Daily Prayer in Lent: Friday of the Third Week

Sacred Heart: Smith Catholic Art

(On most days of Lent we'll be praying from the psalms but today is the First Friday of the month, on which day this blog turns to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in prayer...)

In Lent we prepare to celebrate the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus.  From the moment he was conceived in Mary's womb, the heart of Jesus beat for us in love, compassion and mercy until that same heart stopped in his sacrifice of everything that we might have life and have it to the full.  Even now, the heart of the Risen Jesus' love beats for us and will for all eternity.


Let us pray...

Litany of the Sacred Heart

Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!

So loving
So humble
So gentle
So compassionate
So faithful
So wise
So patient
So steadfast
So tender
So spacious

Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!

God’s joy
God’s shalom
Harp of the Trinity
Wingbeat of the Spirit
Breath of God
Five-petaled rose

Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!

Womb of justice
Birthplace of peace
Our dearest hope
Longing of our lives

Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!

Freely flowing fountain
Spring of grace
Freshet of forgiveness
Merciful river
Mystical dew

Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!

Warmth of our hearts
Transforming fire
Cosmic furnace
Enflamer of hearts

Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!

Heart of evolution
Beginning and ending
Center of all

Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!

Garden of virtues
Mystical dew
Table and food

Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!

Our refuge
Our shelter
Our comfort
Our rest
Our welcoming breast

Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!

Wounded by love
Pierced by our cruelty
Broken by our hardness
Mystic winepress
Poured out as gift

Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!

Have mercy, gracious heart,
Give us gratefulness
Teach us tenderness
Let us learn to love.

Hear our prayer!

- Wendy Wright

Let us pray...

Lord of all our hearts,
open wide your Heart of mercy
and refresh us with the peace that flows
from the font of your love.
Gracious Lord,
hear and answer our prayer.
Amen.

 
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Surely we're not blind... are we?

Image: reepicheep

The Sundays in Lent in Year A of the Lectionary include some of the greatest stories in the gospels.  Last week we met the woman whom Jesus met at the well.  This coming Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Lent) we encounter a man born blind whom Jesus heals.

This weekends scriptures raise the question of whether or not we truly see.  Do we see as God sees, to the heart, or do we see only the appearance of thing?  Is it possible that, like the Pharisees, we are spiritually blind although our physical vision is intact?


Spend some time with these scriptures, some commentary on them and even a video dramatization, all of which you'll find linked at this earlier post.


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An iPad at the altar

Photo courtesy Don Michele Bigi via the AppleLounge

I have an iPad on order but I don't think I'll be using it at the altar to celebrate Mass.

But judging from these photos, that's what's happening, at least in Italy (story here and H/T to Deacon Greg over at his Bench).

I suspect the alfresco conditions contributed to Dom Michele's decision to go the tech-over-text route.  At least the iPad assumes a relatively discreet position on the table.

I do wonder, however, how an iPad might be used as a prompter for preaching.  I often do last minute edits on my homily between Masses which produces a text that's corrected but not always easy to read.

Have any readers experienced an iPad or other tablet in the sanctuary?

Photo courtesy Don Michele Bigi via the AppleLounge 

 
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Daily Prayer in Lent: Thursday of the Third Week

On most days this Lent, I'll post a psalm here and invite you to pray it in the spirit of St. Bernard's words above.  St. Bernard invites us to keep God's word in our hearts... to let it enter our very being... to feed on its goodness...

How to do that? Here's a simple way.

• Find some quiet time and relax... be aware of God's presence... ask the Holy Spirit to help you to pray...

• You might want to begin with this simple prayer...

• Pray through these verses from Psalm 119 (below) slowly...   (Some words, phrases or verses may be unfamiliar or difficult to understand.  Don't worry about those now- this is a time for prayer, not for bible study)

• Reflect on the psalm you've just prayed...  how does it speak to what's in your heart today?

• Now, go back and pray through the psalm again...  Keep an eye out for a verse that catches your attention...  a verse that particularly challenges or comforts you...  a verse you might want to keep in your heart for the day...  a verse you'd invite to enter your very being...  a verse whose goodness would be food to nourish you all day long...

• Now, close your eyes and just spend some time slowly repeating that verse, perhaps out loud, perhaps in a whisper, perhaps in silence...  let that verse become a part of you...  hide that verse in your heart... take delight in this verse as the word that God has spoken and given to you for your prayer this day...

• Yes, hide the word, the verse, in your heart  --  but you might also write it out on a piece of paper (or in a small notebook, on an index card, or on a Post-it) and put it in your pocket or a place where you'll easily find it...

• Let this word God has spoken and given to you be your prayer, your mantra, for the day...  Ask the Lord to help you remember the verse you've hidden in your heart and to bring it back to you during the day... Repeat it several times whenever it comes to mind...  Refer to your written copy as a reminder...   Let the verse come back to you through the day as people, places and events remind you of it...  If you keep the word of God in this way, it will also keep you...

I encourage you to give this method of prayer at least a few days. I know that it's a way of praying that's been very helpful in my spiritual life and I trust it will benefit you, too. After a few days, you'll become more accustomed to finding the words the Lord is speaking to you, hiding them in your heart, and finding them again as the day goes on... You might want to keep a little log of the verses that stay with you: that can be helpful in recalling them or looking, later, for a verse to keep in your heart, that it might keep you in the Lord's embrace...

And here's some further reflection on praying this way.

From Psalm 119 

Lord, my part
is to keep your word.
I pray from my heart,
remember your promise of mercy.

I consider my ways
and return to yours.
I am more eager
to do what you command.

Though the wicked hem me in,
still I remember your law.
Even at dead of night
I rise to praise your justice.

My friends are those who revere you,
all who keep your decrees.
Lord, your love fills the earth;
teach me your laws.

You have treated your servant well,
just as you promised, Lord.
Teach me the good sense
to put faith in your judgments.

I had gone astray;
now humbled, I keep your word.
You give from your goodness,
teach me how to obey.

I keep all your commands
though the proud smear my name.
They are cold hearted,
but I delight in your law.

Even suffering me
taught me your way.
Your law is better
than untold wealth.


 
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Lent is half over: rejoice!

Stained Glass by Kessler Studios

The Fourth Sunday of Lent is also called Laetare Sunday. The word Laetare is the first word in the entrance song in the Roman Missal for this day's liturgy.  Rose vestments may be worn on this Sunday and only on one other Sunday, midway in Advent. Laetarae Sunday signals the half-way mark of Lenten penance and preparation for celebrating Easter. Here's a recording of the Laetare chant for this day followed by the text in Latin and English.

Laetare, Jerusalem:
Rejoice, O Jerusalem:
et conventum facite omnes qui diligitis eam:
and come together all you that love her:
gaudete cum laetitia, quia in tristitia fuistis:
rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow:
ut exsultetis,
that you may exult,
et satiemini ab uberibus consolationis vestrae.
and be filled from the breasts of your consolation.
- Laetatus sum in his, quae dicta sunt mihi:
- I rejoiced at the things that were said to me:
in domum Domini ibimus.
we shall go into the house of the Lord.
Gloria Patri . . .
Glory to the Father . . .
- Laetare, Jerusalem . . .2009lentpostc
- Rejoice, O Jerusalem . . . .



 
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Daily Prayer in Lent: Wednesday of the Third Week

On most days this Lent, I'll post a psalm here and invite you to pray it in the spirit of St. Bernard's words above.  St. Bernard invites us to keep God's word in our hearts... to let it enter our very being... to feed on its goodness...

How to do that? Here's a simple way.

• Find some quiet time and relax... be aware of God's presence... ask the Holy Spirit to help you to pray...

• You might want to begin with this simple prayer...

• Pray through these verses from Psalm 119 (below) slowly...   (Some words, phrases or verses may be unfamiliar or difficult to understand.  Don't worry about those now- this is a time for prayer, not for bible study)

• Reflect on the psalm you've just prayed...  how does it speak to what's in your heart today?

• Now, go back and pray through the psalm again...  Keep an eye out for a verse that catches your attention...  a verse that particularly challenges or comforts you...  a verse you might want to keep in your heart for the day...  a verse you'd invite to enter your very being...  a verse whose goodness would be food to nourish you all day long...

• Now, close your eyes and just spend some time slowly repeating that verse, perhaps out loud, perhaps in a whisper, perhaps in silence...  let that verse become a part of you...  hide that verse in your heart... take delight in this verse as the word that God has spoken and given to you for your prayer this day...

• Yes, hide the word, the verse, in your heart  --  but you might also write it out on a piece of paper (or in a small notebook, on an index card, or on a Post-it) and put it in your pocket or a place where you'll easily find it...

• Let this word God has spoken and given to you be your prayer, your mantra, for the day...  Ask the Lord to help you remember the verse you've hidden in your heart and to bring it back to you during the day... Repeat it several times whenever it comes to mind...  Refer to your written copy as a reminder...   Let the verse come back to you through the day as people, places and events remind you of it...  If you keep the word of God in this way, it will also keep you...

I encourage you to give this method of prayer at least a few days. I know that it's a way of praying that's been very helpful in my spiritual life and I trust it will benefit you, too. After a few days, you'll become more accustomed to finding the words the Lord is speaking to you, hiding them in your heart, and finding them again as the day goes on... You might want to keep a little log of the verses that stay with you: that can be helpful in recalling them or looking, later, for a verse to keep in your heart, that it might keep you in the Lord's embrace...

And here's some further reflection on praying this way.

From Psalm 119 

Touch me with your love, O Lord,
save me as you promised.
I defy those who taunt me,
for I trust in your word.

Let me speak the whole truth,
for I await your justice.
I keep your word,
now and always.

I go about openly
pursuing your law.
I would speak your word to kings,
and not be ashamed.

For I love your ways
and delight in following them.
I revere your commands
and attend to them.

Remember what you promised me,
I wait in hope.
In sorrow, this is my comfort:
your life-giving word.

The proud keep taunting me,
still I obey your law.
I recall your timeless wisdom.
How it consoles me, Lord!

I rage against the wicked
who desert your law.
In days of exile,
your ways are my song.

At night I honor your name,
Lord, I cherish your law.
This is what counts for me:
to obey your commands.


 
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This wound is too deep for me to heal...

Image source

Again, Alden Solovy offers us a powerful prayer at his site, To Bend Light.

We cross paths with others who are wounded in many different ways -- and we know our own wounds, as well.  Alden's prayer brings us, who easily become lost in our woundedness,  to the One from whom all healing flows.

Let us pray...

This Wound

G-d of my heart,
This wound is too deep for me to heal
Without You,
Your power and Your grace.
Remove the walls of grief that separate me from
Your love and Your blessings.
You call us to life,
To hope,
To service,
To seek and to do,
To heal and to complete Your creation.

G-d of gentle moments,
I surrender my life to
Your awesome works,
Your secret ways.
Reunite me with myself,
With my fellows
And with the world,
To do Your will in humble service.

Blessed are You,
Your love is eternal.

© 2011 Alden Solovy and www.tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

   
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Of horns, oil and a title

If you've already taken some time to read over the scriptures for this coming Sunday, you've seen this verse in the first lesson:

Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed David in the presence of his brothers;
and from that day on, the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David.

The "horn of oil" was a ram's horn (below) in which sacred oil was kept for the purpose of anointing.



The image at the top of this post depicts David's anointing with oil flowing from the horn -- and you can tell from the brothers' scowls that they're a bit jealous.

Of related interest for us is that the familiar Christ, by which we often refer to the Lord Jesus, is less a name and more a title and the title means, the Anointed One. Thus, in last week's gospel (John 4:5-42), the Samaritan woman at the well says to Jesus:

I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ...

and to her neighbors:

Come see a man who told me everything I have done.
Could he possibly be the Christ?

In both cases, the translation might well have read, the Anointed. Jesus is, indeed, the Christ, the Anointed, the One who now gives us the Spirit of the Lord.



 
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Closer to Christ in Lent, in prayer

Image by Evelyn Williams

I wrote this about 10 years ago while on retreat and have posted it several times here over the last three years.  I find this especially helpful for my prayer in Advent and in Lent, seasons for growing closer to the Lord who desires always to draw us closer to him.

Embrace

You enfold me, entwine and embrace me.

You handle me, hold me and hide me.

You wrestle, welcome and want me.

Your chin by my ear,

your hand in my hair,

your arm 'round my back,

my arms rounding you,

my face on your chest:

I'm held in your warmth.

Your eyes keep close watch,

mine close in deep peace.

Your fingers stroke softly

my head's numbered strands.

Your grip is a gift,

your grasp saving grace.

"You are mine," you whisper,

"I call you by name:

you are found and forgiven,

brought home and beloved."

"Yes, I am," I breathe back,

"shaped and healed by your hand.

You call me by name:

I am yours, you are mine."

 
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Daily Prayer in Lent: Tuesday of the Third Week

On most days this Lent, I'll post a psalm here and invite you to pray it in the spirit of St. Bernard's words above.  St. Bernard invites us to keep God's word in our hearts... to let it enter our very being... to feed on its goodness...

How to do that? Here's a simple way.

• Find some quiet time and relax... be aware of God's presence... ask the Holy Spirit to help you to pray...

• You might want to begin with this simple prayer...

• Pray through these verse from Psalm 119 (below) slowly...   (Some words, phrases or verses may be unfamiliar or difficult to understand.  Don't worry about those now- this is a time for prayer, not for bible study)

• Reflect on the psalm you've just prayed...  how does it speak to what's in your heart today?

• Now, go back and pray through the psalm again...  Keep an eye out for a verse that catches your attention...  a verse that particularly challenges or comforts you...  a verse you might want to keep in your heart for the day...  a verse you'd invite to enter your very being...  a verse whose goodness would be food to nourish you all day long...

• Now, close your eyes and just spend some time slowly repeating that verse, perhaps out loud, perhaps in a whisper, perhaps in silence...  let that verse become a part of you...  hide that verse in your heart... take delight in this verse as the word that God has spoken and given to you for your prayer this day...

• Yes, hide the word, the verse, in your heart  --  but you might also write it out on a piece of paper (or in a small notebook, on an index card, or on a Post-it) and put it in your pocket or a place where you'll easily find it...

• Let this word God has spoken and given to you be your prayer, your mantra, for the day...  Ask the Lord to help you remember the verse you've hidden in your heart and to bring it back to you during the day... Repeat it several times whenever it comes to mind...  Refer to your written copy as a reminder...   Let the verse come back to you through the day as people, places and events remind you of it...  If you keep the word of God in this way, it will also keep you...

I encourage you to give this method of prayer at least a few days. I know that it's a way of praying that's been very helpful in my spiritual life and I trust it will benefit you, too. After a few days, you'll become more accustomed to finding the words the Lord is speaking to you, hiding them in your heart, and finding them again as the day goes on... You might want to keep a little log of the verses that stay with you: that can be helpful in recalling them or looking, later, for a verse to keep in your heart, that it might keep you in the Lord's embrace...

And here's some further reflection on praying this way.

From Psalm 119 

Be kind to me, your servant,
that I may live your word.
Open my eyes
to the beauty of your law.

Do not hide your commands
from me, a stranger.
Night and day, I long
to follow your teachings.

You rebuke rebels
who wander from your way.
Save me from that shame,
for I am loyal to your rule.

Though princes plot against me,
still I study your decrees.
Your words delight me,
they are my guides.

I slip toward death,
revive me as you promised.
I tell my story; you answer
and teach me your ways.

When you explain your laws,
I recognize your wonders.
I am numb with grief;
keep your word, revive me!

Turn me away from false paths,
bless me with your law.
I choose the path of truth,
cherishing your judgments.

I cling to your decrees,
do not shame me, Lord.
Eagerly I follow your path,
for you set my heart free.

God, teach me your ways
and I will follow them closely.
Help me understand your will,
that I may cherish your law.

Guide me along your path,
a way of delight.
Open my heart to your laws
and not to riches.

Turn my eyes from the lure of evil,
let me live your truth.
Keep your promise
to one who reveres you.

Spare me the shame I fear.
How good your commands!
See, I want what is right,
let your justice give me life.


 
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Monday Morning Offering - 137

Coffee in the Morning by George Mendoza

On most days of Lent, we'll turn to the Psalms as our source for prayer but on Monday's, to the regular Morning Offering and on Saturdays, to a Marian litany...

Good morning, good God!

In my corner of the universe

spring waits, about to wake, ready to rise

from the still-cold ground through patches of snow

to air fresh with late March sun,

through earth thirsty for April’s rains…

I know that spring will come, Lord:

a blooming green triumph over winter’s sway,

with breezes sweeping clean the sidewalks,

the paths that lead to summer’s rest…

I'm sure that spring will come, Lord,

but I pray a springtime deep within my soul:

a rising of hope from a winter-chilled heart

through remnants of sin and hurt

to a mind thawed of worried fears,

to a spirit fresh with mercy’s morning dew...

I offer you my heart this morning, Lord,

waiting to wake, ready to rise,

to be raised, to be lifted up

by your loving hand…

Rise, Lord and spring within me

in blooming graced victory

Breathe on me and sweep clean

the pathways of my heart!

Spring clean my soul for April’s Easter

and resurrect my hope in you

and in your season of grace without end:

waken the springtime of your life within me...

And make me mindful of others

waking from their own wintry days:

make us patient with each other, Lord,

while we wait on your spring's coming...

All this I offer this morning, Lord,

all this I pray this day

and through this week...

Amen.

(Click here for an archive of Monday Morning Offerings) 

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He told me everything I have done!

Woman at the Well by Diane Gardner

Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent

(Scriptures for today's liturgy)

Audio for homily

The longest conversation Jesus has with any one person in the gospels

is the one he has here with the woman at the well,

who came to draw water at high noon.

The scriptures don’t give the woman a name

but an old tradition calls her Photina.

In the town of Sychar, the midday heat kept folks at home in the shade

so Photina may have chosen just this hour to come to the well,

hoping to avoid the glances of those who would gossip

and look down on her history of five husbands.

How curious, then, how ironic

that just when Photina hoped she might escape any notice at all,

she encounters the One who can tell her

everything she’s ever done!

He told her everything she’d ever done…

There’s nothing in my life that Jesus doesn’t know.

He sees through all the ways I try to hide from him,

He knows all ways I try to lock up my heart,

hoping he won’t get in and see what I’m keeping there.

He sees my sins before I’m tempted to commit them

and he sees all the ways I try to convince myself

that I don’t really sin -- even when I know I have.

Look at how Jesus encounters Photina:

- in the middle of her day, as she goes about her ordinary chores;

- at the very moment she wants to avoid confronting her own sins

- he takes her off guard, catches her unawares

- he meets her not where she wishes she could be

but right where she is -- in the moment

- he connects with her in the stuff of her daily life (fetching water)

to teach her something about her life, her heart, her faith

- he comes in ordinary guise: a thirsty man

At first, Photina thinks she might have won the lottery!

Here’s a guy who says he’s got water that will last forever!

Think of that: she’d never be thirsty again

and she’d never have to come back to the well

and be embarrassed by people staring at her again!

But as is usually the case, Jesus doesn’t offer a quick-fix.

Nor does he offer just a band-aid

when wounds are in need of deep healing.

And here's how Jesus touches Photina’s vulnerability:

he asks her the “husband question.”

That’s where it hurts and that’s the hurt she’s trying to hide.

And that’s the wound these saving waters wait

to flush and cleanse and heal.

How about us?

I wonder... how many times just this Lent 
has Jesus crossed my path and yours,

in the middle of our ordinary days…

Have we seen him - or have we missed him?

I wonder how many times he came to offer us just what we need,

even if we ourselves have been denying our need

for what the Lord has to offer us.

I wonder how many times has Jesus gently probed 
our deepest wounds, our sins - 

not to judge or condemn us,

but to heal and forgive us.

Lent is a time for keeping our eyes and hearts open for Jesus

who often comes to us in times, in places, in ways we least expect.

He comes to help to heal the wounds we’d like to hide,

to heal what our hungers and thirsts have done to us,

to give us food and drink that truly satisfy

and nourish and nurture us.

We come to this table now with many hurts we’d rather hide

and Jesus meets us here, to give us the food and drink

which is his life, offered once on the Cross

and now at this altar.

This sacrament, this meal is for our healing

and to help us know our hearts’ deepest longings

and how those longings are best met and filled.

Jesus is the One who told Photina everything she’d ever done.

And he can tell you and he can tell me everything we’ve ever done.

And so he does,

that in the telling we might be healed

and in the healing we might be saved.

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Daily Prayer in Lent: Third Sunday

On most days this Lent, I'll post a psalm here and invite you to pray it in the spirit of St. Bernard's words above.  St. Bernard invites us to keep God's word in our hearts... to let it enter our very being... to feed on its goodness...

How to do that? Here's a simple way.

• Find some quiet time and relax... be aware of God's presence... ask the Holy Spirit to help you to pray...

• You might want to begin with this simple prayer...

• Pray through Psalm 139 (below) slowly...   (Some words, phrases or verses may be unfamiliar or difficult to understand.  Don't worry about those now- this is a time for prayer, not for bible study)

• Reflect on the psalm you've just prayed...  how does it speak to what's in your heart today?

• Now, go back and pray through the psalm again...  Keep an eye out for a verse that catches your attention...  a verse that particularly challenges or comforts you...  a verse you might want to keep in your heart for the day...  a verse you'd invite to enter your very being...  a verse whose goodness would be food to nourish you all day long...

• Now, close your eyes and just spend some time slowly repeating that verse, perhaps out loud, perhaps in a whisper, perhaps in silence...  let that verse become a part of you...  hide that verse in your heart... take delight in this verse as the word that God has spoken and given to you for your prayer this day...

• Yes, hide the word, the verse, in your heart  --  but you might also write it out on a piece of paper (or in a small notebook, on an index card, or on a Post-it) and put it in your pocket or a place where you'll easily find it...

• Let this word God has spoken and given to you be your prayer, your mantra, for the day...  Ask the Lord to help you remember the verse you've hidden in your heart and to bring it back to you during the day... Repeat it several times whenever it comes to mind...  Refer to your written copy as a reminder...   Let the verse come back to you through the day as people, places and events remind you of it...  If you keep the word of God in this way, it will also keep you...

I encourage you to give this method of prayer at least a few days. I know that it's a way of praying that's been very helpful in my spiritual life and I trust it will benefit you, too. After a few days, you'll become more accustomed to finding the words the Lord is speaking to you, hiding them in your heart, and finding them again as the day goes on... You might want to keep a little log of the verses that stay with you: that can be helpful in recalling them or looking, later, for a verse to keep in your heart, that it might keep you in the Lord's embrace...

And here's some further reflection on praying this way.

Psalm 139

You search me, Lord, and know me.
Wherever I sit or stand,
you read my inmost thoughts;
whenever I walk or rest,
you know where I have been.

Before a word slips from my tongue,
Lord, you know what I will say.
You close in on me,
pressing your hand upon me.
All this overwhelms me --
too much to understand!

Where can I hide from you?
How can I escape your presence?
I scale the heavens, you are there!
I plunge to the depths, you are there!

If I fly toward the dawn,
or settle across the seas,
even there you take hold of me,
your right hand directs me.

If I think night will hide me
and darkness give me cover,
I find darkness is not dark.
For your night shines like day,
darkness and light are one.

You created every part of me,
knitting me in my mother's womb.
For such handiwork, I praise you.
Awesome this great wonder!
I see it so clearly!

You watched every bone 
taking shape in secret,
forming in the hidden depths.
You saw my body grow
according to your design.

You recorded all my days
before they ever began.
How deep are your thoughts!
How vast their sum!
like countless grains of sand,
well beyond my grasp.

Lord, destroy the wicked,
save me from killers.
They plot evil schemes,
they blaspheme against you.


How I hate those who hate you!
How I detest those who defy you!
I hate with a deadly hate
these enemies of mine.


Search my heart, probe me, God!
Test and judge my thoughts.
Look!  do I follow crooked paths?
Let me along your ancient way.


 
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Daily Prayer in Lent: Saturday of the 2nd Week

Mary, Her Sorrow by MB Hopkins

(On the Saturdays of this holy season, our attention to the psalms will give way to praying with Mary, the Mother of Jesus and Mother of us all...)

In this season of Lent when we contemplate the suffering and death of Jesus, let us to draw close to his Mother, Mary, whose own suffering and witness of her Son's passion was more than we can imagine.

As she stood by her Son in his suffering, so is she with us in our own hours of need...

A Marianist Litany to Mary

Holy Mary,  
pray for us!
Mother of God,
Mother of our redemption,
Mother of a lost child,
Mother of comfort and understanding,
Mother who shares our joys,
Mother who endures our sorrows,
Mother whose heart was pierced by a sword,
Mother most merciful,

Woman responsive to God's word,
pray for us!
Woman willing to believe the impossible,
Woman who rejoices in her lowliness,
Woman with an undivided heart,
Woman of perfect freedom,
Woman wrapped in mystery,
Woman moved by the Spirit,
Woman champion of the poor and lowly,
Woman graced by a husband's love,
Woman widowed by a husband's death,
Woman at the cross,
Woman patient and waiting,
Woman clothed with the sun,

Queen of the fullness of times,
pray for us!
Queen of beauty unalloyed,
Queen of integrity,
Queen of painful meetings,
Queen of all our heart's treasure,
Queen of our destiny,
Queen of peace, 

Mary, you are mother and virgin, 
wife and widow, 
peasant and queen,
blessed for all time. 

We need the comfort of your prayers. 
Remember us always to our Father through your Son, Jesus Christ, 
who is our Lord for ever and ever. 
Amen. 

- Rev. Joseph H. Lackner, S.M.


 
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Jesus and the woman at the well - on YouTube!

If you scroll down over this past week's posts you'll find a variety of images and sounds to draw you to this Sunday's gospel, the story of Jesus and the woman at the well.

Perhaps the video above will be the nudge you to read and ponder this weekend's scriptures so that you might hear them more fully when they're proclaimed at Mass. 

The scriptures for the Third Sunday of Lent and commentary on them are right here.



 
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Annunciation: Hail Mary, full of grace!

Annunciation by John Collier

This day's scriptures for the Solemnity of the Annunciation include the gospel source for the prayer, Hail Mary. Here are two musical selections for this feast:  Chanticleer's rendition of the Josquin Desprez piece which begins with the scriptural verse and expands on it; and the more contemporary take on Gabriel's' Message by Sting.

Ave Maria

Hail Mary,  

gratia plena

full of grace  

dominus tecum,

the Lord is with thee,  

virgo serena.

serene Virgin.        

Ave, cuius conceptio,

Hail, whose conception,  

solemni plena gaudio,

full of great jubilation,  

coelestia terrestria

fills Heaven and Earth  

nova replet laetitia.

with new joy.  

Ave, cuius nativitas

Hail, whose birth  

nostra fuit solemnitas,

brought us joy,  

ut lucifer lux oriens

as a torch in the east,  

verum solem praeveniens.     

coming before the true sun.
 

Ave, pia humilitas,

Hail, pious humility,  

sine viro fecunditas,

fruitful without a man,  

cuius annuntiatio

whose Annuciation  

nostra fuit salvatio.

brought us salvation        

Ave, vera virginitas,

Hail, true virginity,    

immaculata castitas,

immaculate chastity,    

cuius purificatio

whose purification    

nostra fuit purgatio.

brought our cleansing.        

Ave, praeclara omnibus

Hail, glorious one  

angelicis virtutibus,

in all angelic virtues,  

cuius assumptio

whose Assumption    

nostra glorificatio.

was our glorification.           

O mater Dei,

O Mother of God,    

memento mei. Amen.

remember me. Amen.

 
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