Let Us Sing Together

Prose for The Time of Advent

(Composed in the eleventh century, and taken from the ancient Roman-French missals)

Let us sing together to our God, who created all things; 

By whom all ages were made;

The firmament, which shines with much light, and the countless stars;

The sun, the ornament of the world; the moon, which is the night's beauty; and all shining things;

The sea, the land, the hills, the plains, and the deep rivers; 

The wide space of the air, through which float birds, and winds, and rain;

All these obey thee alone, O God, as their Maker and King.

Now and evermore, for endless ages:

Their praise is thy glory;

Who for our salvation didst send thine only-begotten Son, 

In whom could be no sin, to suffer on earth for our sins.

We beseech thee, O holy Trinity, to govern and protect our souls and bodies, and grant us forgiveness of our sins.

 Amen.

Prayer:

O dear Mother of Jesus, who didst bring peace to angels and to men by giving birth to Christ.

Pray for us to this thy Son, that he be merciful to us, and forgive us our sins, and give us his assistance, whereby, after this exile, we may possess the blessed joys of eternal life. Amen 

The Liturgical Year - Advent

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

1,209,848

His Name is Jesus

The Old Adobe Mission is a small Church with big talent. We wish all of you could have all been here tonight for our Christmas Cantata. 

Special thanks to our Director of Music Ann Weiss and soloists, Laura Coordes, Amanda Gasal and Brian Cannon as well as our narrator Julie Estes. Special mention to our beautiful and talented OLPH choir.

Hail Queen of Virgins

Prose In Honor of The Blessed Virgin

Missal of Cluny - 1523

The angel, entering the Virgin's chamber, and gently bidding her not to fear, says to her:

Hail, Queen of virgins! thou shalt conceive in thy womb the Lord of heaven and earth; and still remaining a Virgin, thou shalt bring forth the salvation of mankind, O gate of heaven bringing to the world the remedy of its iniquities!
  How shall this be, replied the Virgin, for I know not man? How wouldst thou have me break the vow which I have sworn to keep?
  The grace of the Holy Ghost shall accomplish all these things, said the angel. Fear not, but rejoice. I assure thee thy virginity shall be left intact: the power of God shall maintain it.
  To this the noble Virgin answering, said to the angel: I am the lowly handmaid of the omnipotent God.
  Consenting to thy word, O heavenly messenger, bearer of so great a secret, and desiring to see fulfilled what thou announces, I am ready to obey the decree of God.
  The angel left her, and in that moment her virginal womb conceived the Word made flesh from hers. 
  This was his chosen enclosure for nine months: then he left it, and began the great combat, carrying the cross upon his shoulders, wherewith he struck the enemy who brought death into the world.


Prayer:

O dear Mother of Jesus, who didst bring peace to angels and to men by giving birth to Christ.

Pray for us to this thy Son, that he be merciful to us, and forgive us our sins, and give us his assistance, whereby, after this exile, we may possess the blessed joys of eternal life. Amen 

The Liturgical Year - Advent

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

1,198,490

The Divine Perfume

The Anthology of The Greeks

The Virgin, as a precious vase of alabaster, bears the divine perfume into the cave, there wisely and ineffably to yield what she contains, that she may fill our souls with the delicious fragrance. 

Christ our God shall come manifestly, and shall not delay; he shall appear born of a spotless Virgin; he shall be laid in a cave; and thou, the crib of senseless beasts, receive into thyself, wrapt in swathing-bands, him, whom the heavens cannot contain, and whose single word absolves our senseless sins.  

Antiphon:

Let us live justly and piously, expecting the blessed hope, and the coming of the Lord, alleluia.

The Liturgical Year - Advent

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

1,187,677

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Guadalupe, in the Aztec Indian tongue, means "She shall crush thy head," but has been extended to the church containing the picture and to the town that grew up around it. Guadalupe is three miles northeast of Mexico City, Mexico. Pilgrimages have been made to this shrine almost uninterruptedly since 1531.

The picture which has aroused all this devotion is a representation of the Immaculate Conception, with the sun, moon, and stars, accompaniments of the text in the Apocalypse. Mary, clothed in a blue robe dotted with stars, stands on the crescent moon. Underneath the crescent is a supporting angel. The rays of the sun shoot out on all sides from behind the central figure.

According to tradition the Blessed Virgin appeared to a fifty-five-year-old neophyte named Juan Diego, who was hurrying to hear Mass in Mexico City, on Saturday, December 9, 1531. She sent him to Bishop Zumarraga to ask that a temple be built on the spot where she stood. She was at the same place that evening and Sunday evening to get the bishop's answer. After cross-questioning Juan, the bishop ordered him to ask for a sign from the lady who had said she was the Mother of God. Juan was occupied all Monday with Bernardino, an uncle, who seemed dying of fever. On Tuesday, December 12th, the grieved nephew had to run for a priest and, to avoid the apparition, slipped around where the chapel now stands. But the Blessed Virgin crossed down to meet him and said, "What road is this thou takes, son?" A tender dialogue ensued. Reassuring Juan about  his uncle-whom at that instant she cured and in an apparition to him also called herself Holy Mary of Guadalupe-she bade him go again to the bishop. Without hesitating he joyously asked for a sign. She told him to go up to the rocks and gather roses. He knew it was neither the time nor the place for roses, but he obeyed. Gathering the roses into the long cloak worn by Mexican Indians, he returned to the Blessed Mother, who rearranged them and warned him to keep them untouched and unseen till he reached the bishop. When he arrived at the bishop's home, Juan unfolded his cloak and the roses fell out. Startled to see the bishop and his attendants kneeling before him, he looked at the cloak and saw glowing there the life-sized figure of the Virgin Mother, just as he had described her. The picture was venerated in the bishop's chapel and soon after carried in procession to the first shrine.

The coarsely woven material which bears the picture is as thin and open as poor sacking. It is made of vegetable fiber and consists of two strips, about seventy inches long by eighteen wide, held together by weak stitching. The chief colors imprinted on this material are deep gold in the rays and stars, blue-green in the mantle, and the rose in the flowered tunic.

In 1709 a rich shrine was erected; in 1904 it was made a basilica. Nineteen Popes favored the shrine and its tradition. Pope Pius X decreed that Our Lady of Guadalupe should be the national patron, and made December 12th a holy day of obligation (no longer so) and ordered a special Mass and Office.

When Our Lady imprinted her image on the cloak of Juan Diego, there was no United States. From the Gulf to the St. Lawrence was one continent, and that continent had been dedicated to Our Lady by the Spaniards. The United States was dedicated to the Immaculate Conception by the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1846. The Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the image of the Immaculate Conception. She is The Woman of the Apocalypse, clothed with the Sun, standing on the Moon, and, though without the crown of stars, wears them on her mantle. Significantly, the Child Jesus does not appear. The apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe is Mary's only recorded appearance in North America. Pope Pius XII said, "We are certain that so long as you (Our Lady of Guadalupe) are recognized as Queen and Mother, America and Mexico are saved."

Be reason of the fact that we live and work for God in one section of the earth, joined together by common interests and common needs, the people of the Americas are bound to love one another with a special charity. The force of charity by which the peoples of the Western Hemisphere must be bound together is one of those graces which the Mother of God can and will procure for her children in Christ. As the patroness of Pan-American unity, Our Lady of Guadalupe influences her children to turn toward one another in common affection for her and for Our Lord.  

PRAYER

Mary, Mother of God, in honoring you as Our Lady of Guadalupe, we honor you as the Immaculate Conception. The picture you imprinted on the cloak of the Indian at Guadalupe was the image of the Immaculate Conception. You appeared as the Woman of the Apocalypse, clothed with the sun, standing on the moon.

I believe the doctrine of the Church concerning your Immaculate Conception, which teaches that at the first moment of your conception you were, by the singular grace and privilege of the omnipotent God, in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved from all stains of original sin. The foundation of this doctrine is to be found in Sacred Scripture where we are taught that God, the Creator of all things, after the sad  fall of Adam, addressed the serpent in words which the Church applies to you: "I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head" (Gen. 3:15). If at any time you had been without Divine grace, even for the shortest moment, there would not have come between you and the serpent that everlasting enmity spoken of by God.

Since the angel saluted you "full of grace" and "blessed . . . among women" (Luke 1:28), you were the abode of all divine graces, adorned both the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, so that you were never subjected to the evil spirit.

This doctrine was received in the early Church and handed down by the Fathers who praised you with extraordinary titles and most important writings.

Mary, My Mother, may the example of your sinlessness urge us to that innocence and purity of life which flees from and abhors even the slightest stain of sin. Forming with your Divine Son one spiritual body, we experience the rage of Satan until the end of time. But we, too, by our union with Jesus, and by the power of His grace, will also be united with Him in His victory over the devil. As the seed of the serpent includes all those descendants of the first man and woman who by their sinful lives bear within them the traits of the devil, so, too, the seed of the woman includes all who in the course of ages will take their stand with your Son, Jesus Christ, in His ceaseless conflict with the enemy of God.

Mary, Mother of God, your apparition at Guadalupe teaches me that devotion to you is a source of great graces. The Church has always taught that God has entrusted to your hands all heavenly treasures, and many of the saints assure me that you give to your clients as much of these treasures as you wish and when you wish to do so.

How consoling it is to know that you have these heavenly blessings at your disposal! I have but to ask for them for the salvation of my soul. There is nothing you want more than to give them to me, because you are even more anxious to save my soul than I am, for you know better than anyone else the price your Son has paid for it and the precious worth of each grace He so graciously offers to me through you.

Devotion to you brings with it sweetness and consolation for the soul. As a child runs to its mother in every need, and finds comfort in her glance and kind word, I can turn to you for help when I need it, for you are truly my Mother, whose heart is overflowing with kindness and mercy.

Mary, My Mother, the Church puts these words of the Canticles on you lips: "I love those who love me." I want to love you with all my heart that I may in some way merit that you love me in return. I already know of your great love for me for the sake of your Son Who entrusted the care of my soul to you. But I want to beloved by you even more; hence give me an ever growing love for you. This love for you was the source of great joy in the hearts of the saints. May I have more of their love for you that I may experience more of their joy in being devoted to you. Take my cold heart; put it into your own and inflame it with a fire of love like your own.

Mary, Mother of God, because the United States was dedicated to your Immaculate Conception, be pleased to take our country under your special protection and grant that, guided by justice and nurtured by charity, it may serve God faithfully and be blessed with peace and prosperity. Continue to work wonders on our shores for our spiritual and material prosperity and keep us in peace and charity. Intercede for us that we may win the victory over evil and that we may live and reign with Jesus, your Son. Our Lady of Guadalupe, who we acclaim our Queen and Mother, lead our country to God.

Mary, My Mother, your apparition at Guadalupe as the Immaulate Conception is your only recorded appearnnce in North America. Bless the people of the Americas, to which uncounted thousands have come to seek refuge and livelihood. Preserve their faith, assailed at every hour by the forces opposed to Christ. Petition God that their hope may never fail amid the troubles and the cares of this life. We beg you for a burning charity for God to imitate the works of Christ. We ask you to procure for us, by your prayers, the great grace of final perseverance so that those who are joined to honor you in the kingdom of your Son on earth may be together always in heaven.  

INDULGENCED PRAYER

Our Lady of Guadalupe, mystical rose, make intercession for holy Church, protect the Sovereign Pontiff, help all those who invoke you in their necessities, and since you are the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God, obtain for us from your most holy Son the grace of keeping our faith, sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life, burning charity and the precious gift of final perseverance.  Amen.

Sign of Salvation with Jesus the Light, Clothed with the Sun thou art radiant bright! Promised of old as the serpent's defeat, Queenly adorned with the moon 'neath thy feet!

Garden of Eden, where sin has no part,Life-giving Tree, bearing Christ in our heart.Ark, where the Manna was hidden away,Holy of Holies, Immaculate Way!

City of God, with the Lamb as thy Light, Dawn of Eternal Day knowing no night! Bride of the Spirit and Form of our God, Heavenly Path which the Blessed have trod!

O God, Who bestowed upon us unceasing favors by having place us under the special protection of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, grant us, Your humble servants, who rejoice in honoring her today upon earth, the happiness of seeing her face to face in heaven. Through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Our Lady in Catholic Life, MacMillian Co., 

 by Fr. Lawrence Lovesik, 1957

Photos - Diocese of Phoenix Facebook

Ancient Prayers of Advent

The Ambrosian Missal - 1867

It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, that in this holy time we should celebrate the memory of the ever blessed Virgin Mary, who carried in the narrow inclosure of her womb the Lord of heaven, and who, according as the angel had foretold her, brought forth the Word become our Saviour in our mortal flesh. This is he who is the Redeemer of the world, conceived in a chaste womb, his Mother both then and at his birth remaining ineffably the Virgin. 

Prayer:

Blessed art thou, O Mary, who didst believe the Lord; what the Lord said to thee shall be fulfilled in thee, alleluia.

The Liturgical Year - Advent

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

1,157,470

Miracle of Roses

In 1531 a lady from the heavens appeared to a humble native peasant named Juan Diego. She told him she was the perfect and eternal Virgin Mary, Mother of the true God, and made her desire known to him that a shrine be built there where she could demonstrate her love, her compassion and her protection.

Juan Diego asked the Lady for a sign he could take to the Bishop. Without delay she sent her humble messenger to the top of the hill where he found roses in bloom which he was to cut and bring to her. Placing them in his rough cloak, or Tilma, he brought the flowers to the Lady who told him to take them to the Bishop. This would be the sign to persuade him to carry out her wishes.

When Juan Diego stood before the Bishop he opened his Tilma to show the Bishop the sign. The roses cascaded to the floor and an exquisitely colored portrait of the blessed Virgin Mary appeared upon the coarse fabric of the peasant's Tilma.

An incredible list of miracles, cures and interventions are attributed to Our Lady of Guadalupe. She is honored every year on December 12th and the pageant is presented at the Old Adobe Mission at about that same time.  

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O Mystic Valley

The Liturgical Year - 1867

Saturday is the day which is sacred to Mary; she will the more readily grant the prayers said to her upon it. 

Prayer:

O Mystic Valley, ever verdant and lovely in thy flowers of grace. We that, like high hills, are so proud and such sinners, what shall we do? We must look on this our God, who comes to us in infinite humility, and then humble ourselves out of love and gratitude. O blessed Mother! obtain this grace for us. Pray for us that henceforth we may submit ourselves to the will of our Lord as thou didst, when thou didst speak those admirable words: 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord: may it be done to me according to thy word!'

The Liturgical Year - Advent

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

1,133,946

He Will Save Us

Hymn from the Anthology of the Greeks

Yet a little while, and the conqueror of death will appear, and then, in the joy of our hearts, we will say: Lo! this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us; we have patiently waited for Him; this is He, and we will rejoice and be joyful in His salvation. Let us, therefore, prepare the way of the Lord that we may receive Him worthily; and in this work of our preparation, let us have recourse to Mary.

Prayer:

O Blessed Mother! obtain this grace for us. Pray for us that henceforth we may submit ourselves to the will of our Lord as thou didst, when thou didst speak those admirable words: 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord: may it be done to me according to thy word!'

The Liturgical Year - Advent

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

1,123,965

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception - Murillo, 17th century

The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed virgin Mary consists essentially in her exemption from original sin.  From the first moment of her existence her soul was adorned with sanctifying grace which made her a beloved child of God.  She was never in that state of separation from God in which all men find themselves before baptism.  Mary was preserved from sin in view of the merits of her Son.  The grace of the Redeemer prevented her from being tainted by original sin; whereas, we have been rescued from this sin through baptism.  

PRAYER

Receive, O Most Sweet Mother, our humble supplications, and above all obtain for us that, one day, happy with you, we may repeat before your throne that hymn which today is sung on earth around your altars: You are all-beautiful, O Mary! You are the glory, you are the joy, you are the honor of our people!  Amen.

Our Lady in Catholic Life

The Reverend Lawrence G. Lovasik, 1957

This Beautiful Cloud

Hymn from the Anthology of the Greeks

It is the Virgin Mary; says St. Jerome, a cloud laden with a refreshing Dew, since it holds the Just One, who is to be rained down upon us, that our seething passions may be quenched, and the soil of our spiritual life made fertile. How sweet is the majesty of our divine King, when seen thus through this beautiful cloud! O incomparable Virgin! the whole Church of God recognizes thee in that mysterious cloud which the prophet Elias, from the summit of Mount Carmel, saw rising up from the sea, little at first, like a man's foot, but sending at last such a plentiful rain that all Israel was refreshed by its abundance. Delay not, we pray thee; give us that heavenly and divine Dew which thou possesses within thee. 

Prayer:

Let us now be glad in the Lord, and in the Son of God, and be ready to receive him in his glorious coming.  Amen.

The Liturgical Year - Advent

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

1,106,190

Cave of Bethlehem

Hymn from the Anthology of the Greeks

Cave of Bethlehem, be ready, for here comes the Mother bearing Christ, her Lamb, in her womb; and thou, O crib, receive him who delivers us mortals by his word ineffably; ye shepherds, keeping your night watch, tell the wondrous miracle; ye Magi, from Persia, bring to the King gold, incense, and myrrh; for the Lord hath appeared, born of a Virgin Mother; before him she herself falls down, and though his Mother, yet adores him as his lowly handmaid, and then taking him into her arms, she says unto him: O my Saviour, my God, how is it that thou camest unto me, and was produced in me?

Prayer:

It is truly meet and just, that we should give thanks to thee, O Lord God almighty: and that we should, whilst invoking thy power, celebrate the feasts of the blessed Virgin Mary; from whose womb grew the Fruit, which has filled us with the Bread of angels.  Amen.

The Liturgical Year - Advent

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

1,087,011

Thou Art a New Heaven, O Lady!

From the Anthology of the Greeks

Thou art a new heaven, O Lady! Hasten to make arise from thy womb, as from a cloud, Christ, the Sun of glory; may he appear in the flesh, in the cave, shedding thence to the ends of the world his dazzling splendor by his immense mercy. 

Thou, O Mary, art like that instrument which Isaias of old, holding in thy womb the Christ, who, like a burning coal, will consume all the dross of sin, and will enlighten the minds of the faithful.

The songs of the prophets are hushed; for he, whom they announced as having to come in the fullness of time, is present and appears to us, having assumed a body from the chaste Virgin; let us receive him with pure hearts. 

The Liturgical Year - Advent

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

1,087,011

An Ancient Prayer

An Ancient Prayer from the Ambrosian Liturgy

O Jesus, almighty Son of God, mercifully come and save thy people on the day of thy Nativity; and deign, with thy wonted compassion, to deliver us from all the anxieties and fears of this present time. Who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen.

The Liturgical Year - Advent

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

A Meadow Verdant

R. The root of jesse gave out a branch, and the branch a flower; and on the flower resteth the holy Spirit.

V. The Virgin Mother of God is the branch, her Son the flower. And on the flower resteth the holy Spirit.  

The Virgins womb, a meadow verdant in an endless spring, has brought forth a flower, whose beauty will never droop, whose freshness will never fade. O Virgin, branch sublime, to what a height art thou grown! Even up to Him that sitteth on the throne, even to the Lord of majesty. It was sure to be so, for thou fastest deep down the roots of humility. O plant of heaven indeed! precious above all, holier than all. O tree of life indeed! alone worthy to bear the fruit of salvation. 

The Devout St. Bernard

1,067,000

Walking & Waiting

Come, let us adore the King our Lord, who is to come.

Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel.

Let your hearts be filled with hope and joy at hearing this fair and sweet prophecy: A Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son. These words contain the salvation of the world, as these others express its perdition: 'The woman took of the fruit of the tree, and did eat, and gave unto her husband.' 

This Virgin promised to us has at length come: the divine Fruit is in her womb. 

O Emmanuel, God with us, Christ the Son of God, who didst announce that thou wouldst be born of a Virgin, and didst, as Lord, create Mary, the Mother whose Son thou art: grant us, that being, like her, created by thee out of nothing, we may be rewarded, like her, for our faith in thee.  Amen.

The Liturgical Year

Dom Prosper Guéranger O. S. B.

Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 1867.

Advent's First Friday

Oh Queen and Mother most Amiable! I am a sinner, but I am not obstinate; I wish to change my life. Thou canst, then, help me; do help and save me. Today I place myself entirely in thy hands. Teach me what I must do to please God, and I will do it; and I hope to do so with thy aid, oh Mary, Mary, my mother, my light, my consolation, my refuge, and my hope. 

                                                Amen, amen, amen.

                            

 THE DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET
Click Below

Dedicated To


Father LeRoy

My Priest & Friend

Ah Mary When

Ah Mary, when will the day come that I shall see myself safe at thy feet, and shall behold the mother of my Lord and my mother, who has been so occupied with my salvation?

Above all, I thank God who gives me such confidence in the blood of Jesus Christ and in thee; namely, that thou wilt save me, that thou wilt free me from my sins, and obtain for me light and strength to execute the divine will, and finally conduct me to the port of paradise.  

Received today from a fan of . . . Sing to Mary

TEARS OF AUTUMN

In the days of Autumn old,
The leaves were a deeper shade of gold,
Now in the days of Autumn new,
The leaves have taken on a brighter hue,
The apples tasted so bitter then,
And now they taste sweet again,
The colors have faded from long ago,
The brown and rusts of bitterness and woe,
The corn husks have been laid to dry,
Along with all the tears I have cried,
The crimson red of the fallen leaves,
Has captured a soul that no longer bleeds,
And as Autumn turns into winter,
Jesus still loves me....a sinner.

Author: Marie Bernadette, 1990