DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS FOR MAY  2009

+A May Meditation as we celebrate and honour our Most Blessed Lady+

HOLY MARY, Holy in body and soul; Holy because of thy incomparable and eternal devotion to the service of God; Holy in thy great rank of Mother of God.  MOTHER OF GOD and our Mother, our Advocate and Mediatrix, we beg thee grant that we may be reconciled with God’s infinite Majesty. PRAY FOR US SINNERS, Thou who art always filled with compassion for those in need; thou who wilt never despise sinners or turn them away – for but for us sinners thou wouldst never have been Mother of the Redeemer. Pray for us NOW, during this short life so fraught with sorrow and uncertainty. Pray for us because we can be sure of nothing except the present moment. Pray for us now AND AT THE HOUR OF OUR DEATH when our strength is waning and our spirits sinking, and our souls and bodies are worn out with fear and pain. Pray for us at the turning point when the die will be cast once and for all – and our lot will be forever heaven or hell. Come to the help of thy poor children, gentle Mother of Pity: and protect us, our Advocate and Refuge of sinners, at the hour of our death. Light our path through the valley of the shadow of death. Please, Mother, lead us to thy Son’s Judgment Seat and do not forsake us there. Intercede for us and ask thy Son to forgive us and let us into the ranks of the blessed in the realm of everlasting glory. So be it+    (Saint Louis de Montfort)
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Bishop Anthony writes: Were it not for Almighty God’s infinite mercy and compassion in sending Jesus (by that great Compact between Father and Son) to redeem the world, Mary indeed would not have become the Mother of our Saviour – and thus, because Christ is God, Mother of the living God. The first part of the Hail Mary is the Angelic Salutation by which the Archangel Gabriel greeted Mary. By his saying “The Lord is with thee” and by Mary’s assent, the Holy Spirit entered the immaculate womb of Our Lady. The above devotion to Our Lady, the second part of the Hail Mary, honours our Holy Mother and implores her to aid us in this earthly life and lead us to heaven. Jesus and Mary are intimately and eternally linked in the unspeakable love of Son and Mother, and it is thus that we may go in confidence to Mary who never rejects anyone who loves Jesus. When Saint Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin, blessed her in her dignity as Mother of God (“..that the Mother of my Lord should come to me”) Mary instantly returned this praise to God (“My soul doth magnify the Lord..”) We know then that our prayers to Mary will always help us, for Jesus loves us to approach His Mother; and we know too, from Our Lady’s own lips, that every prayer and praise we offer  her, is instantly returned by her to God.
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Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ: move us to take refuge in Thy most Holy Mother. If we be so unfortunate as to lose Thy grace, help us to flee to Mary, our City of Refuge, for she will always lead us to Thee. This we pray through the same, our Lord Jesus Christ. +Amen+
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Amd a Passing Thought

Now the Lord has established a refuge of mercy, MARY, even for those who deliberately commit evil. MARY provides shelter and strength for the sinner.  (Saint Anthony of Padua)

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OUR LADY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS, VOUCHSAFE THAT WE MIGHT EVER PRAISE THEE!
MARY, MORNING STAR AND GATE OF HEAVEN, WE SINNERS CRY TO THEE FOR AID!
IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY, O BE OUR SALVATION!

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Forsake her not and she will watch over you; love her, and she will protect you. [Proverbs 4. v. 6]
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