BLESSED VIRGIN MARY GRIEVING 15 SEPTEMBER

BLESSED VIRGIN MARY GRIEVING

15 SEPTEMBER

Devotion to the virgin Mary grieving, which originates from the steps of the gospel, where there is talk of the presence of Mary Virgin on Calvary, took particular texture from the end of the th century and was and of the liturgical celebration, established later.

The “Liber De Passion Christi et pain et planctu matris ejus” of unknown (wrongly attributed to s. Bernardo) is the beginning of a literature which leads to the composition in various languages of the “crying of the virgin”.

Testimony of this devotion is the popular ” Stabat Mater ” in Latin, attributed to charecteristic from todi, which composed in vulgar language even the famous ” lauds “; from this devotion originated the feast of the ” seven sorrows of Maria ss.” In the th century, there were the first liturgical celebrations on the “compassion of Mary” at the foot of the cross, placed in time of passion

In the middle of the 1233th century, in 1233, the order of the friars “servants of Maria”, founded by the SS, arose in Florence Seven Founders and inspired by the virgin. The order, which already in the name is for devotion to the mother of God, was distinguished in centuries for the intense veneration and spread of the cult of sorrows; on June 9, 1668, s. Congregation of rites allowed the order to celebrate the votive mass of the seven sorrows of the blessed virgin, making mention, in the decree, that the friars of the servants wore the black dress in memory of Maria’s widowhood and the pains she supported in her son’s passion.

Later, pp innocent XII (Antonio Pignatelli, 1691-1700), on 9 August 1692, authorized the celebration of the seven sorrows of the blessed virgin on the third Sunday of September.

But the celebration still had stages, as the cult spread; on 18 August 1714, the holy congregation approved a celebration of the seven sorrows of Maria, on Friday prior to palm Sunday and PP PIUS VII (Barnabas chiaramonti , 1800-1823), on 18 September 1814, extended the feast of the third Sunday of September to the whole church, with inclusion in the Roman calendar.

Finally s. Pius x (1903-1914), fixed the final date of 15 September, immediately after the celebration of the exaltation of the Holy Cross (14 September), with memory no more than ” seven pains “, but more appropriately as ” Beata Virgin Mary grieving “.

The memory of the grieving virgin (in latin mater painful) calls to relive the decisive moment of the history of salvation and to worship the mother associated with the passion of her son and close to him raised on the cross. Her motherhood takes on the ordeal of universal dimensions by presenting herself as the new eva, because, as the disobedience of the first woman led to death, so her admirable obedience leads to life.

Maria’s seven sorrows correspond to many episodes in the gospel:

1. The prophecy of Elder Simeon, when Jesus was brought to the temple “… and you too a sword through the soul ” (LC 2,35).

2. The Holy family is forced to flee to Egypt “Joseph, roused, took with him the child and his mother in the night and fled to Egypt” (MT 2,14).

3. The Discovery of 2,48-Year-old Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem “… here, your father and I, distressed, were looking for you ” (LC

4. Mary grieving, meets Jesus who carries the cross on the way of Calvary.

5. The Madonna at the foot of the cross in full accession to the will of God, participates in the suffering of the crucified and dying son.

6. Maria welcomes in her arms the dead son deposed by the cross.

7. Maria entrusts to the tomb the body of Jesus, waiting for the resurrection.

 

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THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 14 SEPTEMBER

 

 

THE EXALTATIONOF THE HOLY CROSS
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
Feast
14 SEPTEMBER

Constantine was still wavering between Christianity and idolatry when a luminous cross appeared to him in the heavens, bearing the inscription, “In this sign shalt thou conquer.” He became a Christian, and triumphed over his enemies, who were at the same time the enemies of the Faith.

A few years later, his saintly mother having found the cross on which our Saviour suffered, the feast of the ” Exaltation” was established in the Church; but it was only at a later period still, namely, after the Emperor Heraclius had achieved three great and wondrous victories over Chosroes, King of Persia, who had possessed himself of the holy and precious relic, that this festival took a more general extension, and was invested with a higher character of solemnity.

The feast of the “Finding” was thereupon instituted, in memory of the discovery made by St. Helena; and that of the “Exaltation” was reserved to celebrate the triumphs of Heraclius. The greatest power of the Catholic world was at that time centred in the Empire of the East, and was verging toward its ruin, when God put forth His hand to save it: the re-establishment of the great cross at Jerusalem was the sure pledge thereof. This great event occurred in 629.

Herein is found the accomplishment of the Saviour’s word:
“If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to Myself.”

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

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PARADISIACAL WORLD PAINTINGS

 

THE MAGNIFICAT

 

 

Luke 1:46_55;

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.

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The Magnificat provides great material for meditation on the Visitation, the second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, pictured above. When the angel Gabriel informs Mary that she is to be the Mother of God, he also tells her of her relative Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist.

After Mary gives her famous consent to becoming the Mother of God, — “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38) — she goes “with haste” (1:39) to help Elizabeth, who is delighted to see her. Our Lady then expresses her joy in the Magnificat.

We can admire Mary’s devotion (as well as her stamina!) in setting out on what must have been an arduous journey to go from Nazareth, where she lived, to a town in Judah where her cousin lived, about 70 miles away.

(Remember, this was in an era when she couldn’t just hop in a car or a bus to get there!)

Clearly Mary, in hastening to help her cousin, is focused on service to others. In this way she glorifies the Lord in reflecting (and “magnifying”) His goodness and love. And, of course by becoming the Mother of God she will help Him redeem us for our salvation in His Passion!

Speaking of magnifying, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once referred to our Blessed Mother as being like “a magnifying glass that intensifies our love of her Son.”

Note that Mary’s joyful claim that “all generations shall call me blessed” in no way takes away from her humility. If she seems to boast here, it is much as St. Paul does later on in scripture when he says “whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord” (2 Cor 10:17), that is to say, in God’s work being done through us.

In this regard, the Magnificat is more than a prayer of praise. It also reminds us about the essential link between humility and holiness. Just as God has “regarded the lowliness of his handmaid” and “has done great things” for Mary in making her the Mother of his Son, so too “he has put down the mighty from their thrones (with his own might!) and has exalted the lowly.”

(Note also our Blessed Mother’s humility in referring to herself in this prayer, as she does in giving her consent to Gabriel mentioned earlier, as the Lord’s handmaid, his servant!)

As her Divine Son later stressed “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (Matt 23:12, also in slightly different words in Luke 18:14 and Luke 14:11).

Jesus wasn’t saying anything new here, either! We read similar thoughts in throughout the Old Testament such as in the Psalms and in this example from the book of Sirach “Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.” (Sirach 3:19)

The line about God filling “the hungry with good things” resonates later in the Gospels as well, when our Lord says “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they will be filled” (Matt 5:7). This serves as a good reminder for us to “stay hungry” for God’s graces in praying and in reading His word in scripture.

And as for the rich being sent away empty? This line refers to those who live for wealth and power and feel they have everything figured out. These people in, effect wish to be Gods rather than God’s. How can our Lord fill those who are already full–of themselves?

How about you? Does your soul magnify the Lord? We may never be able to approach Him from Mary’s level of sanctity as the Mother of God. Still, we are all called to be saints nonetheless.

Your good example, like our Blessed Mother’s, can help others in their spiritual growth. Do people see Christ’s love and goodness in you? Are you letting God work within you to accomplish His will? Let Mary help give you the graces you need to follow her Son and His Church in praying the Magnificat.

As St. Ambrose once said in referring to this wonderful prayer, “Let Mary’s

soul be in us to glorify the Lord; let her spirit be in us that we may rejoice in God our Saviour.”

https://www.ourcatholicprayers.com/magnificat.html

The Most Holy Name of Mary: Holy Mass Readings

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12 September

The Most Holy Name of Mary (Optional memorial)

St. Bernard says and we say with him: “Look to the star of the sea, call upon Mary… in danger, in distress, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. May her n

ame never be far from your lips, or far from your heart… If you follow her, you will not stray; if you pray to her, you will not despair; if you turn your thoughts to her, you will not err. If she holds you, you will not fall; if she protects you, you need not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is gracious to you, you will surely reach your destination.”
(Pope Benedict XVI address at Heiligenkreuz Abbey, September 9, 2007)

Collect
Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that, for all who celebrate the glorious Name
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
she may obtain your merciful favor.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

FIRST READING (1st Option) Galatians 4:4-7
Brothers and sisters:
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an heir, through God.

FIRST READING (2nd Option) Ephesians 1:3-6
Brothers and sisters:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.

In him we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM Luke 1:46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55

R./ The Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. or:
R./ O blessed Virgin Mary, you carried the Son of the eternal Father.
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
R./
“For he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
holy is his Name.”
R./
“He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.”
R./
“He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.”
R./
“He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
R./

ALLELUIA Cf Luke 1:45
Beata es, Virgo Maria, quae credidisti quoniam perficientur ea quae dicta sunt tibi a Domino..
Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary, who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.

GOSPEL Luke 1:39-47
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”

© Copyright 2007 – Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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THE MOST HOLY NAME OF MARY

THE MOST HOLY NAME OF MARY

12 September

The Most Holy Name of Mary
St. Bernard says and we say with him: “Look to the star of the sea, call upon Mary… in danger, in distress, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. May her name never be far from your lips, or far from your heart… If you follow her, you will not stray; if you pray to her, you will not despair; if you turn your thoughts to her, you will not err. If she holds you, you will not fall; if she protects you, you need not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is gracious to you, you will surely reach your destination.” 

(Pope Benedict XVI address at Heiligenkreuz Abbey, September 9, 2007)

GOSPEL Luke 1:39-47
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”

Collect
Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that, for all who celebrate the glorious Name
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
she may obtain your merciful favor.
Though our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

© Copyright 2007 – Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY 8 SEPTEMBER

 

THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Feast

The birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary announced joy and the near approach of salvation to the lost world. Mary was brought forth in the world not like other children of Adam, infected with the loathsome contagion of sin, but pure, holy, beautiful, and glorious, adorned with all the most precious graces which became her who was chosen to be the Mother of God. She appeared indeed in the weak state of our mortality; but in the eyes of Heaven she already transcended the highest seraph in purity, brightness, and the richest ornaments of grace.

If we celebrate the birthdays of the great ones of this earth, how ought we to rejoice in that of the Virgin Mary, presenting to God the best homage of our praises and thanksgiving for the great mercies He has shown in her, and imploring her mediation with her Son in our behalf! Christ will not reject the supplications of his mother, whom He was pleased to obey whilst on earth. Her love, care, and tenderness for Him, the title and qualities which she bears, the charity and graces with which she is adorned, and the crown of glory with which she is honored, must incline Him readily to receive her recommendations and petitions.

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

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THE QUEENSHIP OF MARY 22 AUGUST

 

 

THE QUEENSHIP OF MARY
Memorial

According to ancient tradition and the sacred liturgy the main principle on which the royal dignity of Mary rests is without doubt her Divine Motherhood. In Holy Writ, concerning the Son whom Mary will conceive, We read this sentence: “He shall be called the Son of the most High, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end,”[Lk I, 32, 33] and in addition Mary is called “Mother of the Lord”; from this it is easily concluded that she is a Queen, since she bore a son who, at the very moment of His conception, because of the hypostatic union of the human nature with the Word, was also as man King and Lord of all things. So with complete justice St. John Damascene could write: “When she became Mother of the Creator, she truly became Queen of every creature.” Likewise, it can be said that the heavenly voice of the Archangel Gabriel was the first to proclaim Mary’s royal office.

But the Blessed Virgin Mary should be called Queen, not only because of her Divine Motherhood, but also because God has willed her to have an exceptional role in the work of our eternal salvation.

Now, in the accomplishing of this work of redemption, the Blessed Virgin Mary was most closely associated with Christ; and so it is fitting to sing in the sacred liturgy: “Near the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ there stood, sorrowful, the Blessed Mary, Queen of Heaven and Queen of the World.” Hence, as the devout disciple of St. Anselm (Eadmer, ed.) wrote in the Middle Ages: “just as . . . God, by making all through His power, is Father and Lord of all, so the blessed Mary, by repairing all through her merits, is Mother and Queen of all; for God is the Lord of all things, because by His command He establishes each of them in its own nature, and Mary is the Queen of all things, because she restores each to its original dignity through the grace which she merited.

For “just as Christ, because He redeemed us, is our Lord and king by a special title, so the Blessed Virgin also (is our queen), on account of the unique manner in which she assisted in our redemption, by giving of her own substance, by freely offering Him for us, by her singular desire and petition for, and active interest in, our salvation.”

From these considerations, the proof develops on these lines: if Mary, in taking an active part in the work of salvation, was, by God’s design, associated with Jesus Christ, the source of salvation itself, in a manner comparable to that in which Eve was associated with Adam, the source of death, so that it may be stated that the work of our salvation was accomplished by a kind of “recapitulation,”[49] in which a virgin was instrumental in the salvation of the human race, just as a virgin had been closely associated with its death; if, moreover, it can likewise be stated that this glorious Lady had been chosen Mother of Christ “in order that she might become a partner in the redemption of the human race”;[50] and if, in truth, “it was she who, free of the stain of actual and original sin, and ever most closely bound to her Son, on Golgotha offered that Son to the Eternal Father together with the complete sacrifice of her maternal rights and maternal love, like a new Eve, for all the sons of Adam, stained as they were by his lamentable fall,”[51] then it may be legitimately concluded that as Christ, the new Adam, must be called a King not merely because He is Son of God, but also because He is our Redeemer, so, analogously, the Most Blessed Virgin is queen not only because she is Mother of God, but also because, as the new Eve, she was associated with the new Adam.

Certainly, in the full and strict meaning of the term, only Jesus Christ, the God-Man, is King; but Mary, too, as Mother of the divine Christ, as His associate in the redemption, in his struggle with His enemies and His final victory over them, has a share, though in a limited and analogous way, in His royal dignity. For from her union with Christ she attains a radiant eminence transcending that of any other creature; from her union with Christ she receives the royal right to dispose of the treasures of the Divine Redeemer’s Kingdom; from her union with Christ finally is derived the inexhaustible efficacy of her maternal intercession before the Son and His Father.

All, according to their state, should strive to bring alive the wondrous virtues of our heavenly Queen and most loving Mother through constant effort of mind and manner. Thus will it come about that all Christians, in honoring and imitating their sublime Queen and Mother, will realize they are truly brothers, and with all envy and avarice thrust aside, will promote love among classes, respect the rights of the weak, cherish peace. No one should think himself a son of Mary, worthy of being received under her powerful protection, unless, like her, he is just, gentle and pure, and shows a sincere desire for true brotherhood, not harming or injuring but rather helping and comforting others.

Earnestly desiring that the Queen and Mother of Christendom may hear these Our prayers, and by her peace make happy a world shaken by hate, and may, after this exile show unto us all Jesus, Who will be our eternal peace and joy, to you, Venerable Brothers, and to your flocks, as a promise of God’s divine help and a pledge of Our love, from Our heart We impart the Apostolic Benediction.

Pius XII – Encyclical Ad Coeli Reginam, § 34-39, §49, §52

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SAINT BARTHOLOMEW 24 AUGUST

 

SAINT BARTHOLOMEW
Apostle
Feast

St. Bartholomew was one of the twelve who were called to the apostolate by our blessed Lord Himself. Several learned interpreters of the Holy Scripture take this apostle to have been the same as Nathaniel, a native of Cana, in Galilee, a doctor in the Jewish law, and one of the seventy-two disciples of Christ, to whom he was conducted by St. Philip, and whose innocence and simplicity of heart deserved to be celebrated with the highest eulogium by the divine mouth of Our Redeemer.

He is mentioned among the disciples who were met together in prayer after Christ’s ascension, and he received the Holy Ghost with the rest. Being eminently qualified by the divine grace to discharge the functions of an apostle, he carried the Gospel through the most barbarous countries of the East, penetrating into the remoter Indies. He then returned again into the northwest part of Asia, and met St. Philip, at Hierapolis, in Phrygia. Hence he travelled into Lycaonia, where he instructed the people in the Christian Faith; but we know not even the names of many of the countries in which he preached.

St. Bartholomew’s last removal was into Great Armenia, where, preaching in a place obstinately addicted to the worship of idols, he was crowned with a glorious martyrdom. The modern Greek historians say that he was condemned by the governor of Albanopolis to be crucified. Others affirm that he was flayed alive, which might well enough consist with his crucifixion, this double punishment being in use not only in Egypt, but also among the Persians.

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

 

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