Ave Maria

Absolutely beautiful.



Ave Maria Gratia plena
Maria Gratia plena
Maria Gratia plena
Ave, ave dominus
Dominus tecum

Benedicta tu in mulieribus
Et benedictus
Et benedictus fructus ventris
Ventris tui Jesus

Ave Maria
Ave Maria Mater dei
Ora pro nobis pecatoribus
Ora, ora pro nobis
Ora ora pro nobis pecatoribus

Nunc et in hora mortis
In hora mortis, mortis nostrae
In hora mortis nostrae
Ave Maria!

The Annunciaton

Last week was the Feast of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Bible verses that chiefly talk about this just so happen to include the one that this site is named after.

"Mary said, 'Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."

I love this verse, it is my favorite in the whole Bible.

It helps to look at the context of it. The Archangel Gabriel had just told Mary that she was pregnant with the Son of God, even though she was still a virgin. She was almost certainly still a teenager. She was not married, and she would had to have thought that Joseph (to whom she was betrothed) would no longer be with her, and her reputation would be ruined. Furthermore, it is (I imagine) hard enough having to raise a normal child! Now being in the charge of the development of Jesus, that is a tough task. Talk about being called to a higher standard.

For all of these reasons, it would have been easy to see why Mary might have gotten scared, or nervous, or told Gabriel that this was a responsibility that she did not want to shoulder.

Instead, she does the opposite. In short, she tells Gabriel, "I am here only to do God's work. Let His will be done, I will do what He wants." Despite the difficulties surrounding this, she does not need time to think, she trusts that if it is God's will, it is what she wants also.

I strive to always have that same attitude, to follow in the example of Mary, to say to God, "Let it be done to me according to your word."

Quotes about Mary

Here are some quotes about Mary from a calendar that was in my parents basement!

"Every good, every help, and every grace that human beings have received and will receive from God until the end of time came and will come to them by the intercession and through then hands of Mary." - Blessed Raymond Jordano

"O sorrowful Virgin, give me strength to accept my little crosses with patience and joy." - Saint Bonaventure

"Let us run to her, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence." - Saint Francis de Sales

"He who asks favors of God without the intercession of Mary is like a bird who tries to fly without wings." - Saint Antonius

"I could convert the whole world, if I had an army praying the rosary." Blessed Pope Pis IX

"Mary seeks those who approach her devoutly and with reverence, for such she loves, nourishes, and adopts as her children." - Saint Bonaventure

"O Blessed Virgin, nothing resists your power. God the Father looks upon your glory as if it were His own." - Saint Gregory of Nicemedia

"It is almost impossible to reach Jesus except through Mary." - Saint John Bosco

"Great was the love that Mary possessed. So great indeed that it gave rise to that perfect beauty by which she captivated the Heart of her God!" - Saint Thomas of Villanova

"Let the storm rage and the sky darken - we shall not be dismayed. If we trust as we should in Mary, we shall recognize in her, the Virgin Most Powerful 'who with virginal foot did crush the head of the serpent.'" - Pope Saint Pius X

"As mariners are guided into port by the light of a star, so Christians are guided into heaven by Mary." - Saint Thomas Aquinas

"Whoever does not have a great love for the Mother of God cannot have a great love for her Son." - Saint Joseph Cafasso

Mysteries of the Rosary

Whether you are Catholic or not, I believe there is still a lot to be gained by reflecting on the Mysteries of the Rosary.

The Joyful Mysteries
(Said on Mondays, Saturdays, Sundays of Advent, and Sundays from Epiphany until Lent)
1. The Annunciation of Gabriel to Mary (Luke 1: 26-38)
2. The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth (Luke 1: 40-56)
3. The Birth of Jesus (Luke 2: 6-20)
4. The Presenation of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2: 21-39)
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2: 41-51)

The Sorrowful Mysteries
(Said on Tuesdays, Fridays, and daily from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday)
1. The Agony in the Garden (Matt 26: 36-46)
2. The Scourging at the Pillar (Matt 27:26)
3. The Crowning With Thorns (Matt 27:29)
4. The Carrying of the Cross (John 19:17)
5. The Crucifixion (Luke 23: 33-46)

The Glorious Mysteries
(Said on Wednesdays, and Sundays throughout the year)
1. The Resurrection of Jesus (Luke 24: 1-12)
2. The Ascension of Jesus (Luke 24: 50-51)
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2: 1-4)
4. The Assumption of Mary into Heaven (Revelation 12)
5. The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth (Revelation 12: 1)

The Luminous Mysteries
(Said on Thursdays throughout the year)
1. The Baptism in the Jordan River (Matthew 3: 13-17)
2. The Wedding at Cana (John 2: 1-11)
3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 4:17 - 5: 1-16)
4. The Transfiguration (Luke 9: 28-36)
5. The Institution of the Eucharist (Luke 22: 19-20)
Meditations on the Luminous Mysteries

It is important to note that the rosary is not meant to be merely a meditation of prayers, as is often claimed. It is meant to be a meditation upon the mysteries of the Rosary. This is what makes the Rosary so powerful.

From catholic.com:

First we must understand that they are meditations. When Catholics recite the twelve prayers that form a decade of the rosary, they meditate on the mystery associated with that decade. If they merely recite the prayers, whether vocally or silently, they’re missing the essence of the rosary. It isn’t just a recitation of prayers, but a meditation on the grace of God. Critics, not knowing about the meditation part, imagine the rosary must be boring, uselessly repetitious, meaningless, and their criticism carries weight if you reduce the rosary to a formula. Christ forbade meaningless repetition (Matt. 6:7), but the Bible itself prescribes some prayers that involve repetition. Look at Psalms 136, which is a litany (a prayer with a recurring refrain) meant to be sung in the Jewish Temple. In the psalm the refrain is "His mercy endures forever." Sometimes in Psalms 136 the refrain starts before a sentence is finished, meaning it is more repetitious than the rosary, though this prayer was written directly under the inspiration of God.

It is the meditation on the mysteries that gives the rosary its staying power.

Honoring God by Loving Mary

Here is a quote from St. Louis de Montfort in his book True Devotion to Mary:

He did not will to come into the world at an age of a perfect man, independent of others, but like a poor little babe, dependent on the care and support of his holy Mother. He is that infinite wisdom who had a boundless desire to glorify God His Father and to save men; and yet He found no more perfect means, no shorter way to do it, than to submit himself in all things to the Blessed Virgin, not only during eight, ten, or fifteen years of His life, like other children, but for thirty years! He gave more glory to God His Father during all that time of submission and dependence on our Blessed Lady than He would have given Him if He had employed those thirty years in working miracles, in preaching to the whole world, and in converting all men - all of which He would have done, could He have thereby contributed more to God's glory. (pg. 88-89

Just one of many reasons to love Mary :)

Devotion to Mary

On the Catholic Holy Day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, I figured it was only right to write up a little something about Mary, or at least include a quote about Mary.

I'll include a quote from "True Devotion to Mary" by St. Louis de Montfort. I understand (at least for the most part, there are probably intricacies that are still a little beyond my perfect understanding) the Catholic Church's teaching on Mary, but I especially like this quote because it brings things down to a very practical level. Sometimes my brain is not very complex, it needs simple explanations and analogies, and that works here.

One of the most powerful reasons in my mind to honor Mary and ask for her intercession is that Jesus Himself perfectly honored Mary while He was on earth, and we are called to imitate Him. As St. Louis de Montfort writes (emphasis mine),

"He did not will to come into the world at the age of a perfect man, independent of others, but like a poor little babe, dependent on the care of support of this God His Father and to save men; and yet He found no more perfect means, no shorter way to do it, than to submit Himself in all things to the Blessed Virgin, not only during the first eight, ten, or fifteen years of His life, like other children, but for thirty years! He gave more glory to God His Father during all that time of submission and dependence on our Blessed Lady than He would have given Him if He had employed those thirty years in working miracles, in preaching to the whole word and in converting all men - all of which He would have done, could He have thereby contributed more to God's glory."

Let us have the same attitude and view on life that Mary did. "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me according to your word."