First Saturday in honor of Mary

This is Our Lady of Quito, in Ecuador. It is representing her seven sorrows that were predicted by holy Simeon in the temple. It is said that in 1906, in Quito at a boarding school something miraculous happened. Some of the boys were thinking about pious things when they were in the chapel. One little boy looked at this picture at this time, and the eyes of the Virgin blinked at him. Others had the same thing happen, and many conversions were made, to make a long story shorter. I think this picture makes us think about this season even more. At the current time, I'm reading a book called 'The Foot of the Cross', written by Fr. Faber in 1896. He is stating that the dolors (sorrows) of Mary were the greatest pains Our Lord felt. I mean, who doesn't feel something when seeing someone cry, or feeling their pain? We would do whatever we could to alleviate it, wouldn't we? And, these two were so much more than we can ever imagine with our limited sense of knowing anything concerning God and His universe. Since this is first Saturday, I'm going to add this sequence taken from the Cluny missal. Let us have recourse to Mary the refuge of sinners:


Hail Mary, full of grace! dear Mother of Jesus, and hope of the world!

O gate of heaven! O temple of God! O haven of the sea, where sinners confidently seek shelter and repose.

Thou art the worthy bride of the great King, and, by thy powerful prayers, thou art kind and loving to all.

Thou art light to the blind, and a sure path to such as are lame. Thou art, by thy loving affection, both Martha and Mary to the needy.

Thou wast the flower among the thorns; the flower that, by its rich graces, bloomed to the divine Flower, thy Jesus.

Thou didst speak thy word, and then conceivedst the Word; thou didst give birth to the King of kings, thou that wast a Virgin.

Thou wast ever faithful to this King, thy Child; and, using a mother's privilege, thou didst feed him at thy breast.

Now, thou art united with Him, and in reward for thy merits, thou art made the Queen of heaven and earth.

Then pray for us, O Queen, to Him that is our King, beseeching Him to pardon us poor fallen sinners.

Show us thy wonted clemency, and, having obtained us the new life of remission of our sins, bring us to the kingdom, there to reign for ever. Amen.