Blessed Mother

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I greet thee, Ever-blessed Virgin, Mother of God, Throne of Grace, miracle of Almighty Power! I greet thee, Sanctuary of the Most Holy Trinity and Queen of the Universe, Mother of Mercy and Refuge of sinners!

Most loving Mother, attracted by thy beauty and sweetness, and by thy tender compassion, I confidently turn to thee, miserable as I am, and beseech thee to obtain for me from thy dear Son the favor I request in this novena:

(mention your request).

Obtain for me also, Queen of heaven, the most lively contrition for my many sins and the grace to imitate closely those virtues which thou didst practice so faithfully, especially humility, purity and obedience. Above all, I beseech thee to be my Mother and Protectress, to receive me into the number of thy devoted children, and to guide me from thy high throne of glory.

Do not reject my petitions, O Mother of Mercy! Have pity on me, and abandon me not during life and at the moment of my death. Amen.

(-Annunciation Novena)

AMDG et BVMH

+J.M.J+

Salutations to Mary

by St John Eudes.

Hail Mary! Daughter of God the Father.
Hail Mary! Mother of God the Son.
Hail Mary! Spouse of God the Holy Ghost.
Hail Mary! Temple of the Most Blessed Trinity.
Hail Mary! Pure Lily of the Effulgent Trinity, God.
Hail Mary! Celestial Rose of the ineffable Love of God.

Hail Mary! Virgin pure and humble, of whom the King of Heaven willed
to be born and with thy milk to be nourished.
Hail Mary! Virgin of virgins.
Hail Mary! Queen of Martyrs, whose soul a sword transfixed.
Hail Mary! Lady most blessed, unto whom all power in Heaven and
earth is given.
Hail Mary! My Queen and my Mother! My life, my sweetness and my
hope.
Hail Mary! Mother most amiable.
Hail Mary! Mother most admirable.
Hail Mary! Mother of Divine Love.
Hail Mary, Immaculate! Conceived without sin!
Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee!
Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

Blessed be thy spouse, Saint Joseph.
Blessed be thy father, Saint Joachim.
Blessed be thy mother, Saint Anne.
Blessed be thy guardian, Saint John.
Blessed be thy holy angel, Saint Gabriel.

Glory be to God the Father, Who chose thee.
Glory be to God the Son, Who loved thee.
Glory be to God the Holy Spirit, Who espoused thee.

O Glorious Virgin Mary, May all men love and praise thee.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us and bless us,
Now and at death, in the Name of Jesus, thy Divine Son. Amen

AMDG et BVMH

+J.M.J+

Feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa

Prayer to Our Lady of Czestochowa

[to be said each day upon arising]

Holy Mother of Czestochowa,
Thou art full of grace, goodness and mercy.
I consecrate to thee all my thoughts, words and actions -
my soul and body.
I beseech thy blessings
and especially prayers for my salvation.

Today, I consecrate myself to thee, Good Mother, totally -
with body and soul amid joy and sufferings
to obtain for myself and others
Thy blessings on this earth and eternal life in Heaven. Amen.

Imprimatur: Cardinal O' Boyle, Washington, DC

AMDG et BVMH

+J.M.J+

Feast of Our Lady, Health of the Sick

Prayer to Our Lady, Health of the Sick

Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Word Incarnate, Treasury of graces and Refuge of Sinners, I fly to thy motherly affection with lively faith, and I beg of thee the grace ever to do the will of God.

Into thy most holy hands I commit the keeping of my heart, asking thee for health of soul and body, in the certain hope that thou, my most loving Mother, wilt hear my prayer.

Into the bosom of thy tender mercy, this day, every day of my life, and at the hour of my death, I commend my soul and body.

To thee do I entrust all my hopes and consolations, all my trials and miseries, my life and the end of my life, that all my actions may be ordered and disposed according to thy will and that of thy Divine Son. Amen.

AMDG et BVMH

+J.M.J+

Oh, most sacred Virgin Mary, Queen of Angels, how beautiful, accomplished and perfect has Heaven made you! O that I could appear to God as you appear to me. You are so beautiful and gracious that with your beauty you ravish hearts...

When your devoted servant, St. John Damascene, contemplated you, and saw your beauty, it seemed to him that you had taken that which was best in every creature, and therefore he called you "the loveliness of nature," The grace and comeliness of every creature...

O sovereign Princess, from the immense ocean of your beauty the beauty and grace of all creatures flowed forth as rivers. The sea learned to curl its waves, and to wave its crystal waters from the golden hair, which gracefully flowed over your shoulders and neck. The crystal fountains and their transparent depths learned their tranquil and steady flow from the serenity of your beautiful brow and placid countenance. The lovely rainbow, when in full beauty, learnt with studious care its graceful bend from your eyebrows, thus better to send forth its rays of light. The morning star itself, and the sweet star at night, are sparks from your beautiful eyes. The roses stole their color from your lovely cheeks. Envious purple and coral sigh for the color of your lips. The most delicious milk and sweetest honey are distillations from the sweet honeycomb of your mouth. The scented jasmine and fragrant damask rose stole their perfume from your breath. The loftiest cedar and the most fair, erect cypress, were happy when they beheld their image in your erect and lofty neck. The palm tree, emulous and jealous, likened itself to your noble stature. In fine, O Lady, every created beauty is a shadow and trace of your beauty.

-"Acclaimations in Praise of Mary", from The Glories of Mary

AMDG et BVMH

+J.M.J+

Feast of Our Lady of Victory of Valois

Prayer to Our Lady of Victory

O Victorious Lady,thou who has ever such powerful influence with thy Divine Son, in conquering the hardest of hearts, intercede for those for whom we pray, that their hearts being softened by the rays of Divine Grace, they may return to the unity of the true Faith, through Christ, our Lord. Amen

AMDG et BVMH

+J.M.J+

Feast of the Queenship of Mary

HAIL, O Queen of Heav'n enthron'd,
Hail, by angels Mistress own'd
Root of Jesse, Gate of morn,
Whence the world's true light was born.

Glorious Virgin, joy to thee,
Loveliest whom in Heaven they see,
Fairest thou where all are fair!
Plead with Christ our sins to spare.

V. Allow me to praise thee, sacred Virgin.
R. Give me strength against thy enemies.

Let us pray

Grant, O merciful God, to our weak natures Thy protection, that we who commemorate the holy Mother of God may, by the help of her intercession, arise from our iniquities. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Apologetics Link: Heavenly Queen

AMDG et BVMH

+J.M.J+

Feast of Our Lady of Knock

Our Lady of Knock, Queen of Ireland,
you gave hope to the Irish people in a time of distress
and comforted them in sorrow.
You have inspired countless pilgrims
to pray with confidence to your divine Son,
remembering His promise:
"Ask and you shall receive, Seek and you shall find".

Help me to remember
that we are all pilgrims on the road to heaven.
Fill me with love and concern
for my brothers and sisters in Christ,
especially those who live with me.
Comfort me when I am sick or lonely or depressed.
Teach me how to take part
ever more reverently in the holy Mass.
Pray for me now, and at the hour of my death.
Amen.

AMDG et BVMH

+J.M.J+

Another little-known devotion to Blessed Mother:

The Virgin Mary, Untier of Knots

I love this nearly-forgotten old Marian hymn, which mentions many Old Testament types of Our Lady.

Salve Mundi Domina

HAIL, Queen of the Heavens!
Hail, Mistress of earth!
Hail, Virgin most pure
of immaculate birth!

Clear star of the morning
in beauty enshrined!
O Lady make speed
to the help of mankind.

Thee God in the depth
of eternity chose;
and formed thee all fair,
as His glorious spouse;

And called thee His Word's
own Mother to be,
by Whom He created
the earth, sky, and sea.

Hail, Virgin, most wise!
Hail, Deity's shrine!
with seven fair pillars,
and table divine!

Preserved from the guilt
which hath come upon us all!
Exempt, in the womb,
from the taint of the fall!

O new Star of Jacob,
of angels the Queen!
O Gate of the saints!
O Mother of men!

To Zabulon fearful
as the embattled array!
Be thou of the faithful
the refuge and stay.

Hail, Solomon's Throne!
Pure Ark of the law
fair Rainbow and Bush,
which the patriarch saw!

Hail, Gedeon's Fleece!
Hail, blossoming Rod!
Samson's sweet Honeycomb!
Portal of God!

Well-fitting it was
that a Son so divine
should preserve from all touch
of original sin.

Nor suffer by smallest
defect to be stained
that Mother, whom He
for Himself had ordained.

Hail, virginal Mother!
Hail, purity's Cell!
Fair Shrine, where the Trinity
loveth to dwell!

Hail, Garden of pleasure!
Celestial Balm!
Cedar of chastity!
Martyrdom's Palm!

Thou Land set apart
from uses profane!
And free form the curse
which in Adam began!

Thou City of God!
Thou Gate of the east
in thee is all grace
O joy of the blest!

Hail, City of refuge!
Hail, David's high tower,
with battlements crowned
and girded with power!

Filled at thy conception
with love and with light!
The dragon by thee
was shorn of his might.

O Woman most valiant!
O Judith thrice blest!
As David was nursed
in fair Abisag's breast;

As the savior of Egypt
upon Rachel's knee:
so the world's great Redeemer
was cherished by thee.

Hail, Dial of Achaz!
On thee the true sun
told backward the course
which from old he had run!

And, that man might be raised,
submitting to shame,
a little more low
than the angles became.

Thou, rapt in the blaze
of His infinite light,
dost shine as the morn
on the confines of night.

As the moon on the lost
through obscurity dawns;
the serpent's destroyer!
A lily 'mid thorns!

Hail, Mother most pure!
Hail, Virgin renowned!
Hail, Queen with the starts,
as a diadem, crowned.

Above all the angels
in glory untold,
standing next to the King
in a vesture of gold.

O Mother of mercy!
O Star of the wave!
O Hope of the guilty!
O Light of the grave!

Through thee may we come
to the haven of rest;
and see heaven's King
in the courts of the blest!

These praises and prayers
I lay at thy feet,
O Virgin of virgins!
O Mary most sweet!

Be thou my true guide
through this pilgrimage here:
and stand by my side
when death draweth near.

Amen.

AMDG et BVMH

+J.M.J+

O Virgin, your glory transcends all created things.
What, in effect, compares to your nobility,
O Mother of God the Word?
To what in all creation will I compare you?
Angels of God and archangels are sublime,
but how much you transcend them, O Mary!
Angels and archangels in trembling serve Him
who lives within your womb,
and venture not to speak;
you, on the contrary, speak freely with Him!
We say that cherubs are sublime,
but you are more sublime than they:
cherubs support the throne of God,
you, on the contrary, support God within your arms.
Seraphs are close to God
but you are closer than they:
Seraphs hide their faces with their wings
unable to look at the Perfect Glory,
you, on the contrary, not only contemplate His face,
but caress Him
and suckle His holy mouth.

-St. Athanasius of Alexandria

It is truly proper to glorify you who have born God;
the ever-Blessed and Immaculate Mother of our God.
More honorable than the Cherubim
and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim,
Who a virgin gave birth to God the Word.
You, truly the Mother of God, we magnify!

-from the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

AMDG et BVMH

+J.M.J+

Alma Redemptoris Mater

Loving Mother of the Redeemer,
Gate of heaven, star of the sea,
Assist your people who have fallen
yet strive to rise again,
To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,
yet remained a virgin after as before,
You who received Gabriel's joyful greeting,
have pity on us, poor sinners.

AMDG et BVMH

+J.M.J+

Our Lady of Hosts, Madonna of the Milizie

This new blog, dedicated to the all-holy Mother of God and ever-Virgin Mary, will discuss some little-known aspects of Catholic Marian devotion. We will start with a rather unique image of Our Lady from Sicily, where she is depicted as a warrior!

According to legend, one night in May of 1091, the people in a small Sicilian town named Scicli received the startling news that the Saracen army had landed on a nearby cost, intending to conquer the town. They prayed fervently to the Madonna, who suddenly appeared to them in a cloud. She was riding on a horse, wearing armor, weilding a sword and leading a band of soldiers!

The people saw this apparition as a miraculous confirmation that the Virgin herself had come down from above to help them fight the invaders.

When the Saracens arrived, they were quickly defeated and retreated back across the sea. In thanksgiving to God for the victory, the commander of the Sicilian army consecrated a church in honor of Our Lady. Since then, every year at Scicli the battle is commemorated.

Here is a painting commemorating this event

A holy card depicting Our Lady of Hosts,

And here are two photos: first, second, of the statue of Our Lady of Hosts, kept in the church in Sicily as an ex-voto, which is publically exhibited on the feast day (May 27) during a procession.

"Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array?" (Canticle of Canticles 6:9)

Our Lady of Hosts, pray for us. Lead us to victory against our spiritual enemies, to the glory of Jesus Christ, your Son and Our Lord. Amen!

Tota Pulchra Es

All fair are you, O Mary,
the original stain is not in you.
You are the glory of Jerusalem,
the joy of Israel,
the honor of our race,
the Advocate of sinners!
O Mary, O Mary,
Virgin most prudent,
Mother most merciful;
Pray for us,
Intercede for us
with Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

(See Canticle of Canticles 4:7; Judith 15:10)

AMDG et BVMH

(that's: Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam et Beatae Virginis Mariae Honorem - "to the greater glory of God and the honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.")



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