Devotion to Our Lady |
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LITANY OF THE SORROWFUL HEART OF MARY
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.. God the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us. Holy Mary, Pray for us. Holy Mother of God, Pray for us. Holy Virgin of virgins, Pray for us. Mother crucified, Pray for us. Mother sorrowful, Pray for us. Mother tearful, Pray for us. Mother afflicted, Pray for us. Mother forsaken, Pray for us. Mother desolate, Pray for us. Mother bereft of thy Child, Pray for us. Mother transfixed with the sword, Pray for us. Mother consumed with grief, Pray for us. Mother filled with anguish, Pray for us. Mother crucified in heart, Pray for us. Mother most sad, Pray for us. Fountain of tears, Pray for us. Abyss of suffering, Pray for us. Mirror of patience, Pray for us. Rock of constancy, Pray for us. Anchor of confidence, Pray for us. Refuge of the forsaken, Pray for us. Shield of the oppressed, Pray for us. Subduer of the unbelieving, Pray for us. Comfort of the afflicted, Pray for us. Medicine of the sick, Pray for us. Strength of the weak, Pray for us. Harbor of the wrecked, Pray for us. Allayer of tempests, Pray for us. Solace of mourners, Pray for us. Terror of the treacherous, Pray for us. Treasure of the faithful, Pray for us. Eye of the Prophets, Pray for us. Staff of the Apostles, Pray for us. Crown of martyrs, Pray for us. Light of confessors, Pray for us. Pearl of virgins, Pray for us. Consolation of widows, Pray for us. Joy of all saints, 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. Look down upon us, deliver us, and save us from all trouble, in the power of Jesus Christ. Amen. V. Pray for us most Sorrowful Mother of God R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us pray: Imprint, O Sorrowful Mother, thy wounds upon my heart, that I may read therein sorrow and love—sorrow to endure every sorrow for thee; love, to despise every love for thee. R. Amen. The above litany was written in Latin by Pope Pius VII in 1809 during his captivity under Napoleon Bonaparte. |
TODAY'S PRAYERS, READING & MEDITATION
(Saturday, September 30th) Our Lord stated to Berthe Petit: “My Mother’s Heart has the right to the title of Sorrowful. I desire that it be set before her title of Immaculate because She herself has won it. The Church has recognized what I Myself did for My Mother: her Immaculate Conception. Now it is necessary and it is my wish, that this title which is by right My Mother’s should be understood and recognized. This title She earned by her identification with all My sufferings, by her sorrow, her sacrifice, her immolation on Calvary, and indeed for the salvation of mankind.” (Words of Our Lord to Berthe Petit).
Opening Prayer to the Sorrowful Heart of Mary
composed by the St. Bridget O Blessed Virgin Mary, Immaculate Mother of God, who didst endure a martyrdom of love and grief, beholding the sufferings and sorrows of Jesus! Thou didst cooperate in the benefit of my redemption by thy innumerable afflictions and by offering to the Eternal Father His only-begotten Son as a holocaust and victim of propitiation for my sins. I thank thee for the unspeakable love which led thee to deprive thyself of the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus, true God and true Man, to save me, a sinner. O make use of the unfailing intercession of thy sorrows with the Father and the Son, that I may steadfastly amend my life and never again crucify my loving Redeemer by new sins; and that, persevering till death in His grace, I may obtain eternal life through the merits of His Cross and Passion. Amen. Mother of love, of sorrow, and of mercy, pray for us. Spiritual Reading
In October, 1920, Our Lord exalted the merits of the Sorrows of His Mother in these terms: “The title of Immaculate belongs to the whole being of My Mother and not specially to her Heart. This title flows from my gratuitous gift to the Virgin who was to give Me birth. My Mother has acquired for her Heart the title of Sorrowful by sharing generously in all the sufferings of My Heart and My Body from the crib to the cross. There is not one of these Sorrows which did not pierce the Heart of My Mother. Living image of My crucified Body, her virginal flesh bore the invisible marks of My wounds as her Heart felt the Sorrows of My own. Nothing could ever tarnish the incorruptibility of her Immaculate Heart. “The title of ‘Sorrowful’ belongs therefore to the Heart of My Mother, and more than any other, this title is dear to her because it springs from the union of her Heart with Mine in the redemption of humanity. This title has been acquired by her through her full participation in My Calvary, and it precedes the gratuitous title ‘Immaculate’ which My love bestowed upon her by a singular privilege.” Meditation
The grace of the Immaculate Conception and the initial plenitude of her charity considerably increased in Mary her capacity for suffering from the greatest of all evils, which is sin. It is in proportion to one’s personal love of God that one suffers from sin, because of the offence given to God and the souls lost by it. Thus the Immaculate Heart of Mary was sorrowful in proportion to her purity and spotlessness, and in the measure of her initial charity, in which she grew every moment until the hour of her death. When we say “Immaculate Heart of Mary” we recall what she received from God in the first instant of her conception. When we say “Sorrowful Heart”, we recall all that Mary has suffered and offered for us in union with her Son, from the words of holy Simeon to Calvary, and until her holy death. Final Prayer to the Sorrowful Heart of Mary
O most holy and afflicted Virgin! Queen of Martyrs! Thou who didst stand motionless beneath the Cross, witnessing the agony of thy expiring Son—through the unceasing sufferings of thy life of sorrow, and the bliss which now more than amply repays thee for thy past trials, look down with a mother’s tenderness and pity on me, who kneel before thee to venerate thy Sorrows, and place my requests, with filial confidence, in the sanctuary of thy wounded heart; present them, I beseech thee, on my behalf, to Jesus Christ, through the merits of His own most sacred death and passion, together with thy sufferings at the foot of the cross, and through the united efficacy of both obtain the grant of my present petition. To whom shall I resort in my wants and miseries if not to thee, O Mother of Mercy, who, having so deeply drunk of the chalice of thy Son, canst compassionate the woes of those who still sigh in the land of exile? Offer for me to my Savior one drop of the Blood which flowed from His sacred veins, one of the tears which trickled from His divine eyes, one of the sighs which rent His adorable Heart. O refuge of the universe and hope of the whole world, do not reject my humble prayer, but graciously obtain the grant of my petition. On July 2nd, 1940, Berthe Petit heard Our Lord say to her: “This is the last help which I give before the end of time: the recourse to My Mother under the title which I desire shall be hers throughout the whole world.” O Most Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us! |