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SUNDAY
Prime
God, come to my assistance
Lord, make haste to help me
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Hail, Virginal wisdom; hail, mansion of God, Where sevenfold pillars befit his abode.
All stately without and all perfect within, He chose Him a dwelling undarkened by sin;
For even before your miraculous birth you were free from the stain that has sullied the earth.
Mother of all saints Living and dead, New star that shone Over Israel’s head,
Sovereign of angels, Terror of hell, Be you our refuge, Who love you so well.
In His Holy Spirit He created Her
And exalted Her above all His works.
Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy.
And according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my iniquity.
Wash me yet more from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my iniquity,
and my sin is always before me.
To you only have I sinned,
and have done evil before you:
that you may be justified in your words,
and may overcome when you are judged.
For behold I was conceived in iniquities;
and in sins did my mother conceive me.
For behold you have loved truth:
the uncertain and hidden things of your wisdom you have made manifest to me.
You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed:
you shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
To my hearing you shall give joy and gladness:
and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create a clean heart in me, O God:
and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
Cast me not away from your face;
and take not your holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of your salvation,
and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
I will teach the unjust your ways:
and the wicked shall be converted to you.
Deliver me from blood, O God,
God of my salvation:
and my tongue shall extol your justice.
O Lord, you will open my lips:
and my mouth shall declare your praise.
For if you had desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it:
with burnt offerings you will not be delighted.
A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit:
a contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not despise.
Deal favorably, O Lord, in your good will with Zion;
that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
Then shall you accept the sacrifice of justice,
oblations and whole burnt offerings:
then shall they lay calves upon your altar.
The Trisagion
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Angel’s prayer at Fatima
It is truly right to bless you, O God-bearing One, as the ever-blessed and immaculate Mother of our God. More honorable than the cherubim and by far more glorious than the seraphim; ever a virgin, you gave birth to God the Word, O true Mother of God, we magnify you.O my God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.
St. Sophronius
Truly, you are blessed among women. For you have changed Eve’s curse into a blessing; and Adam, who hitherto lay under a curse, has been blessed because of you.
Truly, you are blessed among women. Through you the Father’s blessing has shone forth on mankind, setting them free of their ancient curse.
Truly, you are blessed among women, because through you your forebears have found salvation. For you were to give birth to the Savior who was to win them salvation.
Truly, you are blessed among women, for without seed you have borne, as your fruit, him who bestows blessings on the whole world and redeems it from that curse that made it sprout thorns.
Truly, you are blessed among women, because, though a woman by nature, you will become, in reality, God’s mother. If he whom you are to bear is truly God made flesh, then rightly do we call you God’s mother. For you have truly given birth to God.
The Virgin has given birth to the Savior: a flower has sprung from Jesse’s stock and a star has risen from Jacob. O God, we praise you.
Psalm 118
Give praise to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever.
Let Israel now say, that he is good: that his mercy endures for ever.
Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endures for ever.
Let them that fear the Lord now say, that his mercy endures for ever.
In my trouble I called upon the Lord: and the Lord heard me, and enlarged me.
The Lord is my helper: I will not fear what man can do unto me.
The Lord is my helper: and I will look over my enemies.
It is good to confide in the Lord, rather than to have confidence in man.
It is good to trust in the Lord, rather than to trust in princes.
All nations compassed me about; and in the name of the Lord I have been revenged on them.
Surrounding me they compassed me about: and in the name of the Lord I have been revenged on them.
They surrounded me like bees, and they burned like fire among thorns: and in the name of the Lord I was revenged on them.
Being pushed I was overturned that I might fall: but the Lord supported me.
The Lord is my strength and my praise: and he is become my salvation.
The voice of rejoicing and of salvation is in the tabernacles of the just.
The right hand of the Lord has wrought strength:
the right hand of the Lord has exalted me:
the right hand of the Lord has wrought strength.
I shall not die, but live: and shall declare the works of the Lord.
The Lord chastising has chastised me:
but he has not delivered me over to death.
Open to me the gates of justice: I will go into them, and give praise to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord, the just shall enter into it.
I will give glory to you because you have heard me: and become my salvation.
The stone which the builders rejected; the same is become the head of the corner.
This is the Lord’s doing: and it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day which the Lord has made: let us be glad and rejoice therein.
O Lord, save me: O Lord, give good success.
Blessed be he that comes in the name of the Lord.
We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God, and he has shone upon us.
Appoint a solemn day, with shady boughs, even to the horn of the altar.
You are my God, and I will praise you: you are my God, and I will exalt you.
I will praise you, because you have heard me, and become my salvation.
O praise the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever.
Mary has given birth to our Savior. John the Baptist saw him and cried out:
This is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
Daniel 3
Blessed are you, O Lord the God of our fathers:
and worthy to be praised, and glorified, and exalted above all for ever:
and blessed is the holy name of your glory:
and worthy to be praised, and exalted above all in all ages.
Blessed are you in the holy temple of your glory:
and exceedingly to be praised, and exceeding glorious for ever.
Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,
and exceedingly to be praised, and exalted above all for ever.
Blessed are you, that behold the depths, and sit upon the cherubims;
and worthy to be praised and exalted above all for ever.
Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven:
and worthy of praise, and glorious for ever.
All you works of the Lord, bless the Lord:
praise him above all for ever.
The robe you wear is white as spotless snow; your face is radiant like the sun.
Psalm 150
Praise the Lord in his holy places:
praise him in the firmament of his power.
Praise him for his mighty acts:
praise him according to the multitude of his greatness.
Praise him with sound of trumpet:
praise him with psaltery and harp.
Praise him with timbrel and choir:
praise him with strings and organs.
Praise him on high sounding cymbals:
praise him on cymbals of joy:
let every spirit praise the Lord.
Alleluia.
Sirach 24
As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odor:
and my flowers are the fruit of honor and riches.
I am the mother of fair love,
and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope.
In me is all grace of the way and of the truth,
in me is all hope of life and of virtue.
Come over to me, all you that desire me,
and be filled with my fruits.
For my spirit is sweet above honey,
and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb.
My memory is unto everlasting generations.
They that eat me, shall yet hunger:
and they that drink me, shall yet thirst.
He that hearkens to me, shall not be confounded:
and they that work by me, shall not sin.
St. Athanasius
What was born of Mary was therefore human by nature, in accordance with the inspired Scriptures, and the body of the Lord was a true body: It was a true body because it was the same as ours. Mary, you see, is our sister, for we are all born from Adam.
The words of Saint John: THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, bear the same meaning, as we may see from a similar turn of phrase in Saint Paul: CHRIST WAS MADE A CURSE FOR OUR SAKE. Man’s body has acquired something great through its communion and union with the Word. From being mortal it has been made immortal; though it was a living body it has become a spiritual one; though it was made from the earth it has passed through the gates of heaven.
Even when the Word takes a body from Mary, the Trinity remains a Trinity, with neither increase nor decrease. It is for ever perfect. In the Trinity we acknowledge one Godhead, and thus one God, the Father of the Word, is proclaimed in the Church.
St Aelred
She is our mother–the mother of our life, the mother of our incarnation, the mother of our light. As the Apostle says of our Lord, HE BECAME FOR US BY GOD’S POWER OUR WISDOM AND JUSTICE, AND HOLINESS AND REDEMPTION.
She then, as mother of Christ, is the mother of our wisdom and justice, of our holiness and redemption. She is more our mother than the mother of our flesh. Our birth from her is better, for from her is born our holiness, our wisdom, our justice, our sanctification, our redemption. PRAISE THE LORD IN HIS HOLY ONES, say the Scriptures. If our Lord is to be praised in those holy ones through whom he brings to being deeds of power and miracles, how much more is he to be praised in her in whom he fashioned himself, who is wonderfully beyond all wonders.
St. Alphonsus de Ligouri
O Virgin Mary, no other daughter of Jerusalem is your equal, for you are the mother of the King of kings, you are the Queen of heaven and of angels.
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.Ah, my Blessed Mother, it is not one sword only with which I have pierced your heart, but I have done so with as many as are the sins which I have committed.
The Song of Zechariah
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
because he has visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
And has raised up an horn of salvation to us,
in the house of David his servant:
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:
Salvation from our enemies,
and from the hand of all that hate us:
To perform mercy to our fathers,
and to remember his holy testament,
The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
In holiness and justice before him, all our days.
And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest:
for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
To give knowledge of salvation to his people,
unto the remission of their sins:
Through the bowels of the mercy of our God,
in which the Orient from on high has visited us:
To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death:
to direct our feet into the way of peace.
Marvelous is the mystery proclaimed today: man’s nature is made new as God becomes man; he remains what he was and becomes what he was not. Yet each nature stays distinct and for ever undivided.
Father, source of light in every age, the virgin conceived and bore your Son who is called Wonderful God, Prince of Peace. May her prayer, the gift of a mother’s love, be your people’s joy through all ages. May her response, born of a humble heart, draw your Spirit to rest on your people. Grant this through Christ our Lord.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
SUNDAY
Vespers
God, come to my assistance
Lord, make haste to help me
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Come, praise the Lord, all you that are the Lord’s servants. You who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts where our God dwells. (Psalm 134)
God, be merciful to me, a sinner.God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me.
I have sinned without number, forgive me, O Lord.
Mary the Dawn, Christ the Perfect Day; Mary the Gate, Christ the Heavenly Way!
Mary the Root, Christ the Mystic Vine; Mary the Grape, Christ the Sacred Wine!
Mary the Wheat, Christ the Living-Bread; Mary the Stem, Christ the Rose blood-red!
Mary the Font, Christ the Cleansing Flood; Mary the Cup, Christ the Saving Blood!
Mary the Temple, Christ the Temple’s Lord; Mary the Shrine, Christ the God adored!
Mary the Beacon, Christ the Haven’s Rest; Mary the Mirror, Christ the Vision Blest!
Mary the Mother, Christ the Mother’s Son; By all things blest while endless ages run.
St. Germanus of Constantinople
Your name is Our Lady. You alone are Mother of God and raised high over all the earth. O Spouse of God, we celebrate you with faith, we honor you with longing, we venerate you with awe; at every moment we exalt you and reverently proclaim you blessed.
Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Christ.
Psalm 110
The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit at my right hand: Until I make your enemies your footstool.
The Lord will send forth the scepter of your power out of Zion:
rule in the midst of your enemies.
With you is the principality in the day of your strength: in the brightness of the saints:
from the womb before the day star I begot you.
The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent:
You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek.
The Lord at your right hand has broken kings in the day of his wrath.
He shall judge among nations, he shall fill ruins:
he shall crush the heads in the land of the many.
He shall drink of the torrent in the way:
therefore shall he lift up the head.
By your miraculous birth from the virgin you have fulfilled the Scriptures: like a gentle rain falling upon the earth you have come down to save your people. O God, we praise you.
Psalm 112
Blessed is the man that fears the Lord:
he shall delight exceedingly in his commandments.
His seed shall be mighty upon earth:
the generation of the righteous shall be blessed.
Glory and wealth shall be in his house:
and his justice remains for ever and ever.
To the righteous a light is risen up in darkness:
he is merciful, and compassionate and just.
Acceptable is the man that shows mercy and lends:
he shall order his words with judgment:
because he shall not be moved for ever.
The just shall be in everlasting remembrance:
he shall not fear the evil hearing.
His heart is ready to hope in the Lord:
his heart is strengthened, he shall not be moved until he look over his enemies.
He has distributed, he has given to the poor:
his justice remains for ever and ever: his horn shall be exalted in glory.
The wicked shall see, and shall be angry,
he shall gnash with his teeth and pine away:
the desire of the wicked shall perish.
In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.
1 Peter 2
For our sakes God made him who did not know sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the very holiness of God. For unto this are you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, did not revile: when he suffered, he threatened not: but delivered himself to him that judged him unjustly. Who his own self bore our sins in his body upon the tree: that we, being dead to sins, should live to justice: by whose stripes you were healed. [1 Peter 2]
Revelation 19
Alleluia. Salvation, glory, and power is to our God. For true and just are his judgments, who has judged the great harlot which corrupted the earth with her fornication, and has revenged the blood of his servants, at her hands. And again they said: Alleluia. And her smoke ascends for ever and ever. And the four and twenty ancients, and the four living creatures fell down and adored God that sit upon the throne, saying: Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came out from the throne, saying: Give praise to our God, all you his servants; and you that fear him, little and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunders, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord our God the Almighty has reigned. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give glory to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has prepared herself.
Revelation 12
And 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: And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered. And was seen another sign in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns: and on his heads seven diadems: And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered; that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod: and her son was taken up to God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, that there they should feed her a thousand two hundred sixty days.
St. Sophronius
HAIL, FULL OF GRACE, THE LORD IS WITH THEE. What joy could surpass this, O Virgin Mother? What grace can excel that which God has granted to you alone? What could be imagined more dazzling or more delightful? Before the miracle we witness in you, all else pales; all else is inferior when compared with grace you have been given. All else, even what is most desirable, must take second place and enjoy a lesser importance.
THE LORD IS WITH THEE. Who would dare challenge you? You are God’s mother; who would not immediately defer to you and be glad to accord you a greater primacy and honor? For this reason, when I look upon the privilege you have above all creatures, I extol you with the highest praise: HAIL, FULL OF GRACE, THE LORD IS WITH THEE. On your account joy has not only graced men, but is also granted to the powers of heaven.
Through you we drink from the wellsprings of salvation, O Blessed Virgin Mary.
From the sacred wounds of Christ, O Blessed Virgin Mary
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.
Through you we drink from the wellsprings of salvation, O Blessed Virgin Mary.
Angel’s prayer at Fatima
Most Holy Trinity–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.
St. Alphonsus
Behold, O Mother of God, at your feet a miserable sinner, a slave of hell, who has recourse to you and trusts in you. I do not deserve that you should even look at me; but I know that you, having seen your Son die for the salvation of sinners, has the greatest desire to help them. I hear all call you the refuge of sinners, the hope of those who are in despair, and the help of the abandoned. You are, then, my refuge, my hope, and my help. You have to save me by your intercession. Help me, for the love of Jesus Christ; extend your hand to a miserable creature who has fallen, and recommends himself to you. I know that your pleasure is to help a sinner to your utmost; help me, therefore, now that you can do so. By my sins I have lost divine grace, and with it my soul; I now place myself in your hands. Tell me what I must do to recover the favor of my Lord, and I will immediately do it. He sends me to you that you may help me; and he wills that I should have recourse to your mercy, that not only the merits of your Son, but also that your intercession may help me to save my soul. To you, then, I have recourse; do, who pray for so many others, pray also to Jesus for me. Ask him to pardon me, and he will forgive me; tell him that you desire my salvation, and he will save me; show how you can enrich those who trust in you. Amen. Thus I hope, thus may it be.
The Magnificat
My soul now magnifies the Lord.
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Because he has regarded the humility of his handmaid;
for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because he that is mighty, has done great things to me;
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
He has shown might in his arm:
he has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their seat,
and has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich he has sent empty away.
He has received Israel his servant,
being mindful of his mercy:
As he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
Blessed is the womb which bore you, O Christ, and the breast that nursed you, Lord and Savior of the world.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
Hail, wonderful dial Ezechias of old
Beheld when the prophet His destiny told;
The Word, That incarnate in you did become,
Receded, descending to man’s lowly home.
Nine choirs He passed of superior powers,
To take up the tenth in this nature of ours.
The beams of this sun Are the light of your face,
And you the aurora Preceding his race.
The serpent that lurks In night’s desperate gloom
You crushed, and caused, All beauties to bloom.
I have caused a never-fading light to rise in heaven;
And like a luminous veil have spread it over the earth.
MONDAY
Prime
God, come to my assistance
Lord, make haste to help me
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Byzantine Troparion
Princes of the heavenly hosts, we, though unworthy, beg you to encircle us through
your prayers under the shelter of the wings of your spiritual glory. Guard us as we
come to you and sincerely cry: “Deliver us from dangers, O princes of the powers on
high!”
Hail, Virginal wisdom; hail, mansion of God, Where sevenfold pillars befit his abode.
All stately without and all perfect within, He chose Him a dwelling undarkened by sin;
For even before your miraculous birth you were free from the stain that has sullied the
earth. Mother of all saints Living and dead, New star that shone Over Israel’s head
Sovereign of angels, Terror of hell, Be you our refuge, Who love you so well.
In His Holy Spirit He created Her
And exalted Her above all His works.
Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy.
And according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my iniquity.
Wash me yet more from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my iniquity,
and my sin is always before me.
To you only have I sinned,
and have done evil before you:
that you may be justified in your words,
and may overcome when you are judged.
For behold I was conceived in iniquities;
and in sins did my mother conceive me.
For behold you have loved truth:
the uncertain and hidden things of your wisdom you have made manifest to me.
You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed:
you shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
To my hearing you shall give joy and gladness:
and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create a clean heart in me, O God:
and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
Cast me not away from your face;
and take not your holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of your salvation,
and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
I will teach the unjust your ways:
and the wicked shall be converted to you.
Deliver me from blood, O God,
God of my salvation:
and my tongue shall extol your justice.
O Lord, you will open my lips:
and my mouth shall declare your praise.
For if you had desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it:
with burnt offerings you will not be delighted.
A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit:
a contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not despise.
Deal favorably, O Lord, in your good will with Zion;
that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
Then shall you accept the sacrifice of justice,
oblations and whole burnt offerings:
then shall they lay calves upon your altar.
The Trisagion
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
It is truly right to bless you, O God-bearing One, as the ever-blessed and immaculate
Mother of our God. More honorable than the cherubim and by far more glorious than
the seraphim; ever a virgin, you gave birth to God the Word, O true Mother of God, we
magnify you.
Angel’s prayer at Fatima
O my God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee. I ask pardon for those who do not
believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.
St. Luis de Leon
Virgin of virgins, you were untouched by that stain of sin, that first of all evils, the sad
inheritance of the human race. From my earliest years I have placed my hope in you.
Where the power of evil overcomes me and makes my life too sinful for your gaze, all
the more will your unbounded compassion show me your generous love, because my
suffering is so deep, my sinfulness so unworthy of your aid.
O Mother, how pure you are, you are untouched by sin; yours was the privilege to
carry God within you.
Psalm 90
O Lord, you have been our refuge from generation to generation.
Before the mountains were made, or the earth and the world was formed;
from eternity and to eternity you are God.
Turn not man away to be brought low: and you have said:
Be converted, O you sons of men.
For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday, which is past.
And as a watch in the night, things that are counted nothing, shall their years be.
In the morning man shall grow up like grass;
in the morning he shall flourish and pass away:
in the evening he shall fall, grow dry, and wither.
For in your wrath we have fainted away: and are troubled in your indignation.
You have set our iniquities before your eyes: our life in the light of your countenance.
For all our days are spent; and in your wrath we have fainted away.
Our years shall be considered as a spider: the days of our years in them are threescore and ten years.
But if in the strong they be fourscore years: and what is more of them is labor and sorrow.
For mildness is come upon us: and we shall be corrected.
Who knows the power of your anger, and for your fear can number your wrath?
So make your right hand known: and men learned in heart, in wisdom.
Return, O Lord, how long? and be entreated in favor of your servants.
We are filled in the morning with your mercy: and we have rejoiced, and are delighted all our days.
We have rejoiced for the days in which you have humbled us:
for the years in which we have seen evils.
Look upon your servants and upon their works: and direct their children.
And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us:
and direct the work of our hands over us; yea, the work of our hands do direct.
The Lord God Most High has blessed you, Virgin Mary, above all the women of the earth.
Isaiah 42
Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise is from the ends of the earth:
you that go down to the sea, and all that are therein:
you islands, and you inhabitants of them.
Let the
desert and the cities thereof be exalted:
Cedar shall dwell in houses:
you inhabitants of
Sela, give praise,
they shall cry from the top of the mountains.
They shall give glory to the Lord, and shall declare his praise in the islands.
The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, as a man of war shall he stir up zeal:
he shall shout and cry: he shall prevail against his enemies.
I have always held my peace, I have kept silence, I have
been patient, I will speak now as a woman in labor:
I will destroy, and swallow up at once.
I will lay waste the mountains and hills, and will make all their grass to wither:
and I will turn rivers into islands, and will dry up the standing pools.
And I will lead the blind into the way which they know not:
and in the paths which they were ignorant of I will make them walk:
I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight:
these things have I done to them, and have not forsaken them.
Sinless Virgin, let us follow joyfully in your footsteps; draw us after you in the fragrance of your holiness.
Psalm 146
Praise the Lord, O my soul,
in my life I will praise the Lord:
I will sing to my God as long as I shall be.
Put not your trust in princes: in the children of men, in whom there is no salvation.
His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return into his earth:
in that day all their thoughts shall perish.
Blessed is he who has the God of Jacob for his helper,
whose hope is in the Lord his God:
who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them.
Who keeps truth for ever: who executes judgment for them that suffer wrong:
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord loosens them that are fettered:
the Lord enlightens the blind.
The Lord lifts up them that are cast down;
the Lord loves the just.
The Lord keeps the strangers,
he will support the fatherless and the widow:
and the ways of sinners he will destroy.
The Lord shall reign for ever:
your God, O Zion, unto generation and generation.
And now thus says the Lord that created you, O Jacob, and formed you, O Israel: Fear
not, for I have redeemed you, and called you by your name: you are mine. Isaiah 43
Proverbs 8
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made any things from the beginning.
I was set up from eternity, and of old before the earth was made.
The depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived,
neither had the fountains of waters as yet sprung out:
The mountains with their huge bulk had not as yet been established:
before the hills I was brought forth:
He had not yet made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of the world.
When he prepared the heavens, I was present:
when with a certain law and compass he enclosed the depths:
When he established the sky above, and poised the fountains of waters:
When he compassed the sea with its bounds, and set a law to the waters that they should not pass their limits:
when he balanced the foundations of the earth;
I was with him forming all things:
and was delighted every day,
playing before him at all times;
Playing in the world:
and my delights were to be with the children of men.
Blessed Lady, sky and stars, earth and rivers, day and night–everything that is subject to the power or use of man–rejoice that through you they are in some sense restored to their lost beauty and are endowed with inexpressible new grace. All creatures were
dead, as it were, useless for human beings or for the praise of God who made them. The world, contrary to its true destiny, was corrupted and tainted by the acts of human beings who served idols. Now all creation has been restored to life and rejoices that it
is controlled and given splendor by those who believe in God.
The universe rejoices with new and indefinable loveliness. Not only does it feel the unseen presence of God himself, its Creator, it sees him openly, working and making it holy. These great blessings spring from the blessed fruit of Mary’s womb. Through the fullness of the grace that was given you, dead things rejoice in their freedom, and those in heaven are glad to be made new. Through the Son who was the glorious fruit of your virgin womb, just souls who died before his life-giving death rejoice as they are freed from captivity, and the angels are glad at the restoration of their shattered domain.
Lady, full and overflowing with grace, all creation received new life from your abundance. Virgin, blessed above all creatures, through your blessing all creation is blessed, not only creation from its Creator, but the Creator himself has been blessed by
creation.
St. Anselm
To Mary God gave his only-begotten Son, whom he loved as himself. Through Mary God made himself a Son, not different but the same, by nature Son of God and Son of Mary. The whole universe was created by God, and God was born of Mary. God created all things, and Mary gave birth to God. The God who made all things gave himself form through Mary, and thus he made his own creation. He who could create all things from nothing would not remake his ruined creation without Mary. God, then, is the Father of the created world and Mary the mother of the re-created world. God is the Father by whom all things were given life, and Mary the mother through whom all things were given new life. For God begot the Son, through whom all things were made, and Mary gave birth to him as the Savior of the world. Without God’s Son, nothing could exist; without Mary’s Son, nothing could be redeemed. Truly the Lord is with you, to whom the Lord granted that all nature should owe as much to you as to himself.
O Virgin Mary, no other daughter of Jerusalem is your equal, for you are the mother of
the King of kings, you are Queen of heaven and of angels.
Tridentine Introit
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Blessed be the holy Trinity, and undivided Unity:
we will give glory to Him, because He has shown His mercy to us.
O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is Your Name in all the earth!
The Song of Zechariah
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
because he has visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
And has raised up an horn of salvation to us,
in the house of David his servant:
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:
Salvation from our enemies,
and from the hand of all that hate us:
To perform mercy to our fathers,
and to remember his holy testament,
The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
In holiness and justice before him, all our days.
And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest:
for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
To give knowledge of salvation to his people,
unto the remission of their sins:
Through the bowels of the mercy of our God,
in which the Orient from on high has visited us:
To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death:
to direct our feet into the way of peace.
The Lord God said to the serpent: I will make you enemies, you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring; she will crush your head, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Father, the image of the Virgin is found in the Church. Mary had a faith that your Spirit prepared and a love that never knew sin, for you kept her sinless from the first moment of her conception. Trace in our actions the lines of her love, in our hearts her readiness of faith. Prepare once again a world for your Son who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
MONDAY
Vespers
God, come to my assistance
Lord, make haste to help me
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
The Lord will hear me when I shall cry out to Him. When I have cried out, the God of
justice brought me relief. – Byzantine Prokimen Vespers
God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me.
I have sinned without number, forgive me, O Lord.
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 vale of tears.
Turn then most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us,
and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O Clement, O Loving, O Sweet Virgin Mary, pray for us O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. You are all beautiful, O Mary; in you there is no trace of original sin.
Psalm 136
Praise the Lord, for he is good:
for his mercy endures for ever.
Praise the God of gods:
for his mercy endures for ever.
Praise the Lord of lords:
for his mercy endures for ever.
Who alone does great wonders:
for his mercy endures for ever.
Who made the heavens in understanding:
for his mercy endures for ever.
Who established the earth above the waters:
for his mercy endures for ever.
Who made the great lights:
for his mercy endures for ever.
The sun to rule the day:
for his mercy endures for ever.
The moon and the stars to rule the night:
for his mercy endures for ever.
The Most High has made his dwelling place a holy temple.
Who smote Egypt with their firstborn:
for his mercy endures for ever.
Who brought out Israel from among them:
for his mercy endures for ever.
With a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm:
for his mercy endures for ever.
Who divided the Red Sea into parts:
for his mercy endures for ever.
And brought out Israel through the midst thereof:
for his mercy endures for ever.
And overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea:
for his mercy endures for ever.
Who led his people through the desert:
for his mercy endures for ever.
Who smote great kings:
for his mercy endures for ever.
And slew strong kings:
for his mercy endures for ever.
Sihon king of the Amorites:
for his mercy endures for ever.
And Og king of Bashan:
for his mercy endures for ever.
And he gave their land for an inheritance:
for his mercy endures for ever.
For an inheritance to his servant Israel:
for his mercy endures for ever.
For he was mindful of us in our affliction:
for his mercy endures for ever.
And he redeemed us from our enemies:
for his mercy endures for ever.
Who gives food to all flesh:
for his mercy endures for ever.
Give glory to the God of heaven:
for his mercy endures for ever.
Give glory to the Lord of lords:
for his mercy endures for ever.
Glorious things are said of you, O Virgin Mary.
Ephesians 1
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places, in Christ: As he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in his sight in charity. Who has predestinated us unto the adoption of children through Jesus Christ unto himself: according to the purpose of his will: Unto the praise of the glory of his grace, in which he has graced us in his beloved son. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins, according to the riches of his grace, Which has superabounded in us in all wisdom and prudence, That he might make known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he has purposed in him, In the dispensation of the fullness of times, to re-establish all things in Christ, that are in heaven and on earth, in him.
Ephesians 5
Christ also loved the church, and delivered himself up for it: That he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life: That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy, and without blemish.
St. Cyril of Alexandria
Mary, Mother of God, we salute you. Precious vessel, worthy of the whole world’s reverence, you are an evershining light, the crown of virginity, the symbol of orthodoxy, and indestructible temple, the place that held him whom no place can contain, mother and virgin. Because of you the holy gospels could say: BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD.
We salute you, for in your holy womb he, who is beyond all limitation, was confined. Because of you the holy Trinity is glorified and adored; the cross is called precious and is venerated throughout the world; the heavens exult; the angels and archangels make merry; demons are put to flight; the devil, that tempter, is thrust down from heaven; the fallen race of man is taken up on high; all creatures possessed by the madness of idolatry have attained knowledge of the truth; believers receive holy baptism; the oil of gladness is poured out; the Church is established throughout the world; pagans are brought to repentance. What more is there to say? Because of you the light of the only-begotten Son of God has shone upon those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death; prophets pronounced the word of God; the apostles preached salvation to the Gentiles; the dead are raised to life, and kings rule by the power of the holy Trinity.
Angel’s prayer at Fatima
I shall glorify you, Lord, for you have rescued me
You have not let my enemies rejoice over me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.
I shall glorify you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Most Holy Trinity–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–I adore Thee profoundly.
I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.
St. Alphonsus
O Queen of Heaven, I, who was once a miserable slave of Lucifer, now dedicate myself to you, to be your servant forever; I offer myself to honor you, and serve you during my whole life; do accept me, and refuse me not, as I should deserve. O my Mother, in you have I placed all my hopes, from you do I expect every grace. I bless and thank God, who in his mercy has given me this confidence in you, which I consider a pledge of my salvation. Alas, miserable wretch that I am, I have hitherto fallen, because I have not had recourse to you. I now hope that, through the merits of Jesus Christ and your prayers, I have obtained pardon. But I may again lose divine grace; the danger is not past. My enemies do not sleep. How many new temptations have I still to conquer! Ah, my most sweet Lady, protect me, and permit me not again to become their slave: help me at all times. I know that you will help me, and that with your help I shall conquer, if I recommend myself to you; but this is what I fear–I fear that in time of danger I may neglect to call upon you, and thus be lost. I ask you, then, for this grace; obtain that, in the assaults of hell, I may always have recourse to you, saying, Mary, help me. My Mother, permit me not to lose my God.
The Magnificat
My soul now magnifies the Lord.
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Because he has regarded the humility of his handmaid;
for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because he that is mighty, has done great things to me;
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
He has shown might in his arm:
he has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their seat,
and has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich he has sent empty away.
He has received Israel his servant,
being mindful of his mercy:
As he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
Hail Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Mary, full of grace, intercede for us.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
Hail, wonderful dial Ezechias of old
Beheld when the prophet His destiny told;
The Word, That incarnate in you did become,
Receded, descending to man’s lowly home.
Nine choirs He passed of superior powers,
To take up the tenth in this nature of ours.
The beams of this sun Are the light of your face,
And you the aurora Preceding his race.
The serpent that lurks In night’s desperate gloom .
You crushed, and caused, All beauties
to bloom.
I have caused a never-fading light to rise in heaven;
And like a luminous veil have spread it over the earth.
TUESDAY
Prime
God, come to my assistance
Lord, make haste to help me
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
She who once was barren gives birth today to the Forerunner of Christ, who will fulfill every prophecy. In the Jordan he placed his hand upon the One Whom the prophets foretold, and thus was shown to be the prophet, the herald, and the Forerunner of the Word of God. – Byzantine Kontakion
Hail, Virginal wisdom; hail, mansion of God,
Where sevenfold pillars befit his abode.
All stately without and all perfect within,
He chose Him a dwelling undarkened by sin;
For even before your miraculous birth
you were free from the stain that has sullied the earth.
Mother of all saints Living and dead,
New star that shone Over Israel’s head
Sovereign of angels, Terror of hell,
Be you our refuge, Who love you so well.
In His Holy Spirit He created Her And exalted Her above all His works.
Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy.
And according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my iniquity.
Wash me yet more from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my iniquity,
and my sin is always before me.
To you only have I sinned,
and have done evil before you:
that you may be justified in your words,
and may overcome when you are judged.
For behold I was conceived in iniquities;
and in sins did my mother conceive me.
For behold you have loved truth:
the uncertain and hidden things of your wisdom you have made manifest to me.
You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed:
you shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
To my hearing you shall give joy and gladness:
and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create a clean heart in me, O God:
and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
Cast me not away from your face;
and take not your holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of your salvation,
and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
I will teach the unjust your ways:
and the wicked shall be converted to you.
Deliver me from blood, O God,
God of my salvation:
and my tongue shall extol your justice.
O Lord, you will open my lips:
and my mouth shall declare your praise.
For if you had desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it:
with burnt offerings you will not be delighted.
A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit:
a contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not despise.
Deal favorably, O Lord, in your good will with Zion;
that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
Then shall you accept the sacrifice of justice,
oblations and whole burnt offerings:
then shall they lay calves upon your altar.
The Trisagion
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
It is truly right to bless you, O God-bearing One, as the ever-blessed and immaculate Mother of our God. More honorable than the cherubim and by far more glorious than the seraphim; ever a virgin, you gave birth to God the Word, O true Mother of God, we magnify you.
Angel’s prayer at Fatima
O my God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.
St. Cyril of Alexandria
Behold then the joy of the whole universe. Let the union of God and man in the Son of the Virgin Mary fill us with awe and adoration. Let us fear and worship the undivided Trinity as we sing the praise of the ever-virgin Mary, the holy temple of God, and of God himself, her Son and spotless Bridegroom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Antiphon: The angel Gabriel was sent to the Virgin Mary, who was engaged to be married to Joseph.
Psalm 101
Mercy and judgment I will sing
to you, O Lord: I will sing,
and I will understand in the unspotted way,
when you shall come to me.
I walked in the innocence of my heart,
in the midst of my house.
I did not set before my eyes any unjust thing:
I hated the workers of iniquities.
The perverse heart did not cleave to me:
and the malignant, that turned aside from me, I would not know.
The man that in private detracted his neighbor, him did I persecute.
With him that had a proud eye, and an unsatiable heart, I would not eat.
My eyes were upon the faithful of the earth, to sit with me:
the man that walked in the perfect way, he served me.
He that works pride shall not dwell in the midst of my house:
he that speaks unjust things did not prosper before my eyes.
In the morning I put to death all the wicked of the land:
that I might cut off all the workers of iniquity from the city of the Lord.
You are the mother of your Maker, yet you remain a virgin for ever.
Daniel 3
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
and your name is worthy of praise, and glorious for ever:
For you are just in all that you have done to us,
and all your works are true, and your ways right, and all your judgments true.
For we have sinned, and committed iniquity, departing from you:
and we have trespassed in all things.
Deliver us not up for ever, we beseech you, for your name’s sake,
and abolish not your covenant.
And take not away your mercy from us for the sake of Abraham your beloved,
and Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one:
To whom you have spoken, promising that you would multiply their seed as the stars of heaven,
and as the
sand that is on the sea shore.
For we, O Lord, are diminished more than any nation,
and are brought low in all the earth this day for our sins.
Neither is there at this time prince, or leader, or prophet, or holocaust,
or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, or place of firstfruits before you,
That we may find your mercy:
nevertheless in a contrite heart and humble spirit
let us be accepted.
As in holocausts of rams, and bullocks, and as in thousands of fat lambs:
so let our sacrifice be made in your sight this day, that it may please you:
for there is no confusion to them that trust in you.
And now we follow you with all our heart,
and we fear you, and seek your face.
Antiphon: Trusting in the Lord’s promise, the Virgin Mary conceived a child, and remaining a virgin, she gave birth to the Savior.
Psalm 135
Praise the name of the Lord:
O you his servants, praise the Lord:
You that stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good:
sing to his name, for it is sweet.
For the Lord has chosen Jacob unto himself:
Israel for his own possession.
For I have known that the Lord is great,
and our God is above all gods.
Whatsoever the Lord pleased he has done,
in heaven, in earth, in the sea, and in all the deeps.
He brings up clouds from the end of the earth:
he has made lightnings for the rain.
He brings forth winds out of his stores:
He slew the firstborn of Egypt from the man even unto beast.
He set forth signs and wonders in the midst of you, O Egypt:
upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants.
He smote many nations, and slew mighty kings:
Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
And gave their land for an inheritance,
for an inheritance to his people Israel.
Sirach 24
Wisdom shall praise her own self, and shall be honored in God, and shall glory in the midst of her people, And shall open her mouth in the churches of the most High, and shall glorify herself in the sight of his power, And in the midst of her own people she shall be exalted, and shall be admired in the holy assembly. And in the multitude of the elect she shall have praise, and among the blessed she shall be blessed, saying:
I came out of the mouth of the most High, the firstborn before all creatures: I made that in the heavens there should rise light that never fails, and as a cloud I covered all the earth: I dwelt in the highest places, and my throne is in a pillar of cloud. I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven, and have penetrated into the bottom of the deep, and have walked in the waves of the sea, And have stood in all the earth: and in every people, And in every nation I have had the chief rule: And by my power I have trodden under my feet the hearts of all the high and low: and in all these I sought rest, and I shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord. Then the creator of all things commanded, and said to me: and he that made me, rested in my tabernacle, And he said to me: Let your dwelling be in Jacob, and your inheritance in Israel, and take root in my elect. From the beginning, and before the world, was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling place I have ministered before him. And so was I established in Zion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem. And I took root in an honorable people, and in the portion of my God his inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints.
St. Leo the Great
A royal virgin of the house of David is chosen. She is to bear a holy child, one who is both God and man. She is to conceive him in her soul before she conceives him in her body. In the face of so unheard of an event she is to know no fear through ignorance of the divine plan; the angel tells her what is to be accomplished in her by the Holy Spirit. She believes that there will be no loss of virginity, she who is soon to be the mother of God.
Why should she lose heart at this new form of conceiving when she has been promised that it will be effected through the power of the Most High? She believes, and her faith is confirmed by the witness of a previous wonder: against all expectation Elizabeth is made fruitful. God has enabled a barren woman to be with child; he must be believed when he makes the same promise to a virgin.
After the birth of your son, you remained a virgin
Mother of God, intercede for us; you remained a virgin.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.
After the birth of your son, you remained a virgin.
Bless the Lord, all you His Angels: you that are mighty in strength, and execute His
word, hearkening to the voice of His orders. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and let all that
is within me bless His holy Name. – Tridentine Introit
The Song of Zechariah
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
because he has visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
And has raised up an horn of salvation to us,
in the house of David his servant:
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:
Salvation from our enemies,
and from the hand of all that hate us:
To perform mercy to our fathers,
and to remember his holy testament,
The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
In holiness and justice before him, all our days.
And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest:
for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
To give knowledge of salvation to his people,
unto the remission of their sins:
Through the bowels of the mercy of our God,
in which the Orient from on high has visited us:
To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death:
to direct our feet into the way of peace.
In his great love for us, God sent his Son in the likeness of our sinful nature.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
God our Father, your Word became man and was born of the Virgin Mary. May we become more like Jesus Christ, whom we acknowledge as our redeemer, God and man. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
TUESDAY
Vespers
God, come to my assistance
Lord, make haste to help me
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and ever. Amen.
O Lord, Your goodness follows me all the days of my life. The Lord is my Shepherd, and I shall not lack anything. He gives me a resting-place where there is pasture. – Byzantine Prokimen Vespers
God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me.
I have sinned without number, forgive me, O Lord.
Psalm 137/Antiphon: The angel of the Lord brought God’s message to Mary.
And she conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept:
when we remembered Zion:
On the willows in the midst thereof
we hung up our instruments.
For there they that led us into captivity required of us the words of songs.
And they that carried us away, said:
Sing to us a hymn of the songs of Zion.
How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand be forgotten.
Let my tongue cleave to my jaws,
if I do not remember you:
If I make not Jerusalem the beginning of my joy.
Psalm 138/ Antiphon: Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. Behold you shall conceive
and bear a son, and he will be called the Son of the Most High.
I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart:
for you have heard the words of my mouth.
I will sing praise to you in the sight of the angels:
I will worship towards your holy temple,
and I will give glory to your name.
For your mercy, and for your truth:
for you have magnified your holy name above all.
In what day soever I shall call upon you, hear me:
you shall multiply strength in my soul.
May all the kings of the earth give glory to you:
for they have heard all the words of your mouth.
And let them sing in the ways of the Lord:
for great is the glory of the Lord.
For the Lord is high, and looks on the low:
and the high he knows afar off.
If I shall walk in the midst of tribulation, you will quicken me:
and you have stretched forth your hand against the wrath of my enemies:
and your right hand has saved me.
The Lord will repay for me:
your mercy, O Lord, endures for ever:
O despise not the works of your hands.
Antiphon: I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you have said.
Revelation 4; 5
You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory, and honor, and power: because you have created all things; and for your will they were, and have been created…You are worthy, O Lord, to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; because you were slain, and have redeemed us to God, in your blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, And have made us to our God a kingdom and priests, and we shall reign on the earth…The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and benediction.
1 John 1
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life: For the life was manifested; and we have seen and do bear witness, and declare unto you the life eternal, which was with the Father, and has appeared to us.
St. Augustine
Stretching out his hand over his disciples, the Lord Christ declared: HERE ARE MY MOTHER AND MY BROTHERS, ANYONE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHO SENT ME IS MY BROTHER AND MY SISTER AND MY MOTHER. I would urge you to ponder these words. Did the Virgin Mary, who believed by faith and conceived by faith, who was the chosen one from whom our Savior was born among men, who was created by Christ before Christ was created in her–did she not do the will of the Father?
Indeed the blessed Mary certainly did the Father’s will, and so it was for her a greater thing to have been Christ’s disciple than to have been his mother, and she was more blessed in her discipleship than in her motherhood. Hers was the happiness of first bearing in her womb him whom she would obey as her master.
The Lord has chosen her, his loved one from the beginning
He has taken her to live with him his loved one from the beginning.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.
The Lord has chosen her, his loved one from the beginning.
Angel’s prayer at Fatima
Most Holy Trinity–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.
St. Alphonsus
O Mary, how shall I die? Even now, that I think of my sins, and of that decisive moment on which my salvation or eternal damnation depends, of that moment in which I must expire and be judged, I tremble and am confounded. O my most sweet Mother, my hopes are in the blood of Jesus Christ and in your intercession. O comfortress of the afflicted, do not, then, abandon me, cease not to console me in that moment of so great affliction. If I am now so tormented by remorse for sins committed, the uncertainty of pardon, the danger of relapse, and the rigor of divine justice, what will become of me then? Unless you help me, I shall be lost. Ah, my Lady, before death obtain me great sorrow for my sins, thorough amendment, and fidelity to God during the remainder of my life. And when my last moment arrives, O Mary, my hope, help me in the great distress in which I shall then be; encourage me, that I may not despair at the sight of my sins, which the devil will place before me. Obtain that I may then invoke you more frequently; so that I may expire with your most sweet name and that of your beloved Son on my lips. Nay more, my Lady, but forgive my boldness, before I expire do come yourself and comfort me with your presence. You have granted this favor to so many of your devout servants, I also desire and hope it. I am a sinner, it is true; I do not deserve so great a favor; but I am your servant, I love you and have full confidence in you. O Mary, I shall expect you; do not disappoint me of this consolation. At least, if I am not worthy of so great a favor, do help me from heaven, that I may leave this life loving God and you, to love you eternally in Paradise.
The Magnificat
My soul now magnifies the Lord.
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Because he has regarded the humility of his handmaid;
for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because he that is mighty, has done great things to me;
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
He has shown might in his arm:
he has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their seat,
and has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich he has sent empty away.
He has received Israel his servant,
being mindful of his mercy:
As he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
The angel Gabriel said to Mary in greeting: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and ever. Amen.
St. Louis Marie de Montfort
Most loving Jesus, permit me to express my heartfelt gratitude to you for your kindness in giving me to your holy Mother through the devotion of holy bondage, and so making her my advocate to plead with your Majesty on my behalf, and make up for all that I lack through my inadequacy.
Alas, O Lord, I am so wretched that without my dear Mother I would certainly be lost. Yes, I always need Mary when I am approaching you. I need her to calm your just indignation at the many offenses I have committed every day. I need her to save me from the just sentence of eternal punishment I have deservedly incurred. I need her to turn to you, speak to you, pray to you, approach you and please you. I need her to help me save my soul and the souls of others. In a word, I need her so that I may always do your holy will and seek your greater glory in everything I do.Would that I could publish throughout the whole world the mercy which you have shown me! Would that the whole world could know that without Mary I would now be doomed! If only I could offer adequate thanks for such a great benefit as Mary! She is within me. What a precious possession and what a consolation for me. Should I not in return be all hers? If I were not, how ungrateful would I be. My dear Savior, send me death rather than I should be guilty of such a lapse, for I would rather die than not belong to Mary.
Like St. John the Evangelist at the foot of the Cross, I have taken her times without number as my total good and as often have I given myself to her. But if I have not done so as perfectly as you, dear Jesus, would wish, I now do so according to your desire. If you still see in my soul or body anything that does not belong to this noble Queen, please pluck it out and cast it far from me, because anything of mine which does not belong to Mary is unworthy of you.
Holy Spirit, grant me all these graces. Implant in my soul the tree of true life, which is Mary. Foster it and cultivate it to that it grows and blossoms and brings forth the fruit of life in abundance. Holy Spirit, give me a great love and longing for Mary, your exalted spouse. Give me a great trust in her maternal heart and a continuous access to her compassion, so that with her you may truly form Jesus, great and powerful, in me until I attain the fullness of his perfect age.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
Hail, wonderful dial Ezechias of old
Beheld when the prophet His destiny told;
The Word, That incarnate in you did become,
Receded, descending to man’s lowly home.
Nine choirs He passed of superior powers,
To take up the tenth in this nature of ours.
The beams of this sun Are the light of your face,
And you the aurora Preceding his race.
The serpent that lurks In night’s desperate gloom
You crushed, and caused, All beauties to bloom.
I have caused a never-fading light to rise in heaven;
And like a luminous veil have spread it over the earth.
WEDNESDAY
Prime
God, come to my assistance
Lord, make haste to help me
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Because He has regarded the humility of His handmaid; for, behold, from henceforth
all generations shall call me blessed. – Byzantine Prokimenon verse
Hail, Virginal wisdom; hail, mansion of God,
Where sevenfold pillars befit his abode.
All stately without and all perfect within,
He chose Him a dwelling undarkened by sin;
For even before your miraculous birth
you were free from the stain that has sullied the earth.
Mother of all saints Living and dead,
New star that shone Over Israel’s head
Sovereign of angels, Terror of hell,
Be you our refuge, Who love you so well.
In His Holy Spirit He created Her
And exalted Her above all His works.
Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy.
And according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my iniquity.
Wash me yet more from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my iniquity,
and my sin is always before me.
To you only have I sinned,
and have done evil before you:
that you may be justified in your words,
and may overcome when you are judged.
For behold I was conceived in iniquities;
and in sins did my mother conceive me.
For behold you have loved truth:
the uncertain and hidden things of your wisdom you have made manifest to me.
You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed:
you shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
To my hearing you shall give joy and gladness:
and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create a clean heart in me, O God:
and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
Cast me not away from your face;
and take not your holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of your salvation,
and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
I will teach the unjust your ways:
and the wicked shall be converted to you.
Deliver me from blood, O God,
God of my salvation:
and my tongue shall extol your justice.
O Lord, you will open my lips:
and my mouth shall declare your praise.
For if you had desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it:
with burnt offerings you will not be delighted.
A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit:
a contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not despise.
Deal favorably, O Lord, in your good will with Zion;
that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
Then shall you accept the sacrifice of justice,
oblations and whole burnt offerings:
then shall they lay calves upon your altar.
The Trisagion
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
It is truly right to bless you, O God-bearing One, as the ever-blessed and immaculate Mother of our God. More honorable than the cherubim and by far more glorious than the seraphim; ever a virgin, you gave birth to God the Word, O true Mother of God, we magnify you.
Angel’s prayer at Fatima
O my God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.
St. Eugenio Cantera
I bow before you, Virgin of virgins, resting-place of the divine Bridegroom, temple of eternal Wisdom, sanctuary of the Holy Spirit, palace of the Blessed Trinity, Mother full of love and tenderness, fountain of beauty, wellspring of wonders, golden key of God’s kingdom, you are the admiration of angels, the joy of the human family. Who can ever do justice to your glory, to your Queenship of grace?
Blessed are you, O virgin Mary, for you carried the Creator of the world in your womb.
Psalm 108
My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready:
I will sing, and will give praise, with my glory.
Arise, my glory; arise, psaltery and harp:
I will arise in the morning early.
I will praise you, O Lord, among the people:
and I will sing unto you among the nations.
For your mercy is great above the heavens:
and your truth even unto the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
and your glory over all the earth:
that your beloved may be delivered.
Save with your right hand and hear me.
God has spoken in his holiness.
I will rejoice, and I will divide Shechem
and I will mete out the vale of tabernacles.
Gilead is mine: and Manasseh is mine:
and Ephraim the protection of my head.
Judah is my king:
Moab the pot of my hope.
Over Edom I will stretch out my shoe:
the aliens are become my friends.
Who will bring me into the strong city?
who will lead me into Edom?
Will not you, O God, who has cast us off?
and will not you, O God, go forth with our armies?
O grant us help from trouble:
for vain is the help of man.
Through God we shall do mightily:
and he will bring our enemies to nothing.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant in her womb leaped for joy, and she
was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 61
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God:
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation:
and with the robe of justice he has covered me,
as a bridegroom decked with a crown,
and as a bride adorned with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth her bud,
and as the garden causes her seed to shoot forth:
so shall the Lord God make justice to spring forth,
and praise before all the nations.
For Zion’s sake I will not hold my peace,
and for the sake of Jerusalem,
I will not rest till her just one come forth as brightness,
and her savior be lighted as a lamp.
And the Gentiles shall see your just one,
and all kings your glorious one:
and you shall be called by a new name,
which the mouth of the Lord shall name.
And you shall be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
You shall no more be called Desolate:
but you shall be called My pleasure in her,
and your land inhabited.
Because the Lord has been well pleased with you:
and your land shall be inhabited.
For the young man shall dwell with the virgin,
and your children shall dwell in you.
And the bridegroom shall rejoice over the bride,
and your God shall rejoice over you.
Psalm 144/ Antiphon:Blessed are you, Mary, because you believed that the Lord’s words to you would be
fulfilled.
Blessed be the Lord my God, who teaches my hands to fight, and my fingers to war.
My mercy, and my refuge: my support, and my deliverer:
My protector, and I have hoped in him:
who subdues my people under me.
Lord, what is man, that you are made known to him?
or the son of man, that you make account of him?
Man is like to vanity:
his days pass away like a shadow.
Lord, bow down your heavens and descend:
touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
Send forth lightning, and you shall scatter them:
shoot out your arrows, and you shall trouble them.
Put forth your hand from on high,
take me out, and deliver me from many waters:
from the hand of strange children:
Whose mouth has spoken vanity:
and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity.
To you, O God, I will sing a new canticle:
on the psaltery and an instrument
of ten strings I will sing praises to you.
Who gives salvation to kings:
who has redeemed your servant David from the malicious sword:
Deliver me, And rescue me out of the hand of strange children;
whose mouth has spoken vanity:
and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity:
Whose sons are as new plants in their youth:
Their daughters decked out,
adorned round about after the similitude of a temple:
Their storehouses full, flowing out of this into that.
Their sheep fruitful in young, abounding
in their goings forth: their oxen fat.
There is no breach of wall, nor passage, nor crying out in their streets.
They have called the people happy, that have these things:
but happy is that people whose God is the Lord.
Joel 2; 3
And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel:
and I am the Lord your God, and there is none besides:
and my people shall not be confounded for ever.
And it shall come to pass after this,
that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh:
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy:
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
Moreover upon my servants and handmaids in those days
I will pour forth my spirit.
And I will show wonders in heaven;
and in earth, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood:
before the great and dreadful day of the Lord does come.
Song of Songs, 2
Arise, make haste, my love, my dove,
my beautiful one, and come.
For winter is now past, the rain is over and gone.
The flowers have appeared in our land,
the time of pruning is come:
the voice of the turtle is heard in our land:
The fig tree has put forth her green figs:
the vines in flower yield their sweet smell.
Arise, my love, my beautiful one and come:
my dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the hollow places of the wall,
show me your face,
let your voice sound in my ears:
for your voice is sweet,
and your face comely.
Catch us the little foxes that destroy the vines:
for our vineyard has flourished.
My beloved to me, and I to him
who feeds among the lilies,
Till the day break,
and the shadows retire.
Return: be like, my beloved,
to a roe, or to a young hart
upon the mountains of Bether.
John Paul II
When Elizabeth greeted her young kinswomen coming from Nazareth, MARY REPLIED WITH THE MAGNIFICAT. In her greeting, Elizabeth first called Mary “blessed” because of “The fruit of her womb,” and then she called her “blessed” because of her faith. These two blessings referred directly to the Annunciation. Now, at the Visitation, when Elizabeth’s greeting bears witness to that culminating moment, Mary’s faith acquires a new consciousness and a new expression. That which remained hidden in the depths of the “obedience of faith” at the Annunciation can now be said to spring forth like a clear and life-giving flame of the spirit.
The words used by Mary on the threshold of Elizabeth’s house are AN INSPIRED PROFESSION OF HER FAITH, in which HER RESPONSE TO THE REVEALED WORD is expressed with the religious and poetical exultation of her whole being toward God. In these sublime words, which are simultaneously very simple and wholly inspired by the sacred texts of the people of Israel, Mary’s personal experience, the ecstasy of her heart, shines forth. In them shines a ray of the mystery of God, the glory of his ineffable holiness, the eternal LOVE WHICH, AS AN IRREVOCABLE GIFT, ENTERS INTO HUMAN HISTORY.
Mary is the first to share in this new revelation of God and, within the same, in this new “self-giving” of God. Therefore she proclaims: “For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” Her words reflect a joy of spirit which is difficult to express: “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Indeed, “the deepest truth about God and the salvation of man is made clear to us in Christ, who is at the same time the mediator and the fullness of all revelation.” In her exultation Mary confesses that she finds herself IN THE VERY HEART OF THIS FULLNESS of Christ. She is conscious that the promise made to the fathers, first of all “to Abraham and to his posterity for ever,” is being fulfilled in herself. She is thus aware that concentrated within herself as the Mother of Christ is THE WHOLE SALVIFIC ECONOMY, in which “from age to age” is manifested he who, as the God of the Covenant, “remembers his mercy.
The Lord has chosen her, his loved one from the beginning
He has taken her to live with him, his loved one from the beginning.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.
The Lord has chosen her, his loved one from the beginning.
Tridentine Introit
Your friends, O God, are made exceedingly honorable; their power is become very
great. Lord, You have proved me and known me: You have known my sitting down
and my rising up.
The Song of Zechariah
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
because he has visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
And has raised up an horn of salvation to us,
in the house of David his servant:
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:
Salvation from our enemies,
and from the hand of all that hate us:
To perform mercy to our fathers,
and to remember his holy testament,
The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
In holiness and justice before him, all our days.
And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest:
for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
To give knowledge of salvation to his people,
unto the remission of their sins:
Through the bowels of the mercy of our God,
in which the Orient from on high has visited us:
To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death:
to direct our feet into the way of peace.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, she cried out and said: Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Sun of Justice, the immaculate Virgin was the white dawn announcing your rising, grant that we may always live in the light of your coming. Lord, help us imitate Mary, your mother, who chose the best part, may we seek the food that will sustain us for ever. Savior of the world, by your redeeming might you preserved your mother before-hand from all stain of sin, keep watch over us, lest we sin. You are our redeemer, who made the immaculate Virgin Mary your purest home and the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit, make us temples of your Spirit for ever.Eternal Father, you inspired the Virgin Mary, mother of your Son, to visit Elizabeth and assist her in her need. Keep us open to the working of your Spirit, and with Mary may we praise you for ever. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
WEDNESDAY
Vespers
God, come to my assistance
Lord, make haste to help me
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
O God, for Your name’s sake save me and by Your power grant me redress. O God, hear my prayer, and hearken to my plea.
God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me.
I have sinned without number, forgive me, O Lord. – Byzantine prokimen vespers
St. Thomas of Villanova
What joy, what happiness there is in heaven! The shoot from the root of Jesse, sown so long ago in the time of the patriarchs, has today sprung up and begun to grow. It will bear a Flower which is destined to heal the world, a Flower whose scent revives the dead, whose taste heals the sick, and whose beauty delights the angels–a white and red Flower which angels long to see.
St. Ephrem
Look upon Mary, my beloved, how, when Gabriel entered in to her and she spoke with him words of enquiry: “How shall these things be?” and the minister of the Spirit gave reply to Mary and said: “It is easy for God, all things are simple for him”–how she held it true when she heard, and said: “Behold, his handmaid am I.” Therefore he came down, in a manner he knows, he stirred and came in a way that pleased him, he entered and dwelt in her without her perceiving, she received him, suffering nothing. He was in her womb like a babe, yet the whole world was full of him. Of his love he came down to renew the image of Adam grown old.
Psalm 139
Antiphon: Mary entered the house of Zechariah, and greeted Elizabeth.
Lord, you have proved me, and known me:
you have known my sitting down, and my rising up.
You have understood my thoughts afar off:
my path and my line you have searched out.
And you have foreseen all my ways:
for there is no speech in my tongue.
Behold, O Lord, you have known all things,
the last and those of old:
you have formed me, and have laid your hand upon me.
Your knowledge is become wonderful to me:
it is high, and I cannot reach to it.
Whither shall I go from your spirit?
or whither shall I flee from your face?
If I ascend into heaven, you are there:
if I descend into hell, you are present.
If I take my wings early in the morning,
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea:
Even there also shall your hand lead me:
and your right hand shall hold me.
And I said: Perhaps darkness shall cover me:
and night shall be my light in my pleasures.
But darkness shall not be dark to you,
and night shall be light as the day:
the darkness thereof, and the light thereof are alike to you.
Antiphon: When your greeting sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
For you have possessed my reins:
you have protected me from my mother’s womb.
I will praise you, for you are fearfully magnified:
wonderful are your works, and my soul knows right well.
My bone is not hidden from you, which you have made in secret:
and my substance in the lower parts of the earth.
Your eyes did see my imperfect being,
and in your book all shall be written:
days shall be formed, and no one in them.
But to me your friends, O God, are made exceedingly honorable:
their principality is exceedingly strengthened.
I will number them, and they shall be
multiplied above the sand:
I rose up and am still with you.
If you will kill the wicked, O God:
you men of blood, depart from me:
Because you say in thought: They shall receive your cities in vain.
Have I not hated them, O Lord, that hated you:
and pined away because of your enemies?
I have hated them with a perfect hatred:
and they are become enemies to me.
Prove me, O God, and know my heart:
examine me, and know my paths.
And see if there be in me the way of iniquity:
and lead me in the eternal way.
Sinless Virgin, let us follow joyfully in your footsteps; draw us after you in the fragrance of your holiness.
Colossians 1
Giving thanks to God the Father, who has made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light: Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love, In whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins; Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For in him were all things created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominations, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and in him. And he is before all, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he may hold the primacy: Because in him, it has well pleased the Father, that all fullness should dwell; And through him to reconcile all things unto himself, making peace through the blood of his cross, both as to the things that are on earth, and the things that are in heaven.
Colossians 3
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy, and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience: Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if any have a complaint against another: even as the Lord has forgiven you, so do you also. But above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection: And let the peace of Christ rejoice in your hearts, wherein also you are called in one body: and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you abundantly, in all wisdom: teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing in grace in your hearts to God. All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
St. Bede
MY SOUL NOW MAGNIFIES THE LORD. AND MY SPIRIT HAS REJOICED IN GOD MY SAVIOR. With these words Mary first acknowledges the special gifts she has been given. Then she recalls God’s universal favors, bestowed unceasingly on the human race.
When a man devotes all his thought to the praise and service of the Lord, he proclaims God’s greatness. His observance of God’s commands, moreover, shows that he has God’s power and greatness always at heart. His spirit rejoices in God his savior and delights in the mere recollection of his creator who gives him hope for eternal salvation.These words are often for all God’s creations, but especially for the Mother of God. She alone was chosen, and she burned with spiritual love for the son she so joyously conceived. Above all other saints, she alone could truly rejoice in Jesus, her savior, for she knew that he who was the source of eternal salvation would be born in time in her body, in one person both her own son and her Lord.
BECAUSE HE THAT IS MIGHTY, HAS DONE GREAT THINGS TO ME; AND HOLY IS HIS NAME. Mary attributes nothing to her own merits. She refers all her greatness to the gift of the one whose essence is power and whose nature is greatness, for he fills with greatness and strength the small and the weak who believe in him.She did well to add: AND HOLY IS HIS NAME, to warn those who heard, and indeed all who would receive his words, that they must believe and call upon his name. For they too could share in everlasting holiness and true salvation according to the words of the prophet: AND IT WILL COME TO PASS, THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED. This is the name she spoke of earlier: AND MY SPIRIT REJOICES IN GOD MY SAVIOR.
Therefore it is an excellent and fruitful custom of the holy Church that we should sing Mary’s hymn at the time of evening prayer. By meditation upon the incarnation, our devotion is kindled, and by remembering the example of God’s Mother, we are encouraged to lead a life of virtue. Such virtues are best achieved in the evening. We are weary after the day’s work and worn out by our distractions. The time for rest is near, and our minds are ready for contemplation.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Angel’s prayer at Fatima
Most Holy Trinity–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.
St. Alphonsus
My most beloved Lady, I thank you for having delivered me from hell as many times as I have deserved it by my sins. Miserable creature that I was, I was once condemned to that prison, and perhaps already after the first sin, the sentence would have been put into execution, if you, in your compassion, had not helped me. You, without even being asked by me, and only in your goodness, did restrain divine Justice; and then, conquering my obduracy, you did draw me to have confidence in you. O, into how many other sins should I have afterwards fallen, in the dangers in which I have been, had not you, my loving Mother, preserved me by the graces which you did obtain for me! Ah, my Queen, continue to guard me from hell; for what will your mercy, and the favors which you have shown me, avail me if I am lost? If I did not always love you, now at least–after God–I love you above all things. Never allow me to turn my back on you and on God, who, by your means, has granted me so many graces. My most amiable Lady, never allow me to have the misfortune to hate you and curse you for all eternity in hell. Will you endure to see a servant of yours, who loves you, lost? O Mary, what do you say? I shall be lost if I abandon you. But who can ever more have the heart to leave you? How can I ever forget the love you have borne me? My Lady, since you have done so much to save me, complete the work, continue the aid. Will you help me? But what do I say? If, at a time when I lived forgetful of you, you did favor me so much, how much more may I hope for now, that I love you and recommend myself to you! No, he can never be lost who recommends himself to you; he alone is lost who has not recourse to you. Ay, my Mother, leave me not in my own hands, for I should then be lost; grant that I may always have recourse to you. Save me, my hope, save me from hell; but, in the first place, save me from sin, which alone can condemn me to it.
The Magnificat
My soul now magnifies the Lord.
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Because he has regarded the humility of his handmaid;
for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because he that is mighty, has done great things to me;
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
He has shown might in his arm:
he has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their seat,
and has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich he has sent empty away.
He has received Israel his servant,
being mindful of his mercy:
As he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
All generations will call me blessed; the Lord has regarded the humility of his handmaid.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Mary, full of grace, intercede for us.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
Hail, wonderful dial Ezechias of old
Beheld when the prophet His destiny told;
The Word, That incarnate in you did become,
Receded, descending to man’s lowly home.
Nine choirs He passed of superior powers,
To take up the tenth in this nature of ours.
The beams of this sun Are the light of your face,
And you the aurora Preceding his race.
The serpent that lurks In night’s desperate gloom
You crushed, and caused, All beauties to bloom.
I have caused a never-fading light to rise in heaven;
And like a luminous veil have spread it over the earth.
THURSDAY
Prime
God, come to my assistance
Lord, make haste to help me
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and ever. Amen.
You received Your inspired and steadfast preachers, Your chief disciples, into the enjoyment of Your good things and into repose. You, who alone know the heart, accepted their labors and death more gladly than any holocaust. – byzantine kontakion
Hail, Virginal wisdom; hail, mansion of God,
Where sevenfold pillars befit his abode.
All stately without and all perfect within,
He chose Him a dwelling undarkened by sin;
For even before your miraculous birth
you were free from the stain that has sullied the earth.
Mother of all saints Living and dead,
New star that shone Over Israel’s head
Sovereign of angels, Terror of hell,
Be you our refuge, Who love you so well.
In His Holy Spirit He created Her
And exalted Her above all His works.
Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy.
And according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my iniquity.
Wash me yet more from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my iniquity,
and my sin is always before me.
To you only have I sinned,
and have done evil before you:
that you may be justified in your words,
and may overcome when you are judged.
For behold I was conceived in iniquities;
and in sins did my mother conceive me.
For behold you have loved truth:
the uncertain and hidden things of your wisdom you have made manifest to me.
You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed:
you shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
To my hearing you shall give joy and gladness:
and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create a clean heart in me, O God:
and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
Cast me not away from your face;
and take not your holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of your salvation,
and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
I will teach the unjust your ways:
and the wicked shall be converted to you.
Deliver me from blood, O God,
God of my salvation:
and my tongue shall extol your justice.
O Lord, you will open my lips:
and my mouth shall declare your praise.
For if you had desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it:
with burnt offerings you will not be delighted.
A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit:
a contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not despise.
Deal favorably, O Lord, in your good will with Zion;
that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
Then shall you accept the sacrifice of justice,
oblations and whole burnt offerings:
then shall they lay calves upon your altar.
The Trisagion
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Angel’s prayer at Fatima
It is truly right to bless you, O God-bearing One, as the ever-blessed and immaculate Mother of our God. More honorable than the cherubim and by far more glorious than the seraphim; ever a virgin, you gave birth to God the Word, O true Mother of God, we magnify you.
O my God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee. I ask pardon for those who do not
believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.
St. Jeanne-Joseph du Vieux-Chatel
Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God, I come before you, unworthy as I am, to renew our total dedication to you. Be now and for ever our Mother, our advocate and our protector; rule over us as our sovereign Lady, keep us from falling, but if we do fall help us to rise again without delay. Show yourself as Mother of God, to whom all sinners have been entrusted: be our patroness and theirs with your loving Son.
Psalm 143
Antiphon: Tell us, shepherds, what have you seen? Who has appeared on earth? We have seen a newborn infant and a choir of angels praising the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, my prayer: give ear to my supplication in your truth:
hear me in your justice.
And enter not into judgment with your servant:
for in your sight no man living shall be justified.
For the enemy has persecuted my soul:
he has brought down my life to the earth.
He has made me to dwell in darkness
as those that have been dead of old:
and my spirit is in anguish within me:
my heart within me is troubled.
I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all your works:
I meditated upon the works of your hands.
I stretched forth my hands to you:
my soul is as earth without water unto you.
Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit has fainted away.
Turn not away your face from me,
lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
Cause me to hear your mercy in the morning; for in you have I hoped.
Make the way known to me, wherein I should walk:
for I have lifted up my soul to you.
Deliver me from my enemies,
O Lord, to you have I fled:
teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.
Your good spirit shall lead me into the right land:
for your name’s sake, O Lord, you will quicken me in your justice.
You will bring my soul out of trouble:
and in your mercy you will destroy my enemies.
And you will cut off all them that afflict my soul:
for I am your servant.
Isaiah 66
Antiphon: You are the glory of Jerusalem, the joy of Israel; you are the fairest honor of our race.
Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you that love her:
rejoice for joy with her, all you that mourn for her.
That you may suck, and be filled with the breasts of her consolations:
that you may milk out, and flow with delights, from the abundance of her glory.
For thus says the Lord:
Behold I will bring upon her as it were a river of peace,
and as an overflowing torrent the glory of the Gentiles,
which you shall suck;
you shall be carried at the breasts,
and upon the knees they shall caress you.
As one whom the mother caresses, so will I comfort you, .and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
You shall see and your heart shall rejoice,
and your bones shall flourish like an herb,
and the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants,
and he shall be angry with his enemies.
Psalm 147
A little child is born for us today; little and yet called the mighty God.
Praise the Lord, because it is good to sing praise:
to our God be joyful and comely praise.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem:
he will gather together the dispersed of Israel.
Who heals the broken of heart, and binds up their bruises.
Who tells the number of the stars: and calls them all by their names.
Great is our Lord, and great is his power:
and of his wisdom there is no number.
The Lord lifted up the meek,
and brings the wicked down even to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with praise:
sing to our God upon the harp.
Who covers the heaven with clouds,
who prepares rain for the earth.
Who makes grass to grow on the mountains,
and herbs for the service of men.
Who gives to beasts their food:
and to the young ravens that call upon him.
He shall not delight in the strength of the horse:
nor take pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord takes pleasure in them that fear him:
and in them that hope in his mercy.
Song of Songs 6
One is my dove,
my perfect one is but one,
she is the only one of her mother,
the chosen of her that bore her.
The daughters saw her,
and declared her most blessed:
the queens and concubines, and they praised her.
Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
terrible as an army set in array?
I went down into the garden of nuts
to see the fruits of the valleys,
and to look if the vineyard had flourished,
and the pomegranates budded.
I knew not: my soul troubled
me for the chariots of Aminadab.
Return, return, O Shulammite:
return, return that we may behold you.
St. Thomas of Villanova
What a marvelous woman, to be the mother of her own Creator! What an amazing distinction for a woman, to have a Son in common with God. The Father loves his Son; the Mother rejoices in her Son. The Father tells his Son: FROM THE WOMB, BEFORE THE MORNING STAR, I BEGOT YOU; the Mother says to her same Son: From the womb, I, a virgin, brought you into the world.She is amazed at her own glory, nor can she herself understand her elevation, for by the very fact of being made mother of the Creator she became with the best right mistress and queen of all creation. Truly, Mary HE THAT IS MIGHTY, HAS DONE GREAT THINGS for you; truly because he made you his own mother, ALL GENERATIONS of the ages WILL CALL YOU BLESSED.
Tridentine Introit
For our sake, the King of heaven chose to be born of his virgin mother, to reclaim lost men for the heavenly kingdom
All the angels cry aloud with joy, for God has come himself to save mankind.
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.
All the angels cry aloud with joy, for God has come himself to save mankind.
The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world; and that which contains all things has knowledge of the voice.
Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered: and let them that hate Him flee from before His face.
The Song of Zechariah
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
because he has visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
And has raised up an horn of salvation to us,
in the house of David his servant:
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:
Salvation from our enemies,
and from the hand of all that hate us:
To perform mercy to our fathers,
and to remember his holy testament,
The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
In holiness and justice before him, all our days.
And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest:
for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
To give knowledge of salvation to his people,
unto the remission of their sins:
Through the bowels of the mercy of our God,
in which the Orient from on high has visited us:
To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death:
to direct our feet into the way of peace.
Blessed are you, Mary, because you believed that the Lord’s words to you would be fulfilled.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Almighty God and Father of light, a child is born for us and a son is given to us. Your eternal Word leaped down from heaven in the silent watches of the night, and now your church is filled with wonder at the nearness of her God. Open our hearts to receive his life and increase our vision with the raising of dawn, that our lives may be filled with his glory and his peace, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
THURSDAY
Vespers
God, come to my assistance
Lord, make haste to help me
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Byzantine Prokimen
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
My help comes from the Lord
Who made heaven and earth.
I lifted my eyes towards
the mountains,
whence my deliverance shall come.
God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me.
I have sinned without number, forgive me, O Lord.
St. John Chrysostom
Rejoice, mother and heaven, maiden and cloud, virgin and throne, the boast and foundation of our Church. Plead earnestly for us that through you we may obtain mercy on the Day of Judgment and attain the good things reserved for those who love God, through the grace and love our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power, and honor now and for ever and for all eternity. Amen.
Psalm 144
Antiphon: Mary received a blessing from the Lord and loving kindness from God her savior.
Blessed be the Lord my God,
who teaches my hands to fight,
and my fingers to war.
My mercy, and my refuge:
my support, and my deliverer:
My protector, and I have hoped in him:
who subdues my people under me.
Lord, what is man, that you are made known to him?
or the son of man, that you make account of him?
Man is like to vanity:
his days pass away like a shadow.
Lord, bow down your heavens and descend:
touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
Send forth lighting, and you shall scatter them:
shoot out your arrows, and you shall trouble them.
Put forth your hand from on high, take me out,
and deliver me from many waters:
from the hand of strange children:
Whose mouth has spoken vanity:
and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity.
Antiphon: The Most High has made his dwelling place a holy temple.
To you, O God, I will sing a new canticle:
on the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings I will sing praises to you.
Who gives salvation to kings:
who has redeemed your servant David from the malicious sword:
Deliver me, And rescue me out of the hand of strange children;
whose mouth has spoken vanity: and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity:
Whose sons are as new plants in their youth:
Their daughters decked out,
adorned round about after the similitude of a temple:
Their storehouses full,
flowing out of this into that.
Their sheep fruitful in young,
abounding in their goings forth:
their oxen fat.
There is no breach of wall, nor passage, nor crying out in their streets.
They have called the people happy, that have these things:
but happy is that people whose God is the Lord.
Antiphon: In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.
Revelation 11; 12
We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who are, and who was, and who is to come: because you have taken to you your great power, and you have reigned. And the nations were angry, and your wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should render reward to your servants the prophets and the saints, and to them that fear your name, little and great, and should destroy them who have corrupted the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven: and the ark of his testament was seen in his temple, and there were lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake, and great hail…Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: because the accuser of our brethren is cast forth, who accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of the testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you that dwell therein.
1 John 3
Behold what manner of charity the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be the sons of God. Therefore the world knows not us, because it knew not him. Dearly beloved, we are now the sons of God; and it has not yet appeared what we shall be. We know, that when he shall appear, we shall be like to him: because we shall see him as he is. And every one that has this hope in him, sanctifies himself, as he also is holy. Whosoever commits sin commits also iniquity; and sin is iniquity. And you know that he appeared to take away our sins, and in him there is no sin. Whosoever abides in him sins not; and whosoever sins, has not seen him, nor knows him. Little children, let no man deceive you. He that does justice is just, even as he is just. He that commits sin is of the devil: for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God appeared, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
St. John Chrysostom
Believe what we say about the Virgin, and do not hesitate to confess her to be both servant and Mother of God, both virgin and mother. She is a servant as the creature of him who was born of her; she is the Mother of God inasmuch as of her God was born in human flesh. She is a virgin because she did not conceive from the seed of man; she is a mother because she gave birth and became the mother of him who before all eternity was begotten of the Father. She is therefore the mother of the Lord of angels and our mother; from her the Son of God received the human body in which he consented to be crucified. Do you desire to know how far the Virgin surpasses the power of heaven? Give me your attention then. They veil their faces as they hover in fear and trembling, but she offers the human race to God, and through her we receive the forgiveness of our sins. She bore him whom the angels glorified when they came with reverence to be present at his birth. GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, they sang, AND PEACE TO HIS PEOPLE ON EARTH.
I shall glorify you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
You have not let my enemies rejoice over me
For you have rescued me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.
I shall glorify you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Angel’s prayer at Fatima
Most Holy Trinity–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.
St. Alphonsus
O Queen of Paradise, who reigns above all the choirs of angels, and who are the nearest of all creatures to God, I, a miserable sinner, salute you from this valley of tears, and beseech you to turn your compassionate eyes towards me, for whichever side they turn they dispense graces. See, O Mary, in how many dangers I now am, and shall be as long as I live in this world, of losing my soul, of losing heaven and God. In you O Lady, I have placed all my hopes. I love you, and sigh to go soon to see you, and praise you in heaven. Ah, Mary, when will be that happy day on which I shall see myself safe at your feet, and contemplate my Mother who has done so much for my salvation? When shall I kiss that hand which has delivered me so many times from hell, and has dispensed me so many graces, when, on account of my sins, I deserved to be hated and abandoned by all? My Lady, in life I have been very ungrateful to you; but if I reach heaven, I shall no longer be ungrateful: there I shall love you as much as I can in every moment for all eternity, and shall make amends for my ingratitude by blessings and thanking you forever. I thank God with my whole heart, who gives me firm confidence in the blood of Jesus Christ and in you, and in the conviction that you will save me; that you will deliver me from my sins; that you will give me light and strength to execute the divine will; and, in fine, that you will lead me to the gate of Paradise. Your servants have hoped for all this, and not one of them was deceived. No, neither shall I be deceived. O Mary, my full confidence is that you have to save me. Beseech your Son Jesus, as I also beseech him, by the merits of his Passion, to preserve and always increase this confidence in me, and I shall be saved.
The Magnificat
My soul now magnifies the Lord.
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Because he has regarded the humility of his handmaid;
for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because he that is mighty, has done great things to me;
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
He has shown might in his arm:
he has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their seat,
and has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich he has sent empty away.
He has received Israel his servant,
being mindful of his mercy:
As he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
Christ the Lord is born today; today, the Savior has appeared.
Earth echoes songs of angel choirs, archangels’ joyful praise.
Today on earth his friends exult.
Glory to God in the highest.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
St. Louis de Montfort
Hail, Mary, most beloved daughter of the eternal Father; hail, Mary, most admirable mother of the Son; hail, Mary, most faithful spouse of the Holy Spirit; hail, Mary, Mother most dear, Lady most lovable. Queen most powerful! Hail, Mary, my joy, my glory, my heart and soul. You are all mine through God’s mercy, but I am all yours in justice. Yet I do not belong sufficiently to you, and so once again, as a slave who always belongs to his master, I give myself wholly to you, reserving nothing for myself or for others.
If you still see anything in me which is not given to you, please take it now. Make yourself completely owner of all my capabilities. Destroy in me everything that is displeasing to God. Uproot it and bring it to nothing. Implant in me all that you deem to be good; improve it and make it increase in me.
May the light of your faith dispel the darkness of my mind. May your deep humility take the place of my pride. May your heavenly contemplation put an end to the distractions of my wandering imagination. May your continuous vision of God fill my memory with his presence. May the burning love of your heart inflame the coldness of mine. May your virtues take the place of my sins. May your merits be my adornment and make up for my unworthiness before God. Finally, most dearly beloved Mother, grant, if it be possible, that I may have no other spirit but yours to know Jesus and his divine will. May I have no soul but yours to praise and glorify the Lord. May I have no heart but yours to love God purely and ardently as you love him.
I do not ask for visions or revelations, for sensible devotions or even spiritual pleasures. It is your privilege to see God clearly in perpetual light. It is your privilege to savor the delights of heaven where nothing is without sweetness. It is your privilege to triumph gloriously in heaven at the right hand of your Son without further humiliation, and to command angels, men, and demons, with readiness on their part. It is your privilege to dispose at your own choice of all the good gifts of God with no exception.Such, most holy Mary, is the excellent portion which the Lord has given you, and which will never be taken from you, and which gives me great joy. As for my portion here on earth, I wish only to have a share in yours, that is, to have simple faith without seeing or tasting, to suffer joyfully without the consolations of men, to die daily to myself without flinching, to work gallantly for you even until death without any self-interest, as the most worthless of your slaves. The only grace I beg you in your kindness to obtain for me is that every day and moment of my life I may say this threefold Amen: amen, so be it, to all you did upon earth; Amen, so be it, to all you are doing now in heaven; Amen, so be it, to all you are doing in my soul. In that way, you and you alone will fully glorify Jesus in me during all my life and my eternity.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
Hail, wonderful dial Ezechias of old
Beheld when the prophet His destiny told;
The Word, That incarnate in you did become,
Receded, descending to man’s lowly home.
Nine choirs He passed of superior powers,
To take up the tenth in this nature of ours.
The beams of this sun Are the light of your face,
And you the aurora Preceding his race.
The serpent that lurks In night’s desperate gloom
You crushed, and caused, All beauties to bloom.
I have caused a never-fading light to rise in heaven;
And like a luminous veil have spread it over the earth.
FRIDAY
Prime
God, come to my assistance
Lord, make haste to help me
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Byzantine Kontakion
By Your own choice, O Christ our God, You were lifted on the cross. Grant Your mercies to Your new community that bears Your name. By Your power gladden the faithful people and grant them victory against enemies. May they have the help of Your instrument of peace, the invincible sign of victory.
Hail, Virginal wisdom; hail, mansion of God,
Where sevenfold pillars befit his abode.
All stately without and all perfect within,
He chose Him a dwelling undarkened by sin;
For even before your miraculous birth
you were free from the stain that has sullied the earth.
Mother of all saints Living and dead,
New star that shone Over Israel’s head
Sovereign of angels, Terror of hell,
Be you our refuge, Who love you so well.
In His Holy Spirit He created Her
And exalted Her above all His works.
Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy.
And according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my iniquity.
Wash me yet more from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my iniquity,
and my sin is always before me.
To you only have I sinned,
and have done evil before you:
that you may be justified in your words,
and may overcome when you are judged.
For behold I was conceived in iniquities;
and in sins did my mother conceive me.
For behold you have loved truth:
the uncertain and hidden things of your wisdom you have made manifest to me.
You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed:
you shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
To my hearing you shall give joy and gladness:
and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create a clean heart in me, O God:
and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
Cast me not away from your face;
and take not your holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of your salvation,
and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
I will teach the unjust your ways:
and the wicked shall be converted to you.
Deliver me from blood, O God,
God of my salvation:
and my tongue shall extol your justice.
O Lord, you will open my lips:
and my mouth shall declare your praise.
For if you had desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it:
with burnt offerings you will not be delighted.
A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit:
a contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not despise.
Deal favorably, O Lord, in your good will with Zion;
that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
Then shall you accept the sacrifice of justice,
oblations and whole burnt offerings:
then shall they lay calves upon your altar.
The Trisagion
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Angel’s prayer at Fatima
It is truly right to bless you, O God-bearing One, as the ever-blessed and immaculate Mother of our God. More honorable than the cherubim and by far more glorious than the seraphim; ever a virgin, you gave birth to God the Word, O true Mother of God, we magnify you. O my God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.
St Bartolome de Los Rios
Virgin of virgins, I choose you today as my sovereign, my queen, my empress, and I declare myself, as I am in fact, your servant and your slave. I invoke your royal name of Mary, that is, sovereign Lady, and beg of you with all my heart to admit me into the privileged circle of your family as one of your servants, to do your will as a humble slave and a loving child. As a sign of your acceptance engrave on my heart with the fire of your love, not the brand of an unwilling slave, but those two gracious words of the angel: AVE MARIA. As long as I draw breath may your burning love ensure that I bear these words in my heart and in my memory, and that until my dying breath my will may be always on fire with my great desire to serve you, my sovereign and my queen, glorious in your majesty. Though I am in every way unworthy of so honorable a title, I resolve sincerely to be your slave, to serve you wholeheartedly, to protect your name, and that of your Son, against every insult, as far as it may rest with me, and never to allow anyone in my charge to offend your Son in any way. By your tender love for your Son, by the glories you have received from the Most Holy Trinity, do not reject me from your service but as my sovereign and my queen preside over all my actions, command whatever you will, direct all my work, remedy all its defects. During my whole life rule over me as your servant and slave. At the hour of my death, as I hope for at the end of my loving servitude among the privileged members of your family, receive my soul and escort it into the presence of God.
My soul clings to you, Lord Jesus Christ.Holy Mother, on the cross Christ entrusted us to you as your children. Today we join with you in praising him.
Tobit 13
Be converted therefore, you sinners, and do justice before God, believing that he will show his mercy to you. And I and my soul will rejoice in him. Bless the Lord, all his elect, keep days of joy, and give glory to him. Jerusalem, city of God, the Lord has chastised you for the works of your hands. Give glory to the Lord for your good things, and bless the God eternal, that he may rebuild his tabernacle in you, and may call back all the captives to you, and you may rejoice for ever and ever. You shall shine with a glorious light: and all the ends of the earth shall worship you. Nations from afar shall come to you: and shall bring gifts, and shall adore the Lord in you, and shall esteem your land as holy. For they shall call upon the great name in you. They shall be cursed that shall despise you: and they shall be condemned that shall blaspheme you: and blessed shall they be that shall build you up. But you shall rejoice in your children, because they shall all be blessed, and shall be gathered together to the Lord. Blessed are all they that love you, and that rejoice in your peace. My soul, bless the Lord, because the Lord our God has delivered Jerusalem his city from all her troubles.
Psalm 147
Antiphon: The Virgin Mary, crowned with a diadem of twelve stars, is exalted above the choirs of angels.
Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem:
praise your God, O Zion.
Because he has strengthened the bolts of your gates,
he has blessed your children within you.
Who has placed peace in your borders:
and fills you with the fat of corn.
Who sends forth his speech to the earth:
his word runs swiftly.
Who gives snow like wool:
scattered mists like ashes.
He sends his crystal like morsels:
who shall stand before the face of his cold?
He shall send out his word, and shall melt them:
his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run.
Who declares his word to Jacob:
his justices and his judgments to Israel.
He has not done in like manner to every nation:
and his judgments he has not made manifest to them.
Alleluia.
Colossians 1
I Paul am made a minister. Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh, for his body, which is the church: Whereof I am made a minister according to the dispensation of God, which is given me towards you, that I may fulfill the word of God.
Proverbs 8; 9
Now therefore, you children, hear me:
Blessed are they that keep my ways.
Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not.
Blessed is the man that hears me,
and that watches daily at my gates,
and waits at the posts of my door.
He that shall find me, shall find life,
and shall have salvation from the Lord:
But he that shall sin against me, shall hurt his own soul.
All that hate me love death.
Wisdom has built herself a house,
she has hewn her out seven pillars.
She has slain her victims, mingled her wine,
and set forth her table.
She has sent her maids to invite to the tower, and to the walls of the city:
Whosoever is a little one, let him come to me.
And to the unwise she said:
Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine which I have mingled for you.
Forsake childishness, and live, and walk by the ways of prudence.
He that teaches a scorner, does an injury to himself:
and he that rebukes a wicked man, gets himself a blot.
Rebuke not a scorner lest he hate you.
Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
Give an occasion to a wise man, and wisdom shall be added to him.
Teach a just man, and he shall make haste to receive it.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:
and the knowledge of the holy is prudence.
for by me shall your days be multiplied,
and years of life shall be added to you.
If you be wise, you shall be so to yourself:
and if a scorner, you alone shall bear the evil.
St. Lawrence Justinian
While Mary contemplated all she had come to know through reading, listening and observing, she grew in faith, increased in merits, and was more illuminated by wisdom and more consumed by the fire of charity. The heavenly mysteries were opened to her, and she was filled with joy; she became fruitful by the Spirit, was being directed toward God, and watched over protectively while on earth. So remarkable are the divine graces that they elevate one from the lowest depths to the highest summit, and transform one to a greater holiness. How entirely blessed was the mind of the Virgin which, through the indwelling and guidance of the Spirit, was always and in every way open to the power of the Word of God. She was not led by her own senses, nor by her own will; thus she accomplished outwardly through her body what wisdom from within gave to her faith.
It was fitting for divine Wisdom, which created itself a home in the Church, to use the intervention of the most blessed Mary in guarding the law, purifying the mind, giving an example of humility and providing a spiritual sacrifice. Imitate her, O faithful soul. Enter into the deep recesses of your heart so that you may be purified spiritually and cleansed from your sins. God places more value on good will in all we do than on the works themselves.
Therefore, whether we give ourselves to God in the work of contemplation or whether we serve the needs of our neighbor by good works, we accomplish these things because the love of Christ urges us on. The acceptable offering of the spiritual purification is accomplished not in a man-made temple but in the recesses of the heart where the Lord Jesus freely enters.
Through you we drink from the wellsprings of salvation, O Blessed Virgin Mary
From the sacred wounds of Christ, O Blessed Virgin Mary.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.
Through you we drink from the wellsprings of salvation, O Blessed Virgin Mary.
Tridentine Introit
But it behooves us to glory in the Cross of Jesus Christ in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection: by whom we are saved, and delivered. May God have mercy on us and bless us: may He cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may He have mercy on us.
The Song of Zechariah
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
because he has visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
And has raised up an horn of salvation to us,
in the house of David his servant:
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:
Salvation from our enemies,
and from the hand of all that hate us:
To perform mercy to our fathers,
and to remember his holy testament,
The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
In holiness and justice before him, all our days.
And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest:
for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
To give knowledge of salvation to his people,
unto the remission of their sins:
Through the bowels of the mercy of our God,
in which the Orient from on high has visited us:
To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death:
to direct our feet into the way of peace.
Rejoice, O sorrowful Mother; after your great sufferings, you shine forth as Queen, enthroned beside your son.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Father, as your Son was raised on the cross, his mother Mary stood by him, sharing his sufferings. May your Church be united with Christ in his suffering and death and so come to share in his rising to new life, where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
FRIDAY
Vespers
God, come to my assistance
Lord, make haste to help me
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Byzantine Prokimen Vespers
O God, You are my Protector, and Your mercy meets me on the way. O God, deliver me from my enemies, and save me from those who attack me.
God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me.
I have sinned without number, forgive me, O Lord.
Odes of Solomon
The Spirit spread his wings over the Virgin’s womb. She conceived and gave birth. And she became a virginal mother by great mercy. She conceived and gave birth to a son without pain, and there was a purpose for this. She did not ask for a midwife to aid her, because God saw to her delivery. Like a human being, she gave birth according to the will of God. Manifestly she gave birth. With great power she acquired him. With thanksgiving she loved him. With kindness she guarded him. With grandeur she manifested him. Alleluia!
Psalm 145
Antiphon: Through his cross, Christ our peace has reconciled us to God.
I will extol you, O God my king:
and I will bless your name for ever;
yea, for ever and ever.
Every day will I bless you:
and I will praise your name for ever;
yea, for ever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised:
and of his greatness there is no end. Generation and generation shall praise your works:
and they shall declare your power.
They shall speak of the magnificence of the glory of your holiness:
and shall tell your wondrous works.
And they shall speak of the might of your terrible acts:
and shall declare your greatness.
They shall publish the memory of the abundance of your sweetness:
and shall rejoice in your justice.
The Lord is gracious and merciful:
patient and plenteous in mercy.
The Lord is sweet to all:
and his tender mercies are over all his works.
Let all your works, O Lord, praise you:
and let your saints bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom:
and shall tell of your power:
To make your might known to the sons of men:
and the glory of the magnificence of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is a kingdom of all ages:
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
Antiphon: His mother stood beside the cross.
The Lord is faithful in all his words:
and holy in all his works.
The Lord lifts up all that fall:
and sets up all that are cast down.
The eyes of all hope in you, O Lord:
and you give them meat in due season.
You open your hand,
and fill with blessing every living creature.
The Lord is just in all his ways:
and holy in all his works.
The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him:
to all that call upon him in truth.
He will do the will of them that fear him:
and he will hear their prayer, and save them.
The Lord keeps all them that love him;
but all the wicked he will destroy.
My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord:
and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever;
yea, for ever and ever.
Antiphon: In Christ we have redemption through his blood.
Revelation 15
Great and wonderful are your works, O Lord God Almighty; just and true are your ways, O King of ages. Who shall not fear you, O Lord, and magnify your name? For you only are holy: for all nations shall come, and shall adore in your sight, because your judgments are manifest.
2 Timothy 2
Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with heavenly glory. A faithful saying: for if we be dead with him, we shall live also with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign.
2 John 4
I was exceeding glad, that I found of your children walking in truth, as we have received a ommandment from the Father. And now I beseech you, lady, not as writing a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is charity, that we walk according to his commandment. For this is the commandment, that, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in the same: For many seducers are gone out into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh: this is a seducer and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that you lose not the things which you have wrought: but that you may receive a full reward. Whosoever revolts, and continues not in the doctrine of Christ, has not God. He that continues in the doctrine the same has both the Father and the Son. If any man comes to you, and brings not this doctrine, receive him not into the house nor say to him, God speed you. For he that says unto him, God speed you, communicates with his wicked works. Having more things to write unto you, I would not by paper and ink: for I hope that I shall be with you, and speak face to face: that your joy may be full. The children of the sister Elect salute you.
St. Bernard
The martyrdom of the Virgin is set forth both in the prophecy of Simeon and in the actual story of our Lord’s passion. The holy man said of the infant Jesus: HE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED AS A SIGN WHICH WILL BE CONTRADICTED. He went on to say to Mary: AND YOUR OWN HEART WILL BE PIERCED BY A SWORD. Truly, O blessed Mother, a sword has pierced your heart. For only by passing through your heart could the sword enter the flesh of your Son. Indeed, after your Jesus–who belongs to everyone, but is especially yours–gave up his life, the cruel spear, which was not withheld from his lifeless body, tore upon his side. Clearly it did not touch his soul and could not harm him, but it did pierce your heart. For surely his soul was no longer there, but yours could not be torn away. Thus the violence of sorrow has cut through your heart, and we rightly call you more than martyr, since the effect of compassion in you has gone beyond the endurance of physical suffering.Or were those words: WOMAN, BEHOLD YOUR SON, not more than a sword to you, truly piercing your heart, cutting through to the division between soul and spirit? What an exchange! John is given to you in place of Jesus, the servant in place of the Lord, the Son of Zebedee replaces the Son of God, a mere man replaces God himself. How could these words not pierce your most loving heart, when the mere remembrance of them breaks ours, hearts of stone and iron though they are! Do not be surprised, brothers, that Mary is said to be a martyr in spirit. Let him be surprised who does not remember the words of Paul, that one of the greatest crimes of the Gentiles was that they were without love. That was far from the heart of Mary; let it be far from her servants’. Perhaps someone will say: “Had she not known before that he would die?” Undoubtedly. “Did she not expect him to rise again at once?” Surely. “And still she grieved over her crucified Son?” Intensely.
Who are you and what is the source of your wisdom that you are more surprised at the compassion of Mary than at the passion of Mary’s Son? For if he could die in body, could she not die with him in spirit? He dies in body through a love greater than anyone had known. She died in spirit through a love unlike any other since his.
The Lord has chosen her, his loved one from the beginning
He has taken her to live with him, his loved one from the beginning.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.
The Lord has chosen her, his loved one from the beginning.
Angel’s prayer at Fatima
Most Holy Trinity–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.
St. Alphonsus
O Mary, I already know that you are the most noble, the most sublime, the most pure, the most beautiful, the most benign, the most holy–in a word, the most amiable of all creatures. O that all knew you, my Lady, and loved you as you do merit! But I am consoled when I remember that in heaven and on earth there are so many happy souls who live enamored of your goodness and beauty. Above all, I rejoice that God himself loves you alone more than he loves all men and angels together. My most amiable Queen, I, a miserable sinner, love you also; but I love you too little. I desire a greater and more tender love towards you; and this you must obtain for me, since to love you is a great mark of predestination, and a grace which God only grants to those whom he will save.
I see also, my Mother, that I am indeed under great obligations to your Son. I see that he merits infinite love. You, who desire nothing else but to see him loved, have to obtain me this grace above all others; obtain me great love for Jesus Christ. You obtain all that you will from God; ah, then, be graciously pleased to obtain me the grace to be so united to the divine will that I may never more be separated from it. I do not ask of you earthly goods, honors, or riches. I ask you for that which your heart desires most for me. I wish to love my God. Is it possible that you refuse to second this my desire, which is so pleasing to you? Ah no, you already help me; already you pray for me. Pray, pray, and cease not to pray until you see me safe in heaven, beyond the possibility of ever more losing my Lord, and certain to love him forever, together with you, my dearest Mother.
The Magnificat
My soul now magnifies the Lord.
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Because he has regarded the humility of his handmaid;
for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because he that is mighty, has done great things to me;
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
He has shown might in his arm:
he has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their seat,
and has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich he has sent empty away.
He has received Israel his servant,
being mindful of his mercy:
As he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
When Jesus saw his mother standing beside the cross with the disciple whom he loved,
he said to her: Woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple: Behold your mother.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Mary, full of grace, intercede for us.
Father, as your Son was raised on the cross, his mother Mary stood by him, sharing his sufferings. May your Church be united with Christ in his suffering and death and so come to share in his rising to new life, where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
Hail, wonderful dial Ezechias of old
Beheld when the prophet His destiny told;
The Word, That incarnate in you did become,
Receded, descending to man’s lowly home.
Nine choirs He passed of superior powers,
To take up the tenth in this nature of ours.
The beams of this sun Are the light of your face,
And you the aurora Preceding his race.
The serpent that lurks In night’s desperate gloom
You crushed, and caused, All beauties to bloom.
I have caused a never-fading light to rise in heaven;
And like a luminous veil have spread it over the earth.
SATURDAY
Prime
God, come to my assistance
Lord, make haste to help me
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Byzantine Kontakions for the Deceased and for Martyrs
To the souls of Your servants, O Christ, grant rest among the saints, where there is no pain, no sorrow, no mourning, but only life without end.
O Lord, Maker of nature, the world offers You the godly martyrs as the first-fruits of nature. By their supplications, through the Mother of God, preserve Your Church and Your people in profound peace, O most Merciful One.
Hail, Virginal wisdom; hail, mansion of God,
Where sevenfold pillars befit his abode.
All stately without and all perfect within,
He chose Him a dwelling undarkened by sin;
For even before your miraculous birth
you were free from the stain that has sullied the earth.
Mother of all saints Living and dead,
New star that shone Over Israel’s head Sovereign of angels, Terror of hell,
Be you our refuge, Who love you so well.
In His Holy Spirit He created Her
And exalted Her above all His works.
Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy.
And according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my iniquity.
Wash me yet more from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my iniquity,
and my sin is always before me.
To you only have I sinned,
and have done evil before you:
that you may be justified in your words,
and may overcome when you are judged.
For behold I was conceived in iniquities;
and in sins did my mother conceive me.
For behold you have loved truth:
the uncertain and hidden things of your wisdom you have made manifest to me.
You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed:
you shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
To my hearing you shall give joy and gladness:
and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create a clean heart in me, O God:
and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
Cast me not away from your face;
and take not your holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of your salvation,
and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
I will teach the unjust your ways:
and the wicked shall be converted to you.
Deliver me from blood, O God,
God of my salvation:
and my tongue shall extol your justice.
O Lord, you will open my lips:
and my mouth shall declare your praise.
For if you had desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it:
with burnt offerings you will not be delighted.
A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit:
a contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not despise.
Deal favorably, O Lord, in your good will with Zion;
that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
Then shall you accept the sacrifice of justice,
oblations and whole burnt offerings:
then shall they lay calves upon your altar.
The Trisagion
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Angel’s prayer at Fatima
It is truly right to bless you, O God-bearing One, as the ever-blessed and immaculate Mother of our God. More honorable than the cherubim and by far more glorious than the seraphim; ever a virgin, you gave birth to God the Word, O true Mother of God, we magnify you.
O my God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee. I ask pardon for those who do not
believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.
St. Pere Raphael
Hail, holy Queen of the Heavens. Hail, holy Queen of the Angels. Hail, Root of Jesse. Hail, Gate of Heaven. By you the Light has entered the world. Rejoice, glorious Virgin, Beautiful among all women. Hail, radiant Splendor, Intercede with Christ for us.
Holy Mary, my Queen and sovereign Lady, I give you myself, trusting in your fidelity and your protection. I surrender myself entirely to your motherly tenderness, my body, my soul, all that I am, all that I possess, for the whole of this day, for every moment of my life, and especially at the hour of my death. I entrust to you once more all my hopes, all my consolations, all my anxieties, all my troubles, my life, my dying breath, so that by your prayers and merits, I may have, in all I do, one only goal, your good pleasure and the holy will of your Son.
Psalm 92
Antiphon: Blessed are you, O Mary, for the world’s salvation came forth through you; now in
glory, you rejoice for ever with the Lord.
It is good to give praise to the Lord:
and sing to your name, O most High.
To show forth your mercy in the morning,
and your truth in the night:
Upon an instrument of ten strings,
upon the psaltery: with a canticle upon the harp.
For you have given me, O Lord, a delight in your doings:
and in the works of your hands I shall rejoice.
O Lord, how great are your works!
your thoughts are exceeding deep.
The senseless man shall not know:
nor will the fool understand these things.
When the wicked shall spring up as grass:
and all the workers of iniquity shall appear:
That they may perish for ever and ever:
but you, O Lord, are most high for evermore.
For behold your enemies, O Lord,
for behold your enemies shall perish:
and all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
But my horn shall be exalted like that of the unicorn:
and my old age in plentiful mercy.
My eye also has looked down upon my enemies:
and my ear shall hear of the downfall
of the malignant that rise up against me.
The just shall flourish like the palm tree:
he shall grow up like the cedar of Lebanon.
They that are planted in the house of the Lord
shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God.
They shall still increase in a fruitful old age:
and shall be well treated, that they may show,
That the Lord our God is righteous,
and there is no iniquity in him.
Antiphon: The Virgin Mary is exalted above the choirs of angels; let all believers rejoice and bless the Lord.
Ezekiel 36
For I will take you from among the Gentiles, and will gather you together out of all
the countries, and will bring you into your own land. And I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness, and I will cleanse you from all your idols. And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in the midst of you: and I will cause you to walk in my commandments, and to keep my judgments, and do them. And you shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Psalm 8
Antiphon: The Lord has made you so glorious that your praise will never cease to resound among men.
O Lord our Lord, how admirable is your name in the whole earth!
For your magnificence is elevated above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of infants and of
sucklings you have perfected praise,
because of your enemies, that you may destroy the
enemy and the avenger.
For I will behold your heavens, the works of your fingers:
the moon and the stars which you have founded.
What is man that you are mindful of him?
or the son of man that you visit him?
You have made him a little less than the angels,
you have crowned him with glory and honor:
and have set him over the works of your hands.
You have subjected all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen:
moreover the beasts also of the fields.
the birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea,
that pass through the paths of the sea.
O Lord our Lord, how admirable is your name in all the earth!
Isaiah 61
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God: for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation: and with the robe of justice he has covered me, as a bridegroom decked with a crown, and as a bride adorned with her jewels.
Revelation 12
And 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.
Judith 13
And they all adored the Lord, and said to her: The Lord has blessed you by his power, because by you he has brought our enemies to nought. And Uzziah the prince of the people of Israel, said to her: Blessed are you, O Daughter, by the Lord the most high God, above all women upon the earth. Blessed be the Lord who made heaven and earth, who has directed you to the cutting off the head of the prince of our enemies. Because he has so magnified your name this day, that your praise shall not depart out of the mouth of men who shall be mindful of the power of the Lord for ever, for that you have not spared your life, by reason of the distress and tribulation of your people, but have prevented our ruin in the presence of our God. And all the people said: So be it, so be it.
Radbert
Today the glorious, ever-virgin Mary ascends to heaven. I urge you to rejoice, for, if I may so put it, she has been raised up in an ineffable way to be with Christ who reigns for ever. The Queen of the world is today taken from the earth and from this present evil time. I say again: rejoice, because she who is sure of her imperishable glory has reached the palace of heaven. Exalt, I say, and rejoice, and let the whole world rejoice, because this day Salvation has drawn nearer for as all… “Hail, Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women.” It was fitting that the Virgin should be given such gifts and be full of grace, since she has bestowed glory on heaven and has brought God and peace to the earth, faith to pagans, an end to vice, order to life, and discipline to morals. And it was right that an angel be sent to the Virgin, because virginity always means kingship with the angels… “Rejoice,” the angel says, “for you are full of grace.” Yes, full! for while a share of grace was given to others, the undiminished fullness of grace was poured into Mary.
The Virgin Mary was taken up to heaven. For all eternity she shares the victory of Christ. The Virgin Mary was taken up to heaven.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.
The Virgin Mary was taken up to heaven.
Tridentine Introit
Drop down dew, you heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just: let the earth be opened and bud forth a Savior. Lord, You have blessed Your land: You have turned away the captivity of Jacob.
The Song of Zechariah
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
because he has visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
And has raised up an horn of salvation to us,
in the house of David his servant:
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:
Salvation from our enemies,
and from the hand of all that hate us:
To perform mercy to our fathers,
and to remember his holy testament,
The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
In holiness and justice before him, all our days.
And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest:
for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
To give knowledge of salvation to his people,
unto the remission of their sins:
Through the bowels of the mercy of our God,
in which the Orient from on high has visited us:
To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death:
to direct our feet into the way of peace.
This daughter of Jerusalem is lovely and beautiful as she ascends to heaven like the rising sun at daybreak.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
All-powerful and ever-living God, you raised the sinless Virgin Mary, mother of your Son, body and soul to the glory of heaven. May we see heaven as our final goal and come to share her glory. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
SATURDAY
Vespers
God, come to my assistance
Lord, make haste to help me
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Byzantine Prokimen Vespers
The Lord is reigning, He is clothed with beauty. The Lord is clothed with power, and has girded Himself. For He has so firmly established the earth that it will not be overthrown. Holiness becomes Your house, O Lord, forever.
God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me.
I have sinned without number, forgive me, O Lord.
St. Germanus of Constantinople
My Lady, my refuge, life and help, my armor and my boast, my hope and my strength, grant that I may enjoy the ineffable, inconceivable gifts of your Son, your God and our God, in the heavenly kingdom. For I know surely that you have power to do as you will, since you are Mother of the Most High. Therefore, Lady Most Pure, I beg you that I may not be disappointed in my expectations but may obtain them, O spouse of God, who bore him who is the expectation of all: Our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and Master of all things, visible and invisible, to whom belongs all glory, honor, and respect, now and always and through endless ages. Amen.
Psalm 122
Antiphon: Mary has been taken up to heaven; the angels rejoice.
They bless the Lord and sing his praises.
I rejoiced at the things that were said to me:
We shall go into the house of the Lord.
Our feet were standing in your courts, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, which is built as a city, which is compact together.
For thither did the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord:
the testimony of Israel, to praise the name of the Lord.
Because their seats have sat in judgment,
seats upon the house of David.
Pray for the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem:
and abundance for them that love you.
Let peace be in your strength:
and abundance in your towers.
For the sake of my brethren, and of my neighbors,
I spoke peace of you.
Because of the house of the Lord our God,
I have sought good things for you.
Psalm 130
Antiphon: Through Eve the gates of heaven were closed to all mankind:
through the Virgin Mother they were opened wide again.
Out of the depths I have cried to you, O Lord:
Lord hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If you, O Lord, will mark iniquities:
Lord, who shall stand it?
For with you is merciful forgiveness:
and by reason of your law, I have waited for you, O Lord.
My soul has relied on his word:
my soul has hoped in the Lord.
From the morning watch even until night,
let Israel hope in the Lord.
Because with the Lord there is mercy:
and with him plentiful redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Philippians 2
Antiphon: The Virgin Mary has been exalted above all the heavens;
come, let all men glorify Christ the King, whose kingdom will endure for ever.
For let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant,
being made in the likeness of men,
and in the habit found as a man.
He humbled himself,
becoming obedient unto death,
even to the death of the cross.
For which cause God also has exalted him,
and has given him a name which is above all names:
That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth:
and that every tongue should confess
that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.
Romans 5
Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned. For until the law sin was in the world; but sin was not imputed, when the law was not. But death reigned from Adam unto Moses, even over them also who have not sinned after the similitude of the transgression of Adam, who is a figure of him who was to come. But not as the offence, so also the gift. For if by the offence of one, many died; much more the grace of God, and the gift, by the grace of one man, Jesus Christ, has abounded unto many. And not as it was by one sin, so also is the gift. For judgment indeed was by one unto condemnation; but grace is of many offenses, unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned through one; much more they who receive abundance of grace, and of the gift, and of justice, shall reign in life through one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offence of one, unto all men to condemnation; so also by the justice of one, unto all men to justification of life. For as by the disobedience of one man, many were made sinners; so also by the obedience of one, many shall be just. Now the law entered in, that sin might abound. And where sin abounded, grace did more abound. That as sin has reigned to death; so also grace might reign by justice unto life everlasting, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
St. Germanus of Constantinople
Truly, yes truly, and again I shall say in thanksgiving: even though you have left us, you have not deserted the Christian race. You who are like incorruptible life have not abandoned our mortal world, but on the contrary you draw near to those who call upon your name. You are found by those who faithfully seek you. And these visions indicate a living and continually active spirit and an everlasting body. For how could dissolution of the body return you to dust and ashes, you who delivered the human race from the destruction of death through the incarnation of your Son?
Indeed you left our earth to prove that the mystery of the awe-inspiring incarnation was really fulfilled. The fact that you waited for the natural end of human life would convince the world that the God who was born of you came into being also as perfect man, the Son of a true Mother, who was subject to the laws and constraints of nature, by divine decree and the requirement of an earthly lifetime. As one who possessed a human body you could not escape death, the common fate of humanity.Thus even your Son, though God of all things, even he, through sharing, so to speak, the mortality of all our race, TASTED a similar bodily DEATH. It was clearly in the same way as he made his own life-giving tomb that he made your sepulcher wonderful also, as the tomb of your falling asleep, a tomb which received life; therefore both tombs really received your bodies, but could in no way affect them with corruption. For nor could you, as the vessel which contained God, waste away to dust in the destruction of death.
For since he who humbled himself in you was God from beginning and eternal life, so the Mother of Life was to share the dwelling of Life, to accept her death like a sleep and consent to her translation like a waking, as the Mother of Life. For just as a child seeks and longs for its own mother, and the mother loves to spend her time with her child, so it was right that you, with your maternal love for your Son and God, should return to him. And it was right too that God, preserving a Son’s love for you, should make his companionship with you into a perpetual association. In this way, then, you suffered the death of finite beings and the translation to the immortal way of life of eternal beings where God dwells; and because you are his companion, Mother of God, you do not abandon your life with him.
Pius XII
The august Mother of God was mysteriously united from all eternity with Jesus Christ in one and the same decree of predestination, immaculate in her conception, a virgin inviolate in her divine motherhood, the whole hearted companion of the divine Redeemer who won complete victory over sin and its consequences. Thus, she gained at last the supreme crown of her privileges–to be preserved immune from the corruption of the tomb, and like her Son, when death had been conquered, to be carried up body and soul to the exalted glory of heaven, there to sit in splendor at the right hand of her Son, the immortal King of the ages.
The Virgin Mary is exalted above the choirs of angels
Blessed is the Lord who has raised her up.
Above the choirs of the angels.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.
The Virgin Mary is exalted above the choirs of angels.
As Mary is taken up to heaven, the angels of God rejoice.
They worship the Lord and sing his praises.
The angels of God rejoice.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.
As Mary is taken up to heaven, the angels of God rejoice.
Angel’s prayer at Fatima
Most Holy Trinity–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.
St. Alphonsus
O my most holy Mother. I see the graces which you have obtained for me; and I see the ingratitude of which I have been guilty towards you. An ungrateful soul is no longer worthy of favors; but I will not on this account distrust your mercy, which is greater than my ingratitude. O my great advocate, pity me. You dispense all the graces which God grants to us miserable creatures, and for this purpose he has made you so powerful, so rich, and so benign. He has done so, that you might succor us in our miseries. Ah, Mother of mercy, leave me not in my poverty. You are the advocate of the most miserable and guilty criminals who have recourse to you; defend me also, who recommend myself to you. Say not that my cause is too difficult to be gained; for all causes, however desperate, when defended by you are gained. In your hands, then, do I place my eternal salvation; to you do I intrust my soul: it was lost; you, then, by your intercession have to save it. I wish to be inscribed among your most devoted servants; reject me not. You seek the miserable to relieve them; abandon me not, who am a wretched sinner, and who have recourse to you. Speak for me; your Son does all that you ask him. Take me under your protection; that is all that I ask. Yes; for if you protect me, I fear nothing. I do not fear my sins; for you will obtain me a remedy for the evil they have done me. I do not fear the devils; for you are more powerful than all hell. I do not even fear Jesus my Judge himself; for by a single prayer of yours he is appeased. I only fear that by my negligence I may cease to recommend myself to you, and thus be lost. It is true that these graces are too great for me, who have not deserved them; but they are not too great for you, who are so much loved by God. Hence he grants you all that you ask. You have only to speak, and he denies you nothing. Pray, then, to Jesus for me; tell him that you protect me; and then he is sure to pity me. My Mother, in you too I do trust; in this hope I shall live in peace, and in it I wish to die.Live Jesus our love, and Mary our hope!
The Magnificat
My soul now magnifies the Lord.
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Because he has regarded the humility of his handmaid;
for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because he that is mighty, has done great things to me;
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
He has shown might in his arm:
he has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their seat,
and has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich he has sent empty away.
He has received Israel his servant,
being mindful of his mercy:
As he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
Today the Virgin Mary was taken up to heaven;
rejoice, for she reigns with Christ for ever.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Mary, full of grace, intercede for us.
All-powerful and ever-living God, you raised the sinless Virgin Mary, mother of your Son, body and soul to the glory of heaven. May we see heaven as our final goal and come to share her glory. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
St. Louis de Montfort
Eternal and incarnate Wisdom, most lovable and adorable Jesus, true God and true man, only Son of the eternal Father and of Mary always Virgin, I adore you profoundly, dwelling in the splendor of our Father from all eternity and in the virginal womb of Mary, your most worthy Mother, at the time of your Incarnation.I thank you for having emptied yourself in assuming the condition of a slave to set me free from the cruel slavery of the evil one.
I praise and glorify you for having willingly chosen to obey Mary, your holy Mother, in all things, so that through her I may be your faithful slave of love.
But I must confess that I have not kept the vows and promises which I made to you so solemnly at my baptism. I have not fulfilled my obligations, and I do not deserve to be called or child or even your slave.
Since I cannot lay claim to anything except what merits your rejection and displeasure, I dare no longer approach the holiness of your majesty on my own. That is why I turn to the intercession and the mercy of your holy Mother, whom you yourself have given me to mediate with you. Through her I hope to obtain from you contrition and pardon for my sins, and that Wisdom whom I desire to dwell in me always.
I turn to you, then, Mary immaculate, living tabernacle of God, in whom Eternal Wisdom willed to receive the adoration of both men and angels. I greet you as Queen of heaven and earth, for all that is under God has been made subject to your sovereignty.
I call upon you, the unfailing refuge of sinners, confident in your mercy that has never forsaken anyone.Grant my desire for divine Wisdom and, in support of my petition, accept the promises and the offering of myself which I now make, conscious of my unworthiness. I, an unfaithful sinner, renew and ratify today through you my baptismal promises. I renounce forever Satan, his empty promises, and his evil designs, and I give myself completely to Jesus Christ, the incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after him for the rest of my life, and to be more faithful to him than I have been till now. This day, with the whole court of heaven as witness, I choose you, Mary, as my Mother and Queen. I surrender and consecrate myself to you, body and soul, as your slave, with all that I possess, both spiritual and material, even including the value of all my good actions, past, present and to come. I give you the full right to dispose of me and all that belongs to me, without any reservations, in whatever way you please, for the greater glory of God in time and throughout eternity.
Accept, gracious Virgin, this little offering of my slavery to honor and imitate the obedience which Eternal Wisdom willing chose to have towards you, his Mother. I wish to acknowledge the authority which both of you have over this little worm and pitiful sinner. By it I wish also to thank God for the privileges bestowed on you by the Blessed Trinity. I declare that for the future I will try to honor and obey you in all things as your true slave of love.
O admirable Mother, present me to your dear Son as his slave now and for always, so that he who redeemed me thorough you, will now receive me through you. Mother of mercy, grant me the favor of obtaining the true Wisdom of God, and so make me one of those whom you love, teach and guide, whom you nourish and protect as your children and slaves.
Virgin most faithful, make me in everything so committed a disciple, imitator, and slave of Jesus, your Son, incarnate Wisdom, that I may become, through your intercession and example, fully mature with the fullness which Jesus possessed on earth, and with the fullness of his glory in heaven.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
Hail, wonderful dial Ezechias of old
Beheld when the prophet His destiny told;
The Word, That incarnate in you did become,
Receded, descending to man’s lowly home.
Nine choirs He passed of superior powers,
To take up the tenth in this nature of ours.
The beams of this sun Are the light of your face,
And you the aurora Preceding his race.
The serpent that lurks In night’s desperate gloom
You crushed, and caused, All beauties to bloom.
I have caused a never-fading light to rise in heaven;
And like a luminous veil have spread it over the earth.
Terce
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.
Amen.
Hail, Ark of the Covenant, Solomon’s throne
The rainbow you are through the Deluge that shone.
Bright bush of the vision, fair flowering rod!
Sweet morsel of Samson, sealed closet of God!
O, how befitting The Wisdom divine
To prepare for Himself A nature like Thine!
To which not a speck Of the error of Eve,
That taints all beside, For a moment could cleave.
My dwelling is in the highest heavens;
And my throne I have placed above the clouds.
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.
Amen.
Hail, Virginal Mother, hail, temple divine;
The glory of angels and purity’s shrine;
Hail, comfort of mourners, bright garden of joy;
Whose beauties the songs of all angels employ.
The type of your patience is victory’s palm;
your chastity’s figure the fragrance of balm.
Oh, blessed the clay Out of which you were wrought,
So utterly free From original blot,
Oh, city exalted. Bright orient gate,
What graces unite In your singular state!
Like a lily in the midst of thorns.
So among Adam’s daughters is my beloved.
Nones
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.
Amen.
Hail, city of refuge, the safety of all;
Hail tower of David, impregnable wall;
All flaming with zeal for man in his woe,
You crushed the head of his Stygian foe.
Invincible woman, Than Judith more bold,
Fair Abisag cherishing David of old;
Rachel a saviour To one people gave;
You a redeemer All nations to save.
All fair are you, my beloved.
And there was never a stain of Adam’s sin in you.
Compline
May Jesus Christ, Your Son, at Your intercession convert us.
And turn away His anger
from us for ever.
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.
Amen.
Hail, Virgin productive, yet mother unstained;
A Virgin brought forth yet a Virgin
remained.
No crown was e’er given to creature, like Thine,
Twelve stars are the gems
in its circle that shine.
Above all the angels, Immaculate, pure,
At the right hand of the
king You shall sit evermore.
O Mother, through you, The sinner’s great hope,
Bright
star of the sea, May paradise ope,
And thus, in the mansions, Of peace and of rest
with the sight of your Son May our vision be blessed.
Like fluent oil, O Mary, is your name.
And your servants have loved you, O how
much!
***
Sweet Virgin, we offer On suppliant knee
These prayers that the Church Has devoted to thee.
O Mary, conduct us In happiness’ way
And at the last hour Assist us, we pray,
There is a bough in which no blur of either kind,
original Or wrought hath touched the virgin rind.
In your conception, O virgin, you were immaculate.Pray for us to the Father, whose
Son you didst bear.
O God, Who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary did prepare a worthy habitation for your Son, we beseech you that as, by the foresight of His death, you did exempt Her from all stain so we, purified by her intercession, may come to you; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns world without end. Amen.
***
Matins
Come, O my voice, and let us raise
To heaven’s bright Queen a song of praise.
Propitious thought, O Mother, send us.
And from the dreadful foe defend us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Hail, mistress of earth; hail, heavenly queen!
Hail, Virgin of virgins, all chaste and serene!
Bright star of the morning, the light of whose face,
Reflects His effulgence, who filled you with grace.
O sovereign of angels, come quickly, we pray,
And drive every ill, that besets us away.
You from eternity God did ordain,
Over His household As mistress to reign;
You He predestined The mother to be
Of Him who created Earth, heaven and sea;
You He elected The spouse of His Heart.
Because in our sin You never had part.
God elected and prepared Her;
And gave His own tabernacle for a dwelling.
O Holy Mary, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Queen of Heaven and Mistress of the world, who never forsakes nor despises anyone, look upon us with an eye of pity and beg of your beloved Son the pardon of all our sins that we who now devoutly celebrate your Immaculate Conception may receive the reward of eternal joy through the mercy of Jesus Christ our Lord, whom you, pure Virgin, did bring into the world, and who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit in perfect Trinity, lives and reigns one God, world without end. Amen.
O Mother, turn a mother’s ear.
And kindly our petitions hear.
Blessed be the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May the souls of the faithful departed through the Mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.