First Saturday to Our Lady

 

This is Saturday; let us turn to Mary, who was made for us Gentiles the seat of Wisdom. In her chaste womb was wrought the mystery of mercy, which had been the expectation of all the long ages past. Her most pure blood provided the substance of that spotless Body wherewith the most beautiful of the sons of men contracted the indissoluble alliance of our nature with eternal Wisdom. Mary's soul is enraptured at seeing the ineffable mystery of these divine nuptials effected in her chaste womb. She is that enclosed garden, where, more delightedly than in the early days of the universe, Wisdom enjoys light and love; the flowery couch of the Canticle (Cant. 1-15), perfumed, by the Holy Spirit, with the sweetest fragrance; the glorious tabernacle, incomparably more holy than that of Moses. It is within her, under the immaculate veil of her flesh, that, by the unspeakable embrace of the two natures in the unity of God's only-begotten Son, the Holy Ghost pours forth the unction, which makes Him Spouse, and, at the same time, Priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech.

Taken from 'The Liturgical Year', by Abbot Gueranger


Ave Maris Stella (Star of the Sea)
Ave Maris Stella, Dei Mater alma,
Atque semper Virgo, Felix caeli porta.
Sumens illud Ave, Gabrielis ore,
Funda nos in pace, Mutans Hevae nomen.
Solve vincla reis, Profer lumen caecis,
Mala nostra pelle, Bona cuncta posce.
Monstra te esse matrem, Sumat per te preces,
Qui pro nobis natus, Tulit esse tuus.
Virgo singularis, Inter omnes mitis,
Nos culpis solutos, Mites fac et castos.
Vitam praesta puram, Iter para tutum,
Ut videntes Jesum, Semper collaetemur.
Sit laus Deo Patri, Summo Christo decus,
Spiritui Sancto, Tribus honor unus. Amen



Hail, bright star of ocean,
God's own Mother blest,
Ever sinless Virgin,
Gate of heavenly rest.

Taking that sweet Ave
Which from Gabriel came,
Peace confirm within us,
Changing Eva's name.

Break the captives' fetters,
Light on blindness pour,
All our ills expelling,
Every bliss implore.

Show thyself a Mother;
May the Word Divine,
Born for us thy Infant,
Hear our prayers through thine.

Virgin all excelling,
Mildest of the mild,
Freed from guilt, preserve us,
Pure and undefiled.

Keep our life all spotless,
Make our way secure,
Till we find in Jesus,
Joy forevermore.

Through the highest heaven
To the Almighty Three,
Father, Son and Spirit,
One same glory be. Amen.


And the virgin's name, wrote Luke, was Mary. Let us speak of this name for a few moments. It is said to mean "Star of the Sea," a name applied most appropriately to the Virgin Mary. She is compared most aptly to a star. As a star emits its rays without loss of its essential nature, so the Virgin Mary without loss of her virginity, brings forth her Son. Neither do the rays lessen the brightness of the star, nor the Son the inviolateness of the Virgin. She is the glorious star which rose our of Jacob, whose rays light up the whole world, whose brilliance gleams in heaven, penetrates to hell. She floods the whole earth with her light, warms minds rather than bodies, fosters virtues, melts away sins. She, I say, is that brilliant shining star lifted in nature above this vast and boundless sea, gleaming with merits, enlightening by her example.

Whoever you are, when you find yourself tossed by storms and tempests upon this world's raging water's, rather than walking upon firm dry land, never take your eyes from the brightness of this star lest you be overwhelmed by the storm. When the winds of temptation blow, when you run upon the rocks of disaster, look to the star. Cry out to Mary! If you are cast away upon the waves of pride or ambition of detraction or jealousy, look to the star. Cry out to Mary! When anger, avarice, or the lusts of the flesh assail the ship of your mind, look up to Mary. When you are worried by the enormity of your sins, troubled by a confused conscience, or terrified by the horrors of the judgment to come, when you begin to drown in the bottomless pit of sorrow or sink in the abyss of despair, think of Mary.

In danger, in difficulties, in doubts, think of Mary. Call upon Mary! Never let her name be absent from your lips or absent from your heart. If you would obtain the help of her prayers, do not neglect to follow the example of her conduct. If you follow her, you will not stray; if you pray to her, you need not despair. If you think of her, you will not err; sustained by her, you need not fear; guided by her, you will walk without weariness. If she smiles upon you, you will succeed. You will experience in your own heart with what justice it is said: and the Virgin's name was Mary. The Roman Pontiff, Innocent XI, ordered the feast of this most venerable name, which special devotion in certain parts of Christendom, be celebrated annually by the universal Church. This feast was to be a perpetual memorial to that great deliverance of the Christian people, won through the intercession of Mary help of Christians, form the inhuman tyranny of the Turks who trampled upon their necks--that remarkable victory won at Vienna in Austria.




The Litany of Our Lady of Loreto
If you can't make it to Church, at least you can do this, even while sitting here:

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.


God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us

Holy Mary, 'pray for us'*.
Holy Mother of God, *
Holy Virgin of virgins, *
Mother of Christ, *
Mother of divine grace, *
Mother most pure, *
Mother most chaste, *
Mother inviolate, *
Mother undefiled, *
Mother immaculate, *
Mother most amiable, *
Mother most admirable, *
Mother of good counsel, *
Mother of our Creator, *
Mother of our Savior, *
Mother of the Church, *

Virgin most prudent, *
Virgin most venerable, *
Virgin most renowned, *
Virgin most powerful, *
Virgin most merciful, *
Virgin most faithful, *

Mirror of justice, *
Seat of wisdom, *
Cause of our joy, *
Spiritual vessel, *
Vessel of honor, *
Singular vessel of devotion, *
Mystical rose, *
Tower of David, *
Tower of ivory, *
House of gold, *
Ark of the covenant, *
Gate of heaven, *
Morning star, *
Health of the sick, *
Refuge of sinners, *
Comforter of the afflicted, *
Help of Christians, *

Queen of angels, *
Queen of patriarchs, *
Queen of prophets, *
Queen of apostles, *
Queen of martyrs, *
Queen of confessors, *
Queen of virgins, *
Queen of all saints, *

Queen conceived without original sin, *
Queen assumed into heaven, *
Queen of the most holy rosary, *
Queen of peace, *

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

Grant unto us, Thy servants, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, that we may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body; and by the intercession of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may be freed from the sorrows of this present life, and enter into that joy which has no end. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

(During the Month of October)

V. Pray for us, O Queen of the most holy Rosary.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray. O God, whose only-begotten Son, through his life, death and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation, grant, we beseech Thee, that by meditating upon these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they contain, and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
(If Vatican II did ANYTHING right, it was that it proclaimed Our Lady as 'Mother of the Church', and I put it after 'Mother of Our Creator, and Mother of Our Saviour', because then we have her being the Mother of the Holy Trinity)


The following is something else we can do on the First Saturdays. We need all the help we can get.

 
Act Of Consecration To The Immaculate Heart Of Mary

An indulgence of 3 years. (A Plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, if repeated daily for a month)

Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, Refuge of the Human Race, Victress in all God’s battles, we humbly prostrate ourselves before your throne, confident that we shall receive mercy, grace and bountiful assistance and protection in the present calamity, not through our own inadequate merits, but solely through the great goodness of your Maternal Heart.

To you, to your Immaculate Heart, in this, humanity’s tragic hour, we consign and consecrate ourselves in union not only with the Mystical Body of you Son, Holy Mother Church, now in such suffering and agony in so many places and sorely tried in so many ways, but also with the entire world, torn by fierce strife, consumed in a fire of hate, victim of its own wickedness.

May the sight of the widespread material and moral destruction, of the sorrows and anguish of countless fathers and mothers, husbands and wives , brothers and sisters and innocent children, of the great number of lives cut off in the flower of youth, of the bodies mangled in horrible slaughter and of the tortured and agonized souls in danger of being lost eternally, move you to compassion.

O Mother of Mercy, obtain peace for us from God and above all, procure for us those graces which prepare, establish and assure the peace.

Queen of Peace, pray for us and give to the world, now at war the peace for which all peoples are longing; peace in the truth, justice and charity of Christ. Give peace to the warring nations and to the souls of men that in the tranquility of order the Kingdom of God may prevail.

Extend your protection to the infidels and to all those still in the shadow of death; give them peace and grant that on them, too, may shine the sun of truth, that they may unite with us in proclaiming before the one and only Savior of the World: “Glory to God in the highest and peace to men of good will.”

Give peace to the peoples separated by error or by discord and especially to those who profess such singular devotion to you and in whose homes an honored place was ever accorded your venerated image (today perhaps often kept hidden to await better days): bring them back to the one fold of Christ under the one true Shepherd.

Obtain peace and complete freedom for the Holy Church of God: stay the spreading flood of modern paganism; enkindle in the faithful the love of purity, the practice of the Christian life and an apostolic zeal, so that the servants of God may increase in merit and number.

Lastly, as the Church and the entire human race were consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so that in reposing all hope in Him, He might become for them the sign and pledge of victory and salvation; so we in like manner consecrate ourselves forever also to you and to your Immaculate Heart, our Mother and our Queen, that your love and patronage may hasten the triumph of the Kingdom of God and that all nations, at peace with one another and with God, ,may proclaim you blessed and with you may raise their voices to resound from pole to pole in the chant of the everlasting Magnificat of glory, love and gratitude to the Heart of Jesus, where alone they can find truth and peace.