Mother!
See her tears how fast they flow
Down upon His mangled body,
Wounded side, and thorny brow;
While His hands and feet she kisses—
Picture of immortal woe.

Oft and oft, His arms and bosom
Fondly straining to her own;
Oft her pallid lips imprinting
On each wound of her dear Son;
Till at last, in swoons of anguish,
Sense and consciousness are gone.

Gentle Mother, we beseech thee
By thy tears and troubles sore;
By the death of thy dear Offspring,
By the bloody wounds He bore;
Touch our hearts with that true sorrow
Which afflicted thee of yore.

To the Father everlasting,
And the Son Who reigns on high,
With the Co-eternal Spirit,
Trinity in Unity,
Be salvation, honour, blessing
Now and through eternity.
Amen

Attrib. to the Servite Bishop Callisto Maria Vincenzo Antonio Palumbella OSM (1687-1749), who also composed the Office for the Feast inserted in the Breviary in 1720. He was the Bishop of Terracina, Priverno e Sezze, Italy.
This Translation by Fr Edward Caswell COrat (1814–1878)

Posted in MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, Prayers to the SORROWFUL MOTHER, QUOTES on DEATH

Our Morning Offering – 11 September – O Mother of Sorrows, Stand by Me

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Our Morning Offering – 11 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross”

O Mother of Sorrows,
Stand by Me in My Last Agony
By St Gabriel Francis Possenti
of Our Lady of Sorrows (1838-1862)

O Mother of Sorrows,
by the anguish and love
with which thou didst stand
at the Cross of Jesus,
stand by me in my last agony.
To thy maternal heart
I commend the last three hours of my life.
Offer these hours to the Eternal Father
in union with the agony of our dearest Lord,
in atonement for my sins.
Offer to the Eternal Father
the Most Precious Blood of Jesus,
mingled with your tears on Calvary,
that I may obtain the grace
of receiving Holy Communion
with the most perfect love and contrition,
before my death
and that I may breathe forth my soul
in the adorable Presence of Jesus.
Dearest Mother, when the moment
of my death has at last come,
present me as your child to Jesus.
Ask Him to forgive me for having offended Him,
for I knew not what I did!
Beg Him to receive me into His Kingdom of Glory
to be united with Him forever.
Amen

Posted in MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, Prayers to the SORROWFUL MOTHER, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR

Our Morning Offering – 10 September – Mother of Love, of Sorrow and of Mercy

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Our Morning Offering – 10 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross”

Mother of Love, of Sorrow and of Mercy
By St Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373)

O Blessed Virgin Mary,
Immaculate Mother of God,
who endured a Martyrdom of love and grief,
beholding the sufferings and sorrows of Jesus!
Thou didst co-operate in the benefit of my redemption
by thy innumerable afflictions
and by offering to the Eternal Father,
His only-begotten Son, as a holocaust
and victim of propitiation for my sins.
I thank thee for the unspeakable love
which led thee to deprive thyself
of the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus,
true God and true Man, to save me, a sinner.
Oh! make use of the unfailing intercession
of thy sorrows with the Father and the Son,
that I may steadfastly amend my life
and never again crucify
my loving Redeemer by my sins
and that, persevering till death in His grace,
I may obtain eternal life
through the merits of His Cross and Passion.
Amen
Mother of love, of sorrow and of mercy, pray for us!

Posted in GOD ALONE!, HOLY WEEK, MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, MOTHER of GOD, Our MORNING Offering, Prayers to the SORROWFUL MOTHER, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 9 September – Fr Faber’s O Come and Mourn With Me Awhile

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Our Morning Offering – 9 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” and Our Lady’s Saturday

O Come and Mourn With Me Awhile
By Fr F W Faber C.Orat (1814-1863)

O come and mourn with me awhile,
See Mary calls us to her side;
O come and let us mourn with her.
Jesus, our Love, is Crucified.

Have we no tears to shed for Him,
While soldiers scoff and Jews deride?
Ah, look how patiently He hangs.
Jesus, our Love, is Crucified.

How fast His feet and hands are nailed,
His blessed tongue with thirst is tied,
His failing eyes are blind with blood.
Jesus, our Love, is Crucified.

O love of God! O sin of man!
In this dread act Thy strength is tried
And victory remains with love,
For He, our Love, is Crucified
Amen

Posted in GOD ALONE!, GOOD FRIDAY, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN Saturdays, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, The FIVE FIRST Saturdays, The PASSION, The REDEMPTION

Thought for the Day – 6 September – A Holocaust for our Redemption

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Thought for the Day – 6 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

A Holocaust for our Redemption

“Scourged, crowned with thorns and derided, Jesus is finally condemned to death.
Burdened with the Cross, He sets out for the place of execution in the midst of a crowd of enemies, blasphemers and idle speculators.
Among them , there is only a tiny group which sympathises with Jesus, namely, Mary His Mother, the devout women and the beloved Apostle, St John.

The divine Redeemer goes forward labouriously beneath the heavy weight of the Cross.
He has already lost a large quantity of blood in Gethsemane and during the scourging and crowning with thorns.
His strength seems to be failing but love sustains Him.
Looking feebly around Him, He sees the mocking Jews, the indifferent and disrespectful Roman soldiers and a throng of curious spectators looking for something to amuse them.
Is there nobody else?
Where are those whom He cured miraculously and those whom He comforted and forgave?
Has nobody any pity for Him?
Suddenly the crowd falls silent.
A woman, pale and tearful, is approaching Him, supported by her friends.
She defies the commands of soldiers and the scowls of the executions and comes close to Him.

Here and there, a murmur is heard – It must be His Mother, poor woman!
Jesus and Mary gaze at one another.
It would be impossible for us to guess at the immense depths of love contained in that loving exchange of glances.
Neither utters a word, for no words could express their anguish, nor manifest their love.
They look and understand one another, offering themselves as a holocaust for the redemption of wayward humanity.

Nevertheless, in this silent meeting, there was great consolation for the Heart of Jesus, for He had found someone who loved and understood Him, amongst those malicious throngs.
Why do we not sympathise with Him too and love Him with all our hearts?”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in GOOD FRIDAY, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN Saturdays, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, St Francis de Sales, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The PASSION, The WILL of GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 6 September – Mater Dolorosa and the Sacred Passion

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Quote/s of the Day – 6 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” –

“The heart of Mary became,
as it were, a mirror of the
Passion of the Son,
in which might be seen,
faithfully reflected,
the spitting, the blows and wounds
and all which Jesus suffered.”

St Lawrence Justinian (1381-1455)

“Now it is that we are to show
an invincible courage towards our Saviour,
serving Him purely for the love of His Will,
not only without pleasure
but amid this deluge of sorrows,
horrors, distresses and assaults,
as did his glorious Mother and St John,
upon the day of His Passion.
Amongst so many blasphemies,
sorrows and deadly distresses,
they remained constant in love …”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritatis

Posted in MARIAN PRAYERS, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, Prayers to the SORROWFUL MOTHER, St Alphonsus de Liguori,, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 6 September – O Afflicted Virgin! By St Alphonsus

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Our Morning Offering – 6 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” and Our Lady’s Saturday

O Afflicted Virgin!
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor

O afflicted Virgin!
O soul, great in virtues
and great also in sorrows!
for both arise from that great fire of love
thou hast for God;
thou “whose heart can love nothing but God.”
O Mother, have pity on me,
for I have not loved God
and I have so much offended Him.
Thy sorrows give me great confidence
to hope for pardon.
But this is not enough;
I wish to love my Lord
and who can better obtain this for me
than thou,
thou who art the Mother of fair love?
O Mary, thou dost console all,
comfort me also.
Amen

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, franciscan OFM, GOD ALONE!, MARIAN PRAYERS, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, Prayers to the SORROWFUL MOTHER, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 4 September – To Our Lady of Sorrows By St Bonaventure

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Our Morning Offering – 4 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross”

To Our Lady of Sorrows
By St Bonaventure (1217-1274)
Seraphic Doctor of the Church

O most holy Virgin,
Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
by the overwhelming grief thou experienced
when thou witnessed the Martyrdom,
the Crucifixion and the Death,
of Thy Divine Son,
look upon me, with eyes of compassion
and awaken in my heart,
a tender commiseration for those sufferings
and a sincere detestation of my sins,
in order that,
being disengaged from all undue affection
for the passing joys of this earth,
I may sigh after the eternal Jerusalem
and that, henceforward, all my thoughts
and all my actions may be directed
towards this one most desirable object,
the honour, glory and love
of our divine Lord Jesus,
and to thee,
the Holy and Immaculate
Mother of God.
Amen.

Posted in ASPIRATIONS and EJACULATIONS, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, INDULGENCES, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRAYERS to the SAINTS, Prayers to the SORROWFUL MOTHER, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY CROSS

1 SEPTEMBER – Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross

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SEPTEMBER

Month of The Seven Sorrows
of the Blessed Virgin Mary and
The Holy Cross

The Seven Sorrows of
the Blessed Virgin Mary

1, The prophecy of Simeon
2. The Flight to Egypt
3. Loss of Child Jesus for 3 days
4. Meeting Jesus carrying His Cross
5. The Crucifixion of Jesus
6. The Pieta – receiving Jesus’ Body
The Burial of Jesus

Bid me bear, O Mother Blest,
On my heart, the wounds imprest,
Suffered by the Crucified!

An Indulgence of 50 days each time.
Plenary Indulgence once a month under the usual conditions.

What Can I Say?
By St Anselm (1033-1109)
Magnificent Doctor
Marian Doctor

My most merciful Lady,
what can I say about the fountains
that flowed from your most pure eyes
when you saw your only Son before you,
bound, beaten and suffering?
What do I know of the flood
that drenched your matchless face,
when you beheld your Son,
your Lord and your God,
stretched on the Cross without guilt,
when the flesh of your flesh
was cruelly butchered by wicked men?
How can I judge, what sobs,
troubled your most pure breast,
when you heard, “Woman, behold your son,”
and the disciple, “Behold, your Mother,”
when you received as a son
the disciple in place of the Master,
the servant for the Lord?
Amen

From “The Prayers and Meditations of Saint Anselm with the Proslogion,” Benedicta Ward, trans,1973, Penguin classics, Penguin Group (UK).

Posted in MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, OUR Cross, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, Prayers to the SORROWFUL MOTHER, QUOTES on SUFFERING, St Alphonsus de Liguori,

Our Morning Offering – 1 September – My Sorrowful Mother, Help Me to Bear My Crosses

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Our Morning Offering – 1 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” –

My Sorrowful Mother,
Help Me to Bear My Crosses
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

My sorrowful Mother,
by the merit of that grief
which you felt
at seeing your beloved Jesus
led to death,
obtain for me the grace
to bear with patience,
those crosses which God sends me.
I will be fortunate
if I also shall know how
to accompany you
with my cross until death.
You and Jesus,
both innocent,
have borne a heavy cross
and shall I,
a sinner who has merited hell,
refuse mine?
Immaculate Virgin,
I hope you will help me
to bear my crosses with patience.
Amen

Posted in "Follow Me", MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, OUR Cross, QUOTES on PATIENCE

Thought for the Day – 7 August – Mary’s Patience

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Thought for the Day – 7 August – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Mary’s Patience

“Holy Mary, Mother of Sorrows, obtain for me the spirit of loving patience which made you the Queen of Martyrs.
Help me to carry, with resignation, the cross which God has given me.
Help me to walk like you in the footsteps of Jesus, until I reach my Calvary, so that I may join Him and you, in the glory of Heaven. Amen,”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/05/10/thought-for-the-day-10-may-marys-patience/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/05/10/thought-for-the-day-10-may-marys-patience-2/

Posted in GOD the FATHER, INDULGENCES, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, Our MORNING Offering, PAPAL PRAYERS, PARTIAL Indulgence, PRECIOUS BLOOD PRAYERS

Our Morning Offering – 18 July – By the Merits  of the Precious Blood of Jesus (Indulgenced)

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Our Morning Offering – 18 July – “The Month of the Most Precious Blood”

By the Merits of the
Precious Blood of Jesus
By Servant of God Pope Pius VII (1742-1823)
Papacy from 1800 to 1823
Indulgenced Act of Oblation to Our Father

Eternal Father!
I offer Thee the merits
of the Precious Blood of Jesus,
Thy well-beloved Son,
my Saviour and my God,
for all my wants,
spiritual and temporal,
in aid of the Holy Souls in Purgatory
and chiefly for those
who most loved this Precious Blood,
the price of our redemption
and who were most devout
to the sorrows and pains
of most Holy Mary,
our dear Mother.

Glory be to the Blood of Jesus,
now and forever
and throughout all ages.
Amen.

Indulgence of 300 days, each time this prayed is offered,
22 September 1817 with a Plenary Indulgence, once a month,
under the usual conditions.

Note of Interest: On 15 August 1811 – the Feast of the Assumption – it is recorded that the Pope celebrated Mass and was said to have entered a trance and began to levitate in a manner that drew him to the Altar. This particular episode aroused great wonder and awe among attendants, which included the French soldiers guarding him, who were awestruck at what had occurred and left records of it.

Posted in MARIAN PRAYERS, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, OUR Cross, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, St Alphonsus de Liguori,, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 15 July – My Sorrowful Mother, Help Me to Bear My Crosses

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Our Morning Offering – 15 July – “The Month of the Most Precious Blood” –

My Sorrowful Mother,
Help Me to Bear My Crosses
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

My sorrowful Mother,
by the merit of that grief
which you felt
at seeing your beloved Jesus
led to death,
obtain for me the grace
to bear with patience,
those crosses which God sends me.
I will be fortunate
if I also shall know how
to accompany you
with my cross until death.
You and Jesus,
both innocent,
have borne a heavy cross
and shall I,
a sinner who has merited hell,
refuse mine?
Immaculate Virgin,
I hope you will help me
to bear my crosses with patience.
Amen

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, MARIAN PRAYERS, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, MOTHER of GOD, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRECIOUS BLOOD PRAYERS, THE FIVE FIRST SATURDAYS DEVOTION

Our Morning Offering – 5 July – Mother of Love, of Sorrow and of Mercy

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Our Morning Offering – 5 July – “The Month of the Most Precious Blood” – First Saturday

Mother of Love, of Sorrow and of Mercy
By St Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373)

O Blessed Virgin Mary,
Immaculate Mother of God,
who endured a martyrdom of love and grief,
beholding the sufferings and sorrows of Jesus!
Thou didst co-operate in the benefit of my redemption
by thy innumerable afflictions
and by offering to the Eternal Father,
His only-begotten Son, as a holocaust
and victim of propitiation for my sins.
I thank thee for the unspeakable love
which led thee to deprive thyself
of the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus,
true God and true Man, to save me, a sinner.
Oh! make use of the unfailing intercession
of thy sorrows with the Father and the Son,
that I may steadfastly amend my life
and never again crucify
my loving Redeemer by my sins
and that, persevering till death in His grace,
I may obtain eternal life
through the merits of His Cross and Passion.
Amen

Mother of love, of sorrow and of mercy, pray for us!

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on SUFFERING, REDEMPTIVE Suffering, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 18 April –The Crucifixion

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Thought for the Day – 18 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Crucifixion

“After a painful and exhausting journey, Jesus reaches Calvary, where He is to be Crucified.
Once again, He is stripped of His garments, which, by this time, have become glued to His swollen sores.
Then, He is stretched upon the wooden Cross, to which, one of the brutal executioners fastens His Hands and Feet, with blows from a hammer.
The sharp nails are driven through His flesh into the hard wood.
Jesus looks upwards and offers Himself in silence, as a Victim of Expiation, on behalf of His tormentors and of all of us.
His Mother Mary, is standing a few paces away in the company of the holy women and of the beloved Disciple.
The blows of the hammer pierce the maternal heart of the Blessed Virgin but,she remains silent also and prays.

When we have been afflicted by misfortune or sorrow and our hearts are racked with grief, how do we behave?
Have we the resignation, the trust in God and the spirit of prayer, which Jesus and Mary had on Calvary?
Let us remind ourselves, that we are members of the Mystical Body of Christ.
If Jesus our Head, has suffered, how much more, do miserable sinners like the rest of us deserve to suffer!?
Jesus wishes us to participate in the work of redemption by uniting our sufferings to His.
“I rejoice now,” says St Paul, “in the suffering I bear … and what is lacking of the suffering of Christ, I fill up in my flesh…” (Col 1:24).

Let us face adversity with courage, therefore and keep our eyes hopefully towards Heaven.
Let us remember, as St Paul also says, that even as we share in the sufferings of Christ, so we shall share in His triumph (Cf 2 Cor 1:7).
Jesus had to ascen Mount Calvary, before He could ascend to Heaven.
If we are to walk in His footsteps, we shall have to do the same!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in GOOD FRIDAY, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, LENT- 2025, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, The PASSION, The SACRED PASSION - Meditations for LENT

Lenten Meditations – 18 April – The Descent from the Cross

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Lenten Meditations – 18 April – With Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900) Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The Sacred Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
“Short Meditations for Lent”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Good Friday
The Descent from the Cross

Read St Mark xv:38-46
(See below)

+I. No sooner is the sacrifice consummated and the last drop of the Precious Blood shed from Our Lord’s Sacred Heart, than all is changed.
That lifeless Body is now treated with the utmost respect and veneration. See how gently and carefully Joseph and Nicodemus wind linen bands around the Limbs and lower it to the ground reverently, adoring that Body which only a few hours before had been a laughing-stock and object of contempt. Henceforth, no more ignominy, no more contempt, no more ill-usage but the love and adoration of Saints and Angels for all eternity.

+2. Our Lady receives the Body of her Son.
What were her thoughts as she gazes into the Five Wounds and sees how, from Head to Foot, it is covered with gaping wounds, sores and bruises, battered out of all recognition by the cruelty of man!?
O Mother of Sorrows, great as an ocean, is thy sorrow! What must thy hatred of sin be, when thou seest what it has wrought in the Divine Beauty of thy spotless Son!
What a mixture of agonised compassion and mournful sorrow and hope and consolation and gratitude and triumph ant joy, fills thy sacred soul while thou lookest upon the Dead Body of thy Divine Son!

+3. The day on which Jesus died, is indeed well named, Good Friday.
It is the day when Jesus consummated His victory over sin and death.
While we mourn over His sufferings and our sins which caused them, we must also rejoice exceedingly, at the thought of Satan conquered and Heaven opened and millions of sinners cleansed from sin, in His Most Precious Blood!

St Mark 15:38-46
[38] And the veil of the temple was rent in two, from the top to the bottom. [39] And the centurion who stood near Him, seeing that crying out in this manner, He had given up the ghost, said: Indeed this man was the Son of God. [40] And there were also women looking on afar off, among whom was Mary Magdalen and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joseph and Salome, [41] who also, when He was in Galilee followed Him and ministered to Him and many other women who came up to Jerusalem, with Him. [42] And when evening was now come (because it was the Pasch-eve, that is, the day before the sabbath).[43] Joseph of Arimathea, a noble counsellor, who was also himself looking for the Kingdom of God, came and went in boldly to Pilate and begged the Body of Jesus. [44] But Pilate wondered that he should be already dead. And sending for the centurion, he asked him if he were already dead. [45] And when he had understood it by the centurion, he gave the Body to Joseph.
[46] And Joseph buying fine linen and taking Him down, wrapped Him in the fine linen and laid Him in a sepulchre which was hewed out of a rock. And he rolled a stone to the door of the sepulchre. [Mark 15:38-46]

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, GOOD FRIDAY, HOLY WEEK, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, STATIONS of the CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The SECOND COMING, The SEVEN LAST WORDS of CHRIST, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 18 April – There they crucified Him – John 19:18

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One Minute Reflection – 18 April – Good Friday – The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St John 18:1-40.19:1-42 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“There they crucified Him and with Him two others, one on either side and Jesus between them. ” – John 19:18

REFLECTION – “Truly, you are a hidden God!” (Is 45:15).   Why hidden?   Because He had neither form nor beauty, yet power was in His Hands.   It was there His fortitude was hidden.

Was He not hidden when He submitted His Hands to brutes and His Palms received the nails?   The print of the nails gleamed on His Hands and His innocent Side received the wound.   They shackled His Feet in fetters, the iron pierced His soles and His Feet were fastened to the tree.   These wounds did God suffer on our behalf, at the hands of His own people, in His own home.   O how marvellous are His Wounds by which the wounds of the world were healed!   How victorious His Wounds, by which He slew death and stung hell! … Therefore, O Church, O dove, You have coverts in the rock and a hollow in the wall in which to rest (cf. Sg 2:14). …

And what will you do … when He comes in the clouds with great power and majesty? (cf Mt 24:30)   He will come down with Heaven and earth ablaze and by the terror of His coming, He will dissolve the elements.   When He has come, the Sign of the Cross will be seen in the sky and the beloved One will show the scars of His Wounds and the prints of the nails, by which He was transfixed in His own home!” … St Amadeus of Lausanne (1108-1159) – Cistercian Monk, Bishop

PRAYER – Deliver us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all evils, past, present and to come and by the intercession of the blessed and glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God and of the Holy Apostles, Peter and Paul and of all the Saints, mercifully grant peace in our days, that through the assistance of Thy mercy we may be always free from sin and secure from all disturbance. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Faithful Cross! above all other, One and only noble Tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom, None in fruit thy peer may be.
Sweetest wood and sweetest iron,
Sweetest weight is hung on thee. (Antiphons).

Posted in Hail MARY!, LENT- 2025, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARY, MATER ECCLESIAE, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, The PASSION, The SACRED PASSION - Meditations for LENT, To JESUS through MARY

Lenten Meditations – 13 April – Jesus Commends His Disciples to His Holy Mother’s Care

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Lenten Meditations – 13 April – With Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900) Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The Sacred Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
“Short Meditations for Lent”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

The Sixth Sunday in Lent
Jesus Commends His Disciples
to His Holy Mother’s Care

Read St.John xix:25-27

[25] Now there stood by the Cross of Jesus, His Mother, and His Mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas and Mary Magdalen.
[26] When Jesus, therefore, had seen His Mother and the disciple whom He loved, He saith to His Mother: Woman, behold thy son. [27] After that, He saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own. [John 19:25-27]

+1. Our Divine Saviour did not depart from those He loved without providing them with a Mother, who should be their Consoler, their Protector, their Advocate with God.
In the person of St John, He entrusted them all to Mary’s care.
If He had simply been providing Mary with a home, He would first have addressed St John and commended to him, the pious task of sheltering the Mother of God. By speaking firstly to Mary, He showed that it was she, who was to shelter all those, who were desolate and in sorrow. St John was the representative of all who love Jesus, when Jesus said to Mary respecting him:
“ Woman, behold thy son.”

+2. This was the occasion when Our Lady, for a second time, became a mother.
The birth of her first-begotten Jesus, cost her no pains of travail; the birth of her spiritual children, the sinful sons of men, brought unspeakable anguish to her. The Queen of Heaven became the Queen of Dolors before she could earn the right, to exercise, a mother’s fostering care over each of us,.
How we ought to value the privilege of being her children, when it cost Mary such unspeakable suffering!

+3. When Jesus said to Mary: “Woman, behold thy son” He asked Our Lady to regard us with a mother’s love for His Sake.
Her love for Him was to be transferred to us, without, however, becoming one whit the lesser. She was to love us for Jesus’ Sake; to show her love for Him, by loving us.
With what perfect confidence can we go to Mary, who sees in each of us, in spite of our sins, the image of her Divine Son!
Hail Mary full of grace!

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN Saturdays, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS for SEASONS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRAYERS on the CROSS of CHRIST, Prayers to the SORROWFUL MOTHER

Our M orning Offering – 12 April – What Can I Say? By St Anselm

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Our Morning Offering – 12 April – Saturday in Passion Week

What Can I Say?
By St Anselm (1033-1109)
Magnificent Doctor
Marian Doctor

My most merciful Lady,
what can I say about the fountains
which flowed from thy most pure eyes
when thou saw thy only Son before thee,
bound, beaten and suffering?
What do I know of the flood
which drenched thy matchless face,
when thou beheld thy Son,
thy Lord and thy God,
stretched on the Cross without guilt,
when the flesh of thy flesh
was cruelly butchered by wicked men?
How can I judge, what sobs,
troubled thy most pure breast,
when thou heard,
“Woman, behold thy son,”
and the disciple, “Behold, thy Mother,”
when thou received as a son,
the disciple, in place of the Master,
the servant, for the Lord?
Amen

From “The Prayers and Meditations of Saint Anselm with the Proslogion.”

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARY, MATER ECCLESIAE, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 11 April – “Behold, thy mother” – John 19:27

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One Minute Reflection – 11 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – Friday of Passion Week – St Leo I, the Great (c400-461) Pope, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church – Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows – Judith 13:22, 25 – John 19:25-27–Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Behold, thy mother” – John 19:27

REFLECTION – “Woman, this is thy son. This is thy mother.” By what right is the disciple. whom Jesus loved, the son of the Lord’s mother? By what right is she his mother? By the fact that, without pain, she brought into the world the salvation of us all, when she gave birth in the flesh to the God-Man. But now, she is in labour, with great pain as she stands at the foot of the Cross!

At the hour of His Passion, the Lord Himself rightly compared the Apostles to a woman in childbirth, when He said: “When a woman is in labour she is in anguish because a child is born into the world” (cf Jn 16:21). How much more, then, might such a Son compare such a Mother, the Mother standing at the foot of His Cross, to a woman in labour? What am I saying? “Compare?” She is indeed truly a woman and truly a mother and, at this hour, she is truly experiencing the pains of childbirth. When her Son was born she did not experience the anguish of giving birth in pain as other women do; it is now that she is suffering, that she is crucified, that she experiences sorrow; like a woman in labour because her hour has come ( Jn 16:21; cf 13:1; 17:1). …

When this hour has passed, when the sword of sorrow has completely pierced her soul in labour (Lk 2:35), then, no more will she “remember the pain because a child has been born into the world” – the new Man Who renews the entire human race and reigns forever over the whole world, truly born, beyond all suffering, immortal, the Firstborn from the Dead. If the Virgin has thus brought the salvation of us all into the world, in her Son’s Passion, then she is, indeed, the Mother of us all!” – Rupert of Deutz (c1075-1130) Benedictine Monk, Theologian, Exegete and Writer – (Commentary on Saint Johns Gospel, 13).

PRAYER – O God, in Whose Passion the sword, according to the prophecy of blessed Simeon, pierced through the soul of Mary, the glorious Virgin and Mother, mercifully grant that we, who reverently commemorate her piercing through and her suffering, may, by the interceding glorious merits of all the Saints faithfully standing by the Cross, obtain the abundant fruit of Thine Passion. Who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, Prayers to the SORROWFUL MOTHER, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on THE WORLD

Our Morning Offering – 11 April – O Mother of Sorrows ,Stand by Me in My Last Agony

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Our Morning Offering – 11 April – Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady of Sorrows

O Mother of Sorrows,
Stand by Me in My Last Agony
By St Gabriel Francis Possenti
of Our Lady of Sorrows (1838-1862)

O Mother of Sorrows,
by the anguish and love
with which thou didst stand
at the Cross of Jesus,
stand by me in my last agony.
To thy maternal heart
I commend the last three hours of my life.
Offer these hours to the Eternal Father
in union with the agony of our dearest Lord,
in atonement for my sins.
Offer to the Eternal Father
the Most Precious Blood of Jesus,
mingled with your tears on Calvary,
that I may obtain the grace
of receiving Holy Communion
with the most perfect love and contrition,
before my death
and that I may breathe forth my soul
in the adorable Presence of Jesus.
Dearest Mother, when the moment
of my death has at last come,
present me as your child to Jesus.
Ask Him to forgive me for having offended Him,
for I knew not what I did!
Beg Him to receive me into His Kingdom of Glory
to be united with Him forever.
Amen