our lady of compassion feast day our lady of compassion feast day

To the working of this great mystery you also were chosen to cooperate by your free consent. You took your only Son to heart in all men born. Your Heart is pure and spotless because sanctified beyond all other hearts by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, making it worthy to be the dwelling-place of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Since you had your place beside Jesus when there was question of ransoming us and meriting for us all the graces necessary for our salvation, you must in like manner have your place beside Him now, when there is question of securing for us by your prayers in heaven the graces prepared for us in view of the merits of Christ. No one after Christ was humbler than you were, yet no one after Christ gave God greater glory. Your apostolic workto snatch souls from Satan and from sin to make them live the supernatural lifeis the very reason for your motherhood. Indeed, all were awaiting your Son: the world, to gain rest and peace, the angels, to see God's plans fulfilled; the Heavenly Father Himself to behold His created Image: and all this longing was united in your heart. You are indeed the most wonderful Mother that has ever walked this earth. You brought Him into the world that He might be King, according to the words of the archangel: "And of His kingdom there shall be no end." From Him there flowed heavenwards an unceasing stream of glory, the waves of His grace ever poured over the earth. Mary, Mother of God, your name means "full of light" and "light-giving." Led by divine inspiration to His house, you prepared yourself for your sublime dignity of Divine Motherhood in silence and solitude with God. Excerpted from Our Lady of Sorrows by Fr. I was false to God's trust; I refused to obey my Maker. Rule over us by the queenly power of your love that the Kingdom of your Sonthe Kingdom of Truth and Life, Holiness and Grace, Justice, Love and Peacemay come upon earth. In that instant the Word of God became forever united to humanity; the human soul of Jesus Christ, produced from nothing, began to enjoy God and to know all things past, present, and to come. Yet more powerfully still than even your exalted merits does the Precious Blood render God merciful to the sinner, for all comes to us through the Passion and death of Christ, your Son. I trust that you will lovingly bow down to help my efforts. Mary, My Mother, give me a rich share in the graces merited for me by your Son. Your part in distributing God's grace is a result of the part you played in obtaining it. Let me find consolation and strength in your favorite devotionthe rosary. Mary, My Mother, I wish to offer myself as a sacrifice to God in union with Jesus and through your hands. This doctrine was received in the early Church and handed down by the Fathers who praised you with extraordinary titles and most important writings. You come nearest to the holiness of God. You are our Mother, because you have begotten us to the life of grace. How often am I confused in the problems of life. I come to you with confidence, knowing that through you all glory, honor and holiness given to the human race from the first Adam to the last ages has been granted, is being granted and will be granted to apostles, prophets, martyrs and all the just. You are the holiest of women, the Virgin-Mother thrice holy, because you are holy of the Father, holy of the Son, holy of the Holy Spirit of Love. Though they had both vowed to consecrate their first-born child to the service of the Lord, they remained childless, a condition considered a disgrace among the Jews and a mark of heavenly disfavor. Because of sanctifying grace infused into your soul, you were from the first moment of your existence most intimately united with God and endowed with the most precious gifts of heaven. Though worn with sorrow, you at once took your place at the foot of the cross. You know all our needsneeds of body and needs of soulinfinitely better than a mother. I beg you to ask God that I return His love with some of the generosity and fervor with which you loved Him. You formed His lips, to teach us. Your sorrow would be as deep as the sea. 12, 1). No one ever belonged to Jesus as completely as you, for you are His Mother. Give me a deep sorrow for my sins which have hurt God so very much. As Eve induced Adam to eat of the forbidden fruit which brought death upon us, so you prompt us to eat the Bread which gives us life. It is from you alone that Christ took His human nature. God has made you Queen and Protectress of the Church. Mary, My Mother, you associated yourself with the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus in order that you might share in His glorification. You stood there silently fulfilling a part assigned you by Providence. The reredos is in gold relief, being copied from work in the chapel of the Duchess of Newcastle. It urges my senses to lower desires, because I seek sensible pleasure in its every degree. By Francesca Merlo The Virgin of Guadalupe, like the shroud of Turin, appears on a piece of fabric. Mary, My Mother, though your body was separated from your soul in death, your soul was reunited in your incorrupt body, and you were taken up into heaven by angels. You are the Virgin to whom God the Father decreed to give His only Sonthe Divine Word, equal with Himself in all thingsthat entering the natural order He might become your Son as well as His. Solemnity of Mary Mother of God 2. How often has mortal sin, destroying in me the beautiful image of the Blessed Trinity, brought death to my soul, delivered me to God's wrath and condemned me to everlasting hell-fire! Through the sorrow which you felt during your whole life, but especially when you saw Jesus led to His death and then crucified, obtain for me the grace that I may patiently bear the sufferings which God has seen fit to send me, even as you bore your sufferings. Mary, My Mother, in your womb, the sanctuary of the living God, Jesus was occupied with the sanctification and government of the world. It was your exclusive privilege to be Christ's Mother according to the flesh. You love me with a love that is greater than the love of my own mother; you love me with the very love with which you love Jesus, since all your children form but one body with Him. In your triumph, as the Mother of the same Word Incarnate, having perfectly followed out the great designs of God upon you, having acquired immense merits by the practice of all the virtues, and having reached the highest holiness, you were assumed body and soul, into Heaven. Shed upon me more and more the living light of that faith which made you blessed. From the first instant of your existence your mind was filled by the supernatural light of faith and your soul with love of God. In his soul they saw no more than they see in each little soul as it leaves the baptismal font, grace having taken the place of original sin. This is why you were greeted by the angel in the words, "Hail, full of grace." But you merited the title Co-Redemptrix above all by your union with Christ in His redemptive sacrifice. Fill their hearts with the virtues of joyous zeal for God and for souls and a warm love for divine learning. 2. You always had so lowly an opinion of yourself that, although you realized how many more graces and favors were bestowed upon you than upon others, you still preferred all others before yourself. Sanctifying grace likened you to God as it did no other pure creature. Let me know nothing else except this entire surrender of myself to God, this simple childlike act of the heart, as I cast myself into the Arms of Jesus and promise Him my fidelity. On the right of the Sanctuary stands the shrine of Our Lady of Compassion, under whose protection the church is placed. Mary, My Mother, help me to imitate your holiness to some degree. You learned to read the sacred books by yourself and tried to penetrate their hidden meaning. You express your wishes to God, those wishes which have to do with our needsneeds of body and needs of soul. Help me to realize that it is only through the cross that I can attain to its glory and that it is only through suffering that I can possess the kingdom of heaven. After the prophecy of Simeon, the Scriptures mention that "His father and mother" were wondering at those things which were spoken concerning Him. You are pure and sinless. In the same way you, who freely delivered your son to a cruel death, parted with your Son. You saw clearly the agony you would feel at the crucifixion. Only then can I really love you as you desirewhen Jesus is formed in me so that I can love you as Jesus does. Increase the number of vocations to the priesthood and the religious life and awaken in many young hearts a zeal for the salvation of pagans and sinners. She heard the voices of Archangel Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret - they are on the banner over her left shoulder! I should learn from your conduct never to oppose the divine will, even though conformity to it may mean a severe test of my faith. Be pleased to intercede with Jesus, your Son, for Christian families. "Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. They apply these words of Scripture to you: "He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord" (Prov. Mary, Mother of God, how sacred was the life of Jesus in your womb while you awaited His coming! Mercy is your special work in this drama of human life. You desire more to do good to me than I can desire to receive favors from you, for your Heart is all love and mercy. As the seed of the serpent includes all those descendants of the first man and woman who by their sinful lives bear within them the traits of the devil, so, too, the seed of the Woman includes all who in the course of ages will take their stand with your Son, Jesus Christ, in His ceaseless conflict with the enemy of God. Mary, My Mother, how kindly you provided for the needs of this newly-married couple! How strongly Jesus reminded me of this: "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remain on the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. You have not lost grace, as Adam lost it, but you have found it because you have desired and sought it. Devotion to you brings with it sweetness and consolation for the soul. 1. But because of my sinfulness, I also have need of an intercessor with Him. Jesus died because He willed to die. Mary, Mother of God, I choose you as my model of Eucharistic devotion. Latest news Portuguese bishops announce steps to end sexual abuse in the Church Mary, Mother of God, your Heart is a shrine of holiness, into which the demon of sin has never entered; whose sanctuary was never once defiled by the least touch of evil, whose altar was the chosen resting place of the Holy Spirit. You are a Mediatrix because since your Assumption, with Christ you obtain all graces for men. How God rewarded your humble and deep faith! Protect, guard, and keep them in holy fear, in peace, and in harmony of Christian charity. We can certainly call you "Suppliant Omnipotence.". 3. Filled with grief, you saw how the disciples removed the nails from the Redeemer's hands and feet, extracted the thorns from His head, and took Him down from the cross. Your dying Son declared this in His words to you from the cross, "Woman, behold thy Son." Mary, Mother of God, you are the Mother of Perpetual Help because of the graces you have at your disposal. you. The early Christians, all lovers of the Eucharist, who visited you frequently during your hidden life of adoration, must have taken away with them the spirit of your Eucharistic devotion. The Virgin of Vladimir, also known as Vladimir Mother of God, Our Lady of Vladimir (Russian: , Ukrainian: ), and the Theotokos of Vladimir (Greek: ), is a 12th-century Byzantine icon depicting the Virgin and Child and an early . I realize that it is the command of God that I take ordinary care to insure bodily health. You are this woman, and you are a virgin. I did it not once or twice but numberless times. No wonder the angels were lost in admiration! The Consecration took place on Calvary where you shared in the offering of the bloody sacrifice of the New Testament. . It is still . You bore unspeakable sufferings and offered the life of Him who was dearer to you than your own life. Mary, Mother of God, the sorrowful mysteries of your Holy Rosary remind me of the sorrows, the agony and death of the suffering Christ, the price at which the salvation of our race was accomplished. Our eyes are upraised to you in sorrow and in joy. Help me to perform all my actions in youto be entirely dependent upon you, taking your point of view, doing all things as you did them for God's honor and glory. In order to free yourself from legal uncleanness and to give us an example of obedience to God's law, you submitted to the ceremony of the purification and made the offering demanded of the poortwo pigeons or turtledoves. I beg you to make me strong enough to bear my trials for the love of God so that I may become like you in suffering. You did not try to square both predictions. Simeon prophesied it when you offered the little Victim-Savior to the Heavenly Father for the first time in the temple: "And thy own soul a sword shall pierce" (Luke 2, 35). 3. Censor, IMPRIMATUR John Mark Gannon, D.D., Archbishop, Bishop of Erie. As the body of your Divine Son was preserved from the corruption of the grave, so you, from whom He took flesh, were also free from the power of earthly decay. Teach parents to care for their children as God's sacred trust, to guard them from sin and to lead them in the way of virtue. Whatever of sanctity, of dignity, of merit, of grace and of glory, that we can imagine, all is in you. Truly, you are "light-giving" because you have given us Jesus, the Light of the World. Save me, a poor sinner who confidently invokes your intercession, through the graces merited for me on the cross by the precious Blood of your Son. If we could not say that you are the Mother of God for having given a body to the Son of God, then we could neither adore this Body; nor would we have been redeemed by the sacrifice of this Body on the cross, nor would we be united to the divinity in receiving this Body in the Eucharist. Your name means Sea of Bitterness. Make me strong in the midst of the temptations and bitterness which so often trouble my soul. Feast, September 12 (Triduum, September 9-11). The angel said to you, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women" (Luke 1 28). You are truly His beloved Daughter, the only one in whom there was never a stain. A blessed feast of OUR LADY of the MIRACULOUS MEDAL to you. I also believe that grace is a free gift of God, and I have no claim to it except as a member of His holy Church, which is the mystical body of Christ. But you are Mother only of penitent sinners who have left their evil ways before death. But, if it is true that in the task of redemption you cooperated with Him in everything, in His joys and sorrows, in His winning our salvation then it is also true that you do the same in the dispensing of all the graces, material and spiritual, necessary for our salvation. December 12, 2021: "Our Lady of Guadalupe came to be the Mother of the Americas, to announce the new birth of Jesus Christ among the peoples and nations of the New World. Thus was fulfilled the prophesy that Christ would be born of the family of David. Mary, My Mother, through your divine maternity you procure for the three divine Persons a new and singular glory. 2. Jesus exhausted His love for man also. We praise your virginity and admire your humility; but because we are poor sinners, your mercy attracts us more and we embrace it more lovingly. God chose you to be His Mother and by that very choice has associated you with Himself in the work of the salvation of men. Mary, My Mother, as Dispenser of all graces, you make the world share in the infinite merits of the redemption. From the cross Jesus gave you to me to be my Mother, and I was entrusted to your care as your child. In so doing I simply imitate God who gave Himself and His Son to us through you. Even in the Son of God I sometimes fear the Divine Majesty because although He became Man, He did not cease to be God. He had to crown the gift of His love with the grand gift of you, His Mother. On the appointed day, at nightfall, accompanied by friends, he went in procession to your parents' house, to conduct you to his own home. Your Heart is also a generous Heart, full of love, abounding in mercy. Be a mother to me and save me. You beheld His arms and feet roughly extended on the hard wood of the cross. Seeing your own nothingness as compared with the infinite majesty of God, who chose you for His Mother, you acknowledged how unworthy you were of so great honor, but you did not oppose His will in the least thing. You presented Him in sacrifice to the Father as your God and the Son of Man, as your offering and the offering of humanity for the redemption of the world. 3. He works in my soul by His grace. 55. . God bless. In your apparitions at Fatima you revealed that it is in the designs of the Divine Mercy to cure the world through your Heart. It was fitting that you receive into your holy womb the One who contained all graces. No apostolic act bears fruit without grace. The dignity of the divine maternity raised you above all the rest of creation. IMPRIMI POTEST Raymond Weisenberger, Provincial, Girard, Pa. NIHIL OBSTAT A. H. Wiersbinski, LL.D. Your intimate union with your Divine Son is the reason for your power with Him. Jesus purchased me at the cost of His own life, and you offered that life to God for me. Faith tells me that the fall of man was the effect of the malice and envy of the devil, who sought in this way to be revenged upon the Creator for having cast him out of paradise in punishment for his rebellion. I long for your complete dominion over meover my body, my soul, my senses, over all that I am and have. Feast, Saturday after the Feast of St. Augustine (Aug. 28) (Triduum, Wednesday nearest the feast of St. It was fitting that you, a Virgin Mother, should conceive the Man Who was also the Son of God. Having loved your sinful children so much as to sacrifice for them your only Son in His Passion, you loved them to the end by giving them the Holy Eucharist. View the Flyer. Your Immaculate Conception, purchased by the Precious Blood of the Son of God Himself and freely bestowed upon you as the highest gift of God, is the most wonderful work of sanctification that the world has ever seen.