Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God - Mary, Full of Grace

Boston Catholic Journal ^ | December 31, 2007

[Salvation]

Sancta Maria,
ora pro nobis.
Holy Mary,
pray for us,
your children here upon the earth,
sinful, sorrowful,
so often lost and lone.
Come to us when our hearts are heavy,
when we most need our mother,
and lead us to the fruit of your womb,
Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us now and at the hour of our death, Amen.

Sancta Dei Genetrix,
ora pro nobis.
Holy Mother of God,
who was graced to know Jesus
like no other human,
whose kind and gentle advice is
Do whatever he tells you,
pray for us
now and at the hour of our death, Amen.

Mater dolorosa,
ora pro nobis.
Mother of sorrows,
You understand grief in that special way
that comes from offering up
the best and the brightest
gift of your heart,
without anger,
without curses.
Seeing your son in his sorrow and pain,
you suffered
like a woman in labor,
martyred alive
to become our mother.
Pray for us
now and at the hour of our death, Amen.

Refugium peccatorum,
ora pro nobis.
Refuge of sinners,
Thank you, o sweet Mary,
You who come looking for us,
lost in the night,
like a worried mother
seeking her lost child
In this time where the twlight grows so dim,
and so much is so confusing,
we need our mother,
take us by the hand,
and bring us to the foot of the Cross,
to Jesus your son,
where we may find the true light.
Sancta Maria,
Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc,
et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.

[Salvation]

Rosary links:

The Rosary and the Republic

Protestants and the rosary

Estimated 50,000 recite rosary in event at Rose Bowl

The Rosary and Orthodoxy

Father Benedict Groeschel on the Rosary

THE HOLY ROSARY

Catholic Caucus: The Holy Rosary

The Power of the Rosary - A Weapon Against Terrorism

Rosary May Contribute to Unity Says Protestant Theologian

Papal Address on the Rosary as a Weapon of Peace

Very simple guide to praying/learning the Rosary

October: Month of the Holy Rosary

[Coleus]

How tragic for Mary to be so misrepresented as to become an idol to many. >>

how tragic that our Protestant “brothers” and our republican “brothers” must always seek our and post on catholic FR threads writing disparaging comments.

[Coleus]

Madonna of the Rosary (with Mysteries of the Rosary)
by Lorenzo Lotto (1539) Oil on canvasChurch of San Nicolo, Cingoli

HOW TO PRAY THE ROSARY

How To Pray the Rosary:

While the rosary and the indulgences attached to it by the Church essentially concerns the decades and the meditation upon the mysteries only, the following is a customary way of preparing for the rosary and concluding it.

1. Preparation

Start by making the sign of the Cross:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Then recite the Apostle's Creed:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ,
 His only Son Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
 born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Sprit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.

Then say 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys (for the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity) and then 1 Glory Be:

Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.


Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death. Amen.

GLORY BE to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

---

2. The Rosary Proper

The Rosary is essentially the decades and their associated mysteries, and only these must be prayed to "pray the rosary", either in satisfaction of Our Lady's requests, or, to gain the indulgences attached to praying the rosary. 

The traditional Rosary is divided into three parts, each having five mysteries: Glorious, Joyful and Sorrowful. In his apostolic letter The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, Pope John Paul II proposed a new set of mysteries, which he called the Luminous, and which concern the period of the public life of Our Lord. For those who wish to say all 20 decades at once during the course of a day, they may be said in the following order: Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious. 

For those who wish to say only 5 decades per day, the Holy Father proposed the following schedule:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Joyful	Sorrowful

Glorious

Luminous

Sorrowful

Joyful

Glorious

For those who prefer to follow the traditional order of the days it is:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Joyful	Sorrowful	Glorious	Joyful	Sorrowful	Glorious	Glorious

While meditating on the Mysteries, recite:

One Our Father (large beads),  10 Hail Marys (small beads) and  1 Glory Be (before the next large bead) to make a complete decade of the rosary. 

After each decade the Fátima Prayer may also be said (Pope Pius XII).

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are in most need of Thy mercy.

---

3. Concluding Prayers

After the completion of five mysteries (5 decades), or 15 or 20, the following is customarily said:

Hail Holy Queen (or Salve Regina may be sung)

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

(Verse) Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.  

(Response) That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Rosary Prayer

(Verse) Let us pray, 

(Response) O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation. Grant, we beseech Thee, that while meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

---

4. For the Intentions of the Holy Father

Catholics who say the rosary in a group, or, individually before the Blessed Sacrament, 
may gain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, which includes prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father.

For the intentions of the Holy Father.

Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

---

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

[La Enchiladita]

How beautiful. I am so looking forward to Mass tomorrow morning.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Beautiful and beautiful and beautiful! The prayer brought tears to my eyes. If only we could love and trust Our Lord as much as Mary did. Mary, lead us to your Son!

[Salvation]

When some attack I always wonder what they will say to God at the moment of their particular judgment about why they didn’t love the Mother of our Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God!

[Salvation]

Prayers for all the non-believers.

[Texas Eagle]

how tragic that our Protestant “brothers” and our republican “brothers” must always seek our and post on catholic FR threads writing disparaging comments.

I didn't seek out your thread. I have my forum browser set for "all of the above" so every new thread shows up and if I feel like posting to it I do. If I don't, I don't.

But I understand why you are lashing out. You can't back up your beliefs so you don't like to be questioned.

It's kind of like the way Global Warming Worshippers don't like to be questioned about the validity of their beliefs.

[Salvation]

Believe me, Catholics have been questioned down through the ages, and the Catholic Church is still standing strong. It might be very good for you to do some more investigating.

What church do you attend?

[Texas Eagle]

The Church of Glad Tidings.

[tioga]

How tragic that so many fail to realize the gift Mary gave to the world. She is loved for that gift. She is NOT idolized for it. God alone is idolized by Catholics.

How sad you need to slam what you do not understand.

[Salvation]

Here is the Scripture from Luke:

to show mercy to our fathers and to be mindful of his holy covenant

73

and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father, and to grant us that,

74

rescued from the hand of enemies, without fear we might worship him

75

in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

76

And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord ²¹ to prepare his ways,

77

to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,

78

because of the tender mercy of our God by which the daybreak from on high ²² will visit us

79

to shine on those who sit in darkness and death's shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace."

80

The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

[Salvation]

^{And all the footnotes for the passage posted above:}

¹⁰ [26-38] The announcement to Mary of the birth of Jesus is parallel to the announcement to Zechariah of the birth of John. In both the angel Gabriel appears to the parent who is troubled by the vision (Luke 1:11-12, 26-29) and then told by the angel not to fear (Luke 1:13, 30). After the announcement is made (Luke 1:14-17, 31-33) the parent objects (Luke 1:18, 34) and a sign is given to confirm the announcement (Luke 1:20, 36). The particular focus of the announcement of the birth of Jesus is on his identity as Son of David (Luke 1:32-33) and Son of God (Luke 1:32, 35).

¹¹ [32] Son of the Most High: cf Luke 1:76 where John is described as "prophet of the Most High." "Most High" is a title for God commonly used by Luke (Luke 1:35, 76; 6:35; 8:28; Acts 7:48; 16:17).

¹² [34] Mary's questioning response is a denial of sexual relations and is used by Luke to lead to the angel's declaration about the Spirit's role in the conception of this child (Luke 1:35). According to Luke, the virginal conception of Jesus takes place through the holy Spirit, the power of God, and therefore Jesus has a unique relationship to Yahweh: he is Son of God.

¹³ [36-37] The sign given to Mary in confirmation of the angel's announcement to her is the pregnancy of her aged relative Elizabeth. If a woman past the childbearing age could become pregnant, why, the angel implies, should there be doubt about Mary's pregnancy, for nothing will be impossible for God.

¹⁴ [43] Even before his birth, Jesus is identified in Luke as the Lord.

¹⁵ [45] Blessed are you who believed: Luke portrays Mary as a believer whose faith stands in contrast to the disbelief of Zechariah (Luke 1:20). Mary's role as believer in the infancy narrative should be seen in connection with the explicit mention of her presence among "those who believed" after the resurrection at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:14).

¹⁶ [46-55] Although Mary is praised for being the mother of the Lord and because of her belief, she reacts as the servant in a psalm of praise, the Magnificat. Because there is no specific connection of the canticle to the context of Mary's pregnancy and her visit to Elizabeth, the Magnificat (with the possible exception of v 48) may have been a Jewish Christian hymn that Luke found appropriate at this point in his story. Even if not composed by Luke, it fits in well with themes found elsewhere in Luke: joy and exultation in the Lord; the lowly being singled out for God's favor; the reversal of human fortunes; the fulfillment of Old Testament promises. The loose connection between the hymn and the context is further seen in the fact that a few Old Latin manuscripts identify the speaker of the hymn as Elizabeth, even though the overwhelming textual evidence makes Mary the speaker.

¹⁷ [57-66] The birth and circumcision of John above all emphasize John's incorporation into the people of Israel by the sign of the covenant (Genesis 17:1-12). The narrative of John's circumcision also prepares the way for the subsequent description of the circumcision of Jesus in Luke 2:21. At the beginning of his two-volume work Luke shows those who play crucial roles in the inauguration of Christianity to be wholly a part of the people of Israel. At the end of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 21:20; 22:3; 23:6-9; 24:14-16; 26:2-8, 22-23) he will argue that Christianity is the direct descendant of Pharisaic Judaism.

¹⁸ [59] The practice of Palestinian Judaism at this time was to name the child at birth; moreover, though naming a male child after the father is not completely unknown, the usual practice was to name the child after the grandfather (see Luke 1:61). The naming of the child John and Zechariah's recovery from his loss of speech should be understood as fulfilling the angel's announcement to Zechariah in Luke 1:13, 20.

¹⁹ [68-79] Like the canticle of Mary (Luke 1:46-55) the canticle of Zechariah is only loosely connected with its context. Apart from Luke 1:76-77, the hymn in speaking of a horn for our salvation (Luke 1:69) and the daybreak from on high (Luke 1:78) applies more closely to Jesus and his work than to John. Again like Mary's canticle, it is largely composed of phrases taken from the Greek Old Testament and may have been a Jewish Christian hymn of praise that Luke adapted to fit the present context by inserting Luke 1:76-77 to give Zechariah's reply to the question asked in Luke 1:66.

²⁰ [69] A horn for our salvation: the horn is a common Old Testament figure for strength (Psalm 18:3; 75:5-6; 89:18; 112:9; 148:14). This description is applied to God in Psalm 18:2 and is here transferred to Jesus. The connection of the phrase with the house of David gives the title messianic overtones and may indicate an allusion to a phrase in Hannah's song of praise (1 Sam 2:10), "the horn of his anointed."

²¹ [76] You will go before the Lord: here the Lord is most likely a reference to Jesus (contrast Luke 1:15-17 where Yahweh is meant) and John is presented as the precursor of Jesus.

²² [78] The daybreak from on high: three times in the LXX (Jeremiah 23:5; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12), the Greek word used here for daybreak translates the Hebrew word for "scion, branch," an Old Testament messianic title.

New American Bible Copyright © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

[Salvation]

What denomination are you affiliated with? Baptist? Presbyterian? Lutheran? Etc.

[A.A. Cunningham]

How tragic that so many protestants have not a clue as to what the teachings of people like Luther, Calvin and Zwingli were on the Blessed Virgin Mary.

[Pyro7480]

Comparing the Catholic Church to the Global Warming believers is ridiculous.

[Running On Empty]

“The emancipation of womanhood began with Christianity and it ends with Christianity. It had the beginning one night nineteen hundred years ago when there came to a woman named Mary a vision and a message from heaven.She saw the rifted clouds of glory and the hidden battlements of heaven; she heard an angelic annunciation of the almost incredible news that she of all women on earth...of all the Marys in history...was to be the only one who should ever wear entwined the red rose of maternity and the white rose of virginity.
When Jesus grew up and began to teach the way of life, He ushered woman into a new place in human relations. He accorded her a new dignity and crowned her with a new glory, so that wherever the Christian evangel has gone for nineteen centuries, the daughters of Mary have been respected, revered, remembered and loved, for men have recognized that womanhood is a sacred and noble thing.”
...Dr. Peter Marshall
Presbyterian Minister
Chaplain of the U.S. Senate 1948

.......................................................

“I have always envied Catholics for their faith in that sweet sacred Virgin Mother who stands between them and the Deity, intercepting something of His awful splendor, but permitting love to stream upon the worshipper more intelligibly to the human comprehension through the medium of a woman’s tenderness.”
.....Nathaniel Hawthorne
........................................................

“Son, behold your mother”.
Through the prism of these words a man was entrusted to the Mother of God as her son. We all feel entrusted to Mary in that singular man. We therefore live with consiousness of this trust in the Mother of God, not only each on his own but also as a great community.
And so this singular motherhood of Mary’s, transmitted one time to the Evangelist and Apostle John, then extended to so many people and to entire nations above all, gives us a particular sense of identity (with the Son).”
...Pope John Paul II

[Biggirl]

The beauty of this solminity is that the scripture readings are short, simple, and get to the point. Not suprising considering that many folks do party for New Year’s the night before and are poop out.

[tiki]

“I have always envied Catholics for their faith in that sweet sacred Virgin Mother who stands between them and the Deity, intercepting something of His awful splendor, but permitting love to stream upon the worshipper more intelligibly to the human comprehension through the medium of a woman’s tenderness.”
.....Nathaniel Hawthorne

ROSE HAWTHORNE, the second daughter of Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne, converted to Roman Catholicism in 1891 and founded a religious order to care for victims of cancer.