Day 2 – May 23rd – Feast of Saint John Baptist de
Rossi
~Prayers~
O my sovereign Queen and worthy Mother of my God, most holy
Mary; I seeing myself, as I do, so despicable and loaded with so many sins,
ought not to presume to call thee Mother, or even to approach thee; yet I will
not allow my miseries to deprive me of the consolation and confidence that I
feel in calling thee mother; I know well that I deserve that thou shouldst
reject me; but I beseech thee to remember all that thy Son Jesus has endured
for me, and then reject me if thou canst.
I am a wretched sinner, who, more than all others, have despised the
infinite majesty of God: but the evil is done.
To thee have I recourse; thou canst help me; my Mother, help me. Say not that thou canst not do so; for I know
that thou art all-powerful, and that thou obtainest whatever thou desirest of
God; and if thou sayest that thou wilt not help me, tell me at least to whom I
can apply in this my so great misfortune.
"Either pity me," will I say with the devout St. Anselm,
"O my Jesus, and forgive me, and do thou pity me, my Mother Mary, by
interceding for me, or at least tell me to whom I can have recourse, who is
more compassionate, or in whom I can have greater confidence than in thee.”
(Prayer of Saint Alphonsus Ligouri, The Glories of Mary)
O God, who doest gladden us by the annual solemnity of
blessed John Baptist de Rossi Thy confessor, mercifully grant that we who
celebrate his heavenly birthday, may also imitate his example. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who
liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God,
world without end. Amen. (Missale Romanum)
~Reading for
Meditation~
Taken from Part I of
Chapter I of The Glories of Mary by Saint Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri, Bishop and
Doctor of the Church
"The title of Queen," remarks Blessed Albert the
Great (Super Miss. q. 162), "differs from that of Empress, which implies
severity and rigor, in signifying compassion and charity towards the
poor." "The greatness of kings
and queens," says Seneca, "consists in relieving the wretched"
(Medea, act. 2), and whereas tyrants, when they reign, have their own good in
view, kings should have that of their subjects at heart. For this reason it is that, at their
consecration, kings have their heads anointed with oil, which is the symbol of
mercy, to denote that, as kings, they should, above all things, nourish in their
hearts feelings of compassion and benevolence towards their subjects.
Kings should, then, occupy themselves principally in works
of mercy, but not so as to forget the just punishments that are to be inflicted
on the guilty. It is, however, not thus
with Mary, who, although a Queen, is not a queen of justice, intent on the
punishment of the wicked, but a queen of mercy, intent only on commiserating
and pardoning sinners. And this is the
reason for which the Church requires that we should expressly call her
"the Queen of Mercy." The
great Chancellor of Paris, John Gerson, in his commentary on the words of
David, These two things have I heard, that power belongeth to God, and mercy to
thee, O Lord (Ps. lxi. 12), says that the kingdom of God, consisting in justice
and mercy, was divided by our Lord: the kingdom of justice he reserved for
himself, and that of mercy he yielded to Mary, ordaining at the same time that
all mercies that are dispensed to men should pass through the hands of Mary,
and be disposed of by her at will. These
are Gerson's own words: "The kingdom of God consists in power and mercy;
reserving power to himself, he, in some way, yielded the empire of mercy to his
Mother" (Super Magn. tr. 4). This
is confirmed by St. Thomas, in his preface to the Canonical Epistles, saying, "that
when the Blessed Virgin conceived the Eternal Word in her womb, and brought him
forth, she obtained half the kingdom of God; so that she is Queen of Mercy, as
Jesus is King of Justice".
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