OCT. 8
THOSE whom he foreknew he also predestined to be formed in the likeness of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn of many brothers.
—Rom 8:29
REFLECTION. The Rosary in particular is a sign of predestination.
Our fidelity in reciting it is a sure sign of salvation.
—Blessed Alain de la Roche
PRAYER. O Mary, your Rosary is a sign of salvation. Help me and all who recite it to advance rapidly in grace, live perfectly, die peacefully, and rise surely to eternal life.
OCT. 9
INSTRUCT me in the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your marvelous works.
—Ps 119:27
REFLECTION. The Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the Mysteries of the Lord’s life as seen through the eyes of Mary.
Thus, the unfathomable riches of these Mysteries are unfolded.
—Pope Paul VI
PRAYER. O Mary, when I say the Rosary, I meditate on Christ’s Mysteries in union with you. Help me to imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise.
OCT. 10
THE life that I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me.
—Gal 2:20
REFLECTION. How could love not be made more fervent by the Rosary? We meditate on the Suffering and Death of our Redeemer and the Sorrows of His afflicted Mother.
Will we not make a return for the love received?
—Pope Pius XI
PRAYER. O Mary, what return can I make to your Divine Son and to you for all that you have done for me? I offer you all that I am and all that I have—wrapped up in my daily Rosary.
OCT. 11
MY soul longs for your salvation; I trust in your word. My eyes fail longing for your promise.
—Ps 119:81-82
REFLECTION. The well-meditated Rosary consists in a threefold element.
For each decade there is a picture, and for each picture a threefold emphasis, which is simultaneously: mystical contemplation, intimate reflection, and pious intention.
—Pope John XXIII
PRAYER. O Mary, teach me to understand each Mystery by contemplation, apply it to my life by reflection, and offer it for some personal or public good by intention.
OCT. 12
NOW hope that is seen is not really hope…. But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait with patience.
—Rom 8:24-25
REFLECTION. The Rosary enlivens the hope for things above that endure forever.
As we meditate on the glory of Jesus and His Mother, we see heaven opened and are heartened in our striving to gain the eternal home.
—Pope Pius XI
PRAYER. O Mary, as I recite my Rosary, foster the virtue of hope in me. Teach me to wait with patience for the fulfillment of God’s promises.
OCT. 13
BE persevering in prayer; be watchful and thankful. At the same time, pray for us also.
—Col 4:2-3
REFLECTION. Rising or going to bed, leaving or returning, away or at home, I have the “Hail Mary” always on my lips. I am insuperable when I say it.
To become perfect, say a Rosary a day.
—St. Louis Grignion de Montfort
PRAYER. O Mary, let me follow St. Louis’ advice and say a Rosary a day. But if I cannot always do that, let me at least say a “Hail Mary” in your honor.
OCT. 14
ONE who sows in the spirit will reap everlasting life from the spirit. Let us not grow weary in doing good.
—Gal 6:8
REFLECTION. The Rosary is all-powerful to touch the Heart of our Lady.
It is the most excellent and fruitful type of prayer for obtaining above all eternal life.
—Pope Leo XIII
PRAYER. O Mary, help me to recite my Rosary faithfully. Grant that it may keep me close to you on earth and gain for me eternal life and union with you in heaven.
OCT. 15
THERE were certain Greeks among those who had gone up to worship on the feast…. They came to Philip … and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
—Jn 12:20-21
REFLECTION. The Rosary is a devotion that, through the Blessed Mother, leads us to Jesus.
It is He Who is the goal of this long and repeated invocation to Mary.
—Pope Paul VI
PRAYER. O Mary, the Rosary is our ticket to Jesus. We speak to you and we come to Jesus. Help me to recite my Rosary with attention and devotion.
OCT. 16
ON that day, you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me and I in you.
—Jn 14:20
REFLECTION. O Mary, our sweet hope, make us experience your power with the loving Heart of Jesus.
Employ your credit to make us lodge there forever.
—St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Mother of Hope. I put all my trust in you. Keep me safe in the Heart of your Divine Son forever.
OCT. 17
THE manifestation of the Spirit is given to all for some benefit…. All these things are produced by the same Spirit who distributes to everyone as he wills.
—1 Cor 12:7-11
REFLECTION. The Holy Spirit distributes His gifts, His virtues, and His grace through Mary.
He distributes them to whomever He wills, as many as He wills, and the way He wills.
—St. Ignatius of Antioch
PRAYER. O Mary, it is through you that the Spirit pours forth His graces. Help me to cooperate fully with the particular gifts of the Spirit that are bestowed on me.
OCT. 18
I ASK that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, … that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all piety and dignity.
—1 Tim 2:1-2
REFLECTION. Our heart can include in the decades of the Rosary all the events that comprise the life of the individual, the family, the nation, and all humankind.
It can include our own circumstances, those of our neighbor, and especially those of people dear to us.
—Pope John Paul II
PRAYER. O Mary, the Rosary beats out the rhythm of human life. Help me to meditate on the Mysteries of Jesus and apply them to life.
OCT. 19
WHAT does the Lord, your God, require of you but … that you love him, and serve the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul?
—Deut 10:12
REFLECTION. Cast yourself in spirit into the Heart of Mary. Then love the Sovereign Good by means of this Heart that is so pure!
—St. Paul of the Cross
PRAYER. O Mary, your Immaculate Heart holds the secret of loving God. Teach me to love God with all my heart and to do His will in all things.
OCT. 20
BLESSED is the man who follows not the advice of the wicked … , but rejoices in the Law of the Lord and day and night meditates on his Law.
—Ps 1:1-2
REFLECTION. Among the prayers that we profitably address to the Virgin Mother of God, the Rosary occupies a special place.
It is sometimes called the “Psalter of the Blessed Virgin” or the “Breviary of the Gospel and of the Christian life.”
— Pope Pius XI
PRAYER. O Mary, your Rosary in its original full form had fifteen decades and 150 Hail Marys, like the 150 Psalms. Grant me the same reverence for the Rosary that I have for the Psalms.
OCT. 21
AT that time, you were without Christ, excluded from the community of Israel, and strangers to the covenant, with no hope and without God in the world.
— Eph 2:12
REFLECTION. O Mary, I have no doubt that whenever we run to you, we shall obtain all that we desire.
Let those then who have no hope, hope in you.
—St. Bernard
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Hope of the hopeless. Take pity on sinners and give them hope of conversion, so that you can t
hen bring them back to your Divine Son.
OCT. 22
FOR she herself goes about seeking those who are worthy of her, and she graciously appears to them as they tread life’s paths, meeting them with all benevolence.
—Wis 6:16
REFLECTION. The compassion and the love of this good Mother are great.
Indeed, they are so great that she does not even wait for our prayers but anticipates them.
—St. Alphonsus Liguori
PRAYER. O Mary, you know my needs and my weaknesses. Come to my aid even when in my distraction I fail to call upon you.
OCT. 23
PEACE I bequeath to you; my peace I grant to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be fearful.
—Jn 14:27
REFLECTION. Queen of Peace, it is through your Immaculate Heart that the God of peace has been given to the world.
Let this sweet peace reign in the Church and in our souls.
—St. John Eudes
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Queen of Peace. Bring peace to my heart, so that I may work for peace in my family, in my Church, in my country, and in the world.
OCT. 24
JESUS went down with Mary and Joseph and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them; and his mother treasured all these things carefully in her heart.
—Lk 2:51
REFLECTION. In imitation of Jesus, Christians should love Mary and think the best of her.
They should take her as their Mother and love, serve, wait upon her, and like Jesus be completely obedient to her.
—St. Anthony Claret
PRAYER. O Mary, increase my love and regard for you as my Mother. Help me to serve you in all things, for in doing so I will be serving and obeying your Divine Son.
OCT. 25
KNOW the God of your father and serve him with wholehearted devotion and a willing soul, for the Lord searches every heart.
—1 Chr 28:9
REFLECTION. Imitate Mary, O faithful soul. Enter into the deep recesses of your heart, so that you may be purified spiritually and cleansed from your sins.
God places more value on goodwill in all we do than on the works themselves.
—St. Lawrence Justinian
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Model of purity of heart. Give me a right intention in all things, so that all my words and works may be pleasing to your Divine Son.
OCT. 26
MY dear children, for whom I am again in labor pains until Christ is formed in you! I wish I could be with you now.
—Gal 4:19-20
REFLECTION. If Paul by his care and heartfelt tenderness gives birth to his children again and again till Christ be formed in them, how much more so does Mary!
In a manner far more holy and godlike, she begot her children by giving birth to the Word himself.
—Blessed Guerric of Igny
PRAYER. O Mary, you beget us in Christ. Help me to live as befits someone who has Christ as a Brother, God as a Father, and you as a Mother.
OCT. 27
HE who provides for his father atones for sins; and he who respects his mother stores up riches.
—Sir 3:3-4
REFLECTION. As the Mother of Christ, Mary is the Mother of our wisdom and justice, of our holiness and redemption.
She is more our Mother than the mother of our flesh.
—St. Aelred
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Spiritual Mother of all Christians. Help me to be your devoted child by remaining true to my Church and to her teachings, which come from your Divine Son.
OCT. 28
THE fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, modesty, and self-control.
—Gal 5:22
REFLECTION. When the Holy Spirit finds Mary in a soul, He flies to it.
He enters therein and communicates Himself to that soul in abundance.
—St. Louis Grignion de Montfort
PRAYER. O Mary, you draw down upon souls the Holy Spirit with all His fruits. Grant that by being devoted to you I may receive these fruits without measure.
OCT. 29
AS the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
—Isa 55:9
REFLECTION. If you can find the least instance of severity recorded about Mary in the Gospels, you may legitimately fear to approach her. But you will never find one. So go to her cheerfully, and she will save you by her intercession.
—St. Bernard
PRAYER. O Mary, you are a most compassionate Mediatrix for all who come to you. Let me never fear to approach you.
OCT. 30
HOW beautiful you are, how comely, my love, with your delights.
—Song 7:7
REFLECTION. 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!
—St. Thomas of Villanova
PRAYER. O Mary, you were filled with love for God and human beings. Help me to strive to share that love on earth so that I may share your glory in heaven.
OCT. 31
HOLD fast to [her], never let her go; guard her, for she is your life.
—Prov 4:13
REFLECTION. Has anyone ever come away from Mary troubled or saddened or ignorant of the heavenly Mysteries?
Who has not returned to everyday life gladdened and joyful because a request has been granted by the Mother of God?
—St. Amadeus of Lausanne
PRAYER. O Mary, you are my life. Let me remain united to you all my days. Keep me from the path of sin and out of the clutches of the devil.
November
NOV. 1
DO not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.
—Rev 7:3
REFLECTION. Those who possess great marks of predestination love, delight in, and recite the “Hail Mary.”
And the more they belong to God, the more they love this prayer.
—St. Louis Grignion de Montfort
PRAYER. O Mary, all the Saints possessed the mark of devotion to the “Hail Mary.” Grant that my devotion to you may increase and become for me a true pledge of my salvation.
NOV. 2
FATHER Abraham, have mercy on me. Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and refresh my tongue, for I am tormented in these flames.
—Lk 16:24
REFLECTION. Our Blessed Mother once said to me:
“I am the Mother of the Poor Souls. For my prayers serve to mitigate their sufferings every single hour that they remain in purgatory.”
—St. Bridget
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Mother of the Poor Souls in purgatory. Lessen their sufferings and grant them a speedy entrance into heavenly bliss.
NOV. 3
HIS thought was holy and devout. Therefore, he had this expiatory sacrifice offered for the dead so that they might be delivered from their sin.
— 2 Mac 12:45-46
REFLECTION. The Blessed Virgin Mary has the power of delivering souls from purgatory by her prayers and by applying her merits for them.
This is especially true for souls that were devoted to her on earth.
—St. Bernardine of Siena
PRAYER. O Mary, you are Our Lady of Deliverance. Pray for us and for the Holy Souls in purgatory, especially those who were most devoted to you.
NOV. 4
EVERY high priest chosen from among men is made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices to expiate sins.
—Heb 5:1
REFLECTION. O Holy Mother of God, pray for the priests your Son has chosen to serve the Church.
Help them by your intercession to be holy, zealous, and chaste. Enable them to become models of virtue in the service of the people of God.
—St. Charles Borromeo
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Mother of Priests. Help me always t
o esteem the priests of the Church and to pray for them in their exalted work of sanctifying souls.
NOV. 5
NO one who dwells there will say, “I am feeble.” The people who dwell there shall have their sins forgiven.
—Isa 33:24
REFLECTION. The Church calls Mary the “Queen of Mercy” because we believe she opens the abyss of God’s mercy to whomever she wills, when she wills, and as she wills.
No sinner—no matter how great—who has Mary as protector is ever lost.
—St. Bernard
PRAYER. O Mary, obtain the conversion and pardon of hardened sinners. And grant me true sorrow for my sins and a firm purpose of amendment.
NOV. 6
BUT he commanded the clouds above and the doors of heaven he opened … and gave them bread from heaven.
— Ps 78:23-24
REFLECTION. We cannot enter a house without first speaking to the porter.
Similarly, we cannot enter heaven without calling upon the aid of the Blessed Virgin Mary who is the Portress of Heaven.
—St. John Vianney
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Portress of Heaven. Let me live every day in union with you, so that after my death you may open the doors of heaven to me for all eternity.
NOV. 7
DEATH has been swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? … Where is your sting?
—1 Cor 15:54-55
REFLECTION. Although we are sinners, let us be of good heart and feel certain that Mary will come to assist us at death.
We need only serve her with love for the remainder of our time in this world.
—St. Alphonsus Liguori
PRAYER. O Mary, I give myself wholly to you. Watch over me in life and protect me especially in the hour of my death.
NOV. 8
MARTHA, you are upset and troubled about many things; only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken away from her.
—Lk 10:41-42
REFLECTION. Our life on earth is filled with troubles and temptations.
We must let ourselves be captivated by Mary and model our life in some way upon her exemplary holiness.
Mary Day by Day Page 11