We continue posting, during this month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, prayers and meditations honoring her under her various titles.
“This is an admirable Vessel, the work of the Most High.” — (Eccl. xliii., 2)
This praise is given by the inspired writer to that glorious luminary, the sun, from which this world derives life and light, by which the fruits of the earth are matured, and the earth itself made to assume a variety of beautiful colours. We may apply to Mary the same words of praise, but in a much more elevated sense. She is that most pure vessel in which the second person of the blessed Trinity became incarnate, and who, in Mary, – that is the nature He assumed of Mary, – is the Son of Justice which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world. His grace is so necessary for us, that unless it develop and mature the seeds of goodness implanted in our hearts, we can never hope to bring forth fruit. He alone is able to produce this effect; and without His divine assistance, our efforts are vain, according to that of the apostle: “I have planted, Appollo watered, but God gave the increase.” — (1 Cor. iii., 6).
Mary is also styled a vessel of singular devotion, on account of the faithfulness and fervour in which she discharged her devotional exercise of prayer and contemplation. If her divine Son spent whole nights in prayer, we may be satisfied that Mary did not cease to profit by an example which so many motives induced her to imitate. In fact, her whole life was principally occupied in this sacred duty. While in the temple, in which she remained from an early age, she profited by all the opportunities she there had to commune with God by prayer. What was her life after she had conceived the Son of God, but a constant exercise of this holy duty; for what is prayer but the union of the soul with God; and surely Mary failed not to profit by the extraordinary opportunities she possessed of enjoying so high and holy a privilege.
While celebrating the perfect piety of Mary, we should endeavour to profit by the example she has given to us. The child naturally imitates the mother. We are Mary’s children: because she is the mother of the First-Born among many brethren, and because Jesus Christ has commended us to her in the person of St. John. “Woman, behold thy son.” — (St. John, xix., 26). We are then bound to imitate her; and had we for her the affection of children, we would blush not to resemble her in our actions. What are then our feelings with regard to the holy duty of prayer? Perhaps we find it an irksome obligation, rather than a delightful duty. Under the influence of this feeling, have we not occasionally neglected it, or discharged it in a hurried and careless manner? Why do we not find in prayer the consolations which the saints experienced? We are astonished, when we read that that they spent whole days and nights in prayer. Ah! we have not yet learned to pray as the saints prayed; we have not learned to forget the world or ourselves when we appear before God; or to concentrate our thoughts on His divine perfections and inconceivable mercies. Hence we too often find in prayer that aridity and distraction which are the result of a distracted head and a divided heart. With the Apostles, let us ask our Lord to teach us to pray; and employ the powerful intercession of Mary, to obtain for us this golden key, by which we may unlock the treasury of God’s mercy.
PRAYER
O most holy Virgin, thou art justly called a spiritual and honourable vessel; because the Lord thy God enriched thee with the choicest gifts of the Holy Ghost. Thy thoughts were always great and noble; thy feelings holy; thy designs pure and sublime. Thou hadst no other ambition than to honour God, no other desire than to love Him, no other wish than to possess Him. The choicest gifts of nature, of grace, and glory, were imparted to thee without measure; whereas, I am nothing else than a vessel of sin and misery. Most pure Mother! have compassion on me; reconcile me with thy Son; commend me, and present me to Him, that, through thy intercession, I may be made partaker of His infinite merits, and never more seek any thing but what is divine and ever lasting. Amen.
VESSEL OF HONOUR, SINGULAR VESSEL OF DEVOTION
PRAY FOR US!
Taken from:
THE NEW MONTH OF MARY
By the Very Rev. P.R. Kenrick
Published by C. Dolman, London, 1841
Mater Creatoris
“He who created me, rested in my tabernacle.” — (Eccl. xxiv., 12)
“It is indeed,” says St. Chrysostom, “an unheard-of wonder, that the ineffable God, whose greatness cannot be conceived by thought or expressed in language, and who is equal to the Father in all things, should come to us by the womb of the Virgin, and vouchsafe to be born of a woman.” When we before considered the dignity of Mary, as Mother of God, we rather explained the doctrine of the Church, than dwelt on the consequences which follow from this truth. Mary is the Mother of our Creator; because she is the Mother of Jesus Christ— who is the brightness of His (the Father’s) glory, and the figure of His substance; — (Heb. i., 3) — who was in the beginning with God; by whom “all things were made, and without whom was made nothing that was made;”— (John, i., 3) — and “who is over all things God blessed forever.” — (Rom. Ix., 5). She then can say, and the expression is strictly true: “He who created me rested in my tabernacle.” O sublime and mysterious privilege! The dignity of Mary is infinite, inasmuch as it results from the infinite dignity of her divine Son, which no created intelligence can comprehend. The angels who stand before the throne of God; the seraphim who veil their faces before the splendours of His presence, and exclaim, “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Hosts, the heavens and the earth are full of thy glory;” the spirits of the just made perfect who are inebriated with torrents of delight in contemplating and enjoying God; – these have an idea of Mary’s dignity, infinitely more correct than we can possibly have, but yet infinitely short of its real character. For as none but God can fully comprehend the perfection of His own nature, none but God can duly estimate the greatness of her who stands to Him in the close and endearing relation of mother.
This dignity is so great that St. Bonaventure did not hesitate to say, what, on a moment’s reflection, must appear evident to all; “that although God could create a thousand worlds more beautiful than the one we inhabit, yet He could not create a greater mother;” because her dignity as Mother depends on the dignity of her Son; and what mother can be greater than the Mother of God? Hence the holy Fathers, and other saints of God’s Church, in proportion as they meditated on, and endeavoured to conceive, the Majesty of God, in the same proportion increased in respect and profound veneration for that singularly favoured creature who was chosen to be the Mother of God. “Mary,” says St. Bernard, “calls the God and Lord of angels, her Son: ‘Son, why hast thou done so to us.’ What angel would dare to say this? But Mary showing that she is mother, confidently calls that God her Son, whom the angels humbly adore.” In contemplating this incomprehensible elevation of Mary, let us address her with sentiments of admiration and profound reverence, in the words of her holy cousin St. Elizabeth: “Blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished which were spoken to thee by the Lord.” — (Luke, i., 45). “Although we had innumerable tongues,” says a very ancient author, “we could not sufficiently praise her. This is she who alone merits to be called by God, spouse and mother. She first repaired the evil of our first mother, and brought salvation to lost man.”
The greatness of Mary’s dignity is best calculated to give us an idea of her super-eminent sanctity. God, who always adapts the means to the end, prepared her for a dignity without parallel, by a degree of sanctity as far exceeding that of other saints, as the dignity of mother exceeds that of friends and servants. “Wherefore,” says St. Bernard, “it was meet that the Creator of men, when he assumed the nature of man, should choose, or rather create, such a mother among all, as He knew was worthy of Him, and would please Him.” St. Gregory the Great mystically interprets the mount of Ephraim, mentioned in the first book of Kings, of Mary; “She was a mountain,” says he, “which rose above all other created height, by the dignity of her election.” “Was not Mary,” says he again, “a lofty mountain, who, that she might be worthy to conceive the Eternal Word, was raised above all the choirs of angels, and approached the very throne of the Godhead? Isaiah, foretelling the super-excellent elevation of this mountain, says: ‘And in the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on the summit of the mountains.’ It was indeed a mountain on the mountain’s top; because the elevation of Mary shone resplendent above that of all the saints.” But the super-eminent dignity and sanctity of Mary should not be the matter for mere admiration; it should serve to impress us more deeply with a sense of the greatness of the God whose creatures we are, and who, in our creation, has imposed on us the obligation of being holy, as he said to the Jewish people: “Be ye holy; because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”
PRAYER
I salute thee, O Mary, Mother of my Creator, and hope of Christians. Listen to the prayer of a sinner, who wishes to love thee tenderly, and who places in thee all his hope of salvation. To thee I owe all the spiritual advantages which Jesus Christ has procured for me: reinstate me in the favour of thy Divine Son, and be the advocate of my weakness and unworthiness. I beseech thee to obtain from Him the pardon of all my sins: dissipate the darkness of my understanding, destroy the worldly affections of my heart, repel the temptations of my enemy, and preside over all the actions of my life, that by thy assistance and maternal direction, I may arrive at eternal happiness. Amen.
MOTHER OF OUR CREATOR,
PRAY FOR US!
Taken from:
THE NEW MONTH OF MARY
By the Very Rev. P.R. Kenrick
Published by C. Dolman, London, 1841
Vas in honorem. — (2 Tim. ii., 21)
A vessel unto honour.
CONSIDERATION I.
[…] The chalice, and the other sacred vessels usually placed on the altar, … signify that Mary is really, and is also most appropriately, styled by the Church Vas Spirituale — Spiritual Vessel. For as, during the Mass, the blood of Christ is kept in the chalice, so the true flesh and blood of Christ were safely kept for nine months in the chaste womb of Mary as in a spiritual vessel.
CONSIDERATION II.
The prophet Jeremias, of old, was ordered by the Lord to go into the house of a potter, and there see for himself and understand that it depended solely on the will of the potter, whether he should form from the clay a vessel for honour, or for contempt. God, by this similitude, desired to teach that by His will, He can exalt or depreciate man at His pleasure, and that He can exercise the same control over man as the potter can over the clay. When God, then, selected Mary as His Mother, by this very act He selected her as the vas in honorem — the vessel unto honour which was sanctified by the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost.
CONSIDERATION III.
Moses, in the Old Testament, was, as it were, the Lord’s secretary; and the Lord, amongst other directions, commanded him to provide for the manufacture of certain spiritual vessels for the divine service, especially mentioning the Ark of the Covenant, the golden table upon which, upon every Sabbath day, were to be placed twelve loaves; the golden candlestick, the vessels of oil, the chalices, and the thuribles. By all these, according to the opinions of the holy Fathers, we are to understand Mary, as the Vas Spirituale— the Spiritual Vessel.
PRAYER
O Mary! as with justice, indeed, thou art called by the Church Vas Spirituale — the Spiritual Vessel so likewise I call thee the living temple of Solomon, as being that temple in which the High Priest is Christ; that in which thy pure heart is, as it were, a privileged altar; thy devout mouth as if a golden censor; thy most fervent prayer an odoriferous sacrifice; and finally, thy charity, as it were, a burning lamp. O glorious vessel! O blessed temple! I fly for refuge to this temple, that I may be protected from the wrath of God. I seek asylum within it, exclaiming: O Mary!
SPIRITUAL VESSEL,
PRAY FOR US!
Taken from:
THE ILLUSTRATED LITANY OF LORETTO
By Rev. Fr. Thomas Canon Pope
Published by James Duffy & Sons, Dublin, 1878
“Wisdom hath built herself a house.” — (Prov. ix., 1)
Mary was the seat of wisdom, because the mother of the increated wisdom – ”the first-born before all creatures.” As the praises of the Son are necessarily participated in by the mother, the Church celebrates the dignity of Mary by repeating in the public service by which she honours her, the praises of her divine Son. The wisdom of God was manifested in the creation of the world, according to that of the psalmist – “Thou hast done all things in wisdom.” In the 24th chapter of the book of Ecclesiasticus, the effects of this divine wisdom are described. “I came out of the mouth of the Most High, the first born before all creatures. I made that in the heavens there should rise light that never faileth, and as a cloud I covered all the earth. I dwelt in the highest place, and my throne is in a pillar of a cloud. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue.” — (Eccl. xxiv.). And yet this divine wisdom was not esteemed by men, when it dwelt among them. Jesus was clad in a fool’s garment by the wisdom of this world! His doctrine is foolishness to those who are prudent in their own conceits: and who ever will walk in his footsteps must be content to be esteemed fools for his sake. Mary participated more in this wisdom than any other creature, because she approached nearer the source whence it emanated. If Jerusalem was the subject of the prophet’s admiration on account of the peculiar presence of God in its holy temple, may we not apply his words to Mary – that living temple of God, in whom, in Jesus Christ, “the whole plenitude of the divinity dwelt corporally,” and say: “Glorious things are said of thee, O city of God!”
Mary manifested in all her actions the fruits of the divine wisdom which had made her the tabernacle of God with men. “The fear of the Lord,” says the Psalmist, “is the beginning of wisdom,” and His holy fear was signally displayed in Mary. How great must have been this filial fear with which Mary watched over all her actions, and which preserved her from ever displeasing the divine wisdom. Was not her wisdom manifested in the choice of so holy a spouse as Joseph; who was at once the guardian of her innocence before God, and of her character before men? Was not her wisdom displayed, by treasuring up in her heart whatever words were spoken of her divine Son? But why enumerate particular instances? Did she not enjoy for thirty years the society of Him, of whom the evangelist remarks that He “advanced in wisdom, and age, and grace, before God and men.” — (Luke, ii. 52). How happy was Mary in being the favoured creature, in whom was fulfilled what the Eternal Father said to the increated wisdom of His Son. “Let thy dwelling be in Jacob, and thy inheritance in Israel, and take root in my elect!” — (Eccl. xxiv. 13). How still more happy in displaying this divine wisdom in her actions? While we offer her the homage of our admiration, on this double title, let us reflect a little on ourselves. We, and all other creatures, are the work of God’s wisdom: everything, both within and without us, is calculated to display His attributes. Do we ever advert to our obligation of seeing God in all things, and of rising from the contemplation of the creature to that of the great Creator? The light of reason and revelation which we enjoy, are participations of the divine wisdom: do we esteem them as we ought? Do we never undervalue, by our maxims and conversation, the wisdom which Christ teaches us in the Gospel? Alas! how much is it to be feared, that, while we esteem so much worldly wisdom, – which confines its views to the limited prospect of this life, we pay but little attention to the dictates of that wisdom which is from above, and which alone can make us truly wise! We should remember that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; and that the secrets of divine wisdom are imparted to the poor and humble, while they are hidden from the wise and prudent. Let us not, then, be wise in our own conceits, but carefully imitate the example of her whom the Church calls the “seat of wisdom.”
PRAYER
O Mary, thou art in truth the “Seat of Wisdom.” The Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Wisdom who overshadowed thee, and the Son of God, the Eternal Wisdom of the Father, who dwelt in thy sacred womb, and rested on thy holy arms, imparted to thee all the gifts and treasures of supernatural wisdom. Behold me, a poor sinner, whose intellect is clouded by the mists of evil passions, and who so often mistakes evil for good, behold me now prostrate at thy feet, – imploring thee to obtain for me light to guide my steps in this dark world. Make me ever docile to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, and teach me to esteem more the folly of the Cross than all the wisdom of the world. Obtain for me a simple, guileless mind, and permit me not that while I profess to be a disciple of thy divine Son, the true and uncreated Wisdom of the Father, I should be found to be influenced by the false maxims of the world. Make me always recur to thee, O sacred Virgin, as the best advocate with God; and obtain pardon for my past perversity, in practically contemning the only true wisdom, and exposing myself to the danger of being eternally obliged to lament my folly. Amen.
SEAT OF WISDOM, PRAY FOR US!
Taken from:
THE NEW MONTH OF MARY
By the Very Rev. P.R. Kenrick
Published by C. Dolman, London, 1841
Virgo prudentissima
“This woman was most prudent.” — (1 Kings, xxv., 3)
The Holy Ghost pronounced this eulogium on the virtues of Abigail, whose prudence enabled her to bear with the imperfections of her husband, Nabal, and to appease the anger of David. Her prudence was, however, but imperfect, when compared with that which we admire and venerate in Mary. This prudence was manifested first, by devoting herself to God’s service at an early age; when she was presented by her holy parents in the temple of God, where she remained occupied in the meditation of His law, and in the celebration of His divine perfections. The Church applies to her the praise which our Divine Saviour pronounced on Mary, the sister of Martha, when this latter complained, that her sister remained at the feet of Christ, in silent contemplation of the divine wisdom: “Martha was busy about much serving,” and most modern Christians would, probably, conceive, that she was more meritoriously employed than her sister. The divine lips of Jesus have, however, pronounced the eulogium of the latter: “Mary hath chosen the better part, which shall not be taken away from her.” The blessed Virgin, in choosing “the better part,” manifested her singular prudence; as this is a virtue which guides us in the choice of objects, and in the selection of the means to attain them. Her excellence in this particular is the more remarkable, as she had no example to imitate, but was the first to give the example of a total and perpetual voluntary sacrifice of herself to the divine service. May we learn from it to choose ever the better part, according to the measure of grace imparted to us; and ever esteem it as the greatest happiness and the most consummate wisdom, to be occupied on earth as the blessed are in heaven – in contemplating and adoring the divine perfections! Happy those souls who are called to this life “hidden with Christ in God.”
In the other circumstances of Mary’s life, we perceive no less evidence of her prudence. So far removed was she from every thing that could diminish the lustre of this virtue, that when her spouse, St. Joseph, perceived her pregnancy, he seems rather to have been involved in perplexity, than inclined to suspicion. Mary, with the fullest reliance on God, does not seem to have made any effort to vindicate her innocence; but patiently awaited the supernatural manifestation of her divine maternity. Again, although she appears not often in the evangelical history of our Lord, whenever she is mentioned, we may perceive the prudence which distinguished her. After remaining three months with her holy cousin, St. Elizabeth, she returns to Nazareth, when the time of the birth of St. John the Baptist approached; in order, as the holy Fathers remark, to avoid the observation of those who would be assembled on such a joyous occasion. Like the prudent merchant in the Gospel, she studiously concealed the precious jewel she possessed, and did not unnecessarily expose it, by imprudently manifesting the extraordinary favour God had imparted to her. She treasured up all the words spoken of her Divine Son, by the angels on the night of His birth, pondering on them in her heart, as also those which the prophetess Anna and the holy Simeon pronounced, when He was presented in the temple. During the public ministry of Christ she seldom appears, as best became her sex, and her near relation to the Redeemer; but whenever we find mention of her, we may gather from the brief notice which the evangelists take of her, the evidences of her singular prudence.
The prudence of Mary should be for us a subject of close imitation. Whenever we have either to choose a state of life, or determine on any important matter, what are the motives by which we are influenced? To act prudently on these occasions, we should act on the principle laid down by Christ, in His answer to Martha: “There is indeed one thing necessary.” This is the criterion by which we should try and prove all things. Whatever conduces to the great end of our creation – the attainment of heaven should be embraced; whatever is opposed to it, or likely to place obstacles to us in our course, should be rejected. To act otherwise – to be influenced by considerations of present gratification or emolument, and not by the principle above laid down, is to invert the order established by God, who commands us to “seek first the kingdom of God and his justice.” It is to lay the foundation of our happiness on a sandy soil, and thus expose ourselves to be involved in the ruin that will certainly follow. Even in our most trivial actions we should be governed by prudence, as it is the only means by which we can please God, and avoid the violation of fraternal charity. The words of the psalmist should often be our aspiration to God: – “Set a watch, O Lord! before my mouth, and a door round my lips.” Let us imitate this truly prudent Virgin, whose example the Church so much recommends to our imitation, and from whom we may learn prudence without guile, and wisdom without affectation.
PRAYER
O most prudent Virgin, I approach thee with sentiments of the most profound veneration, and I congratulate thee on the heavenly prudence, which thou didst manifest from thy earliest years, and which always distinguished thee through life. Thou art the prudent Virgin, who didst seek God in all thy actions, and ever kept thy lamp burning, by continually replenishing it with the oil of good works. May I imitate thee in this respect, and not expose myself to be excluded, like the foolish virgins, from the nuptials of the Divine Son, by reason of my tepidity or want of vigilance. O Virgin, bright mirror of heavenly wisdom! Be unto me a guide, and make me ever prefer what is most conducive to my salvation, to what would flatter my pride or gratify my feelings. Preserve me from those errors in which passion would involve me: may I be simple and prudent, sincere without levity, and reserved without moroseness. Amen.
VIRGIN MOST PRUDENT, PRAY FOR US!
Taken from:
THE NEW MONTH OF MARY
By the Very Rev. P.R. Kenrick
Published by C. Dolman, London, 1841
Videmus nunc per speculum. — (1 Cor. xiii., 12)
We see now as through a glass.
CONSIDERATION I.
Christ is appropriately called the Sol Justitiae — the Sun of Justice; appropriately, also, is Mary styled by the Church the Speculum Justitiae — the Mirror of Justice. Both appellations are symbolically representative of justice. For, as the radiant sun sheds his beaming lustre on the lowly cottages of the rustic equally as on the palatial mansions of kings and princes, so, to all, Christ dispenses the grace necessary for salvation. Even so, in a similar manner, the mirror is a symbol of justice, for . . . it imparts to each person what is peculiar to himself; that is, it faithfully reflects the peculiar figure of each person inspecting himself in it. To the angel, it reflects an angelic figure; to man, a human figure; to the devil, a diabolical figure.
CONSIDERATION II.
Besides, Mary is not only the Mirror of Justice, but she is, also, what is here intended to be significant of justice — she is the mirror of all virtues; and she is, indeed, a mirror without the slightest blemish. We know that a mirror is dimmed by the slightest breath, but Mary never tolerated the slightest tarnish. Nay, more— as the mirror is not only proof against the poison of the basilisk, but, by some means, casts it back upon himself, and kills him, so Mary, as the Mirror of Justice, was not only proof against the poison of original sin, but also crushed the head of the infernal serpent.
CONSIDERATION III.
São Paulo diz: Videmus nunc per speculum — We see now through a glass. The word glass must be interpreted as signifying faith. These words are very appropriately inscribed . . . for through Mary, also, we see as through a glass. But what do we see? The servant sees how he is to obey; the proud man sees how he is to humble himself; and the man who yields to his passions how he is to live a life of chastity. Through this mirror the tepid soul sees the spirit of fervour which should animate him; the man of wrath sees the meekness with which he should clothe himself; the irreligious, the spirit of piety he should cultivate; the man who acts unjustly, the principles of justice which should govern him. Indeed, all see, through the example of Mary, how they should live piously and justly.
THE PRAYER.
O Mary! in thee are comprised all the qualities of a good mirror. In one characteristic, however, you bear, in an especial manner, a similitude to the mirror. It is in this — the nearer we approach the mirror, the nearer the image reflected appears to approach to us; and again, the farther we recede from the mirror, in the same proportion the farther the reflected image appears to withdraw from us. So, in a similar manner, the nearer we approach, by devotion, to thee, O Mirror of Justice, in the same proportion thy protection and assistance will advance towards us; and if we recede from thee, it is not to be wondered at that thou shouldst withdraw also from us. I am convinced of this, and I now resolve continually to approach nearer and nearer to Thee. O Mary!
MIRROR OF JUSTICE, PRAY FOR US!
Taken from:
THE ILLUSTRATED LITANY OF LORETTO
By Rev. Fr. Thomas Canon Pope
Published by James Duffy & Sons, Dublin, 1878
COLLECT for the Mass of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary
O God, whose only-begotten Son, by His life, His death, and His resurrection hath purchased for us the reward of eternal salvation; grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating on these mysteries in the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. Through the same Lord, Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in union with the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
The following are excerpts from the St. Andrew Missal (1945), regarding the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary:
“It was the custom in the Middle Ages, as formerly among the Romans, for noble personages to wear crowns of flowers called chaplets. These crowns were offered to persons of distinction as a feudal due.
The Blessed Virgin, as Queen of heaven and of souls, has a right to the same homage; wherefore the Church asks us to recognize the title of Mary as Queen of the Holy Rosary, and she exhorts us to offer to her as daughter of the Father, mother of the Son, and spouse of the Holy Ghost a triple chaplet or three crowns of roses, of which she shows us all the beauties in to-day’s (Oct. 7) office, and to which she has given the name of Rosary.
The Collect reminds us that the recitation of the Rosary is a mental prayer in which we meditate on the mysteries of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus; with these Mary was intimately associated.”
“This prayer, has, in the course of the centuries, obtained many graces for Christendom. The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted to commemorate the victory of Lepanto (Sunday, October 7, 1571) when, thanks to the recitation of the Rosary, the forces of Islam, which threatened to invade Europe, were broken.”
“Leo XIII, moved by the sorrowful trials under which the Church groans, raised the feast to one of the Second Class with a new Mass and office.”
Pope Leo XIII added the title “Queen of the Most Holy Rosary” to the Litany of Loretto on December 24, 1883; and he composed a Mass and new office of Our Lady of the Rosary (referred to, above) for her feast day of October 7. But the reason we are addressing the Queen of the Holy Rosary today, is for the connection that exists between this date, May 13, and to another Pope – Pope Benedict XV, in the year 1917.
World War I was proceeding with no sign of stopping. Pope Benedict XV, in a letter dated May 5, 1917, made a plea to the world to end the war, and called on the Blessed Virgin Mary, as the Mother of Mercy, to bring peace. It was only eight days later, on May 13, 1917, that the Blessed Virgin seemed to answer the papal request. She appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima for the first time, and instructed them to recite the rosary daily. Our Lady returned five more times to the young seers in Fatima, repeating, each time, her request for daily recitation of the rosary; giving this as a fundamental condition, among others, for bringing about world peace. On the sixth and final apparition, she identified herself as “Lady of the Rosary”.
There is so much more that can be said about the message of Fatima, and its connection to world peace, and to these our times, but the important point for today is that our Holy Mother Mary has given us the rosary as our primary remedy for all troubles – personal, local and global.
QUEEN OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY, PRAY FOR US
OUR LADY OF FATIMA, PRAY FOR US
O quam pulchra est casta generatio. – (Sap. iv., 1)
Oh, how beautiful is the chaste generation.
CONSIDERATION I.
Mary . . . is symbolized under the appearance of a tree, and of a very wonderful tree – indeed, one which bears flores simul et fructus – flowers and fruits, at the same time. Now, this tree, which is, at the same time florescent and fructiferous, is significant of the wonderful chastity of the Virgin, because Mary always preserved her chastity; as she was a virgin before parturition, during parturition, and after parturition, she was thus a triple virgin. If, then, chastity, under ordinary circumstances be regarded a virtue which renders man like unto the angels and most pleasing to God, how are we to express ourselves of the extraordinary and more than angelic chastity of Mary?
CONSIDERATION II.
John was so beloved of Christ that he was permitted to rest his head upon the bosom of Christ, and was introduced into the knowledge of the highest mysteries of God. But whence did John merit these privileges? He merited these, and many other favours, by his perpetual observance of chastity. We shall now proceed from the lesser to the greater. If the chastity of John were so acceptable to God, with what accents of praise shall we proclaim the chastity of Mary, who was a tree in blossom and a tree bearing fruit at the same time – that is, who was, at one and the same time, a mother and a virgin, and who thus resembled that bush which, in the midst of the flames, remained unconsumed.
CONSIDERATON III.
Now, this very great chastity and virginity which Mary preserved inviolate even in her parturition, is clearly indicated and proclaimed by the Holy Scripture, which at one time compares her to a horto concluso – a garden enclosed; at another time to a fonti signato – a fountain sealed. Even Solomon seems to have alluded to Mary when he cried out, in astonishment: O quam pulchra est casta generatio – O how beautiful is the chaste generation!
THE PRAYER
O Mary! Mother most chaste! I venerate thee, I invoke thee as my patroness; I solicit thee that thou aidest me always, that thou extendest to me thy assistance, but more especially when my chastity is imperiled, and when I am assailed by temptations of the flesh. Ah, I implore of thee, O Virgin most zealous! observer of chastity! permit not that I should ever foully stain my soul by one thought, word, or deed contrary to chastity, and thus, in a certain manner, divest myself of the wedding garment without which no one is admitted to the nuptials of the Immaculate Lamb.
O MARY! MOTHER MOST CHASTE,
PRAY FOR US!
Taken from:
THE ILLUSTRATED LITANY OF LORETTO
By Rev. Fr. Thomas Canon Pope
Published by James Duffy & Sons, Dublin, 1878
Viderunt eam filiae, et beatissimam praedicaverunt. — (Cant. vi., 8.)
The daughters saw her, and declared her most blessed.
CONSIDERATION I.
The virginity of Mary is . . . symbolically represented under the type of a lily, to signify her triple virginity, namely, the virginity she enjoyed before parturition, the virginity which she retained during parturition, and the virginity which she preserved after parturition. It is in regard to this triple and pre-eminently perfect virginity that not only these words may be attributed to her: Una est columba mea, perfecta mea – One is my dove, my perfect one; but, moreover, the Church venerates and invokes her as the Virgin of virgins.
CONSIDERATION II.
Besides, for various other reasons, Mary may, very deservedly, be called the Virgin of virgins, and especially because she was the first who devoted her virginity to God, and that, too, without a command, without a counsel, and without even an example. For, in the time of the Old Testament, barrenness was regarded as a punishment from God, and, as a consequence, virginity was held in no estimation by the world. There is another reason, the virginity of Mary was invested with a certain special prerogative; for, though the Virgin Mary was very beautiful, yet her great beauty never elicited in others endearments or desires contrary to the most delicate modesty.
CONSIDERATON III.
For an additional reason, also, Mary merits to be styled the Virgin of virgins, because she is, as it were, the leader and standard-bearer of virgins. For: Adolescentularum non est numerus – Young maidens without number, after the example of Mary, have devoted their virginity to God, and, through their ardent desire of preserving it, have abandoned the halls of kings and princes, have entered monasteries, and submitted themselves, in the cloister, to lives of austerity; and, rather than lose the flower of virginity, have even immolated their blood, and very life itself. When Esther decorated her person with ornaments her handmaids also immediately adorned themselves; in like manner, when Mary was glorified as a virgin, “her daughters saw her and declared her most blessed.”
THE PRAYER
O Mary, I love and venerate the whole host of virgins, but, of all virgins, I love and venerate thee in a supreme degree. I venerate Barbara, with her chalice, but, O Mary! much more do I venerate thee, who, with your Son, shared in tasting the bitter cup of sorrow. I venerate Catherine, with her wheel; but, O Mary! incomparably more do venerate thee, who movest, with the facility of a wheel, towards clemency. I venerate Teresa, with her arrow; but ineffably more do I venerate thee, O Mary! whose soul was transfixed with the sword of grief. I venerate Margaret, with the dragon; but inexpressibly more do I venerate thee, O Mary! who didst crush the serpent’s head.
O MARY! HOLY VIRGIN OF VIRGINS,
PRAY FOR US!
Taken from:
THE ILLUSTRATED LITANY OF LORETTO
By Rev. Fr. Thomas Canon Pope
Published by James Duffy & Sons, Dublin, 1878
Had it been given to you to choose your own mother, and to endow her from her very birth with all the gifts, good qualities and attainments you could think of, what would you have made her? You would most assuredly have made her what you would consider as the paragon of perfection. But Mary is the Mother of God, for the angel sent by God said to her: “The Holy One that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1. 35); and St. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Ghost, called her “the Mother of my Lord”, that is, of my God. If God Himself through His angel and through St. Elizabeth, called Mary “the Mother of God”, it is both our right e our duty to call and invoke her as “the Mother of God”. The psalmist represents God the Father saying to the Messias: “Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee” (Ps. 109). At the baptism of Christ the heavens opened, and the voice of the heavenly Father was heard saying: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Luke 3. 22); and at Christ’s Transfiguration on Mount Thabor, the heavenly Father again said: “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Mat. 17. 5). But the SAME JESUS, whom the Father declares to be His own beloved Son, is also the SON OF MARY. Hence she can truly say of Him: “He whom the heavenly Father calls His own beloved Son, is also truly my Son, and I alone of all creatures can say to Him: ‘Jesus, Thou art both my Son and my God’”. Mary is the nearest relative of Jesus, because she is His Mother and has given birth to Him. Hence St. Peter Damian says: “The Son of God dwelt in Mary, and therefore has an identity of substance with her.” To Mary alone can the Son of God say: “Thou art My Mother, and I am thy Son.” The Venerable Bede says: “The very Son of God, conceived in the Virgin’s womb, drew His flesh from her flesh, for He could not be a man, unless He had a human origin.” To become our Savior, the Son of God had to become man and have a human origin; and from all eternity Mary had been destined to be His Mother. Therefore, Mary is truly the Mother of God and deserves this name by the right of maternity.
Mary, then, is exalted above all creatures. The dignity of Mother of God is the greatest, the most sublime dignity that can be conferred on a creature. “God,” says St. Bonaventure, “can create millions of worlds greater and more perfect than this one; but He cannot create a dignity greater or more perfect than the Divine Maternity.” “The divine Maternity,” says Pope Pius IX, “is the crown of all the wonders of God.” But she whom God chose to be His own Mother, must have been made by Him such as to be worthy of His respect and love immeasurably above every other creature. The Mother of God should, then, be more pure and more holy than any other creature, and, in fact, should be next to God Himself in purity and holiness, and should be such as to reflect honor on God Himself for having her as His Mother. But let us bear in mind that God, the infinite Wisdom, does not, as we do, regard or place stress on mere corporeal or physical beauty, earthly riches, fine garments, intellectual attainments, popularity, influence or high station in life, for all these things are but as vile dust in comparison with virtue, innocence, holiness and moral beauty and worth. These virtues and spiritual qualities, and these only count with God and draw His love and respect. Moreover the Mother of God could not deserve the respect, love and veneration of angels and men required by her sublime dignity, were she stained with slight faults or failings or subject to any moral weakness. Therefore, it behooves that the Mother of God should be preserved from every stain of sin or fault even from the very first moment of her life, and, besides, be confirmed in grace and free from all sin during her whole life, and, moreover, be endowed with the highest degree of grace, or, as the angel expressed it in his greeting, should always be “full of grace,” according to her capacity. Were it otherwise, the contempt and astonishment resulting from any moral weakness or imperfection on her part, would redound to the injury and dishonor of God Himself, for not honoring His Mother, as her intimate relation to Himself required. From this it follows also that they who wilfully belittle the Mother of God and refuse to give her the honor due to her dignity and intimate relation to God, the honor taught us by God’s example, such persons necessarily displease and dishonor God Himself.
The Son of God, as the Son of Mary, was, without doubt, the best, the most dutiful of sons, for He was on earth our Model in all the virtues. Therefore, no son ever honored or loved his mother as much and as perfectly as Jesus honored and loved His Mother Mary. A dutiful son is greatly pleased and rejoices to see his good mother universally respected and esteemed, for he considers her interests and her welfare as his own, and does all he can to promote them, since the honor shown to his mother redounds to his own honor. In like manner, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Mary, is pleased to see all who believe in Him, revering, honoring and confiding in His Mother, and considers it all as done to Himself. Does He not say: “Whatever you have done to the least of Mine, you have done it unto Me?” (Mat, 25. 40). Is not Mary incomparably more to Jesus, her Son, than the least of His disciples? He surely not only is pleased to see His Mother honored as her sublime dignity requires, but expressly wills us to give due honor to her. And since He considers the honor we give her as given to Himself, and since He is our Model in all things, we should consider Him as prescribing the honor He Himself paid to her as the model of the honor we owe her. Hence we may here apply to Mary the question of King Assuerus: “What ought to be done to the man whom the king is desirous to honor?” (Esther 6. 6). “What honor should we pay to her whom the Son of God wishes to honor?”
The Protestant, as such, replies: “No honor at all, for to honor her would derogate from the honor due to God, and be a kind of idolatry!” But what answer does the Catholic Church give to this question? The Catholic Church answers it by fulfilling Mary’s own prophecy: “Behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed, because He that is mighty hath done great things to me” (Luke 1. 48). The Popes, the bishops, the doctors, the saints and the faithful of the Church have ever since the day on which the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles in the form of fiery tongues, and enabled them to found the Church, vied with one another in honoring her whom God Himself had called “blessed,” and have given her as her principal titles, “The Blessed Virgin, the Mother of God.” In her honor the Catholic Church has instituted feasts, erected churches and altars, made use of the finest productions of art in painting, sculpture, architecture, music; Mary is honored in the Divine Office, in numerous prayers and devotions, in her shrines, by pilgrimages, sermons, learned works, sodalities, the wearing of scapulars, medals, the recitation of the Angelus, of the Rosary, and other prayers; her name is invoked next to that of Jesus, with faith, confidence and love, in both spiritual and temporal wants, by the good, by sinners for the grace of conversion, by the sick, the afflicted, the dying, and all this with wonderful results, so that numerous are the beautiful titles given her in gratitude for favors received through her powerful intercession. And what is more, countless are those who strive to imitate her virtues and consecrate their virginity like her to God and devote their whole life to the service of the poor, the sick, the forsaken, to the relief of all the ills by which poor human nature is afflicted. And this does not derogate from the honor and love we owe to our Divine Savior; on the contrary, experience proves that they who love and honor Mary the most, are the very ones who also love and honor Jesus Christ the most. Moreover, however much we may honor Mary, we can never honor her as much as God Himself has honored her. Hence of the honor we pay to Mary we may say: “This honor is she worthy of, whom the Lord of heaven and earth has deemed worthy to choose as the Mother of His Divine Son!
Taken from:
THE MOTHER OF MY LORD: EXPLANATION OF THE HAIL MARY
By Rev. Ferreol Girardey, C.Ss.R.
Published by B. Herder, St. Louis, MO., 1916
