I am the Mother Of Mercy, the joy of the just, and the gate of God for sinners. In the fire of Purgatory there is no suffering that through my intercession would not be more easily bearable than otherwise. No one is so damned that, as long as he lives, he will lack my mercy. No one is so far from God, if he is not completely accursed, that he may not come back from God and obtain mercy when he appeals to me.
- as given to St. Bridget from the Virgin Mary.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Saturday, August 3, 2019
Our Lady, Protectress of the Marines
With filial gratitude in our hearts to Mary Immaculate, Patroness of the United States, and not unmindful that as it was on the Eve of the Feast of her Immaculate Conception that our nation was plunged into war (1941), so it was on the Feast of her Assumption into Heaven (Pacific Time) that she transmitted to us her Divine Son's gift of peace (1945), we hereby request that the Virgin Mother of Our Holy Redeemer be enshrined in your hearts, as she is in ours, under the title of Our Lady Protectress of the Marines. Indeed, the Virgin Mother of Christ is so loved by our men that entire regiments were solemnly dedicated to her; and like the Christian knights of old, rugged, hardened warriors, with her medallions, rosary, or scapular around their necks, stormed into battle crying her name. Firm is our belief that Our Lady personally conducted to the throne of her Divine Son our many comrades who, signed with the Sign of the Cross and faithful in devotion to her, made the supreme sacrifice. If, indeed, chaplains have been amazed to find so ardent a love for Our Lady among the Marines, how much more gratifying should this fact be to you. Our first act of thanksgiving, therefore, is to Almighty God that He, in His infinite goodness and mercy, saw fit to honor us, the Marines, by sending His own Mother to lead us safely, physically and spiritually, through the valley of shadows.
-Sgt. Louis J. Maloof, USMC: from a statement to American Catholics signed by enlisted men of the Sixth Marine Division, Veterans of Okinawa, and the Third Marine Division, Veterans of Iwo Jima, World War II, and presented to Abp. Spellman at Guam, 20 August 1945; given influx in Our Sunday Visitor, 9 Sept. 1945.
-Sgt. Louis J. Maloof, USMC: from a statement to American Catholics signed by enlisted men of the Sixth Marine Division, Veterans of Okinawa, and the Third Marine Division, Veterans of Iwo Jima, World War II, and presented to Abp. Spellman at Guam, 20 August 1945; given influx in Our Sunday Visitor, 9 Sept. 1945.
Sunday, March 3, 2019
The Athanasian Creed
Whoever wishes to be saved must before all else adhere to the Catholic Faith.
He must preserve this faith whole and untarnished; otherwise he shall most certainly perish forever.
Now this is the Catholic faith: that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity;
Neither confusing the Persons nor distinguishing the nature.
The Person of the Father is distinct; the Person of the Son is distinct; the Person of the Holy Ghost is distinct.
Yet the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost possess one Godhead, equal glory, and co-eternal majesty.
As the Father is, so is the Son, so also is the Holy Ghost.
The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, the Holy Ghost is uncreated.
The Father is infinite, the Son is infinite, the Holy Ghost is infinite.
The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, the Holy Ghost is eternal.
Nevertheless, they are not three eternals, but one Eternal;
Even as they are not three uncreateds, or three infinites, but one Uncreated, and one Infinite.
So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Ghost is almighty.
And yet they are not three almighties, but one Almighty.
So also the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Ghost is God.
And yet they are not three Gods, but only one God.
So too the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Ghost is Lord.
And still there are not three Lords, but only one Lord.
For just as we are compelled by Christian truth to profess that each Person is individually God and Lord, so also are we forbidden by the Catholic religion to hold that there are three Gods or Lords.
The Father was made by no one, being neither created nor begotten.
The Son is from the Father alone, though not created or made, but begotten.
The Holy Ghost is from the Father and the Son, though neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding.
Consequently there is one Father, not three Fathers; there is one Son, not three Sons; there is one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts.
Furthermore, in this Trinity there is no before or after, no greater or less: for all three Persons are co-eternal and co-equal.
In every respect, therefore, as has already been stated, unity must be worshipped in Trinity, and Trinity in unity.
This is what everyone who wishes to be saved must hold regarding the Blessed Trinity.
But, for his eternal salvation, he must also believe according to the true faith in the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now the true faith requires us to believe and acknowledge that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both God and Man.
He is God, begotten of the substance of the Father before the world began; He is Man, born in the world of the substance of His Mother.
Perfect God, perfect Man, a substance composed of a rational soul and a human body.
Equal to the Father in divinity, less than the Father with respect to His humanity.
And, although He is God and Man, still he is only one Christ, not two.
One, not by any turning of the divinity into flesh, but by the taking up of humanity into God,
One only, not by any confusion of substance, but by the unity of His person.
For, just as the rational soul and the body form one man, so God and Man form one Christ.
He suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose from the dead on the third day.
Ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father all-powerful, whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
At His coming, all men must rise with their bodies and must give an account of their own deeds.
And those who have done good shall go into eternal life, while those who have done evil shall go into eternal fire.
This is the Catholic faith, and anyone who does not believe it fully and firmly cannot be saved.
-from the Catholic Daily Missal, 1962.
He must preserve this faith whole and untarnished; otherwise he shall most certainly perish forever.
Now this is the Catholic faith: that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity;
Neither confusing the Persons nor distinguishing the nature.
The Person of the Father is distinct; the Person of the Son is distinct; the Person of the Holy Ghost is distinct.
Yet the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost possess one Godhead, equal glory, and co-eternal majesty.
As the Father is, so is the Son, so also is the Holy Ghost.
The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, the Holy Ghost is uncreated.
The Father is infinite, the Son is infinite, the Holy Ghost is infinite.
The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, the Holy Ghost is eternal.
Nevertheless, they are not three eternals, but one Eternal;
Even as they are not three uncreateds, or three infinites, but one Uncreated, and one Infinite.
So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Ghost is almighty.
And yet they are not three almighties, but one Almighty.
So also the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Ghost is God.
And yet they are not three Gods, but only one God.
So too the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Ghost is Lord.
And still there are not three Lords, but only one Lord.
For just as we are compelled by Christian truth to profess that each Person is individually God and Lord, so also are we forbidden by the Catholic religion to hold that there are three Gods or Lords.
The Father was made by no one, being neither created nor begotten.
The Son is from the Father alone, though not created or made, but begotten.
The Holy Ghost is from the Father and the Son, though neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding.
Consequently there is one Father, not three Fathers; there is one Son, not three Sons; there is one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts.
Furthermore, in this Trinity there is no before or after, no greater or less: for all three Persons are co-eternal and co-equal.
In every respect, therefore, as has already been stated, unity must be worshipped in Trinity, and Trinity in unity.
This is what everyone who wishes to be saved must hold regarding the Blessed Trinity.
But, for his eternal salvation, he must also believe according to the true faith in the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now the true faith requires us to believe and acknowledge that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both God and Man.
He is God, begotten of the substance of the Father before the world began; He is Man, born in the world of the substance of His Mother.
Perfect God, perfect Man, a substance composed of a rational soul and a human body.
Equal to the Father in divinity, less than the Father with respect to His humanity.
And, although He is God and Man, still he is only one Christ, not two.
One, not by any turning of the divinity into flesh, but by the taking up of humanity into God,
One only, not by any confusion of substance, but by the unity of His person.
For, just as the rational soul and the body form one man, so God and Man form one Christ.
He suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose from the dead on the third day.
Ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father all-powerful, whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
At His coming, all men must rise with their bodies and must give an account of their own deeds.
And those who have done good shall go into eternal life, while those who have done evil shall go into eternal fire.
This is the Catholic faith, and anyone who does not believe it fully and firmly cannot be saved.
-from the Catholic Daily Missal, 1962.
Monday, January 23, 2017
The Blessed Virgin Mary is the Second Eve
1. St. Justin:
"We know that He, before all creatures, proceeded from the Father by His power and will, ... and by means of the Virgin became man, that by what way the disobedience arising from the serpent had its beginning, by that way also it might have an undoing. For Eve, being a virgin and undefiled, conceiving the word that was from the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death; but the Virgin Mary, taking faith and joy, when the Angel told her the good tidings, that the Spirit of the Lord should come upon her and the power of the Highest overshadow her, and therefore the Holy One that was born of her was Son of God, answered, 'Be it to me according to Thy word.'" - Tryph. 100.
2. Tertullian:
"God recovered His image and likeness, which the devil had seized, by a rival operation. For into Eve, as yet a virgin, had crept the word which was the framer of death. Equally into a virgin was to be introduced the Word of God which was the builder-up of life; that, what by that sex had gone into perdition, by the same sex might be brought back to salvation. Eve had believed the serpent; Mary believed Gabriel; the fault which the one committed by believing, the other by believing has blotted out." - De Carn. Christ. 17.
3. St. Irenaeus:
"With a fitness, Mary the Virgin is found obedient, saying, 'Behold thy handmaid, O Lord; be it to me according to Thy word.' But Eve was disobedient; for she obeyed not, while she was yet a virgin. As she, having indeed Adam for a husband, but as yet being a virgin ... becoming disobedient, became the cause of death both to herself and to the whole human race, so also Mary, having the predestined man, and being yet a Virgin, being obedient, became both to herself and to the whole human race the cause of salvation. And on account of this the Lord said, that the first should be last and the last first. And the Prophet signifies the same, saying, 'Instead of fathers you have children.' For, whereas the Lord, when born, was the first-begotten of the dead, and received into His bosom the primitive fathers, He regenerated them into the life of God, He Himself becoming the beginning of the living, since Adam became the beginning of the dying. Therefore also Luke, commencing the line of generations from the Lord, referred it back to Adam, signifying that He regenerated the old fathers, not they Him, into the Gospel of life. And so the knot of Eve's disobedience received its unloosing through the obedience of Mary; for what Eve, a virgin bound by incredulity, that Mary, a virgin, unloosed by faith." - Adv. Her. iii. 22. 34.
"As Eve by the speech of an Angel was seduced, so as to flee God, transgressing His word, so also Mary received the good tidings by means of the Angel's speech, as as to bear God within her, being obedient to His word. And, though the one had disobeyed God yet the other was drawn to obey God; that of the virgin Eve the Virgin Mary might become the advocate. And, as by a virgin the human race had been bound to death, by a virgin it is saved, the balance being preserved, a virgin's disobedience by a virgin's obedience." - Ibid. v. 19.
"We know that He, before all creatures, proceeded from the Father by His power and will, ... and by means of the Virgin became man, that by what way the disobedience arising from the serpent had its beginning, by that way also it might have an undoing. For Eve, being a virgin and undefiled, conceiving the word that was from the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death; but the Virgin Mary, taking faith and joy, when the Angel told her the good tidings, that the Spirit of the Lord should come upon her and the power of the Highest overshadow her, and therefore the Holy One that was born of her was Son of God, answered, 'Be it to me according to Thy word.'" - Tryph. 100.
2. Tertullian:
"God recovered His image and likeness, which the devil had seized, by a rival operation. For into Eve, as yet a virgin, had crept the word which was the framer of death. Equally into a virgin was to be introduced the Word of God which was the builder-up of life; that, what by that sex had gone into perdition, by the same sex might be brought back to salvation. Eve had believed the serpent; Mary believed Gabriel; the fault which the one committed by believing, the other by believing has blotted out." - De Carn. Christ. 17.
3. St. Irenaeus:
"With a fitness, Mary the Virgin is found obedient, saying, 'Behold thy handmaid, O Lord; be it to me according to Thy word.' But Eve was disobedient; for she obeyed not, while she was yet a virgin. As she, having indeed Adam for a husband, but as yet being a virgin ... becoming disobedient, became the cause of death both to herself and to the whole human race, so also Mary, having the predestined man, and being yet a Virgin, being obedient, became both to herself and to the whole human race the cause of salvation. And on account of this the Lord said, that the first should be last and the last first. And the Prophet signifies the same, saying, 'Instead of fathers you have children.' For, whereas the Lord, when born, was the first-begotten of the dead, and received into His bosom the primitive fathers, He regenerated them into the life of God, He Himself becoming the beginning of the living, since Adam became the beginning of the dying. Therefore also Luke, commencing the line of generations from the Lord, referred it back to Adam, signifying that He regenerated the old fathers, not they Him, into the Gospel of life. And so the knot of Eve's disobedience received its unloosing through the obedience of Mary; for what Eve, a virgin bound by incredulity, that Mary, a virgin, unloosed by faith." - Adv. Her. iii. 22. 34.
"As Eve by the speech of an Angel was seduced, so as to flee God, transgressing His word, so also Mary received the good tidings by means of the Angel's speech, as as to bear God within her, being obedient to His word. And, though the one had disobeyed God yet the other was drawn to obey God; that of the virgin Eve the Virgin Mary might become the advocate. And, as by a virgin the human race had been bound to death, by a virgin it is saved, the balance being preserved, a virgin's disobedience by a virgin's obedience." - Ibid. v. 19.
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
St. Pio of Pietrelcina on the Rosary
- Love the Blessed Mother and make her loved. Always say the Rosary.
- St. Pio
- The Rosary is a weapon in our hands with which we can overcome the devil's attacks.
- St. Pio
- Our Lady has never refused me a grace through the recitation of the Rosary.
- St. Pio
- Go get my weapon [the Rosary].
- St. Pio
- Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for her Rosary is the weapons against the evils of the world today.
- St. Pio
- The Rosary, that is my weapon.
- St. Pio
- Satan always tries to destroy this prayer [the Rosary], but he will never succeed. It is the prayer of her who triumphs over everything and everyone.
- St. Pio
- The Rosary is the weapon that wins all battles.
- St. Pio
- As recorded in the book Champions of the Rosary by Fr. Donald H. Calloway, MIC, page 287.
- St. Pio
- The Rosary is a weapon in our hands with which we can overcome the devil's attacks.
- St. Pio
- Our Lady has never refused me a grace through the recitation of the Rosary.
- St. Pio
- Go get my weapon [the Rosary].
- St. Pio
- Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for her Rosary is the weapons against the evils of the world today.
- St. Pio
- The Rosary, that is my weapon.
- St. Pio
- Satan always tries to destroy this prayer [the Rosary], but he will never succeed. It is the prayer of her who triumphs over everything and everyone.
- St. Pio
- The Rosary is the weapon that wins all battles.
- St. Pio
- As recorded in the book Champions of the Rosary by Fr. Donald H. Calloway, MIC, page 287.
The Prayer Rule of the Theotokos of Saint Seraphim of Sarov
History of the Prayer Rules of the Theotokos:
Very little is, indeed, known about the history of the Prayer Rule of the Theotokos. There is a tradition that the Egyptian monks of the Thebaid prayed 150 Angelic Salutations grouped into 15 groups of ten, after the pattern of the Psalms. Beyond this, what we do know has come down to us from a certain Father Zosima. He was a spiritual son of the great 19th Century Russian Orthodox said, Seraphim of Sarov. Here is the message left to us from the holy priest, Father Zosima:
I forgot to give you a piece of advice vital for salvation. Say the Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos one hundred and fifty times, and this prayer will lead you on the way to salvation. This rule was given by the Mother of God herself in about the eighth century, and at one time all Christians fulfilled it. We Orthodox have forgotten about it, and Saint Seraphim has reminded me of this Rule. In my hands I have a hand-written book from the cell of Saint Seraphim, containing a description of the many miracles which took place through praying to the Mother of God and especially through saying one hundred and fifty times the Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos. If, being unaccustomed to it, it is difficult to master one hundred and fifty repetitions daily, say it fifty times at first. After every ten repetitions say the "Our Father" once and "Open unto us the door of your loving-kindness." Whomever he spoke to about this miracle-working Rules remained grateful to him.
The Prayer Rules as prayed by Saint Seraphim has come down to us by means of his notebook. The fifteen mysteries and the prayers introducing each mystery are those of our holy father, Saint Seraphim himself. The prayers which follow each decade were composed by an Orthodox nun who was a spiritual disciple of Saint Seraphim.
- As written in the book The Prayer Rule of the Theotokos of Saint Seraphim of Sarov published by Chi Rho Publishing
(From the blogger: This is proof of ancient devotion to the Mother of God, especially through the Angelic Salutation, from the Orthodox East and demonstrates that devotion to the Mother of God is universal in both the Eastern and Western Church. Ave Maria!)
Very little is, indeed, known about the history of the Prayer Rule of the Theotokos. There is a tradition that the Egyptian monks of the Thebaid prayed 150 Angelic Salutations grouped into 15 groups of ten, after the pattern of the Psalms. Beyond this, what we do know has come down to us from a certain Father Zosima. He was a spiritual son of the great 19th Century Russian Orthodox said, Seraphim of Sarov. Here is the message left to us from the holy priest, Father Zosima:
I forgot to give you a piece of advice vital for salvation. Say the Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos one hundred and fifty times, and this prayer will lead you on the way to salvation. This rule was given by the Mother of God herself in about the eighth century, and at one time all Christians fulfilled it. We Orthodox have forgotten about it, and Saint Seraphim has reminded me of this Rule. In my hands I have a hand-written book from the cell of Saint Seraphim, containing a description of the many miracles which took place through praying to the Mother of God and especially through saying one hundred and fifty times the Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos. If, being unaccustomed to it, it is difficult to master one hundred and fifty repetitions daily, say it fifty times at first. After every ten repetitions say the "Our Father" once and "Open unto us the door of your loving-kindness." Whomever he spoke to about this miracle-working Rules remained grateful to him.
The Prayer Rules as prayed by Saint Seraphim has come down to us by means of his notebook. The fifteen mysteries and the prayers introducing each mystery are those of our holy father, Saint Seraphim himself. The prayers which follow each decade were composed by an Orthodox nun who was a spiritual disciple of Saint Seraphim.
- As written in the book The Prayer Rule of the Theotokos of Saint Seraphim of Sarov published by Chi Rho Publishing
(From the blogger: This is proof of ancient devotion to the Mother of God, especially through the Angelic Salutation, from the Orthodox East and demonstrates that devotion to the Mother of God is universal in both the Eastern and Western Church. Ave Maria!)
Thursday, August 20, 2015
On the Power of the Angelical Salutation (Ave Maria)
Amen.
That Amen was uttered to the Glory of God.
Amen...
May all that I say in reciting my Ave, may everything it signifies,
be believed, honored and glorified!
May all that it asks for, be obtained for time and eternity;
for the now of this life passing away,
for today,
for this very moment that flits by!
May that Ave realize its triumph over us, over me, for the glory of Jesus Christ,
for the honor of Holy Mary,
Mother of God and Mother of men,
at the hour of our death,
at the hour of my death, mine, a sinner, a sinner!
Amen!
How grateful I am to you, Mary, for having allowed me to meditate on the grandeur of that Ave, that incomparable prayer, companion of the Our Father,
to write some few words about it.
Only too well I know that my thoughts and my written words
scarcely do justice to the reality of your being so sublime.
They are merely crumbs collected here and there from the banquet-table at which your great servitors, your saints, your doctors and learned theologians regale themselves.
What does it matter? This meditation on the Hail Mary foreshadows, though from afar, that reality of you.
It gives me, as it were, a foretaste in this vale of tears of that towards the everlasting vision of God, the meeting with Jesus, your Son, the sight of your beauty, of you, the all beautiful.
Amen. So be it!
The Hail Mary . . . that beautiful prayer!
What an exquisite antiphon!
I am not surprised that the sacred liturgy is filled with it;
that your holy Mass De Beata abounds in it,
that it runs throughout my breviary . . .
It pleased Jesus so!
You, too, it pleases, O Mother. May it always be so!
Amen. So be it!
The Hail Mary. A prayer which God spoke to a Virgin Mother,
which He delivered not by man's lips, but by those of an archangel,
one of the seven who stand before God,
a prayer, which the Most Blessed Trinity composed and gave to Gabriel to bring to an Immaculate
Conception!
After the Our Father, spoken by Jesus, eternal Wisdom,
can we truly compare it to any other prayer for holiness, depth, sublimity, efficacy?
Each time we recite it, we renew in the Virgin'a heart that boundless joy which flooded her soul at the moment when the Son God, Mary's Son, became flesh within her?
The Hail Mary. Surely we must realize now that that salutation is the heavenly antidote of the soul against the mortal bite of the serpent, of that serpent found in so many a statue and picture of Mary, whose head she crushes under her virginal heel!
What a veritable bludgeon it is, for smiting unceasingly that head which contrived and still unflaggingly contrives every plot attempted against the glory of God and of His Christ, against the honor of the Virgin Mother, against her Immaculate Heart, against the conservation and integrity of the Church, against the perfection of her saints, against the welfare of peoples, of society, of families, of individuals!
The Hail Mary. It is the nail driven by the woman clothed with the sun into the temple of Sisara, the enemy of God's people;
the millstone crashing on the abominable Abimelech;
Judith's sword severing the head of the impious Holofernes.
The Hail Mary remains the sword ever brandished by the Mother of God and ever crushing schisms, heresies, every enemy of the Christian name.
With the Hail Mary she triumphs and always will triumph over Satan, the eternal murderer.
Amen. So be it!
Ave Maria . . . Hail Mary!
Take, then, Christian soul, that sword with which you, too, may crush the hordes of hell;
with which you may overcome all temptations, in yourself and in all those you love;
with which you may accomplish marvels, perform miracles, heal bodies and save souls.
If it is possible for you, never neglect to say your beads every day, and if you find time, even the whole fifteen decades.
Be not afraid of distractions, provided you are willing to struggle against them.
Our heavenly Mother understands so well our weakness, our tired feelings, our weariness at times.
Hail Mary's multiplied never displease her.
She appreciates your murmurings of faith, hope and love.
Do your best. But, never give up your beads.
To carry them on your person . . . is that not as if your were saying them all day, all night secretly?
Keep them, at times, especially in time of trial, in the hollow of your hand. That is to clasp Mary's hand.
To conclude, keep this in mind, at least:
do not neglect to say three Hail Mary's morning and night to Mary, Mother of God and your Mother, to thank the Most Blessed Trinity for having given us her . . .
we can report marvelous results from faithfulness to that practice, among those who suffer, who labor, who undergo pain of any kind, in body, in soul, in the midst of cares, to safeguard their interest, for time and eternity.
When we love someone, we cease not to remind him of our love, and always we love him more.
In saying Hail Mary, you will never deceive your heart, and above all the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
She is your Mother . . . Does not that say all?
Amen! So be it! Yes, altogether right, sweet and good that it be so.
-from the book Hail Mary by Dom Eugene Vandeur, translated by John H. Collins, S.J., 1954, Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland. pages 132-135.
That Amen was uttered to the Glory of God.
Amen...
May all that I say in reciting my Ave, may everything it signifies,
be believed, honored and glorified!
May all that it asks for, be obtained for time and eternity;
for the now of this life passing away,
for today,
for this very moment that flits by!
May that Ave realize its triumph over us, over me, for the glory of Jesus Christ,
for the honor of Holy Mary,
Mother of God and Mother of men,
at the hour of our death,
at the hour of my death, mine, a sinner, a sinner!
Amen!
How grateful I am to you, Mary, for having allowed me to meditate on the grandeur of that Ave, that incomparable prayer, companion of the Our Father,
to write some few words about it.
Only too well I know that my thoughts and my written words
scarcely do justice to the reality of your being so sublime.
They are merely crumbs collected here and there from the banquet-table at which your great servitors, your saints, your doctors and learned theologians regale themselves.
What does it matter? This meditation on the Hail Mary foreshadows, though from afar, that reality of you.
It gives me, as it were, a foretaste in this vale of tears of that towards the everlasting vision of God, the meeting with Jesus, your Son, the sight of your beauty, of you, the all beautiful.
Amen. So be it!
The Hail Mary . . . that beautiful prayer!
What an exquisite antiphon!
I am not surprised that the sacred liturgy is filled with it;
that your holy Mass De Beata abounds in it,
that it runs throughout my breviary . . .
It pleased Jesus so!
You, too, it pleases, O Mother. May it always be so!
Amen. So be it!
The Hail Mary. A prayer which God spoke to a Virgin Mother,
which He delivered not by man's lips, but by those of an archangel,
one of the seven who stand before God,
a prayer, which the Most Blessed Trinity composed and gave to Gabriel to bring to an Immaculate
Conception!
After the Our Father, spoken by Jesus, eternal Wisdom,
can we truly compare it to any other prayer for holiness, depth, sublimity, efficacy?
Each time we recite it, we renew in the Virgin'a heart that boundless joy which flooded her soul at the moment when the Son God, Mary's Son, became flesh within her?
The Hail Mary. Surely we must realize now that that salutation is the heavenly antidote of the soul against the mortal bite of the serpent, of that serpent found in so many a statue and picture of Mary, whose head she crushes under her virginal heel!
What a veritable bludgeon it is, for smiting unceasingly that head which contrived and still unflaggingly contrives every plot attempted against the glory of God and of His Christ, against the honor of the Virgin Mother, against her Immaculate Heart, against the conservation and integrity of the Church, against the perfection of her saints, against the welfare of peoples, of society, of families, of individuals!
The Hail Mary. It is the nail driven by the woman clothed with the sun into the temple of Sisara, the enemy of God's people;
the millstone crashing on the abominable Abimelech;
Judith's sword severing the head of the impious Holofernes.
The Hail Mary remains the sword ever brandished by the Mother of God and ever crushing schisms, heresies, every enemy of the Christian name.
With the Hail Mary she triumphs and always will triumph over Satan, the eternal murderer.
Amen. So be it!
Ave Maria . . . Hail Mary!
Take, then, Christian soul, that sword with which you, too, may crush the hordes of hell;
with which you may overcome all temptations, in yourself and in all those you love;
with which you may accomplish marvels, perform miracles, heal bodies and save souls.
If it is possible for you, never neglect to say your beads every day, and if you find time, even the whole fifteen decades.
Be not afraid of distractions, provided you are willing to struggle against them.
Our heavenly Mother understands so well our weakness, our tired feelings, our weariness at times.
Hail Mary's multiplied never displease her.
She appreciates your murmurings of faith, hope and love.
Do your best. But, never give up your beads.
To carry them on your person . . . is that not as if your were saying them all day, all night secretly?
Keep them, at times, especially in time of trial, in the hollow of your hand. That is to clasp Mary's hand.
To conclude, keep this in mind, at least:
do not neglect to say three Hail Mary's morning and night to Mary, Mother of God and your Mother, to thank the Most Blessed Trinity for having given us her . . .
we can report marvelous results from faithfulness to that practice, among those who suffer, who labor, who undergo pain of any kind, in body, in soul, in the midst of cares, to safeguard their interest, for time and eternity.
When we love someone, we cease not to remind him of our love, and always we love him more.
In saying Hail Mary, you will never deceive your heart, and above all the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
She is your Mother . . . Does not that say all?
Amen! So be it! Yes, altogether right, sweet and good that it be so.
-from the book Hail Mary by Dom Eugene Vandeur, translated by John H. Collins, S.J., 1954, Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland. pages 132-135.
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