August is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart
of Mary. Mary is the perfect example of Christian witness and perseverance.
OBJECT OF THE DEVOTION TO THE ADMIRABLE
HEART OF MARY
REASONS FOR THE NAME "ADMIRABLE"
Jesus Christ, the
Only-Begotten Son of God, chose the incomparable Virgin Mary from among all
creatures to be His Mother and deigned to be nourished and governed by her, In
His infinite goodness He also gave her to us to be our Queen, our Mother and
our sure Refuge in all our needs. He therefore wishes us to honor her as He
honors her and to love her as He loves her.
According to the
Apostle St. Paul, Christ is the Head of His Mystical Body, the Church, and we
are the members. We must therefore be animated by His Spirit; we must follow
His inspirations, walk the path He has traced, and continue, as it were, His
life on earth by practicing the virtues which were His own. It follows that our
devotion to His Holy Mother must be a continuation of His devotion to her. We
must be filled with the Sentiments of respect, submission and affection which
He entertained for her on earth and still entertains in heaven. Mary always
held and will hold forever the first place in the Sacred Heart of her Divine
Son; she always was and will never cease to be the first object of His love
after the Eternal Father; and so He wishes that, next to God, she should be the
principal object of our devotion. For this reason, after the veneration we
owe to the Divine Majesty of God, we cannot render a greater service to Jesus
Christ or do anything more pleasing to Him than to serve and honor His most
worthy Mother.
The human will is
not, however, moved to love a fellow creature unless the intellect first knows
what renders it worthy of respect and esteem. Infinite zeal with which the
Son of God is inflamed for all that concerns His dear Mother, has urged Him to
reveal to us through the inspired words of Sacred Scripture and through the
writings of the Fathers some small measure of the perfections with which He has
enriched her. The reality far surpassing our knowledge of her in this vale of
darkness will be revealed only in heaven, the land of unclouded light.
Among the
divinely inspired passages of Sacred Scripture from the twelfth
chapter of the Apocalypse, which is a compendium of all the great things that
can be said or thought of our marvelous Queen.
"A great sign appeared in
heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her
head a crown of twelve stars." What is this great sign? Who is this
miraculous woman? St. Epiphanius, St. Augustine, St. Bernard and
many other holy doctors agree that the woman is Mary, the Queen among women,
the Sovereign of angels and men, the Virgin of virgins. She is the woman who
bore in her chaste womb the perfect man, the God-Man. "A woman shall
compass a man."
Mary appears in
heaven because she comes from heaven, because she is heaven's masterpiece, the
Empress of Heaven, its joy and its glory, in whom everything is heavenly.
Even
when her body dwelt on earth, her thoughts and affections were all rapt in
heaven.
She is clothed
with the eternal Sun of the Godhead and with all the perfections of the Divine
Essence, which surround, fill and penetrate her to such an extent that she has
become transformed, as it were, into the power, goodness and holiness of God.
But why does the
Holy Ghost call Mary "a great sign"? It is simply to tell us that
everything in her is wonderful, and that the marvels that fill her being should
be proclaimed to the entire world, so that she may become an object of the
admiration for the inhabitants of heaven as well as for mankind on earth, and
so that she may be the sweet delight of angels and men.
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lord, have mercy
on us.
Christ, have
mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy
on us,
Christ, hear us.
Christ,
graciously hear us.
God the Father of
heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son,
Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy
Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one
God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray
for us.
Holy Mother of
God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of
virgins, pray for us.
Mother of Christ,
pray for us.
Mother of divine
grace, pray for us.
Mother most pure,
pray for us.
Mother most
chaste, pray for us.
Mother inviolate,
pray for us.
Mother undefiled,
pray for us.
Mother most
amiable, pray for us.
Mother most
admirable, pray for us.
Mother of good
counsel, pray for us.
Mother of our
Creator, pray for us.
Mother of our
Redeemer, pray for us.
Virgin most
prudent, pray for us.
Virgin most
venerable, pray for us.
Virgin most
renowned, pray for us.
Virgin most
powerful, pray for us.
Virgin most
merciful, pray for us.
Virgin most
faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of
justice, pray for us.
Seat of wisdom,
pray for us.
Cause of our joy,
pray for us.
Spiritual vessel,
pray for us.
Vessel of honor,
pray for us.
Singular vessel
of devotion, pray for us.
Mystical rose,
pray for us.
Tower of David,
pray for us.
Tower of ivory,
pray for us.
House of gold,
pray for us.
Ark of the Covenant,
pray for us.
Gate of heaven,
pray for us.
Morning star,
pray for us.
Health of the
sick, pray for us.
Refuge of
sinners, pray for us.
Comforter of the
afflicted, pray for us.
Help of
Christians, pray for us.
Queen of angels,
pray for us.
Queen of
patriarchs, pray for us.
Queen of
prophets, pray for us.
Queen of
apostles, pray for us.
Queen of martyrs,
pray for us.
Queen of
confessors, pray for us.
Queen of virgins,
pray for us.
Queen of all
saints, pray for us.
Queen conceived
without original sin, pray for us.
Queen of the most
holy rosary, pray for us.
Lamb of God, who
takest away the sins of the world: Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who
takest away the sins of the world: Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who
takest away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Pray for us, O
holy Mother of God:
R. That we may be
made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Pour forth, we beseech
Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the incarnation of
Christ Thy 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.
Pray for us, O
holy Mother of God.
That we may be
made worthy of the promises of Christ.
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