(POST TWO)
Prayers TO MARY from Popes...
O Most Holy Virgin
Most holy Virgin, who pleased our Lord and became his mother, Virgin Immaculate in your body and soul, in your body and soul, in your faith and love, at this solemn jubilee of the promulgation of the dogma which proclaimed you to the entire world as conceived without sin, look kindly on us unfortunate ones who
implore your powerful protection. The infernal serpent, upon whom the primeval curse was laid, continues, alas, to attack and tempt the hapless children of Eve. Ah!
Do you, our blessed Mother, our Queen and Advocate, who at the first moment of your conception did crush the enemy's head, do you gather together our prayers and we beseech you (our hearts one with yours) present them before God's throne, that we may never allow ourselves to be caught in the snares laid for us, but that we may reach the portal of salvation, and that the Church and Christian society may once more chant the hymn of deliverance, of victory and of peace. Amen.
Pope Pius XII (1876-1958)
(Pontiff 1939-1958)
To Our Lady of Rest
Hear, O Blessed Virgin,
the prayers which we address you, Our Lady of Rest, as we are mindful of that maternal love in which you receive your children.
It is
by your powerful intercession, O Mary, that
our hearts and minds find rest. We know well our own weakness; but we trust in the everlasting promises, and we hope for eternal happiness as we cling to the crucified Jesus, who has made His cross to be ours as well.
O Mary,
under your patronage we find peace in the midst of earthly tribulation. You are the quiet certainty of the strong soul, ever on guard against the enemy. You are the sanctuary of the pure who remain unstained by earth’s corruption. And just as, with you, we find peace during the present life, so shall we find with you, when the days of our pilgrimage are over, everlasting peace in the world to come. Amen.
Pope Pius XII (1876-1958)
(Pontiff 1939-1958)
Bend Tenderly Over Our Wounds
Enraptured by the splendor of your heavenly beauty, and impelled by the anxieties of the world, we cast ourselves into your arms, O Immaculate Mother of Jesus and our Mother, Mary, confident of finding in your most loving heart appeasement of our ardent desires, and a safe harbor from the tempests which beset us on every side.
Though degraded by our faults and overwhelmed by infinite misery,
we admire and praise the peerless richness of the sublime gifts with which God has filled you, above every other mere creature, from the first moment of your conception until the day on which,
after your assumption into heaven, he crowned you Queen of the Universe.
O crystal Fountain of Faith, bathe our minds with the eternal truths! O fragrant Lily of All Holiness, captivate our hearts with your heavenly perfume! O Conqueress of Evil and Death, inspire in us a deep horror of sin, which makes the soul detestable to God and a slave of hell!
O well-beloved of God,
hear the ardent cry which rises up from every heart. Bend tenderly over our aching wounds. Convert the wicked, dry the tears of the afflicted and oppressed, comfort the poor and humble, quench hatreds, sweeten hardness, safeguard the flower of purity in youth, protect the holy church, make all men feel the attractions of Christian goodness.
In your name, resounding harmoniously in heaven, may they recognize that they are brothers, and that the nations are members of one family, upon which may there shine forth the sun of a universal and sincere peace.
Receive, O most sweet Mother, our humble supplications, and above all obtain for us that, one day,
happy with you, we may repeat before your throne that hymn which today is sung on earth around your altars:
You are all-beautiful, O Mary! You are the glory, your are the joy, your are the honor of our people!
Amen.
Pope Pius XII (1876-1958)
(Pontiff 1939-1958)
Mary Our Strength
O Virgin, fair as the moon,
delight of the angels and saints in heaven,
grant that we may become like you
and that our souls may receive a ray of your beauty, which does not decline with the years
but shines forth into eternity.
O Mary, sun of heaven,
restore life where there is death
and enlighten spirits where there is darkness.
Turn your countenance to your children
and radiate on us your light and your fervor.
O Mary, powerful as an army,
grant victory to our ranks.
We are very weak
and our enemy rages with uttermost conceit.
But under your banner
we are confident of overcoming him. ....
Save us, O Mary,
fair as the moon,
bright as the sun,
awe-inspiring as an army set in battle array
and sustained not by hatred
but by the ardor of love.
Amen
Pope Pius XII (1876-1958)
(Pontiff 1939-1958)
O Mary Bright Dawn of the New World
O Mary
bright dawn of the new world,
Mother of the living,
to you do we entrust the cause of life
Look down, O Mother,
upon the vast numbers
of babies not allowed to be born,
of the poor whose lives are made difficult,
of men and women
who are victims of brutal violence,
of the elderly and the sick killed
by indifference or out of misguided mercy.
Grant that all who believe in your Son
may proclaim the Gospel of life
with honesty and love
to the people of our time.
Obtain for them the grace
to accept that Gospel
as a gift ever new,
the joy of celebrating it with gratitude
throughout their lives
and the courage to bear witness to it resolutely, in order to build,
together with all people of good will,
the civilization of truth and love,
to the praise and glory of God,
the Creator and lover of life.
--Pope John Paul II, March 25, 1995
The Marian Prayer of Pope John Paul II
Mother of the Redeemer,
with great joy we call you blessed.
In order to carry out His plan of salvation,
God the Father chose you before the creation of the world.
You believed in His love and obeyed His word.
The Son of God desired you for His Mother
when He became man to save the human race.
You received Him with ready obedience and undivided heart.
The Holy Spirit loved you as His mystical spouse
and filled you with singular gifts.
You allowed yourself to be led
by His hidden powerful action.
On the eve of the third Christian Millennium,
we entrust to you the Church
which acknowledges you and invokes you as Mother.
To you, Mother of human family and of the nations,
we confidently entrust the whole humanity,
with its hopes and fears.
Do no let it lack the light of true wisdom.
Guide its steps in the ways of peace.
Enable all to meet Christ,
the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Sustain us, O Virgin Mary, on our journey of faith
and obtain for us the grace of eternal salvation.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Mother of God
and our Mother, Mary!
-- John Paul II
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