Gathered around Mary

SALVE REGINA (HAIL HOLY QUEEN)

Salve Regina, mater misericordiae
Vita dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Hevae,
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum vale.
Eia ergo, advocata nostra
illos tuos, misericordes oculos
ad nos converte. Et Jesum, benedictum fructum
ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.

From St Marcellin Champagnat (1789-1840)

O Mary, my Good Mother,
I give into your sacred keeping
and commend to your special care and protection
my body, mind and spirit for this day and for every day of my life.
To you I entrust my hopes and consolations,
my difficulties and sorrows, my life and my death;
that through your prayers and your merits
all my actions may be directed and disposed
according to your will and the will of your Son. Amen.

O With What Joy

O with what joy we sing of Mary, a woman of great love
whose openness and loving kindness gave birth to God's own Son.
Mary, oh so gentle and discreet, be with us as we pray,
to know the whisper of His Presence, the wonder of his love.

Memorare (attributed to St Bernard, )

Remember, O most loving Virgin Mary,
that never was it known in any age,
that anyone who fled to your protection,
implored your help, or sought your intercession,
was abandoned.
Inspired with confidence,
I fly to you, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother,
To you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
Do not, O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise my prayers, but graciously hear and grant them.
Amen.

Sub Tuum Praesidium (We Fly To Your Patronage)
(The oldest known prayer to Mary)
We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God.
Despise not our prayers in our necessities,
but deliver us from all danger
O ever glorious and Blessed Virgin Mary.

Sub tuum praesidium, confugimus, confugimus,
Sancta Dei Genitrix, Sancta Dei Genitrix
.

Nostras deprecationes, ne despicias, ne despicias
in necessitatibus nostris.

Sed a periculus cunctis
libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta.

 

We greet you, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy;
our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To you do we turn for help
in our poverty and need.
With you we pray when life seems difficult
and we are struggling.
Turn, then, most willing advocate,
your eyes of mercy towards us.
And when we come to eternal life,
show us your Son, Jesus,
O compassionate, O loving,
O sweet Virgin Mary.

V.  Pray for us O Holy Mother of God,
R.  that we be truly Christian, ready for Christ’s promises.
Let us pray:
All powerful, eternal God, who, with the Holy Spirit,
prepared the blessed Virgin Mary
to conceive and bear your Son,
Grant that as we remember her with joy,
we may, by her loving prayer to you,
be kept free from sin and ready for eternal life.
We make our prayer through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

O Mary, my Good Mother,   
I give into your sacred keeping
and commend to your special care and protection
my body, mind and spirit for this day
and for every day of my life.
To you I entrust my hopes and consolations,
my difficulties and sorrows,
my life and my death;
that through your prayers and your merits
all my actions may be directed and disposed
according to your will and the will of your Son. Amen.
(Marcellin Champagnat)       

Good Mother, Mary, our sister friend,
we thank you for your risk in saying ‘yes’
that led to your stepping out in freedom
following the path that Jesus trod
from Bethlehem to the Cross.
Keep watch on our faltering steps
as we, in turn, tread the path of Christ in our world,
where we proclaim that God in Jesus loves us.
Coax the ‘yes’ from our lips and hearts
that we may boldly walk with you
the road of God’s reign among us,
You, our sister disciple and loving mother. Amen.

O Risen Lord, you are our life, our joy,
in you, we put our trust.
You call us now to share the Bread of Life
among the poor and young.
Jesus, Lord, our brother and our God
embrace us in your love,
that we may know your mother blest and faithful,
we build the world anew.  Amen.

Good Mother Mary,  
you lived out your life in the spirit of your ‘fiat’.
By your obedience you became
the Mother of God,
and co-operated in your Son’s
redeeming mission.
You are blessed because you
‘listened to the Word of God
and carried it out.’
As Marists we come to you,
the handmaid of the Lord,
to be schooled by you;
and we respond to your call:
Do whatever he tells you.
It is from you that we learn
responsiveness to the Spirit
and an obedience that is courageous
and clear-sighted.  Amen.

Mary, Good Mother,
we greet you this morning.
We are happy to have your name as ours.
May we be aware always of your
inspiration in our lives
As Marists, and disciples with you,
we promise to make your Son, Jesus,
known and loved.
Continue to inspire us
with your maternal spirit to love
all of God’s people.  Amen.

Mary our good Mother,
Mother of Jesus and Mother of the Church
walk with us now,
sharing our joys and sorrows,
our successes and our failures.
In our daily living
show us your Son who lives within us.
Help us to listen to Him,
to act on His Word and to do our part
in building the Kingdom of justice and peace.
May we be all united
in the fullness of his Kingdom forever.  Amen.

Mary, our Good Mother,
trusting in God alone
and in the midst of a world in turmoil,
you courageously uttered
your full-throated Yes.
Encourage us to have such nerve,
that for all the uncertainty of the times,
we may go forward with brave
and daring hearts,
convinced of our vocation in life.
Good Mother, who gave birth to Life,
stand with us today.  Amen.

To you, Mother of the human family,
and of the nations,
we confidently entrust to your care
the whole of humanity
with its hopes and fears.
Do not let us lack the light of true wisdom.
Guide our steps in the ways of peace.
Enable all to meet Christ, the Way,
Truth and Life.
Continue to helps us on our journey of faith
and help us to come to eternal life.
O compassionate, loving Mother of God
and our Mother, Mary.  Amen.
(John Paul II)

Mother Mary 
as Jesus was the whole focus of your life,
help us to make him the focus of ours.
In whatever we do, let us aim to act
with your discretion,
your sensitivity, and your respect for each person.
Help us to follow you,
to live in the presence of God
and to draw our dynamism
from the mysteries of the Crib, the Crossand the Altar.
Let us be content to leave the results
of our work in God’s hands
convinced that ‘If the Lord does not build the house,
in vain do the builders labour.’  Amen.

Mary, Good Mother,
we greet you,
Woman of compassion.
In solidarity, you followed Jesus to Calvary,
stood at the foot of the cross,
received the dead body of your Son from the cross,
and, with friends, prepared it for burial.
May our eyes be open enough
to see the needs of others,
and our hearts loving enough
to respond to them.
This we ask in the name of Jesus,
the Compassion of God.  Amen.      

Mary, you found bliss in God’s endless, loving mercy
and you proclaimed in joyful
song the great Sun of Justice,
who would raise the lowly
and feed the hungry.
May this new day be for us, your family,
a celebration of the presence
and power of God,
who continues to bring light
from darkness,
harmony from chaos, and life from death.
Sing your song in our hearts, Mary, throughout this day,
that we might be transformed into the image
of your firstborn Son, Jesus our brother and Lord.  Amen.

Mary of Nazareth, inspire us to answer our call to serve the poor today.
Mary of Bethlehem, help us to live poorly, to share Jesus with other people.
Mary of Egypt, open our hearts to the needs of refugees.
Mary of Cana, help us to be sensitive to the needs of others.
Mary of Calvary, give us the courage to support the downtrodden in their hour of need.
Mary of Pentecost, help us to be open to the call of the Spirit today.
Mary, help us remember all those whom Jesus keeps in his special care:
the poor, the sick, the frail, the oppressed, the tortured,
those with disabilities, those who are dying. 
Teach us to be sensitive to the joys and sufferings of others,
and to recognise in them the face of Christ your Son, our brother and Lord.  Amen.

The Angelus
V.  The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary,
R.  and she conceived of the Holy Spirit.   Hail Mary...

V.  Behold the handmaid of the Lord,
R.  be it done to me according to your Word.   Hail Mary...

V.  And the Word was made flesh,
R.  and dwelt among us.   Hail Mary...

V.  Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God,
R.  that we be made worthy of the promises of Christ.   Hail Mary...

Let us pray:
Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts, that we to whom the incarnation of Christ your Son was made known by the message of an angel may, by his passion and cross be brought to the glory of his resurrection.  Through the same Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

An alternative form
V.  The angel Gabriel brought God’s word to Mary,
R.  and by the power of the Holy Spirit she conceived.   Hail Mary...

V.  Here I am, the servant of God,
R.  let what you have said be done to me.   Hail Mary...

V.  And the Word of God became human,
R.  and lived as one with us.   Hail Mary...

V.  Pray for us, Holy Mother and first disciple,
R.  that like you, we may be true disciples of Christ.   Hail Mary...

Let us pray: 
Open our hearts, loving God, to your grace.  Through the angel’s message to Mary, we have learned to believe in the incarnation of your Son, Christ our Lord.  By the suffering and death of our Saviour, lead us also to the glory of his resurrection.  This we ask through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 At Easter time
Regina caeli,
laetare, alleluia.
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia.
Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia.
Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.


V.  Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia!
R.  For he whom you were worthy to bear, alleluia!

V.  Has risen as he promised, alleluia!
R.  Pray for us to God, alleluia!

V.  Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia!
R.  For the Lord has risen indeed, alleluia!

Let us pray:
Lord God, as you brought joy to the world through the resurrection of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son, grant that through his Virgin Mother, Mary, we may come to the joys of eternal life.  We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

 The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-56) 

My soul glorifies the Lord
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour;
He looks on his servant in her lowliness;
henceforth all ages will call me blessed;
The Almighty works marvels for me,
Holy is His name;
His mercy is from age to age
on those who fear Him.
He puts forth His arm in strength,
and scatters the proud-hearted.
He casts the mighty from their thrones,
and raises the lowly.
He fills the starving with good things,
sends the rich away empty.
He protects Israel, His servant,
remembering His mercy,
to Abraham and to his children forever.