Prayer to Mary, Mother of the Church and Mother of our faith*

Mother, help our faith!  Open our ears to hear God’s word and to recognize his voice and call.  Awaken in us a desire to follow in his footsteps, to go forth from our own land and to receive his promise.

Help us to be touched by his love, that we may touch him in faith. Help us to entrust ourselves fully to him and to believe in his love, especially at times of trial, beneath the shadow of the cross, when our faith is called to mature.

Sow in our faith the joy of the Risen One. Remind us that those who believe are never alone.  Teach us to see all things with the eyes of Jesus, that he may be light for our path. And may this light of faith always increase in us, until the dawn of that undying day which is Christ himself, your Son, our Lord!

*Prayer to Mary at the conclusion of the Encyclical Lumen Fidei

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Fr John Lawrence gives the homily at Bloomington, IN, on May 20, 2024, feast of Mary, Mother of the Church, and how the fact that this feast occurs the day after Pentecost, the Church’s birthday, highlights Mary’s central, maternal role from the first novena to her intercession from heaven.

Pentecost is the birthday of the Church, born after nine days of prayer by Jesus’ disciples. St. Luke describes the Apostles and Mary praying together after the Ascension, forming the first novena. Mary is central to Pentecost, depicted as the mother of the Church, a title given by St. Paul VI and traced back to earlier writings. Mary is the mother of the Church because she is the mother of Jesus, and the Church is Christ’s mystical body. She gave birth to Jesus without pain but suffers to give birth to us in grace, as reflected in Revelation 12:2. Her greatest suffering occurred at the foot of the cross, where she became our mother through Jesus’ words. Every Christian, as another Christ, has Mary as their mother. The scene in Revelation 12 symbolizes Christ’s birth in us. The Church, born from Christ’s side, resembles Mary, the new Eve. Mary’s motherhood extends through Pentecost and her continued intercession from heaven. Let us value the graces won by her suffering.

00:00 – Introduction Pentecost, Birth of the Church
00:39 – Mary’s Role in Pentecost
00:52 – Mary, Mother of the Church
02:34 – Joyful Birth of Jesus
02:54 – Birth Pains for Us
03:57 – Mary at the Foot of the Cross
07:00 – Church Born from Christ’s Side

Ave Maria!

Mass: Mary, Mother of the Church (Opt 2) – Feast
Readings:  – http://usccb.org/bible/readings/052024.cfm
1st: act 1:12-14
Resp: psa 87:1-3, 5-7
Gsp: joh 19:25-34

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=2234

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O Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church to you we recommend ourselves and the entire Church.  Guide and assist our Holy Father and our Bishops in their apostolic mission, and aid all who help them in their work.

Mother of the Church!  Enlighten the People of God along the paths of faith, hope and love! You were given to us as a mother by your Divine Son at the moment of His redeeming death. Remember us your children, support our prayers to God. Preserve our Faith, strengthen our Hope, increase our Charity.

Immaculate Heart!  Help us to conquer the menace of evil, which so easily takes root in the hearts of the people of today.

From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, and from every kind of war, deliver us.
From sins against human life from its very beginning, deliver us.
From every kind of injustice in the life of society, deliver us.
From readiness to trample on the commandments of God, deliver us.
From attempts to stifle the very truth of God, deliver us.
From the loss of awareness of good and evil deliver us.
From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us.

O Mary, conceived without sin, we who are gathered here today place ourselves under your special protection. We resolve to walk in your footsteps and to imitate your virtues. Obtain for us, O tender Mother, the grace of being faithful to this promise.

Amen!

Author unknown; the Memorial is May 20th this year, the Monday after Pentecost

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O God, Father of mercies,
whose Only Begotten Son, as He hung upon the Cross,
chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, His Mother,
to be our Mother also,
grant, we pray, that with her loving help
your Church may be more fruitful day by day
and, exulting in the holiness of her children,
may draw to her embrace all the families of the peoples.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen

– United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Memorial feast day is May 20th

The post A Prayer to Mary, Mother of the Church first appeared on AirMaria.com.

O God, Father of mercies, whose Only Begotten Son, as He hung upon the Cross, chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, His Mother, to be our Mother also, grant, we pray, that with her loving help Your Church may be more fruitful day by day and, exulting in the holiness of her children, may draw to her embrace all the families of the peoples.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen

– United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Feast Day for this Title is the day after Pentecost

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