Saturday, September 22, 2012

Devotion for today: Thanksgiving for Mary’s Fiat



For Mary’s role in salvation history one may wish to give thanks and praise to God with the following meditation: canticles, a reading from the gospel the hymn of praise and a prayer. This thanksgiving may be said at any time. It may be used as a beginning point for reflection on the mystery of Christ’s coming for all nations. (Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Compiled and edited by John E. Rotelle, O.S.A. Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, 1988).
Antiphon: Be glad, Virgin Mary, for you have deserved to bear the Christ, the creator of heaven and earth, you have brought forth the Savior of the World.

Canticle I: Isaiah 61:10-62 (The prophet rejoices over the new Jerusalem)
I saw the new Jerusalem, the holy city, prepared as a bride adorned foe her bridegroom (Revelation 21:2)

I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up,
So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
To spring up before all the nations.

 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,
Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness,
And her salvation like a torch that is burning.
The nations will see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory;
And you will be called by a new name
Which the mouth of the Lord will designate.
You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

Canticle II:  Isaiah 62:4-7 (The glory of the new Jerusalem)
Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them (Rev. 21:3).
It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,”
Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”;
But you will be called, “My delight is in her,”
And your land, “Married”;
For the Lord delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married.
 For as a young man marries a virgin,
So your sons will marry you;
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So your God will rejoice over you.
On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen;
All day and all night they will never keep silent.
You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves;
And give Him no rest until He establishes
And makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

Canticle III: Sirach 39:13-16 (How praiseworthy are the works of the Lord!)
Thanks be to God who through us is spreading the knowledge of himself like a pleasant fragrance (2 Cor. 2:14)
Listen, my faithful children:
open up your petals,
like roses planted near running waters;
Send up the sweet odor of incense,
break forth in blossoms like the lily.
Send up the sweet odor of your hymn of praise;
bless Lord for all he has done!
Proclaim the greatness of his name,
loudly sing his praises,"
With music on the harp and all stringed instruments;
Sing out with joy as you proclaim:
The works of God are all of them good.

Antiphon: Be glad, Virgin Mary, for you have deserved to bear the Christ, the creator of heaven and earth; you have brought forth the Savior of the world.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (Luke 1:26-38)
You will conceive and bear a son.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.  And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.  The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”  Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”  The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.  And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.  For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Reading from a homily of Blessed Simon of Cascia, priest: Present in spirit at the annunciation
Imagine how reverently the angel stood before this glorious village girl, knowing that she was to be the mother of the Son of God! See and contemplate how humbly and modestly she listened and gave answer to the angel who had come as ambassador and was awaiting her reply. What would you have done if you had been at the door of this room or cell and had heard this holy, pleasing dialogue between this blessed girl and the angel? Would not your heart have been sweetly riven by great joy and boundless consolation? Harder than stone and steel is the heart that is not riven as it reads or hears or thinks about the words the virgin spoke to the angel and the angel to the virgin. Would you not have cried aloud, humbly but very fervently and from a full heart: “Sweet Madonna, kindest of women, I beg you, agree quickly to what the angel says, so that your Son may deliver us from the damnation in which our first mother has put us!” What would you have said and done, Christian soul, when you heard the Virgin Mary say to the angel: “I am the servant and handmaiden of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word”? At that moment, the power of the Holy Spirit immediately formed and generated the body of Christ from the pure blood of the Virgin, infused the newly created soul into that body, and united the divinity inseparably with that soul and body. We must therefore firmly believe that Christ is true god and true man, the Son of Mary who was a virgin, before, during and after his birth.

Concluding Prayer
God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, look upon the Virgin Mary, whose earthly existence was governed by a spirit of gracious acceptance. Grant to us also the gifts of constant prayer and of silence, that our daily lives may be transfigured by the presence of your Spirit.
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. Let us praise the Lord. And gives him thanks.Cross references:


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