Category: The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Posted in MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION

Our Morning Offering – 25 March – Blessed Shall be Her Name

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Our Morning Offering – 25 March – The Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Blessed Shall be Her Name
Anonymous Author

Praise we the Lord this day,
This day so long foretold,
Whose promise shone with cheering ray
On waiting saints of old.

The prophet gave the sign
That those with faith might read;
A Virgin, born of David’s line
Shall bear the promised Seed.

Ask not how this should be,
But worship and adore;
Like her whom Heaven’s majesty
Came down to shadow o’er.

She meekly bowed her head
To hear the gracious word,
Mary, the pure and lowly maid,
The favoured of the Lord.

Blessed shall be her name
In all the Church on earth,
Through whom that wondrous Mercy came,
The Incarnate Saviour’s Birth.

Jesus, the Virgin’s Son,
We praise You and adore,
Who are with God the Father One
And Spirit evermore.
Amen

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, SAINT of the DAY, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION

The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Dismas and the Saints for 25 March

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The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/03/25/the-solemnity-of-the-annunciation-of-the-lord-25-march/
AND:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/03/25/the-solemnity-of-the-annunciation-of-the-lord-our-lady-of-betania-and-memorials-of-the-saints-25-march/

By Paolo Matteis

St Alfwold of Sherborne
St Barontius of Pistoia
St Desiderius of Pistoia

St Dismas (Crucified with Jesus) “The Good Thief”
Here:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/03/25/saint-of-the-day-25-march-saint-dismas-the-good-thief/

St Dula the Slave
Bl Everard of Nellenburg
Bl Herman of Zahringen
St Hermelandus (Died c720) Priest, Abbot
St Humbert of Pelagius
Bl James Bird
St Kennocha of Fife

St Lucia Filippini (1672-1732) Virgin, Religious Sister, Founder. On 22 June 1930, Lucia Filippini was declared a Saint of the Church by Pope Pius XI and her Statue was given the last available niche in the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome. Her statue can be seen in the first upper niche from the main entrance on the left (south) side of the nave of St Peter’s.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/03/25/saint-of-the-day-25-march-st-lucia-filippini-1672-1732/

Blessed Margaret Clitherow (1556-1586) Martyr, Married Laywoman and Mother of 3. Her 2 sons became Priests and her daughter a Nun. She is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. She was Beatified on 15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI.
Her Life and Most Horrible Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/03/25/saint-of-the-day-25-march-saint-margaret-clitherow-1556-1586-the-pearl-of-york-marty/

St Matrona of Barcelona
St Matrona of Thessaloniki
St Mona of Milan
St Nicodemus of Mammola
St Pelagius of Laodicea Bishop

Blessed Placido Riccardi OSB (1844-1915. Priest and Friar of the Order of St Benedict. He was Beatified on 5 Dercember 1954 by Pope Pius XII. PATRONAGES – against Malaria, against all bodily illnesses
A Devout and Dedicated Servant:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/25/saint-of-the-day-25-march-blessed-placido-riccardi-osb-1844-1915-priest/

St Procopius
St Quirinus of Rome
Bl Tommaso of Costacciaro

262 Martyrs of Rome: A group 262 Christians Martyred together in Rome. We know nothing else about them, not even their names.

Posted in ArchAngels and Angels, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on SIN, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 March –  ‘… By the word of an Angel …’

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One Minute Reflection – 24 March – “The Month of Saint Joseph” –Feast of St Gabriel the Archangel – Daniel 9:21-26 – Luke 1:26-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Hail, full of grace!” – Luke 1:28

REFLECTION – “So the Lord now manifestly came to His own. Born by His own created order which He Himself bears, He, by His obedience on the tree, renewed and reversed that which was done by disobedience, in connection with a tree.

The power of that seduction, by which the virgin Eve, already betrothed to a man, had been wickedly seduced, was broken, when the Angel in truth, brought good tidings to the Virgin Mary, who already, by her betrothal, belonged to a man.  For as Eve was seduced by the word of an Angel to flee from God, having rebelled against His Word, so Mary by the word of an Angel, received the glad tidings that she would bear God, by obeying His Word.

The former was seduced to disobey God and so fell but, the latter, was persuaded to obey God, so that the Virgin Mary might become the advocate of Eve.

As the human race was subjected to death through the act of a Virgin, so was it saved by a Virgin, was precisely balanced by the obedience of Another. Then indeed, the sin of the first formed man was amended by the chastisement of the First Begotten, the wisdom of the serpent was conquered by the simplicity of the Dove and the chains were broken, by which we were in bondage to death.” – St Irenaeus (130-202) Bishop of Lyons, Martyr, Father of the Church (Against Heresies, 5)

PRAYER – O God, Who, out of all the Angels, chose the Archangel Gabriel to announce the Mystery of Thy Incarnation, mercifully grant that we who keep his feast on earth, may have him as our patron in Heaven.Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in ArchAngels and Angels, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION

Our Morning Offering – 24 March – Hail Gabriel, Hail, a Thousand Hails!

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Our Morning Offering – 24 March – The Feast of St Gabriel the Archangel

Hail Gabriel, Hail, a Thousand Hails!
By Fr Fr Frederick W Faber CO (1814-1863)

Hail Gabriel, hail, a thousand hails
For thine whose music still prevails
To charm the list’ning ear;
Angelic word, sent forth to tell
How He the Eternal Word should dwell
Amid His creatures here.

Heaven’s voice of sweetness, uttered low,
Thy words like strains of music grow
Upon the stilly night;
Clear echoes from the mind of God
Which steal through Mary’s blest abode
In pulses of delight.

O voice, dear voice, the ages hear
That hail of thine, still ling’ring near,
An unexhausted song
And still, thou com’st with balmy wing
And still, thou sweetly seem’st to sing,
Thine Ave to prolong.

Take up in Heaven, for us thy part
And singing to the Sacred Heart,
Thy strains of rapture raise
And tune with endless Ave still
The voices of the Blest and fill,
The ear of God, with praise.

The Above is an excerpt from Fr Faber’s 14 stanza Hymn.
Tune: “Pembroke” J. Foster, 1807-1885.

Posted in MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, Meditations on ST JOSEPH, MOTHER of GOD, St JOSEPH

Thought for the Day – 10 March – St Joseph’s Second Sorrow

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Thought for the Day – 10 March – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“Short Meditations for March, St Joseph”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

10th Day – St Joseph’s Second Sorrow

+1. When St Joseph started from his home at Nazareth to repair to Bethlehem, according to the Emperor’s command, he had every reason to expect he would be well received. His early youth had been spent there and he must have been known to many of the inhabitants. But, when he arrived there, a sad shock awaited him. No room in the caravansary or guesthouse. No room in any of the houses where he applied for admission. Everywhere, a refusal. No room for him; no room for his spotless spouse.
It is always painful to meet with a cold reception among those, who we expect will welcome us.

+2. It was not for his own sake, Joseph grieved.
He was accustomed to being ill-treated. He had learned to welcome it for God’s Sake. But to witness the distress caused to his holy spouse, ah, this was difficult!
It is far more painful to witness suffering in those we love than to feel it ourselves. Could Joseph do nothing to find shelter for Mary in her delicate and critical condition? Every resource had failed him; he could only pray and wait.

+3. At last, a thought occurred to him. He remembered a cave where some animals were kept; small, low, dirty, unfit. for human habitation but here, at least, she would be safe from the perishing cold, here they could remain in peace.
How could he propose it to her?
Was this the sort of treatment to be accorded to the Mother of God?
Yes, it must be so and Joseph submitted to the holy Will of God.

Posted in Hail MARY!, MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, Meditations on ST JOSEPH, St JOSEPH

Thought for the Day – 7 March – The Visitation

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Thought for the Day – 7 March – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“Short Meditations for March, St Joseph”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

7th Day – The Visitation

+1. The visit of Mary to her cousin St Elizabeth took place a short time after the Annunciation . It had been suggested to her by the Angel’s message, telling her that Elizabeth was to bear a son.
St Joseph knew nothing of this, yet, he raised no objection to the journey. He had already conceived such a reverence for his spotless spouse that it was enough for him that she entertained a wish. He knew that she never acted on impulse, or without a due cause and so, when Mary asked his leave to visit her cousin, he at once consented.
So we too, should consult, as far as possible, the wishes of others, especially our spouses, seeking to conform our will to others in the spirit of charity.

+2. St Joseph would not allow his young wife to journey alone. He went with her as her escort. What a happiness to him to wait upon her! How tenderly he watches over her
How thoughtfully he sees to all her wants!
Men often idealise those they love but there was no need to idealise Mary. She was an ideal in herself. And when he approached her, Joseph somehow felt that he was drawing near to God and that God dwelt in her ,in some other way than by His graces and gifts.

+3. Arriving at their journey’s end, St Joseph, in his humility, saw to their material needs and did not hear the words of Elizabeth saluting Mary as the Mother of God and announcing the joy of her unborn babe at His Presence.
St Joseph was ignorant and remained in ignorance of the Mystery of the Incarnation. He had to wait – this was to be the law of his life as it is, of the lives of all who are very dear to God.

Posted in MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, Meditations on ST JOSEPH, St JOSEPH, The ANNUNCIATION

Thought for the Day – 6 March – The Annunciation

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Thought for the Day – 6 March – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“Short Meditations for March, St Joseph”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

6th Day – The Annunciation

+1. Our Lady’s peaceful life at Nazareth with her chaste and holy spouse had continued for some weeks or months, when that wondrous message came to her – she was to be the Mother of God. The Son of God became Incarnate in her holy womb!
How it must have transformed her whole life to know that her God dwelt within her!
She was no longer Joseph’s spouse before all else; he had to give place to One holier than he, to One Who was not mere man but God!
Now she was before all and above all, the sacred house in which the Eternal Wisdom of God dwelt under a veil of flesh!

+2. Did Joseph perceive any change in her?
Yes – he was conscious of a dignity, of a grace, of a Divinity encircling Mary which ,with all her holiness, had not been there before.
Mary’s sanctity was transformed. She, herself, who before had been like a beautiful crystal, was now like a crystal through which some brilliant Light continually darted its rays of splendour.
So ought we to be when we receive Holy Communion .
What a change it should make in us!
How in our conversation the recent Presence of our God
within us, should show its Divine effects in our lives!

+3. Why did Mary not tell Joseph?
She could not. She, who always acted under Divine inspiration was inspired to conceal the Divine secret.
How could she, with her humility, reveal this unexampled privilege? She knew all that her silence would bring on her but, until God urged her to speak, she would be silent.
Are we similarly guided by God in all things and, are we anxious to conceal, what exalts us in the eyes of others?

Posted in Hail MARY!, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MOTHER of GOD, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HOPE

Quote/s of the Day – 1 March – Hail to Thee, Forever Virgin, Mother of God

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Quote/s of the Day – 1 March – Saturday of the Blessed Virgin – Salve Sancta Parens

“Hail, full of grace!”

Luke 1:28

“Holy Light on earth’s horizon,
Star of hope to those who fall,
Light amid a world of shadows,
Dawn of God’s Design for all.”

Hail to Thee, Forever Virgin,
Mother of God,
By St Methodius of Olympus (Died c311)

Hail to thee forever-Virgin
Mother of God,
our unceasing joy!
for unto thee do I again return. . . .
Hail, thou fount of the Son’s love for man. . . .
Wherefore, we pray thee,
the most excellent among women,
who boast in the confidence
of thy maternal honours
that thou wouldst, unceasingly,
keep us in remembrance.
O holy Mother of God,
remember us, I say,
who make our boast in thee
and who, in august hymns
celebrate thy memory
which will ever live
and never fade away.
Amen

(From “Oration on Simeon and Anna”)

“You must know that when you
‘hail’ Mary, she immediately greets you!
Do not think that she is one of those rude women
of whom there are so many, on the contrary,
she is utterly courteous and pleasant.
If you greet her, she will answer you right away
and converse with you!”

St Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444)

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN Saturdays, MOTHER of GOD, ONE Minute REFLECTION, Quotes on SALVATION, The ANNUNCIATION, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The INCARNATION, The REDEMPTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 1 March – “Truly, “thou art blessed among women”

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One Minute Reflection – 1 March – “The Month of Saint Joseph” – St David (c 542-c 601) Bishop, Confessor – Saturdaty of the Blessed Virgin (Salve Sancta Parens) – Ecclesiasticus 24:14-16; – Luke 11:27-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Blessed is the womb which bore Thee ” – Luke 11:27

REFLECTION – “Hail, O favoured one, the Lord is with thee” (Lk 1:28). Could anything transcend the joy which is thine, O Virgin Mary? Could anything surpass this grace?… Truly, thou art “blessed among women” (Lk 1:42), for thou hast changed the condemnation of Eve into a blessing. Because of thee and through thee, Adam, who was hitherto cast down and condemned, received a blessing.

Truly, “thou art blessed among women” for through thee, the blessing of the Father came to mankind and reprieved them from the age-old sentence.
Truly, “thou art blessed among women” because through thee, thy ancestors found salvation. Thou were to give birth to the Saviour, Who would win for them, God’s salvation.

Truly, “thou art blessed among women” for without the seed of man thou bore the Fruit Who gives a blessing to the whole earth and frees it from being condemned to produce only thorns.

Truly, “thou art blessed among women” for although thou art a woman like any other woman, thou will, in actual fact, become the Mother of God. If the One to be born of thee is, in truth God Incarnate, thou rightly deserve to be called ‘she who gave birth to God’ inasmuch as thou truly do give birth to God.” – St Sophronius of Jerusalem (c560-638) Bishop, Father of the Church (Sermon for the Annunciation 2).

PRAYER – We beseech Thee, O Lord, look graciously upon the fervour of Thy people, who mortify themselves in the flesh through abstinence that they may be refreshed in spirit, by the fruit of these good works and the intercession of Thy blessed Confessor, David. 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 (Collect).

Posted in MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of PETITION, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Our Morning Offering – 27 February – O Mother of Sorrows, Stand by Me in My Last Agony By St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

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Our Morning Offering – 27 February – Saturday of the First week of Lent, the Memorial of St Gabriel Francis Possenti of Our Lady of Sorrows (1838-1862) and a Marian Saturday

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 thine 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 AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary, IMMACULATE HEART PRAYERS, IMMACULATE HEART PRAYERS, IMMACULATE HEART Quotes, INDULGENCES, MARIAN Aspirations and Ejaculations, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 15 February – Heart of Mary, Refuge of Sinners, Pray for Us!

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Quote/s of the Day – 15 February – Feast of The Immaculate Heart of Mary, Refuge of Sinners

Heart of Mary, Refuge of Sinners, Pray for Us!

(Indulgence 300 days)

Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.

(1943 Raccolta – Indulgence 300 days)

“Mary will certainly save repentant sinners
who have recourse to her
but she cannot pay any attention to hardened sinners, who pray to her with their lips,
while their hearts remain steeped in sin.
We must have complete confidence in her
but, we must also have a sincere intention
of raising ourselves under her protection,
from the slavery of sin,
to the friendship of God.”

“Mary, my merciful Mother,
you see how wretched I am
and how often I have fallen.
I wish to reform and sanctify myself
but I am not able without your powerful assistance, the weakness of my nature
is an insurmountable obstacle.
Come to my aid, O Mother of mercy.
Obtain for me, forgiveness f
rom your Divine Son.
Obtain for me too, the grace
of a complete change of heart,
so that I may be truly your child
here upon the earth and share
in your glory in Heaven.
Amen.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEBRUARY - THE BLESSED TRINITY (Traditional), IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN QUOTES, MOTHER of GOD, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY

Quote/s of the Day – 11 February – “I am the Immaculate Conception”

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Quote/s of the Day – 11 February – Apparition of the Immaculate Conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary at Lourdes

“I am the Immaculate Conception”

Our Lady to St Bernadette
at Lourdes on 25 March 1858

“Gracious Lady,
thou art a Mother and Virgin,
thou art the Mother
of the body and soul
of our Head and Redeemer,
thou art too, truly Mother
of all the members of Christ’s Mystical Body.
For through thy love,
thou hast co-operated
in the begetting of the faithful in the Church.
Unique among women,
thou art Mother and Virgin,
Mother of Christ and Virgin of Christ.
Thou art the beauty and charm of earth, O Virgin.
Thou art, forever, the image of the holy Church.
Through a woman came death,
through a woman came Life,
yes, through thee, O Mother of God.“

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

“You have guarded the integrity
of the temple [of your body];
you have kept your tabernacle free from all sin,
so that the Father becomes your guest,
the Holy Ghost overshadows you
and the Only-begotten Son Incarnate
is born of you.”

St Hesychius of Jerusalem (Died c450)
Priest, Exegete, Father

NVIOLATA!
INVIOLATE!
Unknown Author
(11th Century)

Thou art inviolate, undefiled
and chaste, O Mary.
Thou has become the resplendent
Gate of Heaven,
O loving and dearest Mother of Christ,
Accept our devout acclamations
in praise of thee.
That our minds and bodies
may be pure,
Devoted hearts and lips
now implore thee.
Through thy sweet sounding prayers,
Gain us pardon forever.
O kind one, who alone
didst remain inviolate.
Amen

The Hymn Inviolata has been claimed by the Carmelite Order, as a Traditional Hymn originating within their ranks. The Hymn is also used by Dominican Friars in the chanting of Compline. Its origins trace to the 11th Century. It appears in Hymnals from 1860 to 1920.

O Purest of Creatures,
Sweet Mother, Sweet Maid
By Fr Frederick W Faber C.Orat. (1814-1863)

O Purest of creatures, sweet Mother, sweet maid,
The one spotless womb wherein Jesus was laid!
Dark night hath come down on us, Mother! and we
Look out for thy shining, sweet Star of the Sea!

Deep night hath come down on this rough-spoken world,
And the banners of darkness are boldly unfurled;
And the tempest-tossed Church,—
all her eyes are on thee;
They look to thy shining, sweet Star of the Sea!

He gazed on thy soul, it was spotless and fair,
For the empire of sin—it had never been there;
None ever had owned thee, dear Mother but He.
And He blest thy clear shining, sweet Star of the Sea!

Earth gave Him one lodging; t’was deep in thy breast,
And God found a home where the sinner finds rest;
His home and His hiding-place, both were in thee,
He was won by thy shining, sweet Star of the Sea!

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, GOD the FATHER, Hail MARY!, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, The ANNUNCIATION, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 11 February – “Hail, full of grace!” – Luke 1:28

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One Minute Reflection – 11 February – “The Month of the Blessed Trinity” – The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Lourdes – Apocalypse 11:19; 12:1, 10; Luke 1:26-31 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Hail, full of grace!” – Luke 1:28

REFLECTION – “The degeneration caused by sin had obscured the beauty of our original nobility. But when, the mother of Supreme Beauty is born, our nature finds its purity once more and sees itself moulded according to the perfect model, worthy of God (Gn 1:26) … We had all preferred the world below to that above. There no longer remained any hope of salvation. The state of our nature cried aloud to Heaven to come to the rescue … Then at last, in His good pleasure, the world’s Divine Artificer determined to make a new world appear, a different world full of harmony and youth.

Now, was it not fitting that a most pure virgin, without stain, should place herself at the service of this mysterious plan, first of all? … And where was this virgin to be found, if not in this woman, alone of her kind, chosen by the world’s Creator before all generations? Yes, she indeed is Mother of God, divinely named Mary, whose womb gave birth to God Incarnate and whom, He, Himself, had supernaturally prepared as His Temple…

In this way, then, the design of the Redeemer of our race was to bring about a birth and, as it were, a new creation to replace the one which went before. Therefore, just as in Paradise, He had taken a litle clay out of the pure and spotless earth, to fashion the first Adam (Gn 2:7), so, at the moment of bringing about His own Incarnation, He made use of another earth, so to speak, namely this pure and immaculate Virgin, chosen from among all other beings He had created. It is in her that He, Adam’s Creator, has remade us in our very substance and become a new Adam (1 Cor 15:45) that the old, might be saved by the new and eternal.” – St Andrew of Crete (c650-c730) Bishop and Father of the Church (Sermon 1 for the Nativity of the Mother of God).

PRAYER – O God, Who by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, prepared a worthy dwelling for Thy Son, we humbly beseech Thee that, recalling the apparition of the same Virgin, we may obtain health for both soul and body. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in Hail MARY!, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, QUEENSHIP of MARY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Our Morning Offering – 11 February – Hail! all Hail! Great Queen of Heaven, Notre Dame de Lourdes

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Our Morning Offering – 11 February – Apparition of the Immaculate Conception at Lourdes

Hail! all Hail! Great Queen of Heaven,
Notre Dame de Lourdes
Unknown Author
First Published in 1905

Hail! all Hail! great Queen of Heaven,
Hail sweet Notre Dame de Lourdes,
‘Neath whose care our weary exile,
Is from countless ills secured.

Refrain:
Then let men and angels praise thee,
Fount of grace to all assured,
While in gladsome strains we are singing,
Hail! sweet Notre Dame de Lourdes
Hail! sweet Notre Dame de Lourdes.

Blessed thou above all others,
Mary Mistress of the spheres,
Star of hope, serenely beaming
Through this darksome vale of tears.
Refrain

Happy angels joy to own thee,
O’er their choirs exalted high,
Throned in blissful light and beauty,
Empress of the starry sky.
Refrain

As the fount is still unsealing
Its pure treasures softly fair,
May each drop be fraught with healing,
Dearest Mother, at thy prayer.
Refrain

Posted in "Follow Me", 7 GIFTS of the HOLY GHOST: Wisdom, Understanding, Prudence, Strength, Knowledge, Piety, Fear, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FATHERS of the Church, FRUITS of the SPIRIT, GOD ALONE!, MOTHER of GOD, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on MISSION, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The HOLY GHOST, The UNFORGIVEABLE SIN, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 9 February – St Cyril of Alexandria

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Quote/s of the Day – 9 February – St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) “The Pillar of Faith” “Doctor of the Incarnation,” Bishop,Confessor, Father and Doctor, of the Church

“Young man, I say to thee, arise!”
Luke 7:14

“Even for restoring the dead to life,
the Saviour did not stop at acting by Word alone,
although it was the bearer of Divine Commands.
For such a surpassing work,
He took His own Flesh as His assistant –
if one might put it that way –
that He might show, that it has the power
to give life and, that He might cause it
to be seen that it is entirely One with Him.
… Thus, He not only conferred to His Word
the power to raise the dead
but He even touched the dead,
to show that His Body is Life-giving and,
through His Flesh, He caused life
to pass into their corpses.
If the touch alone of His Sacred Flesh
restores life to a corrupting body,
what profit shall we not discover
in His Life-giving Eucharist
when we make of it our food?
It will wholly transform into its own property
which is immortality, those who participate in it.”

“At that time, the Lord appointed
seventy-two others
and sent them forth …”
Luke 10:1

“By saying that He is sending them
as the Father has sent Him, therefore,
He summarised, in a few words,
the character of the Apostles’ mission.
In this way, they would know that they were bound
to call sinners to repentance,
to heal the sick, whether of body or soul
and in all their dealings as stewards,
not by any means to follow their own will
but the will of Him Who sent them and,
finally, to save the world,
insofar as it received the teachings of the Lord.”

“He who abides in Me and I in Him,
the same bears much fruit”
John 5:5

“We are preserved in being, if we grow onto Him
and cling fast to the holy commandment,
which has been handed down to us
and, if we are eager to keep the blessing of nobility,
that is to say, if we never consent, in any way,
to “grieve the Holy Spirit” (Eph 4:30),
Who has come to dwell in us and, through Whom,
we believe, God has made His home in us. …
For just as the vine-stock supplies and distributes,
the virtue of its own inherent natural quality to the shoots,
so, too, the Only-Begotten Word of God,
implants, in His people, a sort of affinity
with His own nature and that of the Father.
By the gift of the Spirit, they are united with Him
by every kind of holiness.
He nourishes them, so that they become devout
and He moves them to knowledge of all virtue
and good works.”

“That anyone could doubt the right
of the holy Virgin
to be called the Mother of God,
fills me with astonishment.
Surely she must be the Mother of God,
if our Lord Jesus Christ is God
and she gave birth to Him!”

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/09/quote-s-of-the-day-9-february-st-cyril-of-alexandria-3/

St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MOTHER of GOD, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The LITTLE OFFICE of MARY

Our Morning Offering – 9 February – Hail, O Mary, Mother of God By St Cyril of Alexandria

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Our Morning Offering – 9 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity” – Feast of St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) “The Pillar of Faith” “Doctor of the Incarnation”& “Seal of all the Fathers” Bishop,Confessor, Father and Doctor, of the Church.

Adapted from a sermon preached by St Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria, presiding as representative of the Holy See at the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus, in 431. In refuting Nestorianism, he is called “Doctor of the Incarnation.”

Hail, O Mary, Mother of God
By St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Virgin and Mother!
Morning Star, perfect vessel.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Holy Temple in which God
Himself was conceived.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Chaste and pure dove.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
who enclosed the One
Who cannot be encompassed
in your sacred womb.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
From you flowed the true light,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Through you the Conqueror
and triumphant Vanquisher
of hell, came to us.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Through you, the glory
of the Resurrection blossoms.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
You have saved every faithful Christian.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners now
and at the hour of our death.
Amen

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 2 February – Alma Redemptoris Mater

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Our Morning Offering – 2 February – “The Month of the Blessed Trinity” – Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Epiphany IV

Alma Redemptoris Mater
Loving Mother of the Redeemer
By Blessed Herman Contractus
of Reichenau OSB (1013–1054)

Loving Mother of the Redeemer!
Hear thou thy people’s cry,
Star of the deep
and portal of the sky!
Mother of Him
Who thee from nothing made,
Sinking we strive
and call to thee for aid;
Oh, by that joy
which Gabriel brought to thee,
Thou Virgin first and last,
let we thy mercy see.

Alma Redemptóris Mater,
quæ pérvia cæli
Porta manes, et stella maris,
succúrre cadénti,
Súrgere qui curat pópulo:
tu quæ genuísti,
Natúra miránte,
tuum sanctum Genitórem
Virgo prius ac postérius, Gabriélis ab ore
Sumens illud Ave,
peccatórum miserére.

Marian Antiphon Traditionally said from Advent to the Purification of the Blessed Virgin.
Blessed Herman is the Author of the Salve Regina, the Veni Sancte Spiritus and the Alma Redemptoris Mater amongst others.

Posted in Holy Name PRAYERS, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The HOLY NAME of MARY

Our Morning Offering – 10 January – Daily Prayer to the Most Holy Name By St Bernardine

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Our Morning Offering – 10 January – “The Month of the Holy Name of Jesus and the Holy Family” –Within the Epiphany Octave

Daily Prayer to the Most Holy Name
By St Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444)
Apostle of the Most Holy Name

Jesus,
Name full of glory, grace, love and strength!
Thou art the Refuge of those who repent,
our Banner of warfare in this life,
the Medicine of souls,
the Comfort of those who mourn,
the Delight of those who believe,
the Light of those who preach the True Faith,
the Wages of those who toil,
the Cure of the sick.
To Thou, our devotion aspires;
by Thee, our prayers are received;
we delight in contemplating Thee.
O Name of Jesus,
Thou art the glory
of all the Saints for eternity.
Amen

Posted in CHRISTMASTIDE!, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MOTHER of GOD, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, The DIVINE INFANT, The HOLY INFANCY

Thought for the Day – 3 January – “The Holy Mother”

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Thought for the Day – 3 January – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Christmastide
“The Holy Infancy”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“The Holy Mother”

By the side of the manger where the Infant lies, His Mother is watching. Who is she?

+I. A poor and humble maiden but, nevertheless, the Mother of God. The Mother of God!
How can this be? How can the Eternal, Infinite God have a human mother Yet so it is.
Mary has a privilege which raises her immeasurably above the highest of the Seraphim, makes her more perfect in her likeness to God than is possible to any other creature. If, then, we honour the Saints and Angels, how much more should we honour God’s Own Mother!

+2. Yet Mary has a still greater claim to our homage, a more fruitful source of blessedness, even than the Divine Maternity. Her unswerving obedience to the inspirations of God is declared by Our Lord Himself, to be a still higher privilege. “Yea, rather blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it.”
If only we realised the blessedness of unswerving obedience, how different our lot would be!

+3. What are Mary’s thoughts as she sits watching there? She has no thought save of God. She is absorbed in Him . The hours pass like minutes, they are a sort of anticipation of Paradise. She sees her God face-to-face and although His glory is veiled under the robe of flesh, yet Mary can pierce through it as none other ever could and can bask in the Divinity which it conceals.
O God help me to realise now, Thy Presence when Thou art veiled under the Sacramental Species.

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the SUN of JUSTICE, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRISTMAS Quotes, CHRISTMASTIDE!, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of JESUS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 25 December – ‘ … Let us then run to Bethlehem, the Town of the Good News! … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 25 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Nativity of Our Lord, Christmas Day! – Titus 2:11-15; Luke 2:1-14 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“… For today in the City of David, a Saviour has been born to you, Who is Christ the Lord.” – Luke 2:11

REFLECTION – “Brethren, now we have been told about the miracle, let us turn aside to see this unusual sight, as Moses did (Ex 3:3) – in Mary, the burning bush is not consumed, the Virgin gives birth to the Light, without defilement … Let us then run to Bethlehem, the Town of the Good News! If we are real shepherds, staying awake on our watch, then it is to us that the voice of the Angels is addressed, announcing a great joy … “Glory to God in the highest for peace is coming down to earth!”  There, where, only yesterday, there was nothing but misfortune, battlefields and exile, now earth receives peace for today “Truth shall spring out of the earth and justice shall look down from heaven” (Ps 84:12). Behold the fruit earth gives to humankind, in reward for the goodwill reigning among men (Lk 2:14). God is joined to man, to raise man to the stature of God.

At this news, my brethren, let us go to Bethlehem to behold … the mystery of the crib, a child wrapped in swaddling clothes rests in a manger. A Virgin, after giving birth, His undefiled Mother, embraces her Son. Let us repeat the words of the Prophet along with the shepherds: “As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of our God.” (Ps 47:9)

But why does our Lord seek shelter in this cave at Bethlehem? Why is He sleeping in a manger? Why does He participate in Israel’s census?  My brethren, He who brings liberty to the world, comes to be born into our slavery to death. He is born in this cave to reveal Himself to us, who are immersed in darkness and the shadow of death. He rests in a manger because, He is the One Who makes grass grow for the cattle (Ps 103:14). He is the Bread of Life, Who feeds us with a spiritual food that we too might live in the Spirit… What more joyful Feast is there than that of today? Christ, the Sun of Justice (Mal 3:20), comes to illumine our night. What had fallen, is raised up again, what was overcome, is now set free… what was dead is restored to life… Let us all sing today with one voice over all the earth: “Death came through one man, Adam, today salvation has come through One Man (cf Rom 5:17)” … St Gregory of Nyssa (c 335–c 395) Bishop, Father of the Church (Sermon on the Nativity).

PRAYER – O God, Who have brightened this most holy night with the splendour of the true Light, grant, we beseech Thee that we may know in Heaven the joy of that light which we have known mystically on earth. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, CHRISTMAS Prayers & Hymns, CHRISTMASTIDE!, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, FATHERS of the Church, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The DIVINE INFANT, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The NATIVITY of JESUS

Our Morning Offering – 25 December – Its Christmas Day! – A Solis Ortus Cardine – Afar from Where the Sun Doth Rise

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Our Morning Offering – 25 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Our Saviour and Redeemer – Its Christmas Day!

Afar from Where the Sun Doth Rise
A Solis Ortus Cardine
By Coelius Sedulius (Died c450)
Trans Msgr Ronald A Knox (1888-1957)

Afar from where the sun doth rise
To lands beneath the western skies,
Homage to Christ our King we pay,
Born of a Virgin’s womb this day

Blessed Creator, Thou didst take__
A servant’s likeness for our sake,
And didst in flesh our flesh restore
To bid Thy creature live once more.

Chaste was the womb where Thou didst dwell,
Of heavenly grace the hidden cell;
Nor might the blessed Maid proclaim
Whence her dread Guest in secret came.

Down from on high God came to rest__
His glory in a sinless breast;
Obedience at His word believed,
And virgin innocence conceived.

Ere long, that holy child she bore
By Gabriel’s message named before,
Whom yet unborn, with eager pride,
The swift forerunner prophesied.

Fast doth He sleep, where straw doth spread,
A humble manger for His bed.
A Mother’s milk that strength renewed,
Which gives the birds of heaven their food.

Glory to God, the angels cry;
Earth hears the echo from on high;
Mankind’s true Shepherd and it’s Lord
By shepherd hearts is first adored.

Posted in CATECHESIS, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on HUMILITY, Quotes on SALVATION, St Francis de Sales, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 18 December – Chastity and Humility

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Quote/s of the Day – 18 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Feast of Our Lady of Expectation

“ By a woman,
came the flood of our ills
and by a woman too,
our blessings,
have their spring.”

St Gregory Thaumaturgus (c213-c270)
“the Wonder-Worker,” Bishop, Confessor

“And Mary said,
‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be to me according to thy word.’”

Luke 1:38

“The price of our salvation
is offered to thee.
We shall be set free at once, if thou consent.
In the eternal Word of God, we all came to be
and behold, we die.
In thy brief response,
we are to be remade.
in order to be recalled to life.… Answer quickly, O Virgin.
Reply in haste to the Angel,
or rather, through the Angel to the Lord.
Answer with a word,
receive the Word of God.
Speak thine own word,
conceive the Divine Word.
Breathe a passing word,
embrace the Eternal Word!”

St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
The Last Father and the Mellifluous Doctor

“She saw herself raised to the highest dignity
that ever was or will be, for although
it should please God to create anew many worlds,
He could never make a pure creature be greater
than the Mother of God.
Our Lady humbled herself and acknowledged herself unworthy of being raised to the high dignity
of Mother of God, therefore, she was made to be His Mother, for she had no sooner uttered the protestation of her littleness, than, having abandoned herself to Him,
by an act of incomparable charity,
she became the Mother of the Most High,
Who is the Saviour of our souls!”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

Posted in ADVENT, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, EMBER DAYS, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on PURITY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The REDEMPTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 18 December – ‘ … She indeed, is Mother of God, divinely named Mary … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 18 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Ember Wednesday – The Feast of Our Lady of Expectation – Isaias 7:10-15; Luke 1:26-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Hail, full of grace!” – Luke 1:28

REFLECTION – “The degeneration caused by sin had obscured the beauty of our original nobility. But when the mother of supreme Beauty is born, our nature finds its purity once more and sees itself moulded according to the perfect model, worthy of God (Gn 1:26)… We had all preferred the world below, to that above. There no longer remained any hope of salvation. The state of our nature cried aloud to Heaven to come to the rescue … Then, at last, in His good pleasure, the world’s Divine Artificer determined to make a new world appear, a different world full of harmony and youth.

Now was it not fitting, that a most pure virgin without stain, should place herself at the service of this mysterious plan, first of all?… And where was this virgin to be found, if not in this woman, alone of her kind, chosen by the world’s Creator before all generations? Yes, she indeed, is Mother of God, divinely named Mary, whose womb gave birth to God Incarnate and whom, He Himself had supernaturally prepared, as His Temple…

In this way, then, the design of the Redeemer of our race was to bring about a birth and, as it were, a new creation to replace the one which went before. Therefore, just as in Paradise, He had taken a little clay out of the pure and spotless earth, to fashion the first Adam (Gn 2:7), so, at the moment of bringing about His Own Incarnation, He made use of another earth, so to speak, namely, this Pure and Immaculate Virgin, chosen from among all other beings He had created. It is in her that He, Adam’s Creator, has remade us in our very substance and become a new Adam (1 Cor 15:45), that the old might be saved by the New and Eternal!” – St Andrew of Crete (660-740) Bishop (Sermon 1 for the Nativity of the Mother of God ; PG 97, 812).

PRAYER – O God, Who, by the message of an Angel, willed to take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant that we, Thy suppliants, who believe her to be truly, the Mother of God, may be helped by her intercession with Thee. 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 (Collect).

Posted in IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, Our MORNING Offering, QUOTES on PURITY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Our Morning Offering – 15 December – O Purest of Creatures, Sweet Mother, Sweet Maid

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Our Morning Offering – 15 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Octave Day of the Immaculate Conception

O Purest of Creatures,
Sweet Mother, Sweet Maid
By Fr Frederick W Faber C.Orat. (1814-1863)

O Purest of creatures, sweet Mother, sweet maid,
The one spotless womb wherein Jesus was laid!
Dark night hath come down on us, Mother! and we
Look out for thy shining, sweet Star of the Sea!

Deep night hath come down on this rough-spoken world,
And the banners of darkness are boldly unfurled;
And the tempest-tossed Church,—
all her eyes are on thee;
They look to thy shining, sweet Star of the Sea!

He gazed on thy soul, it was spotless and fair,
For the empire of sin—it had never been there;
None ever had owned thee, dear Mother but He.
And He blest thy clear shining, sweet Star of the Sea!

Earth gave Him one lodging; t’was deep in thy breast,
And God found a home where the sinner finds rest;
His home and His hiding-place, both were in thee,
He was won by thy shining, sweet Star of the Sea!

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, MOTHER of GOD, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Quote/s of the Day – 14 December – Gracious Lady

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Quote/s of the Day – 14 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Within the Octave

“Mary is the new Tree of Life,
who, instead of the bitter fruit picked by Eve,
gives to mankind that Sweet Fruit
on which the whole world is fed.”

St Ephrem (306-373)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Gracious Lady,
thou art a Mother and Virgin,
thou art the Mother
of the body and soul
of our Head and Redeemer,
thou art too, truly Mother
of all the members of Christ’s Mystical Body.
For through thy love,
thou hast co-operated
in the begetting of the faithful in the Church.
Unique among women,
thou art Mother and Virgin,
Mother of Christ and Virgin of Christ.
Thou art the beauty and charm of earth, O Virgin.
Thou art, forever, the image of the holy Church.
Through a woman came death,
through a woman came Life,
yes, through thee, O Mother of God.“

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

Posted in CHRIST the HIGH PRIEST, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on PURITY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The INCARNATION

One Minute Reflection – 14 December – ‘… Mary is the new tree of life …’

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One Minute Reflection – 14 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Within the Octave – Proverbs 8:22-35; Luke 1:26-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” – Luke 1:28

REFLECTION – “Son of God, grant me your own admirable Gift that I may celebrate the wondrous beauty of Thy beloved Mother! The Virgin gave birth to a Son while preserving her virginity; she suckled Him Who gives nourishment to the peoples; in her immaculate breast, she bore Him Who carries the whole world in His Hands. She is Virgin and Mother, what will she not be hereafter? Holy in body, all beautiful in soul, pure of mind, upright in intelligence, perfect in feeling, chaste and faithful, pure of heart and filled with virtue.

May the hearts of virgins rejoice in Mary, since of her was born the One Who set humankind free from dreadful slavery. May the old Adam, wounded by the serpent, rejoice in Mary; it is Mary who gives Adam a posterity which allows Him to crush the accursed serpent and Who cures him of his mortal wound (Gen 3:15). Let Priests rejoice in the blessed Virgin; she has brought the High Priest into the world, Who gave Himself as a Victim, putting an end to the sacrifices of the Old Covenant. … Let the Prophets rejoice in Mary, since in her were fulfilled their visions, in her were realised their prophecies, in her were confirmed their oracles. Let all the Patriarchs rejoice in Mary, since she received the blessing promised to them, she, who, in her Son, has brought them to completion. …

Mary is the new tree of life who, instead of the bitter fruit picked by Eve, gives to mankind that sweet fruit on which the whole world is fed!” – St Ephrem (306-373) Deacon in Syria, Father and Doctor of the Church (Marian Hymn).

PRAYER – Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the ways of Thy only-begotten Son, so that through His coming we may be able to serve Thee with purified minds. Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, FATHERS of the Church, GATE of HEAVEN, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Our Morning Offering – 14 December – O Gloriosa Virginum By St Venantius Fortunatus

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Our Morning Offering – 14 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and Within the Octave of the Immaculate Conception – Today is also the Feast day of dear St Venantius Fortunatus (c530 – c609) Bishop, Poet, Hymnist, Writer. Another “Golden Words”:

O Gloriosa Virginum
By St Venantius Fortunatus (c530 – c609)

O Glorious Virgin, ever blest,
Sublime above the starry sky,
Who nurture from thy spotless breast
To thy Creator didst supply.

What we had lost through hapless Eve,
The Blossom sprung from these restores,
And, granting bliss to souls that grieve,
Unbars the everlasting doors.

O Gate, through which hath passed the King.
O Hall, whence Light shone through the gloom;
The ransomed nations, praise and sing
Life given from the Virgin womb.

All honour, laud and glory be,
O Jesu, Virgin-born, to Thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete.
Amen

O Gloriosa Domina is the second half of the Hymn: Quem Terra, Pontus, Aethera. It was composed by St Venantius Fortunatus (c530 – c609) the Bishop of Poitiers.
In 1632, in accordance with revisions made to the Hymns of the Divine Office by Pope Urban VIII (1568-1644), it was altered and changed to O Gloriósa Vírginum.
It is sung in the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Roman Breviary.
It is said that St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) was always singing this Hymn. His mother sang it to him as a baby,and even on his death bed after receiving Extreme Unction, he intoned the Hymn.

Posted in DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, PAPAL PRAYERS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The GOOD SHEPHERD

Quote/s of the Day – 12 December – Our Lady Speaks

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Quote/s of the Day – 12 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

“I am the Immaculate Conception.”

Our Lady to St Bernadette
at Lourdes on 25 March 1858

(Remember the Dogma was proclaimed in 1954)

“Come, then and search out Thy sheep,
not through Thy servants or hired men
but do it Thineself.
Lift me up bodily and in the flesh,
which is fallen in Adam.
Lift me up, not from Sarah but from Mary,
a Virgin, not only undefiled
but a Virgin, whom grace had made inviolate,
free of every stain of sin.”

St Ambrose (340-397)
Father and Doctor of the Church

Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Mystical Rose
Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe
By St Pius X (1835-1914)

Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Mystical Rose,
make intercession
for the holy Church,
protect the Sovereign Pontiff,
help all those who invoke thee in their necessities,
and since thou art the ever Virgin Mary
and Mother of the true God,
obtain for us from thy most holy Son
the grace of keeping our faith,
sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life,
burning charity and the precious gift
of final perseverance.
Amen

This prayer was approved and enriched with an Indulgence of Five Hundred Days by St Pius X at an Audience held on 15 August, 1908 and was included in the official edition of Approved Indulgenced prayers (1950).
Raccolta number 389, 500 days Indulgence, St Pope Pius X Audience, 15 August 1908.

OUR LADY SPEAKS HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/12/12/quote-s-of-the-day-12-december-our-lady-of-guadalupe/

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MOTHER of GOD, ONE Minute REFLECTION, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 12 December – ‘ … We pray thee, tell us what feelings moved thee …’

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One Minute Reflection – 12 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Within the Octave – Our Lady of Gaudulupe – Proverbs 8:22-35; Luke 1:26-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Hail, full of grace …” – Luke 1:28

REFLECTION – “The Holy Spirit will come upon thee.” He will arise within thee, Mary. In some Saints He has come; in others He will come but in thou, He will arise… He will arise by means of the fertility, the abundance, the fullness of His outpouring in thy being. Even when He has filled thee, He will yet be upon thee; He will sweep over thy waters, to create in thee, a work greater and more admirable, than when, hovering over the waters at the beginning, He brought created substance into being in all its various forms (Gn 1:2). “And the power of the Most High will overshadow thee.” Christ, the Power and Wisdom of God, will overshadow thee. Then, He will take human nature from thee while keeping the fullness of God which thou art unable to bear, even as He assumes our flesh. He will take thee beneath His shadow because, the humanity to be taken by the Word, is to be a screen for the inaccessible Light of God. This Light, filtered by Its screen, will penetrate thine most chaste womb…

We, therefore, pray thee, Sovereign Lady, most worthy Mother of God, do not despise today those who ask, with fear, who seek, with devotion, who knock, with love. We pray thee, tell us what feelings moved thee, what love seized thee … when this was accomplished in thee, when the Word took Flesh from thee? In what state was thy soul, thy heart, thy spirit, thy senses, thy mind? Thou burst into flame like the bush which was shown to Moses long ago and thou did not burn, (Ex 3:2). Thou dissolved away in God but were not consumed. Burning, thou melted beneath the Fire from on high, yet regained strength from that Fire Divine, to burn again and dissolve once more in Him … Thou became more Virgin still – and more than Virgin because, both Virgin and Mother. Therefore, we greet thee, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Thou art blessed among women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb.” – St Amadeus of Lausanne (1108-1159) Cistercian Bishop of Lausanne (Marian Sermons).

PRAYER – O God, Who by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, prepared a worthy dwelling for Thy Son and Who, by Thy Son’s death, foreseen by Thee, preserved her from all taint, grant, we beseech Thee, through her intercession that we too may come to Thee unstained by sin.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 (Collect).

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOGMA, FATHERS of the Church, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Our Morning Offering – 12 December – O Gloriosa Femina, O Glorious Maid, Exalted Far

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Our Morning Offering – 12 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Within the Octave

O Gloriosa Femina
O Glorious Maid, Exalted Far
By St Venantius Fortunatus (c530 – c609)
Bishop, Father o the Church

O Glorious Maid, exalted far
Beyond the light of burning star,
From Him who made thee, thou hast won
Grace to be Mother of His Son.

That which was lost in hapless Eve
Thy holy Scion did retrieve:
The tear-worn sons of Adam’s race
Through thee have seen the heavenly place.

Thou wast the gate of Heaven’s high Lord,
The door through which the Light hath poured.
Christians rejoice, for through a Maid
To all mankind is life conveyed!

All honour, laud and glory be,
O Jesu, Virgin-born, to Thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete.
Amen.

This Hymn was used for Lauds in the Sarum Breviary for the Feasts of the Immaculate Conception, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation, the Assumption and the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The above is the original text of this Hymn as it appears in The English Hymnal (1906), where it is listed as a Morning Office Hymn for Feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
Chant Tone: “O Gloriosa Domina” Gregorian Chant, Mode II, traditional.