NV-Queenship BVM

NOVENA IN PREPARATION FOR
THE QUEENSHIP OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
FEAST DAY : MAY 31ST

What is a Novena?
A novena is a traditional devotion consisting of specific prayers recited on nine successive days. Besides being a form of praise, a novena is frequently offered for a particular intention. The first novena took place in the Cenacle, during the nine days preceding Pentecost, or the coming of the Holy Ghost. As a regular popular custom, this practice began in 12th century Christianity and continues to be beneficial today as a way of praying for healing, protection or other blessings for ourselves or others.

This particular novena is prayed to God in honor of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In praying this Novena, as in the case of all prayer, it is good to begin by opening ourselves wholeheartedly to God's will, offering a simple act of trust in God's wisdom and in His providential love for us all, that disposes all things for the ultimate benefit of our souls and their salvation.

How to Pray This Novena
This novena is based on our ultimate goal, which is to reach God in Heaven. Each day of the novena is divided into the following parts: (1) a quote from Holy Scripture, or a quote from Our Lady spoken at one of here apparitions, or a quote from a Saint (2) a passage on the Queenship from a pope or a theologian; (3) a Meditation; (4) a Prayer; (5) after mentioning your intention, pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary; (6) a Closing Prayer.

LITANY IN HONOR OF THE QUEENSHIP OF OUR LADY

Lord, have mercy!
Lord, have mercy!

Christ, have mercy!
Christ, have mercy!

Lord, have mercy!
Lord, have mercy!

God, our Father in 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, Pray for us!
Most honored of virgins, Pray for us!
Chosen daughter of the Father, Pray for us!
Mother of Christ the King, Pray for us!
Glory of the Holy Spirit, Pray for us!
Virgin daughter of Sion, Pray for us!
Virgin humble and poor, Pray for us!
Virgin gentle and obedient, Pray for us!
Handmaid of the Lord, Pray for us!
Mother of the Lord, Pray for us!
Helper of the Redeemer, Pray for us!

Full of grace, Pray for us!
Fountain of beauty, Pray for us!
Model of virtue, Pray for us!
First fruit of the redemption, Pray for us!
Perfect disciple of Christ, Pray for us!
Untarnished image of the Church, Pray for us!
Woman transformed, Woman clothed with the sun,
Pray for us!
Woman crowned with stars, Pray for us!
Gentle Lady, Pray for us!

Gracious Lady, Pray for us!
Our Lady, Pray for us!
Joy of Israel, Pray for us!
Splendor of the Church, Pray for us!
Pride of the human race, Pray for us!
Advocate of grace, Pray for us!
Minister of holiness, Pray for us!
Champion of God’s people, Pray for us!

Queen of love, Pray for us!
Queen of mercy, Pray for us!
Queen of peace, Pray for us!
Queen of Angels, Pray for us!
Queen of Patriarchs, Pray for us!
Queen of Prophets, Pray for us!
Queen of Apostles, Pray for us!
Queen of Martyrs, Pray for us!
Queen of Confessors, Pray for us!
Queen of Virgins, Pray for us!
Queen of all Saints, Pray for us!
Queen conceived without Original Sin, Pray for us!
Queen assumed into Heaven, Pray for us!
Queen of all the Earth, Pray for us!
Queen of Heaven, Pray for us!
Queen of the universe, Pray for us!

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world;
Spare us, O Lord!

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world;
Graciously hear us, O Lord!

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world;
Have mercy on us.

Pray for us, O glorious Mother of the Lord.
That we may become worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

God of mercy, listen to the prayers of Thy servants, who have honored Thy handmaid as Mother and Queen. Grant that by Thy grace we may serve Thee and our neighbor on Earth and be welcomed into Thy eternal Kingdom. We ask this through Christ out Lord. Amen.

FIRST DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted daily)
Theme: The Queen of Heaven & Earth wants to be Queen of Hearts

Our Lady Says:
“The Lord had created me more pure than all the most exalted spirits in Heaven, and made me their Queen, and the Mistress of all creation” (Our Lady to Venerable Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God ).

Reading on the Queenship of Mary
Taken from The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori

The Holy Church justly honors the great Virgin Mary, and would have her honored by all men with the glorious title of Queen, because she has been elevated to the dignity of Mother of the King of kings. “If the Son is King,” says St. Athanasius, “His Mother must necessarily be considered and entitled Queen.” “From the moment that Mary consented,” adds St. Bernardine of Sienna, “to become the Mother of the Eternal Word, she merited the title of Queen of the world and all creatures.” “If the flesh of Mary,” says St. Arnold, abbot, “was the flesh of Jesus, how can the Mother be separated from the Son in His kingdom?”

Hence it follows that the regal glory must not only be considered as common to the Mother and the Son, but even the same. “If Jesus is the King of the whole world, Mary is also Queen of the whole world: therefore,” says St. Bernardine of Sienna, “all creatures who serve God ought also to serve Mary; for all angels and men, and all things that are in Heaven and on earth being subject to the dominion of God, are also subject to the dominion of the glorious Virgin.” Hence Guerric, abbot, thus addresses the divine Mother: “Continue, Mary, continue in security to reign; dispose, according to thy will, of everything belonging to thy Son, for thou, being Mother and Spouse of the King of the world, the kingdom and power over all creatures is due to thee as Queen.”

Mary, then, is Queen; but let all learn for their consolation that she is a mild and merciful Queen, desiring the good of us poor sinners. Hence the Holy Church bids us salute her in this prayer, and name her the Queen of Mercy. “The very name of Queen signifies,” as St. Albert the Great remarks, “compassion, and provision for the poor; differing in this from the title of empress, which signifies severity and rigor.” The greatness of kings and queens consists in comforting the wretched as Seneca says. So that whereas tyrants, in reigning, have only their own advantage in view, kings should have for their object the good of their subjects.

Therefore, at the consecration of kings, their heads are anointed with oil, which is the symbol of mercy, to denote that they, in reigning, should above all things cherish thoughts of kindness and beneficence towards their subjects. Kings should, then, principally occupy themselves with works of mercy, but not to the neglect of the exercise of justice towards the guilty, when it is required. Not so Mary, who, although Queen, is not Queen of Justice, intent upon the punishment of the guilty, but Queen of Mercy, solely intent upon compassion and pardon for sinners.

Accordingly, the Church requires us explicitly to call her Queen of Mercy. The High Chancellor of Paris, John Gerson, meditating on the words of David, “These two things have I heard, that power belongeth to God, and mercy to thee, O Lord,” says, that the kingdom of God consisting of justice and mercy, the Lord has divided it: He has reserved the kingdom of justice for Himself, and He has granted the kingdom of mercy to Mary, ordaining that all the mercies which are dispensed to men, should pass through the hands of Mary, and should be bestowed according to her good pleasure. St. Thomas confirms this in his preface to the Canonical Epistles, saying that the Holy Virgin, when she conceived the Divine Word in her womb and brought Him forth, obtained the half of the kingdom of God by becoming Queen of Mercy, Jesus Christ remaining King of Justice,

The eternal Father constituted Jesus Christ King of Justice, and therefore made Him the universal judge of the world; hence the prophet sang: “Give to the king Thy judgment, O God; and to the king’s son Thy justice.” Here a learned interpreter takes up the subject, and says: “O Lord, thou hast given to Thy Son Thy justice, because Thou hast given to the Mother of the King Thy mercy.” And St. Bonaventure happily varies the passage above quoted by saying: “Give to the King Thy judgment, O God, and to His Mother Thy mercy.” Ernest, Archbishop of Prague, also says, that the eternal Father has given to the Son the office of judging and punishing, and to the Mother the office of compassionating and relieving the wretched.

Therefore the Prophet David predicted that God Himself, if I may thus express it, would consecrate Mary Queen of Mercy, anointing her with the oil of gladness, in order that all of us miserable children of Adam might rejoice in the thought of having in Heaven that great Queen, so full of the unction of mercy and pity for us; as St. Bonaventure says: “O Mary, so full of the unction of mercy and the oil of pity, that God has anointed thee with the oil of gladness!”

Meditation
There have been many queens who have lived upon this Earth over the centuries―yet none even come close to the dignity and sanctity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is the Queen of queens! She is the greatest work produced by the God the Creator. As St. Louis de Montfort, in his book True Devotion to Mary, writes:

“Mary is the excellent masterpiece of the Most High, the knowledge and possession of which He has reserved to Himself! … [Yet] her humility was so profound that she had no inclination on Earth more powerful, or more constant, than that of hiding herself―from herself as well as from every other creature―so as to be known to God only … God the Father consented that she should work no miracle, at least no public one, during her life, although He had given her the power to do so. God the Son consented that she should hardly ever speak, though He had communicated His wisdom to her. God the Holy Ghost, though she was His faithful spouse, consented that His Apostles and Evangelists should speak very little of her …

“The saints have said admirable things of this holy city of God; and, as they themselves avow, they were never more eloquent and more content than when they spoke of her. Yet, after all they have said, they cry out that the height of her merits, which she has raised up to the throne of the Divinity, cannot be fully seen; that the breadth of her charity, which is broader than the Earth, is in truth immeasurable; that the length of her power, which she exercises even over God Himself, is incomprehensible; and finally, that the depth of her humility, and of all her virtues and graces, is an abyss which never can be sounded.

“O height incomprehensible! O breadth unspeakable! O length immeasurable! O abyss impenetrable! The whole Earth is full of her glory, especially among Christians, by whom she is taken as the protectress of many kingdoms, provinces, dioceses and cities. Many cathedrals are consecrated to God under her name. There is not a church without an altar in her honor, not a country nor a canton where there are not some miraculous images where all sorts of evils are cured and all sorts of good gifts obtained. After that, we must cry out with the saints: “De Maria numquam satis”—“Of Mary there is never enough.” We have not yet praised, exalted, honored, loved and served Mary as we ought. She deserves still more praise, still more respect, still more love, and still more service.

We must cry out with the saints: “De Maria numquam satis”—“Of Mary there is never enough.” We have not yet praised, exalted, honored, loved and served Mary as we ought. She deserves still more praise, still more respect, still more love, and still more service. After that, we must say with the Holy Ghost: “All the glory of the King’s daughter is within.” (Psalm 44:14) … Mary has received from God a great domination over the souls of the elect … Mary is the Queen of Heaven and Earth by grace, as Jesus is the King of them by nature and by conquest. Now, as the kingdom of Jesus Christ consists principally in the heart or the interior of man—according to the words, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21)—in like manner the kingdom of our Blessed Lady is principally in the interior of man; that is to say, his soul. And it is principally in souls that she is more glorified with her Son than in all visible creatures, and so we can call her, as the saints do, the Queen of All Hearts.”

[Mention Intention]

Prayer
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY: O Queen of Heaven and Earth, rule over me, and teach me how to allow the Heart of Jesus to rule and triumph in me and around me, as it has ruled and triumphed in thee. I consecrate myself to thy Queenship, and recommend to thy protection my family, my country, and the whole human race. Please accept my consecration, my Queen and my Mother, and use me according to thy wishes, to accomplish thy designs upon the world and within my soul. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

LITANY IN HONOR OF THE QUEENSHIP OF OUR LADY

SECOND DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted daily)
Theme: The Queen of Heaven is a Queen of Mercy

Our Lady Says:
“One of the reasons why men should call me Mother of Mercy, is the knowledge of my loving desire, that all be satiated with the flood of grace and taste the sweetness of the Lord as I myself. I call and invite all to come with me to the fountain of the Divinity. Let the most poor and afflicted approach, for if they respond and follow me, I will offer them my protection and help, and I will intercede for them with my Son and obtain for them mercy!” (Our Lady to Venerable Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God ).

Reading on the Queenship of Mary
Taken from The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori

In order that we miserable children of Adam might rejoice, remembering that in Heaven we have this great Queen, overflowing with the unction of mercy and compassion towards us; and thus we can say with St. Bonaventure, “O Mary, thou art full of the unction of mercy and of the oil of compassion!” (Spec. B.M.V. lect. 7); therefore God has anointed thee with the oil of gladness. And how beautifully does not St. Albert the Great apply to this subject the history of Queen Esther, who was herself a great type of our Queen Mary!

We read, in the fourth chapter of the Book of Esther, that is the reign of Assuerus, a decree was issued, by which all Jews were condemned to death. Mardochai, who was one of the condemned, addressed himself to Esther, in order that she might interpose with Assuerus, and obtain the revocation of the decree, and thus be the salvation of all. At first Ester declined the office, fearing that such a request might irritate the king still more; but Mardochai reproved her, sending her word that she was not to think only of saving herself, for God had placed her on the throne to obtain the salvation of all the Jews: “Think not that thou mayest save thy life only, because thou art in the king’s house, more than all the Jews!” (Esther 4:13). Thus did Mardochai address Queen Ester. And so can we poor sinners address our Queen Mary, should she show any repugnance to obtain of God our delivery from the chastisement we have justly deserved: “Think not, O Lady, that God has raised thee to the dignity of Queen of the world, only to provide for thy good; but in order that, being so great, thou mightest be better able to compassionate and assist us miserable creatures.”

As soon as Assuerus saw Esther standing before him, he asked her, with love, what she came to seek. “What is thy request?” The Queen replied: “If I have found favor in thy sight, O King, give me my people, for which I request” (Esther 7:2-3). Assuerus granted her request, and immediately ordered the revocation of the decree. And now, if Assuerus, through love for Esther, granted, at her request, salvation to the Jews, how can God refuse the prayers of Mary, loving her immensely as he does, when she prays for poor miserable sinners, who recommend themselves to her, and says to him, “My King and my God, if ever I have found favor in Thy sight, give me my people for which I ask!” ― though the divine Mother well knows that she was the blessed, the holy one, the only one of the human race who found the grace lost by all mankind, well does she know that she is the beloved one of her Lord, loved more than all the saints and angels together. “If thou lovest me,” she says: “Give me, O Lord, these sinners, for whom I entreat Thee!” Is it possible that God should refuse her?

And who is ignorant of the power of the prayers of Mary with God? The law of clemency is on her tongue (Prov. 31:26). Each of her prayers is, as it were, an established law for Our Lord, that he should show mercy to all for whom she intercedes. St. Bernard asks why the Church calls Mary “the Queen of Mercy”? And he replies, that “it is because we believe that she opens the abyss of the mercy of God to whomsoever she wills, when she wills, and as she wills; so that there is no sinner, however great, who is lost if Mary protects him” (In Salve Regina).

But perhaps we may fear that Mary would not deign to interpose for some sinners, because they are so overloaded with crimes? Or perhaps we ought to be overawed at the majesty and holiness of this great Queen? “No,” says Pope St. Gregory VII: “for the higher and more holy she is, the greater is her sweetness and compassion towards sinners, who have recourse to her with the desire to amend their lives.”

Kings and queens, with their ostentation of majesty, inspire terror, and cause their subjects to fear to approach them: but what fear, says St. Bernard, can the miserable have to approach this Queen of Mercy, for she inspires no terror, and shows no severity, to those who come to her, but is all sweetness and gentleness. “Why should human frailty fear to go to Mary? In her there is no austerity, nothing terrible: she is all sweetness, offering milk and wool to all.” Mary is not only willing to give, but she herself offers milk and wool to all: the milk of mercy to animate our confidence, and the wool of her protection against the thunderbolts of divine justice.

Meditation
St. Bernard of Clairvaux writes: “When the storm of temptation arises, when you are midst the reefs and shoals of tribulation, fix your gaze upon the Star of the Sea―call upon Mary! If tossed by the rising tide of pride and ambition, if lost upon the troubled waters of scandal and contention―look then at the Star, invoke her name! Do the billows of anger, of avarice, of lust batter against your soul―cast thy eyes upon Mary! Does the greatness of your crime fill your soul with terror? Does your wretched conscience beat you down in shame and the fear of judgment paralyze your heart?―then, when about to sink to the depths of despondency, to plunge headlong into despair, then think of Mary! In perils and in sorrows and in fears―think of her, call upon her name! Let her name be ever on your lips and the thought of her be ever in your heart! Follow her―so that the power of her intercession may attend to your needs! Imitate her―for in her footsteps you cannot go astray! Call upon her―and you will not despair! Think of her―and you cannot fail. If she holds you by the hand―how can you fall? Under her protection you shall know no fear! Under her guidance you shall not falter! Under her patronage you shall surely reach the goal!” (St. Bernard of Clairvaux).

[Mention Intention]

Prayer
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY: O Queen of Heaven and Earth, rule over me, and teach me how to allow the Heart of Jesus to rule and triumph in me and around me, as it has ruled and triumphed in thee. I consecrate myself to thy Queenship, and recommend to thy protection my family, my country, and the whole human race. Please accept my consecration, my Queen and my Mother, and use me according to thy wishes, to accomplish thy designs upon the world and within my soul. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

LITANY IN HONOR OF THE QUEENSHIP OF OUR LADY

THIRD DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted daily)
Theme: The Queen of Heaven is a Queen of Love

Our Lady Says:
"I am the Mother of fair love!" (Ecclesiasticus 24)

Reading on the Queenship of Mary
Taken from The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori

A woman marries in order to become a mother. You cannot separate marriage from motherhood. A woman marries in order to give future life to her future children. In a sense, she already loves them before she conceives them. You could say the same for Mary’s love for us. She loved us even before we were conceived and born. St. Alphonsus speaks of Mary’s spiritual motherhood giving to every future spiritual child the life of grace:

Mary became our spiritual Mother, and brought us forth to the life of grace, was when she offered to the Eternal Father the life of her beloved Son on Mount Calvary, with so bitter sorrow and suffering. So that St. Augustine declares that “as she then co-operated by her love in the birth of the faithful to the life of grace, she became the spiritual Mother of all who are members of the one Head, Christ Jesus” (De S. Virginitate, c. vi). This we are given to understand by the following verse of the sacred Canticles, and which refers to the most Blessed Virgin: “They have made me the keeper in the vineyards; my vineyard I have not kept!” (Canticles 1:5).

St. William says, that “Mary, in order that she might save many souls, exposed her own to death” (Delrio, In Canticles i. 6); meaning, that to save us, she sacrificed the life of her Son. And who but Jesus was the soul of Mary? He was her life, and all her love. And therefore the prophet Simeon foretold that a sword of sorrow would one day transpierce her own most blessed soul (Luke 2:35). And it was precisely the lance which transpierced the side of Jesus, who was the soul of Mary. Then it was that this most Blessed Virgin brought us forth by her sorrows to eternal life: and thus we can all call ourselves the children of the sorrows of Mary. Our most loving Mother was always, and in all, united to the will of God.

“And therefore,” says St. Bonaventure, “when she saw the love of the Eternal Father towards men to be so great that, in order to save them, He willed the death of His Son; and, on the other hand, seeing the love of the Son in wishing to die for us: in order to conform herself to this excessive love of both the Father and the Son towards the human race, she also with her entire will offered, and consented to, the death of her Son, in order that we might be saved” (In Sent. l. i. D. 48, a. 2., q. 2). There is no love without sacrifice.

Meditation
Love is reciprocal—meaning that is a “two-way-street”, a process of “give and take.” The main focus in love is to do the loving and not to seek being loved. If we reverse the order, then we are selfish in our love. Love is about giving before it is about taking. The same is true of Our Lady, she sought to love rather than to be loved. We must do the same in return to Our Lady—not selfishly take her love, but unselfishly love her. St. Alphonsus writes:

Worldly lovers often speak of those whom they love, and praise them, in order that the object of their affections may be praised and extolled by others. There are some who pretend to be lovers of Mary, and yet seldom either speak of her or endeavor to excite others to love her: their love cannot be great. It is not thus that true lovers of this amiable Lady act; they desire to praise her on all occasions, and to see her loved by the whole world, and never lose an opportunity, either in public or in private, of enkindling in the hearts of others those blessed flames of love with which they themselves burn towards their beloved Queen.

And who is ignorant of the promise made by Mary herself, in the words of Ecclesiastes, to those who endeavor to make her known and loved here below, they that explain me shall have life everlasting; (Ecclesiasticus 24:31) for this passage is applied to her by the Church, in the office of the Immaculate Conception. “Rejoice, then,” exclaims St. Bonaventure (who did so much to make the glories of Mary known), “rejoice, my soul, and be glad in her; for many good things are prepared for those who praise her” (Psalt. B.V. p. 43); and he says that the whole of the Sacred Scriptures speak in praise of Mary: let us therefore always with our hearts and tongues honor this divine Mother, in order that we may be conducted by her into the kingdom of the blessed (Paciucch. in Psalm 86, exc. 25).

[Mention Intention]

Prayer
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY: O Queen of Heaven and Earth, rule over me, and teach me how to allow the Heart of Jesus to rule and triumph in me and around me, as it has ruled and triumphed in thee. I consecrate myself to thy Queenship, and recommend to thy protection my family, my country, and the whole human race. Please accept my consecration, my Queen and my Mother, and use me according to thy wishes, to accomplish thy designs upon the world and within my soul. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

LITANY IN HONOR OF THE QUEENSHIP OF OUR LADY

FOURTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted daily)
Theme: The Queen of Heaven is the Queen of All Saints

Our Lady Says:
“My abode is in the full assembly of saints” (Ecclesiasticus 24:16).

Reading on the Queenship of Mary
Taken from The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori

Learned writers apply the following words of Ecclesiasticus to Mary: Her bands are a healthful binding (Ecclesiasticus 6:31). “Why bands?” asks St. Laurence Justinian, “except it be that she binds her servants, and thus prevents them from straying into the paths of vice” (Laud B. M. l. 2, p. 3). And truly this is the reason for which Mary binds her servants. St. Bonaventure also, in his commentary on the words of Ecclesiasticus, frequently used in the office of Mary, My abode is in the full assembly of saints (Ecclesiasticus 24:16), says that Mary not only has her abode in the full assembly of saints, but also preserves them from falling, keeps a constant watch over their virtue, that it may not fail, and restrains the evil spirits from injuring them. Not only has she her abode in the full assembly of the saints, but she keeps the saints there, by preserving their merits that they may not lose them, by restraining the devils from injuring them, and by withholding the arm of her Son from falling on sinners (Spec B. V. M. lect. 7).

In the Book of Proverbs we are told that all Mary’s clients are clothed with double garments. For all her domestics are clothed with double garments (Proverbs 31:21). Cornelius à Lapide explains what this double clothing is: he says that it “consists in her adorning her faithful servants with the virtues of her Son and with her own”; and thus clothed they persevere in virtue.

Therefore St. Philip Neri, in his exhortations to his penitents, used always to say: “My children, if you desire perseverance, be devout to our Blessed Lady.” The Venerable John Berchmans, of the Society of Jesus, used also to say: “Whoever loves Mary will have perseverance.” Truly beautiful is the reflection of the Abbot Rupert on this subject in his commentary on the parable of the prodigal son. He says, “That if this dissolute youth had had a mother living, he would never have abandoned the paternal roof, or at least would have returned much sooner than he did”; meaning thereby that a son of Mary either never abandons God, or, if he has this misfortune, by her help he soon returns.

Meditation
We read in Ecclesiasticus: “In the midst of her own people she shall be exalted, and shall be admired in the holy assembly. And in the multitude of the elect she shall have praise, and among the blessed she shall be blessed, saying: ‘I took root in an honorable people, and in the portion of my God. His inheritance and my abode is in the full assembly of saints … I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and like a cypress tree on Mount Sion. I was exalted like a palm tree in Cades, and as a rose plant in Jericho: as a fair olive tree in the plains, and as a plane tree by the waters was I exalted ... as the vine I have brought a pleasant odor: and my flowers are the fruit of honor and riches’” (Ecclesiaticus 14:3-4, 16-19, 23).

With reason is Mary styled Queen of All Saints. We have seen that she excelled the angels in purity, the patriarchs in Faith, the prophets in knowledge, the apostles in zeal, the martyrs in courage, the confessors in longanimity (long-suffering), the virgins in whole-hearted devotedness to Our Lord. Thus surpassing them all in their distinguishing characteristics she was able to sing: “So was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem. And I took root in an honorable people, and in the portion of my inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints. I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress tree in Mount Sion” (Ecclesiasticus 24).

“The full assembly of saints.” How at home Our Lady must have felt from the first moment she entered Heaven, where she found every one enamored of God, as she had ever been, but hitherto with few to sympathize with the inner fire which consumed her! There all is love—love pure and without alloy. See her amazement at being exalted above even Cherubim and Seraphim, as the cedars of Libanus overtop all the other trees of the mountain, and how her imagery is drawn from the mount which St. Jerome says derives its name from its stainless, glistening whiteness. “I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus.”

“I took root in an honorable people.” How delightful must be the society in Heaven! All that is beautiful, true, noble and intellectual in human nature is to be found there perfected in the highest degree, and without any admixture of littleness, meanness, weakness or other imperfections that mar in some measure even the grandest characters in this world.

‘Tis an important point to know
There’s no perfection here below,

… but there, in our heavenly home, it exists in all its plenitude, and as Our Lady had surpassed all the saints on Earth by her humility—for it has been said that it was her humility even more than her purity that drew down to her heart the Son of God—so now she would exceed them all in her spirit of praise. We can imagine her singing joyfully the words: “Turn, O my soul, unto thy rest, for the Lord hath been bountiful to thee. For He hath delivered my soul from death: my eyes from tears, my feet from falling” (Psalm 114). “I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart ... I will give praise to Thee in the sight of Thy angels.”

How lovingly and unassumingly Our Lady would take her place amongst all the saints and angels that throng the heavenly court, and how they would welcome her as their Queen, as the Mother of their Most High Creator! How they would praise her, and yet feel, as Dante says, that only the Creator can rightly estimate the beauty of His creature! May we not end fittingly with a quotation from the great St. John Chrysostom:

“Truly, dearly beloved brethren, the blessed Virgin Mary was a great wonder. What thing greater or more famous than she hath ever at any time been found, or can be found? She alone is greater than Heaven and Earth. What thing holier than she hath been, or can be found? Neither prophets, nor apostles, nor martyrs, nor patriarchs, nor angels, nor thrones, nor dominations, nor Seraphim, nor Cherubim, nor any other creature, visible or invisible, can be found that is greater or more excellent than she. She is at once the handmaid and the parent of God, at once Virgin and Mother.”

[Mention Intention]

Prayer
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY: O Queen of Heaven and Earth, rule over me, and teach me how to allow the Heart of Jesus to rule and triumph in me and around me, as it has ruled and triumphed in thee. I consecrate myself to thy Queenship, and recommend to thy protection my family, my country, and the whole human race. Please accept my consecration, my Queen and my Mother, and use me according to thy wishes, to accomplish thy designs upon the world and within my soul. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

LITANY IN HONOR OF THE QUEENSHIP OF OUR LADY

FIFTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted daily)
Theme: The Queen of Heaven is a Queen of Hope

Our Lady Says:
“I am the Queen of Heaven and the Mother of Mercy; I am the joy of the just, and the gate of entrance for sinners to God; neither is there living on Earth a sinner who is so accursed that he is deprived of my compassion; for everyone, if he receives nothing else through my intercession, receives the grace of being less tempted by evil spirits than he otherwise would be. No one, therefore, who is not entirely accursed [by which is meant the final and irrevocable malediction pronounced against the damned], is so entirely cast-off by God, that he may not return and enjoy His mercy, if he invokes my aid. I am called by all the Mother of Mercy, and truly the mercy of God towards men has made me so merciful towards them. Therefore, he shall be miserable, and forever miserable in another life, who in this life, being able to do so, does not have recourse to me, who am so compassionate to all, and so earnestly desire to aid sinners.” (Words of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Bridget of Sweden).

Reading on the Queenship of Mary
Taken from The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori

Modern heretics cannot endure that we should salute and call Mary our hope: “Hail, our Hope!” They say that God alone is our hope; and that he curses those who put their trust in creatures in these words of the prophet Jeremias: “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man!” (Jeremias 17:5). Mary, they exclaim, is a creature; and how can a creature be our hope? This is what the heretics say; but in spite of this, the holy Church obliges all ecclesiastics and religious each day to raise their voices, and in name of all the faithful invoke and call Mary by the sweet name of “our Hope,”—the hope of all.

St. Thomas Aquinas, says that we can place our hope in a person in two ways: as a principal cause, and as an intermediate one. Those who hope for a favor from a king, hope it from him as lord; they hope for it from his minister or favorite as an intercessor with that lord. If the favor is granted, it comes primarily from the king, but it comes through the instrumentality of the favorite―and, in this case, he who seeks the favor is right in calling his intercessor his hope. The King of Heaven, being infinite goodness, desires in the highest degree to enrich us with his graces; but because confidence is requisite on our part, and in order to increase it in us, he has given us His own Mother to be our Mother and Advocate, and to her He has given all power to help us; and therefore He wills that we should repose our hope of salvation and hope of every blessing in her.

Those who place their hopes in creatures alone―independently of God, as pagans and sinners do, and in order to obtain the friendship and favor of a man―fear not to outrage his divine Majesty, and are most certainly cursed by God, as the prophet Jeremias says. But those who hope in Mary, as Mother of God―who is able to obtain graces and eternal life for them―are truly blessed and acceptable to the heart of God, who desires to see that greatest of His creatures―Mary―is honored; for she loved and honored Him in this world more than all men and angels put together. And therefore we rightly and reasonably call the Blessed Virgin “our hope”―trusting, as the Cardinal of the Church, St. Robert Bellarmine says, “that we shall obtain, through her intercession, that which we should not obtain by our own unaided prayers.” The renowned and learned theologian Suarez says: “We pray to her in order that the dignity of the intercessor may supply for our own unworthiness; so that to implore the Blessed Virgin in such a spirit, is not mistrust in the mercy of God, but a fear of our own unworthiness.”

It is, then, not without reason that the holy Church, in the words of Ecclesiasticus, called Mary the Mother of holy Hope (Ecclesiasticus 24:24). She is the mother who gives birth to holy hope in our hearts; not to the hope of the vain and transitory goods of this life, but of the immense and eternal goods of Heaven.

“Hail, then, O hope of my soul!” exclaims St. Ephrem, addressing this divine Mother; “Hail, O certain salvation of Christians! Hail, O helper of sinners! Hail, fortress of the faithful and salvation of the world!” (De Laud. Dei Gen.). Other saints remind us, that after God, our only hope is Mary; and therefore they call her, “after God, their only hope” (Cant. p. Psalt).

Meditation
St. Ephrem, reflecting on the present order of Providence, by which God wills (as St. Bernard says, and as we shall prove at length) that all who are saved should be saved by the means of Mary, thus addresses her: “O Lady, cease not to watch over us; preserve and guard us under the wings of thy compassion and mercy―for, after God, we have no hope but in thee!” (De Laud. Dei Gen.). St. Thomas of Villanova repeats the same thing, calling her “our only refuge, help, and asylum” (In Nat. B. V. Conc. 3). St. Bernard seems to give the reason for this when he says, “See, O man, the designs of God,—designs by which he is able to dispense his mercy more abundantly to us; for, desiring to redeem the whole human race, he has placed the whole price of redemption in the hands of Mary, that she may dispense it at will” (De Aquaed).

In the book of Exodus we read that God commanded Moses to make a mercy-seat of the purest gold, because it was thence that he would speak to him. “Thou shalt make also a propitiatory of the purest gold . . . Thence will I give orders, and will speak to thee” (Exodus 25:17). St. Andrew of Crete says that “the whole world embraces Mary as being this propitiatory.” And commenting on his words a pious author exclaims, “Thou, O Mary, art the propitiatory of the whole world. From thee does our most compassionate Lord speak to our hearts; from thee he speaks words of pardon and mercy; from thee he bestows his gifts; from thee all good flows to us” (Paciucch. in Sal. Ang. Exc. 20). And therefore, before the divine Word took flesh in the womb of Mary, he sent an archangel to ask her consent: because he willed that the world should receive the Incarnate Word through her, and that she should be the source of every good.

Hence St. Irenaeus remarks, that as Eve was seduced, by a fallen angel, to flee from God, so Mary was led to receive God into her womb, obeying a good angel; and thus by her obedience repaired Eve’s disobedience, and became her advocate, and that of the whole human race. “If Eve disobeyed God, yet Mary was persuaded to obey God, that the Virgin Mary might become the advocate of the virgin Eve. And as the human race was bound to death through a virgin, it is saved through a Virgin” (Ap. Cornelius à Lapide, In Proverbs 31:29). And Blessed Raymond Jordano also says, “that every good, every help, every grace that men have received and will receive from God until the end of time, came, and will come, to them by the intercession and through the hands of Mary” (Cont. B. M. in prol.).

[Mention Intention]

Prayer
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY: O Queen of Heaven and Earth, rule over me, and teach me how to allow the Heart of Jesus to rule and triumph in me and around me, as it has ruled and triumphed in thee. I consecrate myself to thy Queenship, and recommend to thy protection my family, my country, and the whole human race. Please accept my consecration, my Queen and my Mother, and use me according to thy wishes, to accomplish thy designs upon the world and within my soul. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

LITANY IN HONOR OF THE QUEENSHIP OF OUR LADY

SIXTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted daily)
Theme: The Queen of Heaven is the Queen of Repentant Sinners

Our Lady Says:

Reading on the Queenship of Mary
Taken from The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori

Our Blessed Lady told St. Bridget that she was the mother not only of the just and innocent, but also of sinners, provided they were willing to repent (Rev. 1. iv. c. 138). O how prompt does a sinner (desirous of amendment, and who flies to her feet) find this good mother to embrace and help him, far more so than any earthly mother! St. Gregory VII wrote in this sense to the princess Matilda, saying: “Resolve to sin no more, and I promise that undoubtedly thou wilt find Mary more ready to love thee than any earthly mother” (Lib. i. ep. 47).

But whoever aspires to be a child of this great mother, must first abandon sin, and then may hope to be accepted as such. Richard of St. Laurence, on the words of Proverbs, up rose her children (Proverbs xxxi. 28.), remarks that the words “up rose” come first, and then the word “children,” to show that no one can be a child of Mary without first endeavoring to rise from the fault into which he has fallen; for he who is in mortal sin is not worthy to be called the son of such a mother (De Laud. B. V. lib. ii. p. 5). And St. Peter Chrysologus says that he who acts in a different manner from Mary, declares thereby that he will not be her son. “He who does not the works of his mother, abjures his lineage” (Serm. 123). Mary humble, and he proud; Mary pure, and he wicked; Mary full of love, and he hating his neighbor. He gives thereby proof that he is not, and will not be, the son of his holy Mother. The sons of Mary, says Richard of St. Laurence, are her imitators, and this chiefly in three things; in “chastity, liberality, and humility; and also in meekness, mercy, and such like” (Loco cit).

Whilst disgusting her by a wicked life, who would dare even to wish to be the child of Mary? A certain sinner once said to Mary, “Show thyself a Mother;” but the Blessed Virgin replied, “Show thyself a son” (Aur. Aff. Scamb. p. 3, c. 12). Another invoked the divine Mother, calling her the Mother of mercy, and she answered: “You sinners, when you want my help, call me Mother of mercy, and at the same time do not cease by your sins to make me a Mother of sorrows and anguish” (Pelb. Stell. 1. xii. p. ult. c. 7). He is cursed of God, says Ecclesiasticus, that angereth his mother (Ecclesiasticus 3:18). “That is Mary” (De Laud. B. M. l. 2, p. 1), says Richard of St. Laurence. God curses those who by their wicked life, and still more by their obstinacy in sin, afflict this tender mother.

I say, by their obstinacy; for if a sinner, though he may not as yet have given up his sin, endeavors to do so, and for this purpose seeks the help of Mary, this good mother will not fail to assist him, and make him recover the grace of God. And this is precisely what St. Bridget heard one day from the lips of Jesus Christ, who, speaking to his mother, said, “Thou assistest him who endeavors to return to God, and thy consolations are never wanting to any one” (Rev. 1. 4, c. 19).

So long, then, as a sinner is obstinate, Mary cannot love him; but if he (finding himself chained by some passion which keeps him a slave of Hell) recommends himself to the Blessed Virgin, and implores her, with confidence and perseverance, to withdraw him from the state of sin in which he is, there can be no doubt but this good mother will extend her powerful hand to him, will deliver him from his chains, and lead him to a state of salvation.

Meditation
The doctrine that all prayers and works performed in a state of sin are sins was condemned as heretical by the sacred Council of Trent (Sess. vi. can. 7). St. Bernard says (De Div. s. 81), that although prayer in the mouth of a sinner is devoid of beauty, as it is unaccompanied with charity, nevertheless it is useful, and obtains grace to abandon sin; for, as St. Thomas teaches (IIa-IIae, q. 178, a. 2.), the prayer of a sinner, though without merit, is an act which obtains the grace of forgiveness, since the power of impetration is founded not on the merits of him who asks, but on the divine goodness, and the merits and promises of Jesus Christ, who has said, Every one that asketh, receiveth (Luke 11:10). The same thing must be said of prayers offered to the divine mother. “If he who prays,” says St. Anselm, “does not merit to be heard, the merits of the mother, to whom he recommends himself, will intercede effectually” (De Excell. Virg. c. 6).

Therefore, St. Bernard exhorts all sinners to have recourse to Mary, invoking her with great confidence; for though the sinner does not himself merit the graces which he asks, yet he receives them, because this Blessed Virgin asks and obtains them from God, on account of her own merits. These are his words, addressing a sinner: “Because thou wast unworthy to receive the grace thyself, it was given to Mary, in order that, through her, thou mightest receive all” (In Virg. Nat. s. 3). ”If a mother,” continues the same saint, “knew that her two sons bore a mortal enmity to each other, and that each plotted against the other’s life, would she not exert herself to her utmost in order to reconcile them? This would be the duty of a good mother. And thus it is,” the saint goes on to say, “that Mary acts; for she is the mother of Jesus, and the mother of men. When she sees a sinner at enmity with Jesus Christ, she cannot endure it, and does all in her power to make peace between them. O happy Mary, thou art the Mother of the criminal, and the Mother of the judge; and being the Mother of both, they are thy children, and thou canst not endure discords amongst them” (Ap. S. Bonav. Spec. B. V. lect. 3).

This most benign Lady only requires that the sinner should recommend himself to her, and purpose amendment. When Mary sees a sinner at her feet, imploring her mercy, she does not consider the crimes with which he is loaded, but the intention with which he comes; and if this is good, even should he have committed all possible sins, the most loving mother embraces him, and does not disdain to heal the wounds of his soul; for she is not only called the Mother of Mercy, but is so truly and indeed, and shows herself such by the love and tenderness with which she assists us all. And this is precisely what the Blessed Virgin herself said to St. Bridget: “However much a man sins, I am ready immediately to receive him when he repents; nor do I pay attention to the number of his sins, but only to the intention with which he comes: I do not disdain to anoint and heal his wounds; for I am called, and truly am, the Mother of Mercy” (Rev. l. 2, c. 23.—l. 6, c. 117).

Mary is the mother of sinners who wish to repent, and as a mother she cannot do otherwise than compassionate them; nay more, she seems to feel the miseries of her poor children as if they were her own. When the Canaanitish woman begged Our Lord to deliver her daughter from the devil who possessed her, she said, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David, my daughter is grievously troubled by a devil (Matthew 15:22). But since the daughter, and not the mother, was tormented, she should rather have said, “Lord, take compassion on my daughter:” and not, Have mercy on me; but no, she said, “Have mercy on me,” and she was right; for the sufferings of children are felt by their mother as if they were their own. And it is precisely thus, says Richard of St. Laurence, that Mary prays to God when she recommends a sinner to him who has had recourse to her; she cries out for the sinful soul, “Have mercy on me!” “My Lord,” she seems to say, “this poor soul that is in sin is my daughter, and therefore, pity not so much her as me, who am her mother” (De Laud. B. M. l. 6).

Would that all sinners had recourse to this sweet mother! for then certainly all would be pardoned by God. “O Mary,” exclaims St. Bonaventure in rapturous astonishment, “thou embracest with maternal affection a sinner despised by the whole world, nor dost thou leave him until thou has reconciled the poor creature with his judge” (In Spec. B. V. lect. 5); meaning that the sinner, whilst in the state of sin, is hated and loathed by all, even by inanimate creatures; fire, air, and Earth would chastise him, and avenge the honor of their outraged Lord. But if this unhappy creature flies to Mary, will Mary reject him? Oh, no: provided he goes to her for help, and in order to amend, she will embrace him with the affection of a mother, and will not let him go, until, by her powerful intercession, she has reconciled him with God, and reinstated him in grace.

[Mention Intention]

Prayer
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY: O Queen of Heaven and Earth, rule over me, and teach me how to allow the Heart of Jesus to rule and triumph in me and around me, as it has ruled and triumphed in thee. I consecrate myself to thy Queenship, and recommend to thy protection my family, my country, and the whole human race. Please accept my consecration, my Queen and my Mother, and use me according to thy wishes, to accomplish thy designs upon the world and within my soul. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

LITANY IN HONOR OF THE QUEENSHIP OF OUR LADY

SEVENTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted daily)
Theme: The Queen of Heaven is the Queen of Martyrs

Our Lady Says:
“Consider what shall be the lot of the saints, who for the love of God have performed such heroic and magnificent works, and have suffered such cruel torments and martyrdom as are known in the Church of Christ.” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).

Reading on the Queenship of Mary
Taken from The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori

Mary was the Queen of Martyrs, for her martyrdom was longer and greater than that of all the Martyrs. As Jesus is called the King of sorrows and the King of martyrs, because He suffered during, His life more than all other martyrs; so also is Mary with reason called the Queen of martyrs, having merited this title by suffering the most cruel martyrdom possible after that of her Son. Hence, with reason, was she called by Richard of Saint Lawrence, “the Martyr of martyrs”; and of her can the words of Isaias with all truth be said, “He will crown thee with a crown of tribulation” ― that is to say, that that suffering itself, which exceeded the suffering of all the other martyrs united, was the crown by which she was shown to be the Queen of martyrs. That Mary was a true martyr cannot be doubted, as Denis the Carthusian, Pelbart, Catharinus, and others prove; for it is an undoubted opinion that suffering sufficient to cause death is martyrdom, even though death does not ensue from it. Saint John the Evangelist is revered as a martyr, though he did not die in the caldron of boiling oil, but he came out more vigorous than he went in. Saint Thomas says, “that to have the glory of martyrdom, it is sufficient to exercise obedience in its highest degree, that is to say, to be obedient unto death.” “Mary was a martyr,” says Saint Bernard, “not by the sword of the executioner, but by bitter sorrow of heart.” If her body was not wounded by the hand of the executioner, her blessed heart was transfixed by a sword of grief at the passion of her Son; grief which was sufficient to have caused her death, not once, but a thousand times. From this we shall see that Mary was not only a real martyr, but that her martyrdom surpassed all others; for it was longer than that of all others, and her whole life may be said to have been a prolonged death.

“The passion of Jesus,” as Saint Bernard says, “commenced with His birth”. So also did Mary, in all things like unto her Son, endure her martyrdom throughout her life. Amongst other significations of the name of Mary, as Blessed Albert the Great asserts, is that of “a bitter sea.” Hence to her is applicable the text of Jeremias: “great as the sea is thy destruction.” For as the sea is all bitter and salt, so also was the life of Mary always full of bitterness at the sight of the passion of the Redeemer, which was ever present to her mind. “There can be no doubt, that, enlightened by the Holy Ghost in a far higher degree than all the prophets, she, far better than they, understood the predictions recorded by them in the sacred Scriptures concerning the Messias.” This is precisely what the angel revealed to St. Bridget; and he also added, “that the Blessed Virgin, even before she became His Mother, knowing how much the Incarnate Word was to suffer for the salvation of men, and compassionating this innocent Savior, who was to be so cruelly put to death for crimes not His own, even then began her great martyrdom.”

Her grief was immeasurably increased when she became the Mother of this Savior; so that at the sad sight of the many torments which were to be endured by her poor Son, she indeed suffered a long martyrdom, a martyrdom which lasted her whole life. Wherefore Mary might well say, in the words of David, “My life is wasted with grief, and my years in sighs.” “My sorrow is continually before me.” “My whole life was spent in sorrow and in tears; for my sorrow, which was compassion for my beloved Son, never departed from before my eyes, as I always foresaw the sufferings and death which He was one day to endure.” The Divine Mother herself revealed to Saint Bridget, that “even after the death and ascension of her Son, whether she ate, or worked, the remembrance of His passion was ever deeply impressed on her mind, and fresh in her tender heart”. Hence Tauler says, “that the most Blessed Virgin spent her whole life in continual sorrow;” for her heart was always occupied with sadness and with suffering.

Therefore time, which usually mitigates the sorrows of the afflicted, did not relieve Mary; nay, even it increased her sorrow; for, as Jesus, on the one hand, advanced in age, and always appeared more and more beautiful and amiable; so also, on the other hand, the time of His death always drew nearer, and grief always increased in the heart of Mary, at the thought of having to lose Him on earth. So that, in the words addressed by the angel to Saint Bridget: “As the rose grows up amongst thorns, so the Mother of God advanced in years in the midst of sufferings; and as the thorns increase with the growth of the rose, so also did the thorns of her sorrows increase in Mary, the chosen rose of the Lord, as she advanced in age; and so much the more deeply did they pierce her heart. Having now considered the tenth of this sorrow in point of duration, let us pass to the second point-its greatness in point of intensity.

Meditation
Mary was not only Queen of martyrs because her martyrdom, was longer than that of all others, but also because it was the greatest of all martyrdoms. Who, however, can measure its greatness? Jeremias seems unable to find anyone with whom be can compare this Mother of Sorrows, when he considers her great sufferings at the death of her Son. “To what shall I compare thee or to what shall I liken thee, O daughter of Jerusalem ... for great as the sea is thy destruction: who shall heal thee?” Wherefore Cardinal Hugo, in a commentary on these words, says, “O Blessed Virgin, as the sea in bitterness exceeds all other bitterness, so does thy grief exceed all other grief.” Hence Saint Anselm asserts, that “had not God by a special miracle preserved the life of Mary in each moment of her life, her grief was such that it would have caused her death.” Saint Bernardine of Siena goes so far as to say, “that the grief of Mary was so great that, were it divided amongst all men, it would suffice to cause their immediate death.”

But let us consider the reasons for which Mary's martyrdom was greater than that of all martyrs. In the first place, we must remember that the martyrs endured their torments, which were the effect of fire and other material agencies, in their bodies; Mary suffered hers in her soul, as Saint Simeon foretold: “And my own soul a sword shall pierce.” As if the holy old man had said: “O most sacred Virgin, the bodies of other martyrs will be torn with iron, but thou wilt be transfixed, and martyred in thy soul by the Passion of thine own Son.” Now, as the soul is more noble than the body, so much greater were Mary's sufferings than those of all the martyrs, as Jesus Christ Himself said to Saint Catherine of Siena: “Between the sufferings of the soul and those of the body there is no comparisons.” Whence the holy Abbot Arnold of Chartres says, “that whoever had been present on Mount Calvary, to witness the great sacrifice of the Immaculate Lamb, would there have beheld two great altars, the one in the body of Jesus, the other in the heart of Mary; for, on that mount, at the same time that the Son sacrificed His body by death, Mary sacrificed her soul by compassion.”

Moreover, says Saint Antoninus, “while other martyrs suffered by sacrificing their own lives, the Blessed Virgin suffered by sacrificing her Son's life, a life that she loved far more than her own; so that she not only suffered in her soul all that her Son endured in His body, but moreover the sight of her Son's torments brought more grief to her heart than if she had endured them all in her own person. No one can doubt that Mary suffered in her heart all the outrages which she saw inflicted on her beloved Jesus. Any one can understand that the sufferings of children are also those of their mothers who witness them.”

Saint Augustine, considering the anguish endured by the mother of the Machabees in witnessing the tortures of her sons, says, “she, seeing their sufferings, suffered in each one; because she loved them all, she endured in her soul what they endured in their flesh.” Thus also did Mary suffer all those torments, scourges, thorns, nails, and the cross, which tortured the innocent flesh of Jesus, all entered at the same time into the heart of this Blessed Virgin, to complete her martyrdom. “He suffered in “the flesh, and she in her heart,” writes that Blessed Amadeus. “So much so,” says Saint Lawrence Justinian, “that the heart of Mary became, as it were, a mirror of the Passion of the Son, in which might be seen, faithfully reflected, the spitting, the blows and wounds, and all that Jesus suffered.” Saint Bonaventure also remarks that “those wounds—which were scattered over the body of our Lord were all united in the single heart of Mary.”

Thus was our Blessed Lady, through the compassion of her loving heart for her Son, scourged, crowned with thorns, insulted, and nailed to the cross. Whence the same Saint, considering Mary on Mount Calvary, present at the death of her Son, questions her in these words: “O Lady, tell me where didst thou stand? Was it only at the foot of the cross? Ah, much more than this, thou wast on the cross itself, crucified with thy Son.” Richard of Saint Lawrence, on the words of the Redeemer, spoken by Isaias the prophet, “I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with me,” says, “It is true, O Lord, that in the work of human redemption Thou didst suffer alone, and that there was not a man who sufficiently pitied Thee; but there was a woman with Thee, and she was Thine own Mother; she suffered in her heart all that Thou didst endure in Thy body.”

We must reflect on another circumstance which rendered the martyrdom of Mary beyond all comparison greater than the torments of all the martyrs: it is, that in the Passion of Jesus she suffered much, and she suffered, moreover, without the least alleviation. The martyrs suffered under the torments inflicted on them by tyrants; but the love of Jesus rendered their pains sweet and agreeable. So that the more the holy martyrs loved Jesus, the less did they feel their torments and death; and the sight alone of the sufferings of a crucified God was sufficient to console them. But was our suffering Mother also consoled by love for her Son, and the sight of His torments? Ah, no; for this very Son who suffered was the whole cause of them, and the love she bore Him was her only and most cruel executioner; for Mary's whole martyrdom consisted in beholding and pitying her innocent and beloved Son, who suffered so much. Hence, the greater was her love for Him, the more bitter and inconsolable was her grief. “Great as the sea is thy destruction; who shall heal thee?” It is certain that the more we love a thing, the greater is the pain we feel in losing it. We are more afflicted at the loss of a brother than at that of a beast of burden; we are more grieved at the loss of a son than at that of a friend. Now, Cornelius à Lapide says, “that to understand the greatness of Mary's grief at the death of her Son, we must understand the greatness of the love she bore Him.” And if the love of Mary towards her Son was immense, immense also must have been her grief in losing Him by death. “Where there is the greatest love,” says St. Albert the Great, “there also is the greatest grief.”

[Mention Intention]

Prayer
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY: O Queen of Heaven and Earth, rule over me, and teach me how to allow the Heart of Jesus to rule and triumph in me and around me, as it has ruled and triumphed in thee. I consecrate myself to thy Queenship, and recommend to thy protection my family, my country, and the whole human race. Please accept my consecration, my Queen and my Mother, and use me according to thy wishes, to accomplish thy designs upon the world and within my soul. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

LITANY IN HONOR OF THE QUEENSHIP OF OUR LADY

EIGHTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted daily)
Theme: The Queen of the Banished Children of Eve

Our Lady Says:
“The first parents of the human race, Adam and Eve, were exalted to the highest dignity and raised to exquisite favor, as coming forth from the hand of the Almighty: their fall caused perdition to themselves and to all their posterity, and Faith teaches what was the cost of their salvation. To restore them and their posterity was the work of an infinite mercy. Just as thou wouldst shed tears of humiliation and confusion at some ignominious fault of thy natural brother; so I wish that thou do it for the sins which the mortals commit against God, sorrowing for them in confusion as if thou wert responsible for them thyself. That is what I did at the thought of the disobedience of Adam and Eve and of all the evils, which ensued therefrom to the human race.” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).

Reading on the Queenship of Mary
Taken from The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori

We poor banished children of the unhappy Eve, guilty before God of her sin, and condemned to the same punishment, go wandering through this valley of tears, exiles from our country, weeping and afflicted by innumerable pains of body and soul! But blessed is he who in the midst of so many miseries turns to the consoler of the world, to the refuge of the unhappy, to the great mother of God, and devoutly invokes her and supplicates her! “Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates.” Blessed, says Mary, is he who listens to my counsels, and incessantly watches at the door of my mercy, invoking my help and intercession!

The holy Church instructs us her children with how great attention and confidence we should have continually recourse to this our loving protectress; ordaining special devotions to her, that during the year many festivals should be celebrated in her honor; that one day of the week should be especially consecrated to her; that every day, in the divine office, all ecclesiastics and members of religious orders should invoke her in behalf of the whole Christian people, and that three times a day all the faithful, at the sound of the bell, should salute her. This will suffice to show how, in all seasons of public calamity, the holy Church always directs her children to have recourse to the divine mother with novenas, prayers, processions, visits to her churches and altars. This, Mary herself wishes us to do, namely, always to invoke and supplicate her, not to ask our homage and praise, which are too poor in comparison with her merit, but that our confidence and devotion to her thus increasing, she may aid and console us more. She seeks such as approach her devoutly and reverently, says St. Bonaventure; these she cherishes, loves, and adopts as her children.

The same St. Bonaventure says, that Mary was prefigured by Ruth, whose name, being interpreted, signifies seeing, hastening for Mary, seeing our miseries, hastens to aid us by her compassion. To which Novarino adds, that Mary is so desirous to do us good, that she can bear no delay; and not being a miserly keeper of her favors, but the mother of mercy, she cannot restrain herself from dispensing, as soon as possible among her servants, the treasures of her liberality.

Oh, how ready is this good mother to aid him who invokes her! “Thy two breasts are like two young roes.” Richard of St. Laurence, explaining this passage, says that the breasts of Mary readily, like the roes, give the milk of mercy to those who ask it. The same author assures us that the mercy of Mary is bestowed on all who ask it, though they offer no prayer but a “Hail Mary.” Hence, Novarino affirms, that the blessed Virgin not only hastens, but flies to aid those who have recourse to her. She, says this author, in exercising mercy, cannot but resemble God; for, as the Lord hastens to succor those who ask help from him, being very faithful to observe the promise which he has made to us Ask, and you shall receive so Mary, when she is invoked, immediately hastens to help those who call upon her. And by this is explained who was the woman of the Apocalypse, with two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the desert. Ribeira explains these two wings to signify the love with which Mary always hastens to God. But the blessed Amadeus says, remarking on this passage, that the wings of an eagle signify the velocity with which Mary, surpassing in swiftness the seraphs, always comes to the help of her children.

We read in the Gospel of St. Luke, that when Mary went to visit St. Elizabeth, and be stow blessings on all her family, she was not slow, but travelled that whole journey with haste. But we do not read that it was so on her return. For the same reason, it is said in the sacred Canticles, that the hands of Mary are turned. For, as Richard of St. Laurence explains it, The art of turning is easier and quicker than other arts, so Mary is more ready than any other of the saints to aid her supplicants. She has the greatest desire to console all, and she scarcely hears herself invoked before she graciously receives the petition and comes to our aid. Justly, then, St. Bonaventure calls Mary: “The salvation of those who invoke thee!” signifying, that to be saved it is sufficient to appeal to this divine mother, who, according to Richard of St. Laurence, is always ready to aid those who pray to her. For, as St. Bernardine de Bustis says: “This great Lady is more desirous to confer favors upon us than we are to receive them.”

Meditation
Neither should the multitude of our sins diminish our confidence that we shall be graciously heard by Mary, if we cast ourselves at her feet. She is the mother of mercy, and there would be no occasion for mercy, if there were no wretchedness to be relieved Therefore, as a good mother does not hesitate to apply a remedy to her child, however loathsome its disease, although the cure may be troublesome and disgusting; thus our good mother does not abandon us, when we recur to her however great may be the filth of our sins, which she comes to cure. This sentiment is taken from Richard of St. Laurence. And Mary intended to signify the same when she appeared to St. Gertrude, spreading her mantle to receive all who had recourse to her: at the same time it was given the saint to understand, that the angels are waiting to defend the devout suppliants of Mary from the assaults of hell

So great is the love and pity which this good mother has for us, that she does not wait for our prayers before giving us her aid. “She preventeth them that covet her, so that she first showeth herself unto them.” These words of wisdom St. Anselm applies to Mary, and says that she anticipates those who desire her protection. By this we are to understand, that she obtains many graces from God for us before we ask them from her. Therefore Richard of St. Victor says: “Mary is called the moon ― ‘Beautiful as the moon!’― not only because she hastens as the moon to shine on those who seek her light, but because she so earnestly desires our welfare that in our necessities she anticipates our prayers, and in her compassion she is more prompt to help us than we are to have recourse to her. For the breast of Mary is so full of pity that she scarcely knows our miseries before she offers us the milk of her mercy, neither can this gracious queen perceive the necessities of any soul without relieving it.”

And truly, Mary manifested to us while she was on earth, in the nuptials of Cana, her great compassion for our sufferings, which prompts her to relieve them before we pray to her. This kind mother saw the trouble of that pair who were mortified to find that their wine had failed at the wedding banquet; and without being requested, moved only by her compassionate heart, which cannot look upon the afflictions of others without pity, prayed her Son, to console them by merely mentioning to him the necessities of the family: “They have no wine!” After which, her Son, to comfort that family, and still more to satisfy the compassionate heart of his mother, performed, as she desired, the well-known miracle of changing the water contained in vases into wine. Kovarino here remarks, that if Mary, though un asked, is so ready to aid us in our necessities, how much more so will she be when we invoke her and implore her aid!

If any one doubts that he shall be assisted by Mary when he has recourse to her, let him listen to the words of Innocent III: “Who has ever invoked this sweet Lady, and has not been heard by her? Who, O holy Virgin, exclaims the blessed Eutychian, has ever sought thy powerful protection, which can relieve the most miserable and rescue the most degraded, and has been abandoned by thee? No, this has never happened, and never will happen. Let him be silent concerning thy mercy, oh blessed Virgin, whose necessities have been neglected by thee after he has implored thy aid!”

Sooner will heaven and earth be destroyed, says the devout Blosius, than Mary fail to aid those who, with a pure intention, recommend themselves to her and put their confidence in her. And to increase our confidence, St. Anselm adds, that when we have recourse to this divine mother, we may not only be sure of her protection, but that sometimes we shall be sooner heard and saved by invoking her holy name than that of Jesus our Savior. And he gives this reason: Because it belongs to Christ, as our judge, to punish, but to Mary, as our advocate, to pity. By this he would give us to understand, that we sooner find salvation by recurring to the mother than the Son; not because Mary is more powerful than her Son to save us, for we know that Jesus is our only Savior, and that by his merits alone he has obtained and does obtain for us salvation; but because when we have recourse to Jesus, considering him also as the judge to whom it belongs to punish the ungrateful, we may lose the confidence necessary to be heard; but going to Mary, who holds no other office than that of exercising compassion towards us as mother of mercy, and defending us as our advocate our confidence will be more secure and greater. We ask many things of God and do not obtain them; we ask them from Mary and obtain them; how is this? Nicephorus answers: This does not happen because Mary is more powerful than God, but because God has seen fit thus to honor his mother.

How consoling is the promise that our Lord himself made on this subject to St. Bridget. We read in her revelations, that one day this saint heard Jesus speaking with his mother, and that he said to her: “Mother, ask of me whatever thou wilt, for I will refuse nothing that thou dost ask and be assured,” he added, “that all those who for love of thee seek any favor, although they are sinners, if they desire to amend. I promise to hear them.” The same thing was revealed to St. Gertrude, who heard our Redeemer himself say to Mary, that he had in his omnipotence permitted her to exercise mercy towards sinners who invoke her, in whatever manner it should please her.

Every one invoking this mother of mercy may then say, with St. Augustine: “Remember, oh most compassionate Lady! that since the beginning of the world there never has been any one abandoned by thee. Therefore pardon me if I say that I do not wish to be the first sinner who has sought thy aid in vain.”

[Mention Intention]

Prayer
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY: O Queen of Heaven and Earth, rule over me, and teach me how to allow the Heart of Jesus to rule and triumph in me and around me, as it has ruled and triumphed in thee. I consecrate myself to thy Queenship, and recommend to thy protection my family, my country, and the whole human race. Please accept my consecration, my Queen and my Mother, and use me according to thy wishes, to accomplish thy designs upon the world and within my soul. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

LITANY IN HONOR OF THE QUEENSHIP OF OUR LADY

NINTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted daily)
Theme: The Queen of Heaven and Earth

Our Lady Says:

Reading on the Queenship of Mary
Taken from True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort

Mary is the Queen of Heaven and Earth by grace, as Jesus is the King of them by nature and by conquest. Now, as the kingdom of Jesus Christ consists principally in the heart or the interior of man—according to the words, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21)—in like manner the kingdom of our Blessed Lady is principally in the interior of man; that is to say, his soul. And it is principally in souls that she is more glorified with her Son than in all visible creatures, and so we can call her, as the saints do, the Queen of All Hearts.

God wishes that His holy Mother should be at present more known, more loved, more honored than she has ever been. This, no doubt, will take place if the predestinate enter, with the grace and light of the Holy Ghost, into the interior and perfect practice which I will disclose to them shortly. Then they will see clearly, as far as Faith allows, that beautiful Star of the Sea.

They will arrive happily in harbor, following its guidance, in spite of the tempests and the pirates. They will know the grandeurs of that Queen, and will consecrate themselves entirely to her service as subjects and slaves of love. They will experience her sweetness and her maternal goodness, and they will love her tenderly like well-beloved children. They will know the mercies of which she is full, and the need they have of her help; and they will have recourse to her in all things, as to their dear advocate and Mediatrix with Jesus Christ. They will know what is the surest, the easiest, the shortest and the most perfect means of going to Jesus Christ; and they will give themselves to Mary, body and soul, without reserve, that they may thus belong entirely to Jesus Christ.

Moreover, if, as I have said, the holy Virgin is the Queen and Sovereign of Heaven and Earth, has she not then as many subjects and slaves as there are creatures? St. Anselm, St. Bernard, St. Bernardine, St. Bonaventure say: “All things, the Virgin included, are subject to the empire of God: Behold, all things, and God included, are subject to the empire of the Virgin.” Is it not reasonable that among so many slaves of constraint there should be some of love, who of their own good will, in the quality of slaves, should choose Mary for their Mistress?

Meditation
Oh, how strong and mighty we are with Jesus Christ when we are armed with the merits and intercession of the worthy Mother of God, who, as St. Augustine says, has lovingly vanquished the Most High. As by this practice of giving Our Lord everything through the hands of Mary, we give to Our Lord, by His Mother’s hands, all our good works, that good Mother purifies them, embellishes them and makes them acceptable to her Son.

She purifies them of all the stain of self-love, and of that imperceptible attachment to created things which slips unnoticed into our best actions. As soon as they are in her most pure and fruitful hands, those same hands, which have never been sullied or idle and which purify whatever they touch, take away from the present which we give her all that was spoiled or imperfect about it.

She embellishes our works, adorning them with her own merits and virtues. It is as if a peasant, wishing to gain the friendship and benevolence of the king, went to the queen and presented her with a fruit which was his whole revenue, in order that she might present it to the king. The queen, having accepted the poor little offering from the peasant, would place the fruit on a large and beautiful dish of gold, and so, on the peasant’s behalf, would present it to the king. Then the fruit, however unworthy in itself to be a king’s present, would become worthy of his majesty because of the dish of gold on which it rested and the person who presented it.

She presents these good works to Jesus Christ; for she keeps nothing of what is given her for herself, as if she were our last end. She faithfully passes it all on to Jesus. If we give to her, we give necessarily to Jesus. If we praise her or glorify her, she immediately praises and glorifies Jesus. As of old when St. Elizabeth praised her, so now when we praise her and bless her, she sings: “My soul doth magnify the Lord.” (Luke 1:46).

She persuades Jesus to accept these good works, however little and poor the present may be for that Saint of Saints and that King of Kings. When we present anything to Jesus by ourselves, and relying on our own efforts and dispositions, Jesus examines the offering, and often rejects it because of the stains it has contracted through self-love, just as of old He rejected the sacrifices of the Jews when they were full of their own will.

But when we present Him anything by the pure and virginal hands of His well-beloved, we take Him by His weak side, if it is allowable to use such a term. He does not consider so much the thing that is given Him as the Mother who presents it. He does not consider so much whence the offering comes, as by whom it comes. Thus Mary, who is never repelled but always well received by her Son, makes everything she presents to Him, great or small, acceptable to His Majesty. Mary has but to present it for Jesus to accept it and be pleased with it. St. Bernard used to give to those whom he conducted to perfection this great counsel: “When you want to offer anything to God, take care to offer it by the most agreeable and worthy hands of Mary, unless you wish to have it rejected.”

Is not this what nature itself suggests to the little with regard to the great, as we have already seen? Why should not grace lead us to do the same thing with regard to God, who is infinitely exalted above us and before whom we are less than atoms—especially since we have an advocate so powerful that she is never refused; so ingenious that she knows all the secret ways of winning the heart of God; and so good and charitable that she repels no one, however little and wretched he may be.

[Mention Intention]

Prayer
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY: O Queen of Heaven and Earth, rule over me, and teach me how to allow the Heart of Jesus to rule and triumph in me and around me, as it has ruled and triumphed in thee. I consecrate myself to thy Queenship, and recommend to thy protection my family, my country, and the whole human race. Please accept my consecration, my Queen and my Mother, and use me according to thy wishes, to accomplish thy designs upon the world and within my soul. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

ANOTHER ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
Based upon the "True Devotion" Act of Consecration to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort

O Virgin Mary, most powerful Mother of Mercy, Queen of Heaven and Earth, in accordance with your wish made known at Fatima, I consecrate myself today to thy Immaculate Heart. To you I entrust all that I have, all that I am. Reign over me, dearest Mother, that I may be thine in prosperity, in adversity, in joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness, in life and in death.

Most compassionate Heart of Mary, Queen of Virgins, watch over my mind and heart and preserve me from the deluge of impurity, which you lamented so sorrowfully at Fatima. I want to be pure like thee. I want to atone for the many crimes committed against Jesus and thee. I want to call down upon this country and the whole world the peace of God in justice and charity.

Mindful of this consecration, I now promise to strive to imitate thee by the practice of the Christian virtues, without paying attention to human respect. I resolve to receive Holy Communion on the first Saturday of every month when possible, and to offer daily at least five decades of the Rosary, with all my sacrifices in the spirit of penance and reparation.

I, . . ., a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in thy Heart, O Immaculate Mother, the vows of my Baptism; I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before.

Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, in the presence of all the heavenly court, I choose thee this day for my Mother and Mistress. I deliver and consecrate to thee, and to thy Immaculate Heart, as thy child and slave of love, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future; leaving to thee the entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to thy good pleasure, for the greater glory of God, in time and in eternity. Amen.