1. The Annunciation - Mary’s Generosity
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth ... to a virgin ... [whose] name was Mary… He said [to her]: “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you. ” Mary said [to the angel]: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Lk. 1:26-28)
Meditation (Leader)
According to St. Vincent Pallotti, Mary unconditionally accepted God’s plan for her to be the Mother of Jesus. After her “yes” to the Lord at the annunciation, despite many uncertainties and doubts, Mary stood firm in her dedication to accomplish God’s plan, believing in his promises. For Mary, being the Mother of Jesus was a privilege, although it implied accepting a life of generosity and sacrifice. Mary helped Jesus to grow to an adult by her caring presence during his private life. As Jesus began his public ministry, she watched the events in his life from the background, assisting him when needed. At the end of Jesus’ public ministry, Mary acknowledged being the Mother of the Jesus, accused of treason and about to be crucified, thereby sharing fully in the pain and mental agony of Jesus. Thus, Mary’s motherhood embodied a life of generosity and complete surrender to God’s plan by remaining the faithful handmaid of the Lord who lived by God’s word at every moment of her life (OOCC, XIII, pp. 152-153).
Am I generous in accepting the demands of my specific Christian vocation?
Am I generous in giving my time to those entrusted to my care?
Am I ready to let go, watch from the background, and assist when needed?
Am I , like Mary, willing to stand by others and share in their pain and shame?
(Pray the Decade of the Rosary)
Prayer (All)
God our Father, in your loving plan for the world’s salvation, you chose Mary and gave her the privilege of being the Mother of your son. She accepted this honor with great humility and deep faith. She accomplished the demands of her vocation with a generous heart and lived her life as the faithful handmaid of the Lord. Through her intercession, give each of us the grace to imitate her spirit of generosity in living our specific Christian vocation. Amen.
2. The Visitation - Mary’s Thoughtfulness
Mary traveled to the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. At once, the infant leaped in Elizabeth’s womb, and she, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” (Lk. 1:39-56)
Meditation (Leader)
The scene of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth inspired St. Vincent Pallotti to visualize Mary as the Mother of Divine Love and Mercy. Mary’s thoughtfulness of her aged cousin, her journey to the hill country, and her service to Elizabeth until her childbirth point to the merciful and loving heart of Mary that has genuine interest in the spiritual wellbeing of everyone saved by Christ. St. Vincent pictured The Mother of Divine Love as Mary holding Jesus, portrayed as a child with his heart in his left hand, with Mary holding her heart in her left hand. These two hearts communicate the love of God and Mary for everyone. St. Vincent believed the intercession of Mary, Mother of Divine Love, would cause the hearts of all who invoke her to overflow with love. He advised to approach Mary as the “Mother of Divine Love” in moments of tribulation, difficulty, and temptation, and be touched by God’s love. Besides approaching Mary, Mother of Divine Love in all our needs, we must imitate her spirit of thoughtfulness and concern in the way we deal with our brothers and sisters (OOCC, XIII, pp. 550-551).
Am I thoughtful of others in moments of their need?
Do I, like Mary, express my thoughtfulness in deeds of care and concern?
Do I invoke Mary in moments of tribulation and difficulty?
Do I let Mary, Mother of Divine Love, instill in me God’s and her love?
(Pray the Decade of the Rosary)
Prayer (All)
O God, who deigned to show your divine love in a tangible way through the loving hearts of Jesus and Mary, let our meditation on the visitation scene help us to understand Mary as the Mother of Divine Love and Mercy. May we invoke her protection in our trials and temptations. Mary, Mother of Mercy, we open our lives to you; fill our hearts with divine love so that we may think of others’ needs and express our thoughtfulness in deeds of care and concern. Amen.
3. The Nativity - Jesus’ Self-Emptying
Giving birth to her firstborn son, Mary wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. Then the multitude of the heavenly host praised God saying: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Lk. 2:1-20)
Meditation (Leader)
Jesus’ nativity elicited different responses in different people: it caused joy in heaven; brought peace to people of good will; made angels sing; let shepherds glorify and praise God; created an attitude of worship in the Magi; threatened Herod’s political ambitions; and produced an attitude of indifference in the Jewish religious elite. However, for Jesus, his incarnation was a self-emptying - leaving his Godhead, becoming a human being, communicating God’s love in a tangible way, and dying on the cross to free man from his sinfulness. According to St. Vincent Pallotti, Jesus allows this self-emptying for three purposes: to accomplish the Father’s plan for the world’s redemption, thereby manifesting the Father’s merciful love; to make humans comprehend the nature of God in a human and tangible way (OOCC, III, pp. 66-67); and to provide the possibility for every human person to become God-like through Jesus’ humanity (OOCC, X, p. 357). Thus, in becoming human, Jesus released the glory of Godhead and offered in his humanity a possibility of experiencing the infinite God and his love in a human and tangible way.
What response does the Nativity of Jesus evoke in me?
Do I understand the extent of Jesus’ self-emptying in his becoming human?
Does my meditation on Jesus’ humanity help me experience God’s love for me?
Do I, like Jesus, empty myself to bring happiness in others’ lives?
(Pray the Decade of the Rosary)
Prayer (All)
O God, Father of Mercy, you sent your only begotten Son, Jesus, to let us know how much you love us in a human and tangible way. Jesus’ self-emptying, in obedience to your will, has given us the way to experience you and your love. Through the intercession of Mary, our Mother, grant us the grace to imitate Jesus’ self-emptying in our Christian lives, so that we may be vehicles of your love in the lives of the people we encounter. Amen.
4. The Presentation - Holy Family’s Dedication to God’s Law
When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they [Joseph and Mary] took him [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord”... (Lk. 2: 22-40)
Meditation (Leader)
Joseph and Mary believed that the law of God, given in the context of the Covenant between Yahweh and people of Israel at Mount Sinai, was an expression of God’s love and care for his people. Since the law of God was given out of God’s love for us, it must be received and lived out of our love for God. For the Holy Family, the law of Moses stood for what was pleasing to God and the courses of action that were acceptable in God’s sight. The dedication of Joseph and Mary to God’s law required them to bring Jesus to be presented in the temple and to give the offering prescribed by law. Inspired by the Holy Family’s dedication to God’s law and its choice of doing what was pleasing to God, St. Vincent Pallotti wanted to do nothing against the law of God. In his thoughts, words and actions he always followed God’s law and chose the courses of action that were acceptable and pleasing to God. He advised his followers to accept the laws of God as expressions of God’s love for them and live them with the attitude of love (OOCC, X, p. 56).
Do I consider law of God as an expression of God’s love and care for me?
Do I imitate the Holy Family’s dedication to God’s law in my Christian living?
What is the motive behind my following God’s law? Is it love, fear or human respect?
Do I, in my everyday situations, choose courses of action that are acceptable to God?
(Pray the Decade of the Rosary)
Prayer (All)
O God, our loving Father, you have loved us with an everlasting love. In love you created us; in love Jesus redeemed us; and in love the Holy Spirit sanctifies us. Hence, every law you give us bears the mark of your divine love for us. In imitation of the Holy Family’s dedication to living God’s law, give us the grace to accept and live your laws with the same love with which they have been given to us. Amen.
5. The Finding in the Temple - Jesus’ Obedience
The boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem and his parents did not know it ... After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions ... He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them ... (Lk. 2:41-52)
Meditation (Leader)
In the Jewish tradition, at the age of twelve a boy comes of age and moves from boyhood to manhood, from private life to the public sphere, requiring no personal supervision. So Jesus could remain in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it and take part in the study sessions guided by Jewish scholars. By this time, Jesus might have had some awareness of his vocation and so desired to stay and study in Jerusalem under the scholars for some time. This is clear from the reply he gave to his parents: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Lk. 2: 49). However, when Mary told him firmly that she and Joseph want him to grow up at home with them in Nazareth and not in Jerusalem, Jesus obeyed his Father’s will that came through his parents, went with them to Nazareth and continued to be obedient to them. In imitation of Jesus, St. Vincent Pallotti constantly obeyed the will of God even in most unfavorable situations, believing that obeying God’s will was his paradise (OOCC, X, pp. 377, 379).
What is my attitude towards the virtue of obedience?
Do I see the hand of God in the directives of those whom God has placed over me?
Am I, like Jesus, ready to change my plans and accept the plans of my superiors?
Do I understand the value of Christian obedience?
(Pray the Decade of the Rosary)
Prayer (All)
O God, we thank you for the gift of Jesus, your Son, who constantly sought and obeyed your will even in most adverse situations. Grant us the grace, through the intercession of Mary, our Mother, to imitate your Son’s obedience, thereby accomplishing your plan in our lives. May we have the wisdom and courage
HAIL HOLY QUEEN
All: Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us, and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Leader: Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
All: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ
Leader: Let us pray.
All: O God, whose only begotten Son, by his life, death and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation; grant, we beseech thee, that meditating on the mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. Through the same Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Leader: May the Divine Assistance remain always with us.
All: Amen. And may the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen
“True devotion to Mary, consists in imitating her Son and learning from her how to imitate Him”
—Saint Vincent
LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY – LITANY OF LORETO
The Litany of Loreto was originally approved in 1587 by Pope Sixtus V.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God.
Have mercy on us.
Response for the following: Pray for us.
Holy Mary
Holy Mother of God
Holy Virgin of virgins
Mother of Christ
Mother of the Church
Mother of divine grace
Mother most pure
Mother most chaste
Mother inviolate
Mother undefiled
Mother most amiable
Mother most admirable
Mother of good counsel
Mother of our Creator
Mother of our Savior
Virgin most prudent
Virgin most venerable
Virgin most renowned
Virgin most powerful
Virgin most merciful
Virgin most faithful
Mirror of justice
Seat of wisdom
Cause of our joy
Spiritual vessel
Vessel of honor
Singular vessel of devotion
Mystical rose
Tower of David
Tower of ivory
House of gold
Ark of the covenant
Gate of heaven
Morning star
Health of the sick
Refuge of sinners
Comforter of the afflicted
Help of Christians
Queen of angels
Queen of patriarchs
Queen of prophets
Queen of apostles
Queen of martyrs
Queen of confessors
Queen of virgins
Queen of all saints
Queen conceived without original sin
Queen assumed into heaven
Queen of the most holy
Rosary Queen of families
Queen of peace
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world;
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world;
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world;
Have mercy on us.
V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray:
Grant, we beg you, O Lord God, that we your servants
may enjoy lasting health of mind and body, and by the glorious intercession
of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, be delivered from present sorrow
and enter into the joy of eternal happiness. Through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
During Advent
Let us pray.
O God, you willed that, at the message of an angel, your word should take flesh
in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary; grant to your suppliant people,
that we, who believe her to be truly the Mother of God, may be helped by her
intercession with you.
Through the same Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
From Christmas to the Purification
Let us pray.
O God, by the fruitful virginity of Blessed Mary, you bestowed upon the human race
the rewards of eternal salvation; grant, we beg you,
that we may feel the power of her intercession, through whom we have been made
worthy to receive the Author of life, our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,
who lives and reigns with you forever and ever.
R. Amen.
During Paschaltime
Let us pray.
O God, who by the Resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
granted joy to the whole world, grant, we beg you,
that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, his Mother, we may attain the joys of
eternal life.
Through the same Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.