In this way, you might comprehend that there is no grace, no perfection, and no glory conceivable in a simple creature that is lacking to her.
—St. Thomas of Villanova
PRAYER. O Mary, help me to meditate often on your life in the Mysteries of Christ. May I come to appreciate the true glory that is yours.
DEC. 11
WITHIN her is a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, undefiled.
—Wis 7:22
REFLECTION. How good Mary is! How beautiful she is!
How worthy she is of all respect!
—St. John Eudes
PRAYER. O Mary, you are all-beautiful, and there is no stain of sin in you. Grant that I may praise you as you deserve—both by my words and by my actions.
DEC. 12
YOU have visited the earth and watered it; you have enriched it abundantly.
—Ps 65:10
REFLECTION. Mary is the fruitful Virgin everywhere.
Thus, she produces in the soul wherein she dwells purity of heart and of body, purity of intention and of purpose, and fruitfulness in good works.
—St. Louis Grignion de Montfort
PRAYER. O Mary, today the Church recalls your appearance as Our Lady of Guadalupe. As I honor you under this glorious title, grant me the graces I need for my state of life.
DEC. 13
HOW sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
—Ps 119:103
REFLECTION. The seven words (or phrases) of Mary found in the Gospels are voiced in accord with a wonderful progression and order. They impart to the devout soul the ardor of a holy love.
—St. Bernardine of Siena
PRAYER. O Mary, help me to emulate what each of your words imparts: virginal reserve (Lk 1:34); zealous service (Lk 1:38a); faithful obedience (Lk 1:38b); joyful praise (Lk 1:46-55); authoritative gentleness (Lk 2:48); tender charity (Jn 2:3); and firm faith (Jn 2:5).
DEC. 14
GOD said, “Honor your father and your mother,” and “Whoever abuses father or mother shall be put to death.”
—Mt 15:4
REFLECTION. Jesus said: “Honor your father and your mother.”
Therefore, in order that He might observe His own decree, He gave all grace and honor to His Mother!
—St. Methodius
PRAYER. O Mary, as the Mother of the Lord of All, you received all grace and honor. Help me to join my voice to that of all the Angels and Saints in praising you.
DEC. 15
LET us live in peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have been introduced through faith to God’s grace that we now enjoy.
—Rom 5:2
REFLECTION. Mary, you have found grace because you desired and sought it.
You have found Uncreated Grace—that is, God Himself became your Son—and with that grace you have found and obtained every uncreated good.
—St. Albert the Great
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Mother of Uncreated Grace. Grant that I may seek your Divine Son in everything I do and say.
DEC. 16
WE are fools for Christ…. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we bear it; when maligned, we respond with kindness.
—1 Cor 4:10-13
REFLECTION. Those who burn with the fire of Divine Love are children of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and wherever they go they enkindle that flame.
Nothing distresses them; they rejoice in poverty, labor strenuously, welcome hardships, laugh off false accusations, and rejoice in anguish.
—St. Anthony Claret
PRAYER. O Mary, teach me to offer all my prayers, works, and sufferings of each day in union with your Immaculate Heart to Jesus for the salvation of the world.
DEC. 17
PRAISE the Lord in his holy place…. Praise him for his marvelous works; praise him for his lofty majesty.
—Ps 150:1-2
REFLECTION. Praise God for the great blessings He bestowed on Mary and for choosing her to be His Mother.
Such a prayer of praise will be most pleasing to the Blessed Virgin.
—St. Jane Frances de Chantal
PRAYER. O Mary, let me praise and thank God for the mighty deeds He has done in and through you. Let me thank Him especially for the graces I have received through you.
DEC. 18
THE Lord, your God, is with you—your Savior. He will exult over you with gladness and renew you with his love.
—Zep 3:17
REFLECTION. What greater prodigy could the world behold than a woman become the Mother of God and a God clothed in human flesh?
Mary, by her humility, became the Mother of her Creator. The Creator, in His goodness, became the Son of His own creature!
—St. Alphonsus Liguori
PRAYER. O Mary, you took an active part in the greatest event the world has known. Grant that I may be ever open to God’s call and eager to serve Him.
DEC. 19
I GIVE thanks to my God every time I remember you, and I pray always with joy for all of you.
—Phil 1:3
REFLECTION. Through Mary, the miserable obtain mercy, the graceless find grace, and sinners receive pardon.
The weak gain strength, earthlings acquire heavenly things, mortals win life, and pilgrims find their country!
—St. Augustine
PRAYER. O Mary, you are forever interceding for us before God’s throne. Help me to come to you in every need—whether it be of soul or of body.
DEC. 20
BY the grace of God I have become what I am, and his grace in me has not been fruitless.
—1 Cor 15:10
REFLECTION. May the glorious Virgin bestow on you all the graces whose source is her Heart!
—St. Bonaventure
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Mediatrix of All Graces. Pour forth in my heart all the graces that were in your Heart and made you pleasing to the God of all.
DEC. 21
HE shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High … and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
—Lk 1:32-33
REFLECTION. The Fathers of the Church recognized the tremendous praise heaped on Mary in the Scriptures.
She is singled out as having a King for her father (the noble David) and the King of kings and Lord of lords for her Son, Whose reign will never end.
—St. Peter Canisius
PRAYER. O Mary, you are Queen of all because your Son is the King of kings. Grant that I may offer you every day the praise and honor you deserve.
DEC. 22
BEHOLD, I stand knocking at the door. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I will be his guest and eat with him.
—Rev 3:20
REFLECTION. Open your heart to faith, O Blessed Virgin, your lips to praise, your womb to the Creator.
See, the Desired of All Nations is at your door, knocking to enter. Arise in faith, hasten in devotion, open in praise and thanksgiving.
—St. Bernard
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Model of Openness. Teach me to open my heart to you and to your Divine Son, so that you can dwell within it forever.
DEC. 23
I HAVE come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me may not have to stay in darkness.
—Jn 12:46
REFLECTION. The Mother of God, the most pure Virgin, carried the True Light in her arms and brought Him to those who lay in darkness.
We too should carry a light for all to see and reflect the radiance of the True Light as we hasten to meet Him.
—St. Sophronius
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Mother of the True Light Who enlightens the world. Help me to bear witness to that Light all the days of my life.
DEC. 24
WHILE they were there, the time came for the child to be born, and [Mary] brought forth her firstborn son.
—Lk 2:6-7
REFLECTION. O Mary, if
the Holy One born of your womb is really incarnate, then you, must truly be called the Mother of God. For you have, in absolute truth, brought forth God!
—St. Sophronius
PRAYER. O Mary, you are the Mother of God for you brought forth the Son of God. Teach me how to bring forth Jesus in the lives of all those I will encounter this day.
DEC. 25
AND the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we saw his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
—Jn 1:14
REFLECTION. Today Mary is a heaven for us, because she bears God within herself.
The Most High God has abased Himself and made His dwelling in her, so that He might bring about our salvation.
—St. Ephrem
PRAYER. O Mary, the Son of God became man in you, so that He might become like us and save us. Help me to remain ever united with you, so that I may become like Jesus.
DEC. 26
THE hour is coming … when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth. For the Father wants such worshipers.
—Jn 4:23
REFLECTION. True devotion to the Blessed Virgin is internal, starting from the spirit and the heart.
It flows from the esteem we bear toward Mary, the sublime idea we have of her greatness, and the love we feel for her.
—St. Louis Grignion de Montfort
PRAYER. O Mary, let my devotion toward you be always much more than external. Let it flow naturally from heartfelt love and esteem for you.
DEC. 27
INDEED, I have calmed and set at rest my soul like a child on its mother’s lap, … thus is my soul within me.
—Ps 131:2
REFLECTION. True devotion to the Blessed Virgin is tender. It is full of confidence in Mary, like a child’s confidence in its mother.
This ensures that we will run to Mary in all our needs.
—St. Louis Grignion de Montfort
PRAYER. O Mary, let my devotion toward you lead me to you in all my sorrows and needs with simplicity, trust, and tenderness.
DEC. 28
STRIVE diligently to support your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with perseverance, perseverance with piety, piety with mutual love, mutual love with charity.
—2 Pet 1:5-7
REFLECTION. True devotion to the Blessed Virgin is holy. It leads us to avoid sin and imitate the virtues of Mary: her deep humility, lively faith, ready obedience, continuous prayer, universal mortification, Divine purity, ardent charity, heroic patience, angelic sweetness, and heavenly wisdom.
—St. Louis Grignion de Montfort
PRAYER. O Mary, let my devotion toward you lead me to avoid sin and imitate the virtues enumerated above, which are the ten principal virtues you practiced on earth.
DEC. 29
IN this world you will have affliction, but take heart, I have overcome the world.
—Jn 16:33
REFLECTION. True devotion to the Blessed Virgin is constant. It strengthens us in good and makes us courageous in opposing the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Those devoted to Mary live by the faith of Jesus and Mary, not the sentiments of nature.
—St. Louis Grignion de Montfort
PRAYER. O Mary, let my devotion toward you give me daily courage in the face of temptations from the world, the flesh, and the devil.
DEC. 30
DO not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, … or about your body, what you will put on…. Will not God … do much more for you?
—Mt 6:25-30
REFLECTION. True devotion to the Blessed Virgin is disinterested. It inspires us to seek not ourselves but God alone in His holy Mother.
True clients of Mary serve her not because they seek earthly gain, nor even corporal or spiritual well-being, but because she deserves to be served—and God alone in her!
—St. Louis Grignion de Montfort
PRAYER. O Mary, let my devotion toward you give me a tranquil attitude about life and lead me to serve you and your Divine Son diligently all my days.
DEC. 31
SAY to the fainthearted: Take courage, fear not! Behold your God— … he will come to save you.
—Isa 35:4
REFLECTION. If the horror of sin terrifies you and the voice of conscience overwhelms you, if the fear of judgment, the depths of sadness, and the abyss of despair assail you, think of Mary!
In dangers, troubles, and sins, think of Mary and call upon her!
—St. Bernard
PRAYER. O Mary, at year’s end, the weight of my sins frightens me. Intercede for me with your Divine Son Jesus, so that I may attain the salvation He won for me!
PRAYER TO MARY
Composed by Pope John Paul II for the Marian Year
MOTHER of the Redeemer, [in this year dedicated to you,]
with great joy we call you blessed.
In order to carry out His providential 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 He filled you with singular gifts.
You allowed yourself to be led
by His hidden and powerful action.
On the eve of the third Christian Millennium,
we entrust to you the Church
which acknowledges you and invokes you as Mother.
On earth you preceded the Church in the pilgrimage of faith:
comfort her in her difficulties and trials,
and make her always the sign and instrument
of intimate union with God
and of the unity of the whole human race.
To you, Mother of Christians,
we entrust in a special way
the peoples who are celebrating
[during the Marian Year]
the sixth Centenary or the Millennium
of their acceptance of the Gospel.
Their long history is profoundly marked by devotion to you.
Turn toward them your loving glance;
give strength to those who are suffering for the faith.
To you, Mother of the human family and of the nations,
we confidently entrust the whole of humanity,
with its hopes and fears.
Do not let it lack the light of true wisdom.
Guide its steps in the ways of peace.
Enable all to meet Christ,
the Way and 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!
Mary Day by Day Page 13