SEPT. 8
A SHOOT shall spring up from the stump of Jesse, and out of his roots a flower shall blossom. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.
—Isa 11:1-2
REFLECTION. The birth of the Mother of God is the prelude to the union of the Word with flesh.
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.
—St. Andrew of Crete
PRAYER. O Mary, the birth of Jesus from you was the dawn of our salvation. May the celebration of your birthday bring the world closer to lasting peace and redound to my salvation.
SEPT. 9
HE gave some as apostles … , for strengthening the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to perfect manhood.
—Eph 4:11-13
REFLECTION. Mary meditated on all she had come to know through reading, listening, and observing.
She grew in faith, increased in merits, and was more consumed by the fire of charity.
—St. Lawrence Justinian
PRAYER. O Mary, you grew spiritually through meditation. Help me to set aside some time—no matter how little—for meditation each day, so that I may grow to the full stature of Christ.
SEPT. 10
O LORD, you searched me and you know me; you know when I sit and when I stand. You discern my thoughts from afar.
—Ps 139:1-2
REFLECTION. What joy it is for us to dwell on the fact that Mary is our Mother! Why should we fear? She loves us and knows our weakness!
—St. Theresa of Lisieux
PRAYER. O Mary, you love us and watch over us. Let me never forget that you are a true Mother to me—always ready to lead me to your Divine Son.
SEPT. 11
I WILL give you a different heart and put a new spirit within you, taking from you your heart of stone and giving you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you.
—Ezek 36:26-27
REFLECTION. When devotion to Mary begins in anyone, it produces the same effect that our Lady’s birth produces in the world.
It ends the night of sin and leads a person along the bright path of virtue.
—St. Alphonsus Liguori
PRAYER. O Mary, great are the benefits of devotion to you. Help me to be more devoted to you—through prayer, meditation, and good works. Give me a Marian spirit.
SEPT. 12
THE Father… will give you another Advocate to be with you forever, the Spirit of truth…. He will dwell with you and be in you.
—Jn 14:16-17
REFLECTION. In the Church our souls are espoused to the Holy Spirit.
It is Mary whose prayer wins strength, joy, and consolation for us. And it is Mary who gives joy to the Divine Bridegroom by inspiring our wills with love for Him.
—Venerable Francis Libermann
PRAYER. O Mary, help me to be united with the Holy Spirit. Teach me to follow the holy inspirations and loving guidance of this Divine Guest of my soul.
SEPT. 13
OF the Son [he says]: “Your throne, O God, will stand forever and ever; and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.”
—Heb 1:8
REFLECTION. I salute you, O Mother Mary!
You are the throne of God as well as the honor, the glory, and the strength of our Church!
—St. John Chrysostom
PRAYER. O Mary, you were like a throne for your Divine Son. Teach me to enthrone Jesus in my heart and to render constant homage to Him by my words and my actions.
SEPT. 14
GOD forbid that I should boast save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.
—Gal 6:14
REFLECTION. The Cross is the School of Love. Let us remember that Love lives on and is nourished by sacrifices.
Let us always have recourse to the Immaculate Mother to preserve our peace of mind.
—St. Maximilian Kolbe
PRAYER. O Mary, you followed Jesus by carrying your cross. Help me to bear the crosses and trials that come my way each day. Let them never separate me from you or your Divine Son.
SEPT. 15
SIMEON said to Mary, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that will be contradicted. And your own soul a sword will pierce.”
—Lk 2:34-35
REFLECTION. On Calvary the sufferings of Mary most holy reached their height.
Mary’s presence at the foot of the Cross constituted a most special participation in the Redemptive Death of her Son.
—Pope John Paul II
PRAYER. “Virgin of all virgins blest!/hasten to my fond request:/let me share your grief Divine./Let me, to my latest breath,/in my body bear the death,/of your dying Son Divine.”
SEPT. 16
I BROUGHT up children and honored them, but they have disowned me! An ox knows its master, and an ass, its owner’s manger; but … my people have not understood.
—Isa 1:2-3
REFLECTION. Women who seek involvement in community affairs should look to Mary.
Taken into dialogue with God, Mary gives her active and responsible consent… to the event of world importance known as the Incarnation of the Word.
—Pope Paul VI
PRAYER. O Mary, your decision affected the world’s salvation. Teach me how to take part in decisions that affect world, Church, and community as well as my own salvation.
SEPT. 17
AS the body is one though it has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is also with Christ. For in the same Spirit we were all baptized into one body.
—1 Cor 12:12-13
REFLECTION. All favors, graces, and heavenly inspirations come from Christ as from the Head.
All then descend to the body through Mary, since—just as in the human body—it is by the neck that the Head gives life to the limbs.
—St. Robert Bellarmine
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Mother of the Mystical Body. Enable me to act as a true member of that Body—ever ready to render loving assistance to all other members.
SEPT. 18
NOW you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for light produces all goodness and justice and truth.
—Eph 5:8-9
REFLECTION. For those who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, for those who believe in the Church, behold the Mother: Mary!
Therefore, everything in the life of Christians is given light by this sweetest of notes: Mary our Mother!
—Pope John XXIII
PRAYER. O Mary, you give light to everything in our lives. Enlighten my mind and open my heart, so that I may learn and carry out the things that are pleasing to your Divine Son.
SEPT. 19
SHE opens her mouth to wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of mercy…. Her children rise up and call her blessed.
—Prov 31:26-28
REFLECTION. When we who are devoted to Mary call her Mother, we are not using empty words or just speaking at random.
She is our Mother—not by the flesh, of course, but spiritually; the Mother of our souls, of our salvation.
—St. Alphonsus Liguori
PRAYER. O Mary, I thank you for consenting to become the Mother of our souls. Grant me the grace to love you and your Divine Son as you deserve.
SEPT. 20
THIS is the gate of the Lord, the just shall enter by it. I will give thanks to you, for you have heard my plea and have become my Savior.
—Ps 118:20-21
REFLECTION. How can Mary be otherwise than full of grace?
She has been made the Ladder to Paradise, the Gate of Heaven, and the most true Mediatrix between God and human beings.
—St. Lawrence Justinian
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Gate of Heaven. Help me to live as a true child of yours, so that upon my death I may deserve to enter heaven through y
ou.
SEPT. 21
GOD sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a servant but a son, and if a son then also an heir, through God.
—Gal 4:6-7
REFLECTION. Mary has conceived the Divine Word.
She has thus become the heaven that enclosed the Divinity in her womb for the purpose of exalting mortals to the great dignity of kinship with God.
—St. Ephrem
PRAYER. O Mary, you were the Associate of Jesus in His work of making us children of God. Help me to prize this Divine adoption above all things and ever seek to live as a true child of God.
SEPT. 22
THEN the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.”
—Est 5:3
REFLECTION. Imagine that all the stars were tongues and all the grains of sand were words.
They would still fall short of recounting all the glories bestowed by God on Mary’s soul.
—St. Thomas of Villanova
PRAYER. O Mary, you have received untold blessings from God. Help me to speak of your glories to others and bear witness to your intercessory power with your Divine Son.
SEPT. 23
FOR so the Lord has commanded … , “I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you may be a means of salvation to all the world.”
—Act 13:47
REFLECTION. We find ourselves on earth as in a tempestuous sea, a desert, and a vale of tears.
But Mary is the Star of the Sea, the Solace of our desert, and the Light that guides us to heaven.
—St. John Bosco
PRAYER. O Mary, you are our unfailing Guide to heaven. Make me desire holiness, and lead me along the right paths, so that at journey’s end I may deserve to be with you and Jesus.
SEPT. 24
LOVE is patient and kind…. It bears with all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
—1 Cor 13:4-7
REFLECTION. Do not be surprised that Mary is said to be a martyr in spirit.
According to Paul, one of the greatest crimes of the Gentiles was lack of love. This was far from the Heart of Mary. Let it be far from her servants as well.
—St. Bernard
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Mother of Fair Love. Fill my heart with Divine love, so that I may never lack for love and may learn to offer my life as a gift of love to Jesus.
SEPT. 25
YOU imitated us and the Lord, receiving the word … with joy given by the Holy Spirit, so that you became a pattern to all the believers.
—1 Thes 1:6-7
REFLECTION. Christ is the only way to the Father and the ultimate Model to be imitated.
But devotion to the Blessed Virgin, subordinated to worship of the Divine Savior and in connection with it, also has a great pastoral effectiveness and constitutes a force for renewing Christian living.
—Pope Paul VI
PRAYER. O Mary, grant me a genuine devotion to you. May it help me to imitate your Divine Son on earth, so that I may be with Him forever in heaven.
SEPT. 26
MAKE disciples of every nation … , teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you all days, even to the end of the world.
—Mt 28:19-20
REFLECTION. Those who belong to Mary should do all they can to win the hearts of others to her.
And Mary will enlighten those hearts, enkindle them with the love of her Maternal Heart, and inflame them with the fire of charity that burns in the Divine Heart of Jesus.
—St. Maximilian Kolbe
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Queen of the Missions. Help me to offer my prayers and good works to gain disciples for you, so that you can lead them to Jesus.
SEPT. 27
RISE up, you ancient portals, that the king of glory may enter in! Who is this king of glory? The Lord of power and might.
—Ps 24:7-8
REFLECTION. Since the flesh of Mary was no different from that of Jesus, how can we deny to the Mother the same royal dignity we find in the Son?
The glory of the Son is not something shared with His Mother, but her glory too!
—St. Arnold the Abbot
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Queen of Glory! Teach me to be your devoted servant, serving Jesus the King as well.
SEPT. 28
AMEN, amen, I say to you, whoever welcomes anyone I send welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes him who sent me.
—Jn 13:20
REFLECTION. To go to Jesus through Mary is truly to honor Jesus Christ.
It indicates that we do not esteem ourselves worthy of approaching His infinite holiness directly, that we need Mary to be our Mediatrix with Him, our Mediator.
—St. Louis Grignion de Montfort
PRAYER. O Mary, you are our Mediatrix with Jesus and with the Father. Plead for us now, as once you shared with us the pains, fears, and sorrows of life on earth.
SEPT. 29
COME out from them and stay apart, says the Lord, … and I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters.
—2 Cor 6:17-18
REFLECTION. If Jesus is the Father, Mary is the Mother of our souls. She gave us Jesus and supernatural life.
She offered her Son on Calvary for our redemption and gave us birth in the life of grace.
—St. Alphonsus Liguori
PRAYER. O Mother of my soul, take care of it. Help me to keep it continually united with you, free from all sin, and immersed in the state of grace.
SEPT. 30
NO other woman from one end of the earth to the other is her equal in beauty and in wisdom of speech!
—Jud 11:21
REFLECTION. Look closely at the Blessed Virgin Mary.
There is nothing of virtue, nothing of beauty, nothing of splendor or glory that does not shine in her.
—St. Jerome
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Fountain of Beauty and Model of Virtue. Help me to imitate your humility, which crowns all your other virtues.
October
OCT. 1
HEAR the sound of my prayer, when I cry to you, lifting up my hands toward your holy sanctuary.
—Ps 28:2
REFLECTION. The Blessed Virgin never shall fail to protect me when I call upon her.
When I am troubled, I quickly turn to her. And like the most tender of mothers she looks after me.
—St. Theresa of Lisieux
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Protector of your people. In times of affliction, let me always turn to you with the confident assurance that you will come to my aid.
OCT. 2
THE Ancient of Days took his seat…. Thousands upon thousands attended to him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
—Dan 7:9-10
REFLECTION. This very honorable Virgin is an abyss of virtues.
She precedes the Seraphim and is over the Cherubim!
—St. John Damascene
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Queen of Angels. Grant me the grace to be truly devoted to the Angels, especially my Guardian Angel, and to follow all the inspirations they bring me from your Divine Son.
OCT. 3
ESTEEM her, and she will honor you; she will bring you glory if you embrace her … ; a noble crown will she present to you.
—Prov 4:8-9
REFLECTION. Experience has shown that to inculcate love for the Mother of God deeply in souls there is nothing more efficacious than the practice of the Rosary.
We exhort all the faithful to practice this devotion.
—Pope Leo XIII
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Queen of the Holy Rosary. Let me say my Rosary faithfully and so grow in love for you and Jesus.
OCT. 4
I WILL make known your name, for you have been my protector and my support. You have rescued me from destruction.
—Sir 51:1-2
REFLECTION. When we speak
the Name of Mary, heaven becomes more beautiful and earth rejoices.
The demons are terrified and vanish like dust in the wind.
—St. Francis of Assisi
PRAYER. O Mary, your holy Name is a never-failing treasure. May it be always on my lips and in my heart—in times of distress and in times of happiness.
OCT. 5
REFLECT on what I am telling you, for the Lord will give you understanding in all things.
—2 Tim 2:7
REFLECTION. Happy are those who recite the Holy Rosary with understanding. They will learn all that is of faith, light, hope, and love in it.
—St. Clement Hofbauer
PRAYER. O Mary, your Rosary is a School of the Faith. Let me recite it with understanding, so that I may grow in faith, light, hope, and love.
OCT. 6
FILLED with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth cried out … , “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
—Lk 1:41-42
REFLECTION. Jesus, Son of Mary, has no likeness among men, nor has Mary any likeness among women.
He is the most beautiful of the living. She is a splendid dawn rising.
—St. Bruno
PRAYER. O Mary, you are blessed among women. May all women take you as a Model of Womanhood and thus obtain greater blessings for the world from your Divine Son.
OCT. 7
BUT thanks be to God who always leads us in victory in Christ Jesus and manifests through us the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.
—2 Cor 2:14
REFLECTION. The Rosary represents a symbol of Mary’s graces.
Christians invoke her as “Queen of the Most Holy Rosary,” which conjures up the brilliant conquests of faith over evil and over religious ignorance.
—Pope Pius XII
PRAYER. O Mary, you are Our Lady of the Rosary. Enable me to share in the spiritual victories over evil that you accomplish with Jesus’ help through the Rosary.
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