Saturday of Our Lady

Prayer To Our Lady of Fatima

Queen of the Rosary, sweet Virgin of Fatima, who hast deigned to appear in the land of Portugal and hast brought peace, both interior and exterior, to that once so troubled country, we beg of thee to watch over our dear homeland and to assure its moral and spiritual revival.

Bring back peace to all nations of the world, so that all, and our own nation in particular, may be happy to call thee their Queen and the Queen of Peace.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for our country. Our Lady of Fatima, obtain for all humanity a durable peace. Amen.

WEBCAM-LIVE at FATIMA

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds


SATURDAY OF OUR LADY

Photo: R. Massaro Christ the Servant Parish Canton, Ohio

From The Secret of the Rosary by St. Louis de Montfort


THE EIGHTEENTH ROSE: The Hail Mary--Blessings

The heavenly salutation draws down upon us the blessings of Jesus and Mary in abundance, for it is an infallible truth that Jesus and Mary reward in a marvelous way those who glorify them. They repay us a hundredfold for the praises that we give them...

Now, if we say the Hail Mary properly, is not this a way to love, bless and glorify Jesus and Mary?

In each Hail Mary we bless both Jesus and Mary: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of they womb, Jesus."

By each Hail Mary we give Our Lady the same honor that God gave her when He sent the Archangel Gabriel to greet her for Him. How could anyone possibly think that Jesus and Mary, who often do good to those that curse them, could ever curse those that bless and honor them by the Hail Mary?

Both Saint Bernard and Saint Bonaventure say that the Queen of Heaven is certainly no less grateful and conscientious than gracious and well-mannered people of this world.  Just as she excels in all other perfections, she surpasses us all in the virtue of gratitude; so she would never let us honor her with love and respect without repaying us one hundredfold. Saint Bonaventure says that Mary will greet us with grace if we greet her with the Hail Mary.

How to join the National Rosary Confraternity

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

SATURDAY OF OUR LADY

EVENING PRAYER

St. Bernard's Prayer to the Virgin Mary

From the Divine Comedy

Photo:R.Massaro(c)2013SpiritSinging

Regina Health Center Richfield, Ohio

Maiden and Mother, daughter of thine own Son,
Beyond all creatures lowly and lifted high,
Of the Eternal Design the corner-stone!

Thou art she who did man's substance glorify
So that its own Maker did not eschew
Even to be made of its mortality.

Within thy womb the Love was kindled new
By generation of whose warmth supreme
This flower to bloom in peace eternal grew.

Here thou to us art the full noonday beam
Of love revealed: below, to mortal sight,
Hope, that for ever springs in living stream.

Lady, thou art so great and has such might
That whoso crave grace, nor to thee repair,
Their longing even without wing seeketh flight.

Thy charity doth not only him up-bear
Who prays, but in thy bounty's large excess
Thou oftentimes dost even forerun the prayer.

In thee is pity, in thee tenderness,
In thee magnificence, in thee the sum
Of all that in creation most can bless.


Dante, Translation: Laurence Binyon


Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

Saturday of Our Lady

Photo: R. Massaro
Shrine at Lourdes, France

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, that in thy celestial apparitions on the mount of Tepeyac, thou didst promise to show thy compassion and pity towards all who, loving and trusting thee, seek thy help and call upon thee in their necessities and afflictions.

Thou didst promise to hearken to our supplications, to dry our tears and to give us consolation and relief. 

Never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession,

 either for the common welfare, or in personal anxieties, was left unaided.

Inspired with this confidence, we fly unto thee, O Mary, ever Virgin Mother of the True God! Though 

grieving under the weight of our sins, we come to prostrate ourselves in thy august presence, certain that thou 

wilt deign to fulfill thy merciful promises. We are full of hope that, standing beneath thy shadow and 

protection, nothing will trouble or afflict us, nor need we fear illness, or misfortune, or any other sorrow.

Thou hast decided to remain with us through thy admirable image, thou who art our Mother, our health and

 our life. Placing ourselves beneath thy maternal gaze and having recourse to thee in all our necessities we 

need do nothing more. O Holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer us. 

(Here mention your petition.)

Five Hail Marys...in gratitude for the four apparitions to Juan Diego and the one to Juan Bernardino.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

SATURDAY OF OUR LADY

Photo: R. Massaro-Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Shrine Youngstown, Ohio

At the dawn of creation the eyes of God rested with satisfaction on the universe He created. At a second moment He looked with pleasure on the soul of Mary, as He was about to recreate a fallen world. So fresh, unsullied, so unsurpassingly beautiful she was. He smiled on the loveliest creature that His creative love had fashioned; He saw that she was good.

Her soul was a meeting-place. Here was goodness, for she was full of grace; here was beauty, for she was all-beautiful; here was truth, for here was the Word in her womb, the source of all truth. No wonder He found delight in her.
Pilgrims with Mary, John Moloney, P.P.




Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

Saturday of Our Lady

Photo: R.Massaro
Sorrowful Mother Shrine Bellevue, Ohio

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Mary

I offer you, my holy Mother Mary,
All my thoughts and all my actions,
all my prayers and all my acts of charity,
all my faith and good works,
and all the sacrifices that I make today.

Give me the grace to do everything in my life
with a pure intention
and a desire to please God.
I consecrate myself to your Holy
and Immaculate Heart,
and I pray, through the merits
of your intercession,
that I may adore the Divine Heart of Jesus
and through His mercy,
obtain the grace of conversion
and the remission of my sins.

O Mary, my Blessed Mother, watch over me
and protect me from all sin
and evil throughout this day.

Amen.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, O.C.D.S.

Carmelite Quote

Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and inspired by the words of St. Paul wished to become a "Praise of Glory" to the most Holy Trinity. This is an excerpt of her description of a soul who is a Praise of Glory:

A praise of glory is a soul that lives in God, that loves him with a pure and disinterested love, without seeking itself in the sweetness of this love; that loves him beyond all His gifts and even though it would not have received anything from Him, it desires the good of the Object thus loved...Thus the soul must surrender itself to this will completely, passionately, so as to will nothing else but what God wills.

A praise of glory is a soul of silence that remains like a lyre under the mysterious touch of the Holy Spirit so that He may draw from it divine harmonies: it knows that suffering is a string that produces still more beautiful sounds, so it loves to see this string on its instrument that it may more delightfully move the Heart of its God.

As Secular Carmelites we are striving to be a Praise of Glory in our own unique way by using the gifts God has given us. We are not holy of ourselves and our own efforts. We only reflect the light, and beauty, and holiness of the Trinity living within us. When we become Christlike and become the image of his Son by our charity, we become a true Praise of His Glory.

Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity, pray for us.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS