Day 3 – September 8 – Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Prayers-
Collect for the
Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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Deus, in cuius passióne, secúndum Simeónis prophétiam,
dulcíssimam ánimam gloriósæ Vírginis et Matris Maríæ dolóris gladius
pertransívit: concéde propítius; ut, qui transfixiónem eius et passiónem
venerándo recólimus, gloriósis méritis et précibus ómnium Sanctórum Cruci
fidéliter astántium intercedéntibus, passiónis tuæ efféctum felícem
consequámur: Qui vivis et regnas cum Deo Patre, in unitate Spiritus Sancti,
Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
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O God, in Whose Passion the sword, according to the
prophecy of blessed Simeon, pierced through the soul of Mary, the glorious
Virgin and Mother, mercifully grant that we, who reverently commemorate her
piercing through and her suffering, may, by the interceding glorious merits
of all the saints faithfully standing by the Cross, obtain the abundant fruit
of Your passion. Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of
the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.
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Collect for the
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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Famulis tuis, quaesumus, Domine, caelestis gratiae munus
impertire: ut quibus beatae Virginis partus exstitit salutis exordium,
Nativitatis eius votiva solemnitas pacis tribuat incrementum. Per Dóminum nostrum Iesum Christum, Filium
tuum: qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti Deus, per ómnia
sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.
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Grant unto us thy servants, we beseech thee, O Lord, the
gift of thy heavenly grace, unto whom Thou didst give the first sight of a
Saviour as the offspring of a Blessed Virgin, and grant that this Feast,
which they keep in honour of the same Virgin, may avail them unto the
increase of peace. 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.
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Excerpt from the
Sequence Stabat Mater dolorósa
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Quis est homo, qui non fleret,
Matrem Christi si vidéret
In tanto supplício?
Quis non posset contristári,
Christi Matrem contemplári
Doléntem cum Fílio?
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Is there one who would not weep
‘Whelmed in miseries so deep
Christ’s dear Mother’s pain untold.
Can the human heart refrain
From partaking in her pain,
In that Mother’s pain untold?
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Prayer by Saint
Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri
Then, oh Mary, even after thy Son hath died by the hands of
men who persecuted him unto death, have not these ungrateful men yet ceased
from persecuting him with their sins, and continuing to afflict thee, oh mother
of sorrows ? And I also, oh God, have been one of these. Ah, my most sweet
mother, obtain for me tears to weep for such ingratitude. And then, by the
sufferings thou didst experience in the journey to Egypt, assist me in the
journey that I am making to eternity, that at length I may go to unite with
thee in loving my persecuted Saviour, in the country of the blessed. Amen.
Reading for Mediation-
Excerpt from the
Discourse on the Second Dolor of Mary by Saint Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri
The Second Dolor - Of
the flight of Jesus into Egypt
Every one can imagine how much Mary must have suffered on
this journey. It was a long distance to Egypt. Authors generally agree with
Barrada that it was four hundred miles; so that at least it was a journey of
thirty days. The way, as St. Bonaventure describes it, was rough, unknown,
through woods, and little frequented. The season was winter, and therefore they
had to travel in snow, rain, wind, and storms, and through bad and difficult
roads. Mary was then fifteen years of age, a delicate virgin, unaccustomed to
such journeys. They had no servant to attend them. Joseph and Mary, said St.
Peter Chrysologus, had no man servant nor maid-servant; they were themselves
both masters and servants. Oh God, how piteous a spectacle it was to see that
tender Virgin, with that newly born infant in her arms wandering through this
world! St. Bonaventure asks, Where did they obtain food? Where did they rest at
night? How were they lodged ? What other food could they have, than a piece of
hard bread which Joseph brought with him or begged in charity? Where could they
have slept (particularly in the two hundred miles of desert through which they
travelled, where, as authors relate, there were neither houses nor inns) except
on the sand, or under some tree in the wood, in the open air, exposed to
robbers, or those wild beasts with which Egypt abounded ? Ah, if any one had
met these three greatest personages of the world, what would he have believed
them to be but three poor, roving beggars?
Prayers for each day.
