Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Archives

Prayer

For Jesuits
Chapter 8 - Mother of the Lord

by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.
Editor

§  "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; because he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid; for, behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed; because he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name; and his mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has given help to Israel, his servant, mindful of his mercy—even as he spoke to our fathers—to Abraham and to his posterity forever."

Luke 1:46-55

Virgin Mother of God

Mary, Virgin Mother of God, obtain for all of us a true love of the Church. She whose sinless soul was filled with the divine spirit of Jesus Christ above all other created souls, and who, in the name of the whole human race, gave her consent for a spiritual marriage between the Son of God and human nature. Within her virginal womb, Christ our Lord already bore the exalted title of head of the Church. In a marvelous birth she brought Him forth as the source of all supernatural life, and presented Him, newly born, as prophet, king, and priest to those among Jews and gentiles who were the first to come to adore Him.

Her only Son, condescending to His Mother's prayer in Cana of Galilee, performed the miracle by which His disciples believe in Him. It was she, the second Eve, free from all sin, original or personal and always most intimately united with her Son, who offered Him on Golgotha to the eternal Father for all the children of Adam, sin stained by his unhappy fall. Her mother's rights and mother's love were included in the holocaust. Thus, according to the flesh, she was the mother of our Head, and through the added title of pain and glory became, according to the Spirit, the mother of all His members. Through her powerful prayers she obtained that the spirit of our divine Redeemer, already given on the cross, should be bestowed, accompanied by miraculous gifts, on the newly founded Church at Pentecost.

Finally, bearing with courage and confidence the tremendous burden of her sorrows and desolation, the true Queen of Martyrs, more than all the faithful, filled up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, for His body which is the Church. And she continues to have for the mystical body of Christ, born of the pierced Heart of the Savior, the same motherly care and ardent love with which she cherished and fed the Infant Jesus in the crib.

Pius XII

To You I Entrust

O holy Mary, my Lady, into your blessed trust and special keeping, into the bosom of your tender mercy, this day, every day of my life, and at the hour of my death, I commend my soul and body. To you I entrust all my hopes and consolations, all my trials and miseries, my life and its final close, that through your most holy intercession and your merits, all my actions may be ordered and disposed according to your will and that of your divine Son. Amen.

Mediatrix

May it please our Lady to intercede with her Son for us poor sinners and obtain this grace for us, that with the cooperation of our own toil and effort she may change our weak and sorry spirits and make them strong and faithful to praise God.

St. Ignatius

My Sorrowful Mother

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

St. Alphonsus Liguori

Jesus and Mary

O good Jesus,
by the love with which You love Your Mother
grant me, I pray,
that I may love her truly,
just as You love her truly and
desire her to be loved.
O good Mother, by the love
with which you love your Son
and desire Him to be loved,
obtain for me the grace,
I pray you,
to love Him truly
as you truly love Him
and desire Him to be loved.

St. Anselm

Hope of Christians

Mary, my Lady, Hope of Christians, Queen of angels and all the saints who are with God in heaven. I commend myself to you, my Lady, and to all the saints, now, as if I were at the hour of death, to preserve me from the world, the flesh, and the devil—the enemies who plot with all their power against my soul, and hope in their malice to cast me into hell. Prevent this, most loving Mother, I pray and beseech you. Amen.

St. Francis Xavier

Litany of Loreto

LET US PRAY Grant, we beseech You, O Lord God, that we Your servants may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body, and by the glorious intercession of the blessed Mary, ever virgin, be delivered from present sorrow, and obtain eternal joy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God. Despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin.

Woman Clothed with the Sun

The vision which St. John describes in the Apocalypse, of "a great sign in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars," is the glory of our Queen after her assumption into heaven. Who else could this woman be, clothed with the sun, except Mary immersed in the light of God's divinity and clothed with glory by Him whom she had once so generously clothed with her body? What else can this crown of twelve stars signify but that she possessed all the gifts and virtues that dignify the other members of the Church—twelve in number to symbolize the highest perfection: the faith of the patriarchs, knowledge of the future of prophets, charity of the apostles, courage of martyrs, wisdom of the doctors, holiness of priests, contemplation of hermits, humility of monks, the purity of virgins, continence of widows, and the fruitfulness of the married men and women in the Church of God. The moon beneath her feet is the symbol of change, to which Mary is no longer subject since she has entered heaven with her body and soul.

St. Robert Bellarmine

Fatima Invocation

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell, and bring all souls to heaven, especially those who most need Your mercy.

   §  Most pure heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, obtain for me from Jesus a pure and humble heart.

Office of the Immaculate Conception

AT MATINS

Come, my lips, and wide proclaim
The Blessed Virgin's spotless fame.

V. Lady, hasten to help me.
R. From the hands of the enemy strongly defend me.

V. Glory Be to the Father. Alleluia.

(From Septuagesima to Easter, instead of Alleluia is said: Praise to You, O Lord, King of everlasting glory.)

Hail, Queen of the heavens.
Mistress of earth.
Virgin most pure
Of immaculate birth.

Clear star of the morning,
In beauty enshrined.
Lady, make haste
To the help of mankind.

You God in the depth
Of eternity chose;
And formed you all fair,
As His glorious spouse;

And called you His Word's
Own Mother to be,
By whom He created
The earth, sky, and sea. Amen.

V. God elected her, and preelected her.
R. He made her to dwell in His tabernacle.

V. Lady, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto you.

LET US PRAY Holy Mary, Queen of heaven, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Mistress of the world, never did you forsake nor despise anyone. Look upon me, Lady, with an eye of pity, and obtain for me from your beloved Son the pardon of all my sins; that, as I now devoutly reflect on your holy and Immaculate Conception, so hereafter I may receive the reward of eternal happiness, through the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom you as a virgin brought forth, and who, with the Father and the Spirit, live and reign in perfect Trinity, God, world without end. Amen.

V. Lady, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto you.

V. Let us bless the Lord.
R. Thanks be to God.

V. May the souls of the faithful, through the mercy of God rest in peace.
R. Amen.

AT PRIME

V. Lady, hasten to help me.
R. From the hands of the enemy strongly defend me.

V. Glory Be to the Father.

Hail, Virgin most wise.
Deity's shrine.
With seven fair pillars,
And table divine.

Preserved from the guilt
Which has come on us all.
Exempt, in the womb,
From the taint of the fall!

New star of Jacob,
Of angels the queen.
Gate of the saints,
Mother of men.

To Zabulon fearful
As an embattled array.
Be to us Christians
The refuge and stay. Amen.

V. The Lord Himself created her in the Holy Spirit.
R. And poured her forth upon all His works.

V. Lady, hear … (with the prayer as above.)

AT TERCE

V. Lady, hasten …

Hail, Solomon's throne,
Pure ark of the law,
Fair rainbow and bush,
Which the patriarch saw.

Gedeon's fleece,
And 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. Amen.

V. I dwell in the highest.
R. And my throne is on the pillar of the clouds.

V. Lady, hear … (with the prayer as above.)

AT SEXT

V. Lady, hasten …

Hail, virginal Mother.
Purity's cell.
Fair shrine, where the Trinity,
Desired to dwell.

Garden of pleasure,
Celestial balm,
Cedar of chastity,
Martyrdom's palm!

A land set apart
From uses profane,
And free from the curse
Which in Adam began.

The city of God,
And gate of the east,
In you is all grace
Virgin most blessed. Amen.

V. As a lily among thorns.
R. So is my beloved among the daughters of Adam.

V. Lady, hear … (with the prayer as above.)

AT NONE

V. Lady, hasten …

Hail, city of refuge,
David's high tower,
With battlements crowned
And girded with power.

Filled at your conception
With love and with light,
The devil by you
Was shorn of his might.

Woman most valiant.
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 you. Amen.

V. You are all fair, my beloved.
R. And the original stain was never in you.

V. Lady, hear … (with the prayer as above.)

AT VESPERS

V. Lady, hasten …

Hail, dial of Achaz!
On you 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 angels became.

You, rapt in the blaze
Of His infinite light,
Now shine as the morn
On the confines of night;

As the moon on the lost
Through obscurity dawns;
The serpent's destroyer.
A lily amid thorns. Amen.

V. I made an unfailing light to arise in heaven.
R. And as a mist I overspread the whole earth.

V. Lady, hear … (with the prayer as above.)

AT COMPLINE

V. May Jesus Christ, your Son, reconciled by your prayers, Lady, convert our hearts.
R. And turn away His anger from us.

V. Lady, hasten to help me.
R. From the hands of the enemy strongly defend me.

V. Glory Be to the Father.

Hail, Mother most pure,
Virgin renowned,
Merciful Queen,
As a diadem, crowned.

Above all the angels
In glory untold,
At the right of the King
In a vesture of gold.

Port of the shipwrecked,
Star of the sea.
Hope of the guilty,
Mother of grace.

Through you, gate of heaven
And health of the sick,
May we come to the vision
Of the King, in the home
of the saints. Amen.

V. Your name, Mary, is like oil poured out.
R. Your servants have loved you exceedingly.

V. Lady, hear … (with the prayers and versicles as above.)

COMMENDATION

Virgin of mercy,
We humbly offer you,
These praises and prayers,
As we ask you, dear Mary,
To be our true guide
Through the pilgrimage of life,
And stand by our side
In the agony of death.

R. Thanks be to God.

The Rosary

"The rosary is the mystic crown which Christian people place every day on the queenly head of the Mother of God. This prayer is perfect because of the praise it offers, the lessons it imparts, the graces it obtains, and the victories it achieves." Benedict XV.

Principal Indulgences. Mere recitation, even without blessed beads: five years each time five decades are recited; ten years if recited with others; and plenary if five decades are said before the Blessed Sacrament, exposed or not, and no other prayers for the intention of the pope are required. The decades may be separated, provided all are said on the same day.

Recitation with beads specially blessed: Dominican, 100 days for each Pater and Ave if at least five decades are said; Crozier, 500 days for each Pater and Ave, even without reciting five decades or meditating on the mysteries; Brigittine, 100 days for each Pater, Ave, and Credo, if at least five decades are said, while it should be noted that the Brigittine indulgences can be gained (even on a rosary of five decades properly blessed) without meditation on the mysteries provided the rosary is said according to the Brigittine rite, that is, adding a Credo to each of the five decades; Apostolic, notable because of the many plenary indulgences on feast days for saying five decades once a week.

To gain the preceding indulgences, the rosary need not be carried in the hand, if any reasonable cause prevents this; but it must be carried on one's person. The Crozier, Apostolic, and Dominican indulgences can be gained cumulatively by one recitation of a rosary which has the three blessings. There is a plenary indulgence on the last Sunday of each month if five decades were said on at least three days of each preceding week, along with confession and Communion and a visit to some church or public oratory.

Fruit of Each Mystery. It is customary to recite the joyful mysteries on Monday and Thursday, and on Sunday from the first Sunday of Advent until the first Sunday of Lent exclusive; the sorrowful mysteries on Tuesday and Friday, and on Sunday during Lent; and the glorious mysteries on Wednesday and Saturday, and on Sunday from Easter until the first Sunday of Advent.

As an aid to recitation, spiritual writers have suggested certain virtues as the fruit of each mystery:

JOYFUL MYSTERIES—Spirit of Holy Joy

1. Annunciation—Humility
2. Visitation—Fraternal charity
3. Nativity—Spirit of poverty
4. Presentation—Obedience
5. Finding in the Temple—Love of Jesus and His service

SORROWFUL MYSTERIES—Spirit of Compassion and Sorrow for Sin

1. Agony—Fervor in prayer
2. Scourging—Penance
3. Crowning with Thorns—Moral courage
4. Way of the Cross—Patience
5. Crucifixion—Self-sacrifice for God and our neighbor

GLORIOUS MYSTERIES—Spirit of Adoration and Faith

1. Resurrection—Faith
2. Ascension—Hope
3. Pentecost—Love and zeal for souls
4. Assumption—Filial devotion to Mary
5. Coronation of the Blessed Virgin—Final perseverance

Offering of Intentions

O God, whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the reward of eternal life, grant, we beseech You, that meditating on these mysteries in the most holy rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Stabat Mater

Stabat Mater dolorosa
Juxta crucem lacrimosa,
Dum pendebat Filius.

Cujus animam gementem,
Contristatam et dolentem,
Pertransivit gladius.

O quam tristis et afflicta
Fuit illa benedicta Mater
Unigeniti!

Quae maerebat et dolebat,
Pia Mater dum videbat
Nati poenas incliti.

Quis est homo, qui non fleret,
Matrem Christi si videret
In tanto supplicio?

Quis non posset contristari,
Christi Matrem contemplari
Dolentem cum Filio?

Pro peccatis suae gentis
Vidit Jesum in tormentis
Et flagellis subditum;

Vidit swum dulcem Natum
Morientem, desolatum,
Dum emisit spiritum.

Eja Mater fons amoris!
Me sentire vim doloris
Fac, ut tecum lugeam;

Fac, ut ardeat cor meum
In amando Christum Deum,
Ut sibi complaceam.

Sancta Mater, istud agas,
Crucifixi fige plagas
Cordi meo valide;

Tui Nati vulnerati,
Tam dignati pro me pati,
Poenas mecum divide.

Fac me tecum pie flere,
Crucifixo condolere,
Donee ego vixero;

Juxta crucem tecum stare,
Et me tibi sociare
In planctu desidero.

Virgo virginum praeclara,
Mihi jam non sis amara,
Fac me tecum plangere;

Fac ut portem Christi mortem,
Passionis fac consortem
Et plagas recolere.

Fac me plagis vulnerari,
Fac me cruce inebriari,
Et cruore Filii;

Flammis ne urar succensus,
Per te, Virgo, sim defensus
In die judicii.

Christe, cum sit hinc exire,
Da per Matrem me venire
Ad palmam victoriae.

Quando corpus morietur,
Fac, ut animae donetur
Paradisi gloria. Amen.

The sorrowful Mother was standing in tears beside the cross on which her Son was hanging. Her soul was full of grief and anguish and sorrow, for the sword of prophecy pierced it. How sad now and unhappy at the fate of her only Son was that Mother, once called blessed; how the faithful Mother grieved and lamented as she saw her glorious Son so shamefully treated. Who is there who would not weep, were he to see Christ's Mother in such great suffering? Or who could help feeling sympathy with the Mother, were he to think of her sorrowing with her Son? Yet she actually saw Jesus in agony and broken by the scourging—and this because of the sins of her own people. She saw her dear Son all the time He was dying and abandoned until He yielded up His soul. Come, then, Mother, from whom all love springs, make me understand the meaning of your sorrow that I may mourn with you. Make my heart burn with love of Christ, my God, that He may look on me with favor.

Holy Mother, do this for me. Pierce my heart once and forever with the wounds of your crucified Son. Let me share with you the pain of your Son's wounds, for He thought it right to bear such sufferings for me. Grant that my tears of love may mingle with yours and that, as long as I live, I may feel the pains of my crucified Lord. To stand with you beside the cross and be your companion in grief is my one wish.

Virgin without equal among virgins, do not now turn down my request; grant that I may mourn with you. Grant that I may carry about the dying state of Christ; grant that I be a sharer of His Passion; grant that I relive His wounds. Grant that I be wounded with His wounds; grant that I drink to my soul's content of the chalice of His cross and blood. Be a defense to me, Virgin Mary, on the judgment day, that I may not burn and be consumed in the fires of hell. When it is time, Lord Christ, for me to leave this world, give me through Your Mother's prayers the palm of victory. When my body dies, grant that my soul be given the glory of paradise. Amen.

De Montfort Consecration

I, (NAME), faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in your hands the vows of my baptism; I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before.

In the presence of all the heavenly court I choose you this day for my mother and queen. I deliver and consecrate to you, as your slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present, and future; leaving to you the entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to your good pleasure, for the greater glory of God, in time and in eternity. Amen.

St. Louis de Montfort

Vergine Adorna

Virgin
   adorned and clothed with the sun, come to my aid.
   most beautiful, Mystical Rose, take abode in my heart.
   most chaste, all undefiled, grant me true peace.
   deserving of honor and praise, give me your love.
   elect and full of grace, lead me to God.
   most blessed, Star of the Sea, dispel the storms besetting me.
   most virtuous, holy and sweet, guide me on the way.
   illustrious, with your burning light enlighten my mind.
   more precious than jewels or gold, make reparation for me.
   most worthy of all praise, Mother, daughter, and immaculate spouse.
   and Mother, make me more pleasing to Jesus your Son.
   innocent of any stain or fault, make me more worthy of God.
   enriched with every gift and grace, obtain the remission of my sins.
   most pure, lead me to the joys of heavenly love.
   a lily among thorns, I ask you for the grace of a happy death.
   more rare than the rarest dream; bring joy to my heart.
   so great there is none like you on earth, bring peace to my soul.
   most true, loving mother too, Virgin Mary. Amen.

   St. Robert Bellarmine

Angelus Domini

V. Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae.
R. Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto. Ave Maria.

V. Ecce ancilla Domini.
R. Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Ave Maria.

V. Et Verbum caro factum est.
R. Et habitavit in nobis. Ave Maria.

V. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genetrix.
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.

OREMUS   Gratiam tuam, quaesumus, Domine, mentibus nostris infunde, ut qui, angelo nuntiante, Christi Filii tui Incarnationem cognovimus, per Passionem ejus et crucem ad resurrectionis gloriam perducamur; per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

V. The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived by the Holy Spirit. Hail Mary.

V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done to me according to your word. Hail Mary.

V. And the Word was made flesh.
R. And dwelt among us. Hail Mary.

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAYPour forth, we beseech You, O Lord, Your grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ Your Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His passion and cross, be brought to the glory of His Resurrection; through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

It is customary, but not necessary to gain the indulgence, to say the Angelus kneeling, except from Vespers of Saturday and on Sunday, when it is said standing. In Paschal time,from Easter Sunday to Saturday noon before Trinity Sunday inclusive, the Regina Caeli is recited instead.

Regina Caeli

Regina caeli, laetare, Alleluja.
Quia quem meruisti portare, Alleluja.
Resurrexit sicut dixit, Alleluja.
Ora pro nobis Deum, Alleluja.

V. Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, Alleluja.
R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, Alleluja.

OREMUS Deus qui per Resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Jesu Christi, mundum laetificare dignatus es, praesta, quaesumus, ut per ejus Genetricem Virginem Mariam perpetuae capiamus gaudia vitae; per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Queen of heaven, rejoice, Alleluia.
For He whom you did merit to bear, Alleluia.
Has risen as He said, Alleluia.
Pray for us to God, Alleluia.

V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, Alleluia.
R. For the Lord has truly risen, Alleluia.

LET US PRAY O God, who by the Resurrection of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, have been pleased to fill the world with joy, grant, we beseech You, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may receive the joys of eternal life, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Dedication of the Country

Most Holy Trinity: Our Father in heaven, who chose Mary as the fairest of Your daughters; Holy Spirit, who chose Mary as Your spouse; God the Son, who chose Mary as Your mother; in union with Mary, we adore Your majesty and acknowledge Your supreme eternal dominion and authority.

Most Holy Trinity, we put the United States of America into the hands of Mary Immaculate, in order that she may present the country to You. Through her we wish to thank You for the great resources of this land and for the freedom which has been its heritage. Through the intercession of Mary, have mercy on the Catholic Church in America. Grant us peace. Have mercy on our president and on all the officers of our government. Grant us a fruitful economy born of justice and charity. Have mercy on capital and industry and labor. Protect the family life of the nation. Guard the innocence of our children. Grant the precious gift of many religious vocations. Through the intercession of our Mother, have mercy on the sick, the poor, the tempted, sinners—on all who are in need.

Mary, immaculate Virgin, our Mother, patroness of our land, we praise you and honor you and give ourselves to you. Protect us from every harm. Pray for us, that acting always according to your will and the will of your divine Son, we may live and die pleasing to God. Amen.

National Shrine (November 20, 1959)

Acts of Veneration

I venerate you with all my heart, Virgin most holy, above all angels and saints in paradise, as the daughter of the eternal Father, and to you I consecrate my soul with all its powers. Hail Mary.

I venerate you with all my heart, Virgin most holy, above all angels and saints in paradise, as the beloved spouse of the Spirit of God, and to you I consecrate my heart with all its affections, imploring you to obtain for me from the most Holy Trinity all the means of salvation. Hail Mary.

I venerate you with all my heart, Virgin most holy, above all angels and saints in paradise, as the mother of the only-begotten Son, and to you I consecrate my body with all its senses. Hail Mary.

My Mother

Holy Mary, my Queen, I recommend myself to your blessed protection and special keeping, and to the bosom of your mercy, today and every day and at the hour of my death. My soul and my body I recommend to you. I entrust to you my hope and consolation, my distress and my misery, my life and its termination. Through your most holy intercession and through your merits may all my actions be directed according to your will and that of your Son. Amen.

St. Aloysius

Memorare

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To you I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Salve Regina

Salve Regina, Mater misericordiae, vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae; ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle. Eja ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte; et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende, O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To you do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us. And after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

My Queen, My Mother

My Queen, my Mother, I give myself entirely to you. And to show myself devoted to you, I consecrate to you my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my entire being without reserve. Since I am yours, my good Mother, preserve me, defend me, as your property and possession. Amen.

   §  My Mother, my hope.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mystical Rose, intercede for holy Church, protect the sovereign pontiff, help all who invoke you in their needs. Since you are the ever Virgin Mary and mother of the true God, obtain for us from your most holy Son the grace of keeping our faith, sustaining hope under the trials of life, ardent charity, and the precious gift of final perseverance. Amen.

Consecration of the Human Race to the Immaculate Heart

Queen of the most holy rosary, Refuge of the human race, Victress in all God's battles, we humbly prostrate ourselves before your throne, confident that we shall have mercy, grace, bountiful assistance, and protection in the present calamity, not through our own inadequate merits, but solely through the great goodness of your maternal heart.

To you, to your immaculate heart in this, humanity's tragic hour, we consign and consecrate ourselves in union not only with the mystical body of your Son, Holy Mother Church, now in such suffering and agony in so many places and sorely tried in so many ways, but also with the entire world, torn by fierce strife, consumed in a fire of hate, victim of its own wickedness.

May the sight of the widespread material and moral destruction, of the sorrows and anguish of countless fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, and innocent children, of the great number of lives cut off in the flower of youth, of the bodies mangled in horrible slaughter, and of the tortured and agonized souls in danger of being lost eternally, move you to compassion.

O Mother of Mercy, obtain peace for us from God and above all procure for us those graces which prepare, establish, and assure the peace.

Queen of Peace, pray for us and give to the world now at war the peace for which all people are longing, peace in the truth, justice, and charity of Christ. Give peace to the warring nations and to the souls of men, that in the tranquillity of order the kingdom of God may prevail.

Extend your protection to the infidels and to all those still in the shadow of death; give them peace and grant that on them, too, may shine the sun of truth, that they may unite with us in proclaiming before the one and only Savior of the world: "Glory to God in the highest and peace to men of good will."

Give peace to the peoples separated by error or by discord and especially to those who profess such singular devotion to you, and in whose homes an honored place was ever accorded your venerated icon (today perhaps often kept hidden to await better days). Bring them back to the one fold of Christ under the one true Shepherd.

Obtain peace and complete freedom for the holy Church of God; stay the spreading flood of modern paganism; enkindle in the faithful the love of purity, the practice of the Christian life, and an apostolic zeal, so that the servants of God may increase in merit and in number.

Lastly, as the Church and the entire human race were consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so that in reposing all hope in Him, He might become for them the sign and pledge of victory and salvation; so we in like manner consecrate ourselves forever also to you and to your immaculate heart, our Mother and Queen, that your love and patronage may hasten the triumph of the kingdom of God and that all nations, at peace with one another and with God, may proclaim you blessed and with you may raise their voices to resound from pole to pole in the chant of the everlasting magnificat of glory, love, and gratitude to the Heart of Jesus, where alone they can find truth and peace. Amen.

Solemn Consecration of the Society of Jesus to the Immaculate Heart

O most holy Virgin, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, we kneel in prayer at your feet. We join our voices, expressive of our inmost feelings, to those of all the holy angels and saints in heaven. With them we join in singing your praises, in glorifying and honoring you as you deserve. To you in a spirit of gratitude and most ardent love we offer our fullest thanks for the gifts you have given us. To you the Society owes its beginnings and growth; and whatever it has accomplished for the glory of your divine Son and the saving of souls, it has accomplished with your assistance. We, too, whose happy lot it is to be sons of the Society, acknowledge that this great gift has come from your generous love for us.

To you, therefore, most holy Mother, the entire Society rightfully belongs. This it looks upon as its supreme joy and greatest glory; this it acknowledges with all solemnity on this most blessed day. The whole Society, therefore, with your Son, our champion and leader, with St. Joseph, your spouse and our patron, with our father St. Ignatius and with the whole heavenly court as witnesses, dedicates and consecrates itself unreservedly to you and your most loving heart forever.

Deign, most merciful Queen of heaven and earth, to look with favor from your heavenly throne upon your Society. Deign to accept, O Lady, this offering so pleasing to make.

O sweet Virgin, help this your least Society with your powerful guidance in its undertakings; strengthen it in its toils; protect it from its enemies; console it in its trials. Bring it to pass that all of us who, though unworthy, are sons of the Society, may, after living our days and ending them in the Heart of your Son and in your own, be received from there into our heavenly home. Amen.

   §  Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

   §  O Mary, my dear Mother, how much I love You. And yet in reality how little. You do teach me what I ought to know for you teach me what Jesus is to me and what I ought to be for Jesus. Dearly beloved Mother, how close to God you are, and how utterly filled with Him. In the measure that we know God, we remind ourselves of you. Mother of God, obtain for me the grace of loving my Jesus; obtain for me the grace of loving you.

Cardinal Merry del Val

Copyright © 1998 by Inter Mirifica