our Lady of the Rosary
Category Archives: Spiritual Practices
The Most Holy Name of Mary
“The name of Mary is free from all vice and resplendent with every virtue”- Saint Bonaventure
“Dei matris nomen sit mihi ultimus linguae loquentis motus,” “May the name of the Mother of God be for me the last movement of my tongue!” – Blessed Bartolomo
“Let us pray, then, my devout reader, let us pray God to grant us this grace, that the last word we pronounce at death may be the name of Mary.” – Saint Alphonsus Liguori
“May Jesus Christ, thy son, bestow the gifts of his grace on thy servants, who invoke the sweet name of Mary.” – Saint Bernard
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Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today the Virgin is born, tended and formed and prepared for her role as Mother of God, who is the universal King of the ages. Justly, then, do we celebrate this mystery since it signifies for us a double grace. We are led towards the truth, and we are led away from our condition of slavery to the letter of the law. How can this be? Darkness yields before the coming of the light, and grace exchanges legalism for freedom. But midway between the two stands today’s mystery, at the frontier where types and symbols give way to reality, and the old is replaced by the new.
Therefore, let all creation sing and dance and unite to make worthy contribution to the celebration of this day. Let there be one common festival for saints in heaven and men on earth. Let everything, mundane things and those above, join in festive celebration. Today this created world is raised to the dignity of a holy place for him who made all things. The creature is newly prepared to be a divine dwelling place for the Creator.
Saint Andrew of Crete
Mary Queen of Heaven and Earth
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“The greatest saints, those richest in grace and virtue will be the most assiduous in praying to the most Blessed Virgin, looking up to her as the perfect model to imitate and as a powerful helper to assist them.”
- Saint Louis Marie de Montfort
“Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.”
- Saint Maximilian Kolbe
“Be not discouraged, but have recourse to Mary in all you necessities. Call her to your assistance, for such is the divine Will that she should help in every kind of need.”
- Saint Basil the Great
“Mary, give me your Heart: so beautiful, so pure, so immaculate; your Heart so full of love and humility that I may be able to receive Jesus in the Bread of Life and love Him as you love Him and serve Him in the distressing guise of the poor.”
- Blessed Mother Teresa
“In trial or difficulty I have recourse to Mother Mary, whose glance alone is enough to dissipate every fear.”
- Saint Therese of Lisieux
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Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Excerpts from a Homily of Pope Saint John Paul II
Beloved Young People and Dear Friends in Christ,
1) Today the Church finds herself, with Mary, on the threshold of the house of Zechariah in Ain–Karim. With new life stirring within her, the Virgin of Nazareth hastened there, immediately after the Fiat of the Annunciation, to be of help to her cousin Elizabeth.
It was Elizabeth who first recognized the “great things” which God was doing in Mary. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth marvelled that the mother of her Lord should come to her (Cfr. Luc 1,43). With deep insight into the mystery, she declared: “Blest is she who believed that the Lord’s words to her would be fulfilled” ( Luc 1,45). With her soul full of humble gratitude to God, Mary replied with a hymn of praise: ” God who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name” ( Luc 1,49).
On this Feast the Church celebrates the culmination of the “great things” which God has done in Mary: her glorious Assumption into Heaven. And throughout the Church the same hymn of thanksgiving, the “Magnificat”, rings out as it did for the first time at Ain–Karim: All generations call you blessed (Cfr. Luc 1,48).
Gathered at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, which remind us that Jerusalem too was surrounded by hills (Cfr. Ps 124,2) and that Mary had gone up into those hills ( Cfr. Luc 1,39), we are here to celebrate Mary’s “going up” to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the threshold of the eternal Temple of the Most Holy Trinity. Here in Denver, at the “World Youth Day”, the Catholic sons and daughters of America, together with others “from every tribe and tongue, people and nation” ( Apoc 5,9), join all the generations since who have cried out: God has done great things for you, Mary – and for all of us, members of his pilgrim people! ( Cfr. Luc 1,49).
With my heart full of praise for the Queen of Heaven, the sign of hope and source of comfort on our pilgrimage of faith to “the heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebr 12,22), I greet all of you who are present at this Solemn Liturgy. It is a pleasure for me to see so many priests, Religious and lay faithful from Denver, from the State of Colorado, from all parts of the United States, and from so many countries of the world, who have joined the young people of the World Youth Day to honor the definitive victory of grace in Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer.
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2 ) The Eighth “World Youth Day” is a celebration of Life. This gathering has been the occasion of a serious reflection on the words of Jesus Christ: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (Io 10,10). Young people from every corner of the world, in ardent prayer you have opened your hearts to the truth of Christ’s promise of new Life.
Through the Sacraments, especially Penance and the Eucharist, and by means of the unity and friendship created among so many, you have had a real and transforming experience of the new Life which only Christ can give. You, young pilgrims, have also shown that you understand that Christ’s gift of Life is not for you alone. You have become more conscious of your vocation and mission in the Church and in the world. For me, our meeting has been a deep and moving experience of your faith in Christ, and I make my own the words of Saint Paul: “I have great confidence in you, I have great pride in you; I am filled with encouragement, I am overflowing with joy” (2Cor 7,4).
These are not words of empty praise. I am confident that you have grasped the scale of the challenge that lies before you, and that you will have the wisdom and courage to meet that challenge. So much depends on you.
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3 ) This marvelous world – so loved by the Father that he sent his only Son for its salvation (Cfr. Io 3,17) – is the theater of a never – ending battle being waged for our dignity and identity as free, spiritual beings. This struggle parallels the apocalyptic combat described in the First Reading of this Mass. Death battles against Life: a “culture of death” seeks to impose itself on our desire to live, and live to the full. There are those who reject the light of life, preferring “the fruitless works of darkness” (Eph 5,11).
Today’s Reading from the Book of Revelation presents the Woman surrounded by hostile forces. The absolute nature of their attack is symbolized in the object of their evil intention: the Child, the symbol of new life. The “dragon” ( Apoc 12,3), the “ruler of this world” ( Io 12,31) and the “father of lies” ( Io 8,44), relentlessly tries to eradicate from human hearts the sense of gratitude and respect for the original, extraordinary and fundamental gift of God: human life itself. Today that struggle has become increasingly direct.
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4 ) Dear Friends, this gathering in Denver on the theme of Life should lead us to a deeper awareness of the internal contradiction present in a part of the culture of the modern “metropolis”.
When the Founding Fathers of this great nation enshrined certain inalienable rights in the Constitution – and something similar exists in many countries and in many International Declarations – they did so because they recognized the existence of a “law” – a series of rights and duties – engraved by the Creator on each person’s heart and conscience.
In much of contemporary thinking, any reference to a “law” guaranteed by the Creator is absent. No longer is anything considered intrinsically “good” and “universally binding”. Rights are affirmed but, because they are without any reference to an objective truth, they are deprived of any solid basis. Vast sectors of society are confused about what is right and what is wrong, and are at the mercy of those with the power to “create” opinion and impose it on others.
The family especially is under attack. And the sacred character of human life denied. Naturally, the weakest members of society are the most at risk: the unborn, children, the sick, the handicapped, the old, the poor and unemployed, the immigrant and refugee, the South of the world!
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5 ) Young pilgrims, Christ needs you to enlighten the world and to show it the “path to life” (Ps 16,11). The challenge is to make the Church’s “yes” to Life concrete and effective. The struggle will be long, and it needs each one of you. Place your intelligence, your talents, your enthusiasm, your compassion and your fortitude at the service of life!
Have no fear. The outcome of the battle for Life is already decided, even though the struggle goes on against great odds and with much suffering. This certainty is what the Second Reading declares: ” Christ is now raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. …so in Christ all will come to life again” ( 1Cor 15,20-22). The paradox of the Christian message is this: Christ – the Head – has already conquered sin and death. Christ in his Body – the pilgrim People of God – continually suffers the onslaught of the Evil One and all the evil which sinful humanity is capable of.
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6 ) At this stage of history, the liberating message of the Gospel of Life has been put into your hands. And the mission of proclaiming it to the ends of the earth is now passing to your generation. Like the great Apostle Paul, you too must feel the full urgency of the task: “Woe to me if I do not evangelize” (1Cor 9,16). Woe to you if you do not succeed in defending life. The Church needs your energies, your enthusiasm, your youthful ideals, in order to make the Gospel of Life penetrate the fabric of society, transforming people’s hearts and the structures of society in order to create a civilization of true justice and love. Now more than ever, in a world that is often without light and without the courage of noble ideals, people need the fresh, vital spirituality of the Gospel.
Do not be afraid to go out on the streets and into public places, like the first Apostles who preached Christ and the Good News of salvation in the squares of cities, towns and villages. This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel (Cfr. Rom 1,16). It is the time to preach it from the rooftops (Cfr. Matth 10,27). Do not be afraid to break out of comfortable and routine modes of living, in order to take up the challenge of making Christ known in the modern “metropolis”. It is you who must “go out into the byroads” ( Matth 22,9) and invite everyone you meet to the banquet which God has prepared for his people. The Gospel must not be kept hidden because of fear or indifference. It was never meant to be hidden away in private. It has to be put on a stand so that people may see its light and give praise to our heavenly Father.
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7 ) At her Assumption, Mary was “taken up to Life” – body and soul. She is already a part of “the first fruits” (1Cor 15,20) of our Savior’s redemptive Death and Resurrection. The Son took his human life from her; in return he gave her the fullness of communion in Divine Life. She is the only other being in whom the mystery has already been completely accomplished. In Mary the final victory of Life over death is already a reality. And, as the Second Vatican Council teaches: “In the most holy Virgin the Church has already reached the perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle” (Lumen gentium, 65). In and through the Church we too have hope of “an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for us” (Cfr. 1Petr 1,4).
You are blessed, O Mary! Mother of the Eternal Son born of your virgin womb, you are full of grace (Cfr. Luc 1,28). You have received the abundance of Life (Cfr. Io 10,10) as no one else among the descendants of Adam and Eve. As the most faithful “hearer of the Word” (Cfr. Luc 11,28), you not only treasured and pondered this mystery in your heart (Cfr. Luc 11,2; Luc 11,19; Luc 11,51), but you observed it in your body and nourished it by the self–giving love with which you surrounded Jesus throughout his earthly life.
As Mother of the Church, you guide us still from your place in heaven and intercede for us. You lead us to Christ, “the Way, and the Truth, and the Life” ( Io 14,16), and help us to increase in holiness by conquering sin (Cfr. Lumen gentium, 65).
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The Liturgy presents you, Mary, as the Woman clothed with the sun (Cfr. Apoc 12,1). But you are even more splendidly clothed with that Divine Light which can become the Life of all those created in the image and likeness of God himself: “this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (Io 1,4-5).
O woman clothed with the sun, the youth of the world greet you with so much love; they come to you with all the courage of their young hearts. Denver has helped them to become more conscious of the Life which your Divine Son has brought. We are all witnesses of this.
These young people now know that Life is more powerful than the forces of death; they know that the Truth is more powerful than darkness; that Love is stronger than death (Cfr. Cant 8,6).
Your spirit rejoices, O Mary, and our spirit rejoices with you because the Mighty One has done great things for you and for us, – for all these young people gathered here in Denver, for all of us, for all the young people of the world, for all the young people, this generation, the future generation. The Mighty One has done great things for you, Mary, and for us. For you and for us, for us with you. The Mighty One – and holy is his name!
His mercy is from age to age.
We rejoice, Mary, we rejoice with you, Virgin assumed into heaven.
The Lord has done great things for you!
The Lord has done great things for us! Alleluia. Amen.
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our Lady of Mount Carmel
“Truth suffers, but never dies.”
“Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love
for they enkindle and melt the soul.”
“May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith”
“The closer one approaches to God, the simpler one becomes.”
“Trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.”
St Teresa of Avila
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Pope St. John Paul II on the Feast of Saint Benedict
Excerpts from a message of Pope St. John Paul II
on the Feast of Saint Benedict
My revered Predecessor, St Gregory the Great, a Benedictine monk and celebrated biographer of St Benedict, invited us to discern the basis of a life wholly dedicated to “seeking and serving Christ, the one true Saviour” (Preface of the Mass of St Benedict), in the atmosphere of great faith in God and intense love for his law which motivated the original family of the saint from Norcia. This spiritual striving, which grew and developed as he faced the challenges of life, soon led the young man to foresake the illusions of worldy knowledge and possessions to devote himself to learning the wisdom of the Cross and to being conformed to Christ alone. From Norcia to Rome, from Affile to Subiaco, Benedict’s spiritual journey was guided by the one desire to please Christ. This longing was strengthened and increased during the three years he lived in the grotto of the Sacro Speco ..
His prolonged and intimate union with Christ prompted him to gather other brothers around him in order to carry out “those great designs and goals to which he had been called by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit” (ibid.). Illumined by divine light, Benedict became a beacon and guide for poor shepherds in search of faith and for devout people who needed direction in the way of the Lord. After a further period of solitude and difficult trials, 1,500 years ago, when he was barely 20 years old, he founded the first Benedictine monastery at Subiaco, not far from the Sacro Speco. In this way the grain of wheat that had chosen to hide itself in the soil of Subiaco and to waste away in penance for love of Christ, gave rise to a new model of consecrated life, becoming a fruitful ear of wheat.
The small, obscure grotto of Subiaco thus became the cradle of the Benedictine Order. From it a bright beacon of faith and civilization shone out which, through the example and work of the holy Patriarch’s spiritual sons, flooded the West and East of Europe and the other continents, as the marble plaque there records.
The fame of his holiness attracted scores of young men in search of God, whom he organized with practical genius into 12 monasteries. Here Sts Placid and Maurus were formed in an atmosphere of Gospel simplicity, living faith and active charity. The first splendid jewels of the monastic family of Subiaco, they were taught the “service of the Almighty” by Benedict himself.
The example of St Benedict and the Rule itself offer significant direction for fully accepting the gift of these anniversaries. First and foremost they invite a witness of tenacious fidelity to the Word of God, meditated on and received through “lectio divina”. This involves maintaining silence and an attitude of humble adoration before God, for the divine word reveals its depths to those who, through silence and mortification, are attentive to the Spirit’s mysterious action.
While the requirement of regular silence establishes times when human words must be stilled, it points to a style marked by great moderation in verbal communication. If it is perceived and lived in its profound sense, it slowly teaches the interiorization by which the monk opens himself to a genuine knowledge of God and man. In a particular way, the great silence in monasteries has a unique symbolic power of recalling what really counts: Samuel’s absolute availability (cf. 1 Sm 3) and the total, loving gift of self to the Father. None of the rest is eliminated, but is accepted in its profound reality and brought to God in prayer.
Familiarity with the Word, which the Benedictine Rule guarantees by reserving much time for it in the daily schedule, will not fail to instil serene trust, to cast aside false security and to root in the soul a vivid sense of the total lordship of God. The monk is thus protected from convenient or utilitarian interpretations of Scripture and brought to an ever deeper awareness of human weakness, in which God’s power shines brightly.
Along with listening to God’s Word there is the commitment to prayer. The Benedictine monastery is above all a place of prayer, in the sense that everything in it is organized to make the monks attentive and responsive to the voice of the Spirit. This is why the complete celebration of the Divine Office, whose centre is the Eucharist and which structures the monastic day, is the “opus Dei” in which “dum cantamus iter facimus ut ad nostrum cor veniat et sui nos amoris gratia accendat”.
The Word of Sacred Scripture inspires the Benedictine monk’s dialogue with God; in this he is helped by the austere beauty of the Roman liturgy in which this Word, proclaimed with solemnity or sung in plainchant ..
The primacy of the Word is thus affirmed in life .. Once it has been accepted, the Word searches and discerns, imposes clear choices and thus brings the monk, through obedience, into the historia Salutis summed up in the Passover of Christ, who was obedient to the Father (cf. Heb 5:7-10)
It is this prayer, memoria Dei, which makes unity of life possible in practice, despite multiple activities: as Cassian teaches, these are not demeaned but are continually brought back to their centre. By extending liturgical prayer to the whole day through the free and silent personal prayer of the brothers, an atmosphere of recollection is created in the monastery in which the actual times of celebration find their full truth. In this way the monastery becomes a “school of prayer”, that is, a place where the community, by deeply encountering God in the liturgy and at various moments of the day, introduces those who seek the face of the living God to the wonders of Trinitarian life.
May every Benedictine community present itself with a well-defined identity, like a “city on a hill”, distinct from the surrounding world, but open and welcoming to the poor, to pilgrims and to all who are searching for a life of greater fidelity to the Gospel !
Solemnity of Saint Benedict
Tools of Good Works
1 In the first place, to love the Lord God with thy whole heart, thy whole soul, thy whole strength.
2 Then, one’s neighbor as oneself.
3 Then not to murder.
4 Not to commit adultery.
5 Not to steal.
6 Not to covet.
7 Not to bear false witness.
8 To honor all (1 Peter 2:17).
9 And not to do to another what one would not have done to oneself.
10 To deny oneself in order to follow Christ.
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11 To chastise the body.
12 Not to become attached to pleasures.
13 To love fasting.
14 To relieve the poor.
15 To clothe the naked.
16 To visit the sick.
17 To bury the dead.
18 To help the troubled.
19 To console the sorrowing.
20 To become a stranger to the world’s ways.
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21 To prefer nothing to the love of Christ.
22 Not to give way to anger.
23 Not to nurse a grudge.
24 Not to entertain deceit in one’s heart.
25 Not to give a false peace.
26 Not to forsake charity.
27 Not to swear, for fear of perjuring oneself.
28 To utter truth from heart and mouth.
29 Not to return evil for evil.
30 To do no wrong to anyone, and to bear patiently wrongs done to oneself.
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31 To love one’s enemies.
32 Not to curse those who curse us, but rather to bless them.
33 To bear persecution for justice’s sake.
34 Not to be proud.
35 Not addicted to wine.
36 Not a great eater.
37 Not drowsy.
38 Not lazy.
39 Not a grumbler.
40 Not a detractor.
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41 To put one’s hope in God.
42 To attribute to God, and not to self, whatever good one sees in oneself.
43 But to recognize always that the evil is one’s own doing, and to impute it to oneself.
44 To fear the Day of Judgment.
45 To be in dread of hell.
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46 To desire eternal life with all the passion of the spirit.
47 To keep death daily before one’s eyes.
48 To keep constant guard over the actions of one’s life.
49 To know for certain that God sees one everywhere.
50 When evil thoughts come into one’s heart, to dash them against Christ immediately.
51 And to manifest them to one’s spiritual guardian.
52 To guard one’s tongue against evil and depraved speech.
53 Not to love much talking.
54 Not to speak useless words or words that move to laughter.
55 Not to love much or boisterous laughter.
56 To listen willingly to holy reading.
57 To devote oneself frequently to prayer.
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58 Daily in one’s prayers, with tears and sighs, to confess one’s past sins to God,
and to amend them for the future.
59 Not to fulfill the desires of the flesh; to hate one’s own will.
60 To obey in all things the commands of the Abbot even though he (which God forbid) should act otherwise, mindful of the Lord’s precept, “Do what they say, but not what they do.”
61 Not to wish to be called holy before one is holy; but first to be holy, that one may be truly so called.
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62 To fulfill God’s commandments daily in one’s deeds.
163 To love chastity.
64 To hate no one.
65 Not to be jealous, not to harbor envy.
66 Not to love contention.
67 To beware of haughtiness.
68 And to respect the seniors.
69 To love the juniors.
70 To pray for one’s enemies in the love of Christ.
71 To make peace with one’s adversary before the sun sets.
72 And never to despair of God’s mercy.
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These, then, are the tools of the spiritual craft.
If we employ them unceasingly day and night,
and return them on the Day of Judgment, our reward
from the Lord will be that wage He has promised:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, what God
has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9).
Spiritual Communion
Spiritual Communion Prayer
I wish O Lord to receive You
with the purity, humility and devotion
with which Your most Holy Mother
received You, in the spirit and fervor
of all the saints. Amen
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Gaze upon him, consider him, contemplate him
as you desire to imitate him.
– St Clare of Assisi
We must visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
a hundred thousand times a day.
– St Francis de Sales
When you look at the crucifix, you understand how much Jesus
loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host, you understand
how much Jesus loves you now.
– St Teresa of Calcutta
In the Eucharist, “unlike any other sacrament, the mystery (of communion) is so perfect that it brings us to the heights of every good thing: Here is the ultimate goal of every human desire, because here we attain God and God joins himself to us in the most perfect union.” Precisely for this reason it is good to cultivate in our hearts a constant desire for the sacrament of the Eucharist. This was the origin of the practice of “spiritual communion,” which has happily been established in the Church for centuries and recommended by saints who were masters of the spiritual life. St. Teresa of Jesus wrote: “When you do not receive communion and you do not attend Mass, you can make a spiritual communion, which is a most beneficial practice; by it the love of God will be greatly impressed on you”
– Pope John Paul II in his encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia
Immaculate Heart of Mary
Mary Hope and Refuge of Sinners
Father Razzi, of the order of Camaldoli, relates
that a certain youth having lost his father, was
sent by his mother to the court of a prince.
The mother, who had a great devotion to Mary,
when she parted with him made him promise to
recite every day a “Hail Mary,” and add these
words: “Blessed Virgin, help me in the hour of
my death” The youth arrived at court, but
soon began to lead so dissolute a life, that his
master was obliged to send him away. In de
spair, without means of support, he went into the
country and became a highway robber; but even
then he did not omit to recommend himself to
our Lady, as his mother had directed him, At
length he fell into the hands of justice, and was
condemned to death. Being in prison the evening
before his execution, and thinking of his dis
grace, the grief of his mother, and the death
which awaited him, he fell to weeping bitterly.
The devil seeing him so oppressed by melancholy,
appeared to him in the form of a beautiful young
man, and said to him that he would release him
from death and prison, if he would follow his
directions. The convict engaged to do all that
he required. Then the pretended youth made
known to him that he was the devil and had come
to his assistance. In the first place, he ordered
him to renounce Jesus Christ and the holy sacra
ments. The youth consented. He then requir
ed him to renounce the Virgin Mary and her
protection. “This,” exclaimed the young man,
“I will never do,” and turning to Mary, repeat
ed the accustomed prayer that his mother had
taught him: Blessed Virgin, help me in the hour
of my death. At these words the devil disap
peared. The youth remained in great affliction
for the wickedness he had committed in denying
Jesus Christ. He invoked the blessed Virgin,
and she obtained for him, by her prayers, a great
sorrow for all his sins, so that he made his con
fession with much weeping and contrition. On
his way to the gallows, happening to pass before
a statue of Mary, he saluted her with his usual prayer:
Blessed Virgin, help me in the hour of
my death, and the statue, in the presence of all,
inclined its head and saluted him. Deeply moved,
he begged to be allowed to kiss the feet of
the image. The executioners refused, but after
wards consented on account of the clamor of the
people. The youth stooped to kiss her feet,
and Mary extended her arm from that
statue, took him by the hand and held
him so strongly that no power could
move him. At this prodigy the multitude
shouted “Pardon, pardon,” and pardon was grant
ed. Having returned to his country, he led an
exemplary life, and was always most devoted to
Mary, who had delivered him from temporal
and eternal death.
From the Glories of Mary
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Prayer to Mary
by Pope St John Paul II
O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of the true God and Mother of the Church!, who from this place reveal your clemency and your pity to all those who ask for your protection, hear the prayer that we address to you with filial trust, and present it to your Son Jesus, our sole Redeemer.
Mother of Mercy, Teacher of hidden and silent sacrifice, to you, who come to meet us sinners, we dedicate on this day all our being and all our love. We also dedicate to you our life, our work, our joys, our infirmities and our sorrows. Grant peace, justice and prosperity to our peoples; for we entrust to your care all that we have and all that we are, our Lady and Mother. We wish to be entirely yours and to walk with you along the way of complete faithfulness to Jesus Christ in His Church; hold us always with your loving hand.
Grant to our homes the grace of loving and respecting life in its beginnings, with the same love with which you conceived in your womb the life of the Son of God. Blessed Virgin Mary, protect our families, so that they may always be united, and bless the upbringing of our children.
Our hope, look upon us with compassion, teach us to go continually to Jesus and, if we fall, help us to rise again, to return to Him, by means of the confession of our faults and sins in the Sacrament of Penance, which gives peace to the soul.
We beg you to grant us a great love for all the holy Sacraments, which are, as it were, the signs that your Son left us on earth. Thus, Most Holy Mother, with the peace of God in our conscience, with our hearts free from evil and hatred, we will be able to bring to all true joy and true peace, which come to us from your son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen