Our Morning Offering – 23 August

Our Morning Offering – 23 August

To You we Cry, O Queen of Mercy!
By St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
Doctor mellifluus (Mellifluous Doctor)

To you we cry,
O Queen of Mercy!
Return, that we may
behold you dispensing favours,
bestowing remedies,
giving strength.
Ah, tender Mother!
Tell your all-powerful Son
that we have no more wine.
We are thirsty after the wine of His love,
of that marvelous wine
that fills souls with a holy inebriation,
inflames them,
and gives them the strength to despise
the things of this world
and to seek with ardour heavenly goods.
Amen

Thought for the Day – 22 August – The Queenship of Mary

Thought for the Day – 22 August – The Queenship of Mary

As St. Paul suggests in Romans 8:28–30, God has predestined human beings from all eternity to share the image of his Son.   All the more was Mary predestined to be the mother of Jesus. As Jesus was to be king of all creation, Mary, in dependence on Jesus, was to be queen.   All other titles to queenship derive from this eternal intention of God. As Jesus exercised his kingship on earth by serving his Father and his fellow human beings, so did Mary exercise her queenship.   As the glorified Jesus remains with us as our king till the end of time (Matthew 28:20), so does Mary, who was assumed into heaven and crowned queen of heaven and earth.
In the fourth century St Ephrem called Mary “Lady” and “Queen.”   Later Church fathers and doctors continued to use the title.   Hymns of the 11th to 13th centuries address Mary as queen: “Hail, Holy Queen,” “Hail, Queen of Heaven,” “Queen of Heaven.”   The Dominican rosary and the Franciscan crown as well as numerous invocations in Mary’s litany celebrate her queenship.
The feast is a logical follow-up to the Assumption and is now celebrated on the octave day of that feast.   In his 1954 encyclical To the Queen of Heaven, Pius XII points out that Mary deserves the title because she is Mother of God because she is closely associated as the New Eve with Jesus’ redemptive work because of her preeminent perfection and because of her intercessory power. (Fr Don Miller OFM)
“Just as Mary surpassed in grace all others on earth, so also in heaven is her glory unique.   If eye has not seen or ear heard or the human heart conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9), who can express what He has prepared for the woman who gave Him birth and who loved Him, as everyone knows, more than anyone else?” (St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) – Doctor of Light – Mellifluous Doctor)

Mary Queen of Heaven and Earth Pray for your children!

Your eyes opened to a new kind of light
Wide pools that gaze with merciful love upon the world
Your sword-pierced heart, immaculate,
Strong-walled as a cathedral
In the holy city of God.

Angels surround your throne
Holy Blessed Virgin,
Mother of God
Star-crowned Queen of heaven and
Queen of angels

We, though sinners, are yours,
Every tribe on earth, every race
Beckoned to enclosure
In deep mantle-folds of grace.

Quote/s of the Day – 22 August – The Queenship of Mary

Quote/s of the Day – 22 August – The Queenship of Mary

“She has surpassed the riches of the virgins,
the confessors, the martyrs, the apostles,
the prophets, the patriarchs and the angels,
for she herself is the first-fruit of the virgins,
the mirror of confessors, the rose of martyrs,
the ruler of apostles, the oracle of prophets,
the daughter of patriarchs, the queen of angels.”

…St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Seraphic Doctor

“Mary has the authority over the angels
and the blessed in heaven.
As a reward for her great humility,
God gave her the power and mission of assigning to saints
the thrones made vacant by the apostate angels
who fell away through pride.
Such is the will of the almighty God who exalts the humble,
that the powers of heaven, earth and hell,
willingly or unwillingly, must obey the commands
of the humble Virgin Mary.
For God has made her queen of heaven and earth,
leader of his armies, keeper of his treasure,
dispenser of his graces, mediatrix on behalf of men,
destroyer of his enemies and faithful associate
in his great works and triumphs.”

…St Louis Marie de Montfort

“To serve the Queen of Heaven is already to reign there
and to live under her commands, is more than to govern.”

…St John Marie Vianney

“Prayer is powerful beyond limits
when we turn to the Immaculata
who is queen even of God’s heart.”

…St Maximilian Kolbe

“No one has access to the Almighty
as His mother has – none has merit such as hers.
Her Son will deny her nothing that she asks
and herein lies her power.
While she defends the Church,
neither height nor depth,
neither men nor evil spirits,
neither great monarchs,
nor craft of man, nor popular violence,
can avail to harm us – for human life is short
but Mary reigns above, a Queen forever.”

Bl Cardinal John Henry Newman

One Minute Reflection – August 22 – The Memorial of the Queenship of Mary

One Minute Reflection – August 22 – The Memorial of the Queenship of Mary

My fruit is better than gold, yes than pure gold and my revenue than choice silver………….Prv 8:19

REFLECTION – “Mary is the stem of the beautiful flower on which the Holy Spirit rests with the fullness of His gifts.   Hence, those who want to obtain the seven gifts of the Spirit must seek the flower of the Holy Spirit on the stem (Mary).
We go to Jesus through Mary and through Jesus we find the grace of the Holy Spirit.”…St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Seraphic Doctor

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, You made Mary the Spouse of the Holy Spirit.   Help me through Mary and Jesus to reach the Spirit and obtain His surpassing gifts.   Holy Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, be my companion and my guide. Amen

 

Our Morning Offering – 22 August – The Queenship of Mary

Our Morning Offering – 22 August – The Queenship of Mary

Mary our Queen, Holy Mother of God
By St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Evangelical Doctor

Mary, our Queen,
Holy Mother of God,
we beg you to hear our prayer.
Make our hearts overflow with divine grace
and resplendent with heavenly wisdom.
Render them strong with your might
and rich in virtue.
Pour down upon us the gift of mercy
so that we may obtain the pardon of our sins.
Help us to live in such a way
as to merit the glory and bliss of heaven.
May this be granted us by your Son Jesus
who has exalted you above the angels,
has crowned you as Queen,
and has seated you with Him
forever on His refulgent throne.
Amen.

The Memorare by St Bernard of Clairvaux “Doctor of Light”

On the Feast Day of St Bernard, August 20, can we do better than call on our Mother

The Memorare by St Bernard of Clairvaux

REMEMBER, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled
to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought
thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired by
this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins,
my Mother; to thee do I come; before thee I stand,
sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy
hear and answer me. Amen.

(The Express Novena you will recall, is 9 times the Memorare)

Thought for the Day – 20 August – The Memorial of St Bernard of Clairvaux

Thought for the Day – 20 August – The Memorial of St Bernard of Clairvaux

Man of the century!   Woman of the century!   You see such terms applied to so many today—“golfer of the century,” “composer of the century,” “right tackle of the century”—that the line no longer has any punch.   But Western Europe’s “man of the twelfth century,” without doubt or controversy, had to be Bernard of Clairvaux. Adviser of popes, preacher of the Second Crusade, defender of the faith, healer of a schism, reformer of a monastic Order, Scripture scholar, theologian, and eloquent preacher: any one of these titles would distinguish an ordinary man.   Yet Bernard was all of these—and he still retained a burning desire to return to the hidden monastic life of his younger days.
His ability as arbitrator and counsellor became widely known.   More and more he was lured away from the monastery to settle long-standing disputes.   On several of these occasions, he apparently stepped on some sensitive toes in Rome.   Bernard was completely dedicated to the primacy of the Roman See.   But to a letter of warning from Rome, he replied that the good fathers in Rome had enough to do to keep the Church in one piece.   If any matters arose that warranted their interest, he would be the first to let them know.

Shortly thereafter it was Bernard who intervened in a full-blown schism and settled it in favour of the Roman pontiff against the antipope.

Bernard felt responsible in some way for the degenerative effects of the crusade.   This heavy burden possibly hastened his death, which came August 20, 1153.

Juan Correa de Vivar (1510 – 16 April 1566)
Death of St Bernard – 1545

Bernard’s life in the Church was more active than we can imagine possible today.  His efforts produced far-reaching results.   But he knew that they would have availed little without the many hours of prayer and contemplation that brought him strength and heavenly direction.   His life was characterised by a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother. His sermons and books about Mary are still the standard of Marian theology….Fr Don Miller OFM

St Bernard Pray for us!