DEUXIÈME PÉRIODE : Trois semaines consacrées à se remplir de Jésus-Christ par la Sainte Vierge
Deuxième semaine (Jours 20 à 26): Sujet de la semaine : Connaissance de la Sainte Vierge
Démarche : Actes d’amour, affections pieuses envers la Très Sainte Vierge, imitation de ses vertus ; en particulier son humilité profonde, sa foi vive, son obéissance aveugle, son oraison continuelle, sa mortification universelle, sa pureté divine, sa charité ardente, sa patience héroïque, sa douceur angélique et sa sagesse divine. « Ce sont, comme l’affirme Saint Louis De Montfort, les dix principales vertus de la Très Sainte Vierge ». Oraisons jaculatoire recommandées par St L.-M. de Montfort : Je me donne tout à vous o Marie… je vous prends pour tout mon bien.
Nous devons nous unir à Jésus par Marie : c’est la caractéristique de notre dévotion; voilà pourquoi Montfort demande que cette seconde semaine soit employée à la connaissance de la Sainte Vierge.
Marie est notre Souveraine et notre Médiatrice, notre Mère et Maîtresse. Appliquons-nous donc à connaître les fonctions de cette royauté, de cette médiation et de cette maternité ainsi que les grandeurs et les prérogatives qui en sont le fondement et la conséquence.
Notre Mère est aussi un moule parfait qui doit nous former, afin que nous devenions conformes à Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Il nous faut prendre les dispositions, les intentions mêmes de ce moule divin. Nous ne le pourrons faire, sans étudier attentivement la vie intérieure de Marie, c’est-à-dire ses vertus, ses sentiments, ses actes, sa participation aux mystères du Christ et son union avec lui.
Readings
Seq A Evangelii sec Lucam
Cap II
[16] Et venerunt festinantes : et invenerunt Mariam, et Joseph, et infantem positum in praesepio. [17] Videntes autem cognoverunt de verbo, quod dictum erat illis de puero hoc. [18] Et omnes qui audierunt, mirati sunt : et de his quae dicta erant a pastoribus ad ipsos. [19] Maria autem conservabat omnia verba haec, conferens in corde suo. [20] Et reversi sunt pastores glorificantes et laudantes Deum in omnibus quae audierant et viderant, sicut dictum est ad illos. [21] Et postquam consummati sunt dies octo, ut circumcideretur puer, vocatum est nomen ejus Jesus, quod vocatum est ab angelo priusquam in utero conciperetur.
[45] Et non invenientes, regressi sunt in Jerusalem, requirentes eum. [46] Et factum est, post triduum invenerunt illum in templo sedentem in medio doctorum, audientem illos, et interrogantem eos. [47] Stupebant autem omnes qui eum audiebant, super prudentia et responsis ejus. [48] Et videntes admirati sunt. Et dixit mater ejus ad illum : Fili, quid fecisti nobis sic? ecce pater tuus et ego dolentes quaerebamus te. [49] Et ait ad illos : Quid est quod me quaerebatis? nesciebatis quia in his quae Patris mei sunt, oportet me esse? [50] Et ipsi non intellexerunt verbum quod locutus est ad eos.[51] Et descendit cum eis, et venit Nazareth : et erat subditus illis. Et mater ejus conservabat omnia verba haec in corde suo. [52] Et Jesus proficiebat sapientia, et aetate, et gratia apud Deum et homines.
Cornelius a Lapide
Verses 16-21
Ver. 16.—And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. With haste, from their longing and zeal to see Christ. Hence S. Ambrose remarks, “Thou seest that the shepherds make haste; for no one seeks after Christ with slothfulness.” And Bede, “The shepherds hasten, for the presence of Christ must not be sought with sluggishness; and many perchance that seek Christ do not merit to find Him, because they seek Him slothfully.”
Ver. 19.—But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart—putting them together and comparing them—not as Bede would have it, the prophecies made about Christ by the prophets, but the things seen and reported by the shepherds with reference to the angels—the “Gloria in excelsis,” &c., with what she had experienced herself—the annunciation of Gabriel, the prophecy of Elizabeth and of Zacharias, and the other things which she herself had witnessed and felt in herself. And this she did,
first, that seeing the wondrous harmony—all things agreeing so well together—she might be the more confirmed in her faith that the only begotten Son of God was born of her. So speaks S. Ambrose.
Secondly, that by the sweet contemplation of these circumstances so consonant among themselves, she might feed her mind, and look with sure hope for the rest—namely, that God would bring this work to an end, and redeem mankind by Christ.
Thirdly, that in good time she might unfold all these things and narrate them in order to the apostles, and especially to S. Luke, who was destined to write of them.
Observe here in the Virgin the rare example of maidenly silence and modesty, of heavenly prudence, and of the firmest faith and hope, as she wonders at the present and waits for the future. She was comparing the signs of deepest loneliness which she saw with what she knew of His Supreme Majesty, the stable with heaven, the swaddling clothes with that which is spoken of in Ps. civ., “covered with light as with a garment,” the crib with the throne of God, the beasts with the seraphim.
Ver. 20.—And the shepherds returned (to their flock, says Euthymius, for God would have the faithful, however exalted by Him, remain in the discharge of their several callings), glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. Hence it is clear that the shepherds remained constant in the faith and gospel of Christ—nay, exulting and jubilant in the joy of the Holy Spirit at having seen Him.
Ver. 21.—And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, His name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before He was conceived in the womb—when eight days were fulfilled—when the eighth day from His nativity was come. That the child should be circumcised—this indicates that He was circumcised, implying that He underwent the rite, not of obligation, but freely and of His own will. For, in the first place, He was God—the Author of the law, and, therefore, not bound by the law; and, in the second place, He was not of the common generation of men, who are procreated of the propagation of sin and conceived in iniquity, says Bede, but conceived and born of the Holy Spirit, and, therefore, without original sin, for wiping out of which circumcision was instituted. For circumcision was the sign and stigma of sin, the cautery with which it was burnt out, and in Christ there was no sin, no lust. So in His circumcision Christ humbled Himself to a still greater degree than in His nativity—in the latter He took upon Him the form of man, in the former the character of a sinner.
Here are seven reasons why Christ would of His own accord be circumcised, drawn from the writings of S. Cyprian, S. Augustine, Bede, and others, and given by S. Thomas, (part iii., quæst. 37, art. 1):—- to show the reality of His human flesh, as against Manichæus, who said that He had a phantom body, Apollinarius, who said that the body of Christ is consubstantial with the Godhead, and Valentinus, who said that He brought His body from heaven.
- to sanction the rite which God had instituted.
- to show that He was of the seed of Abraham, who had received the ordinance of circumcision as a sign of the faith which He had in reference to Christ.
- to take away all excuse from the Jews, lest they should not accept Him if He were uncircumcised.
- to commend to us by His own example the virtue of obedience. Hence it was that He was circumcised on the eighth day, as the law prescribed.
- having come in the likeness of the flesh of sin, He might not seem to reject the remedy by which the flesh had been wont to be cleansed of sin.
- bearing the burden of the law Himself, He might free others from that burden, “God sent forth His Son made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law,” Gal. iv.
S. Leo (Serm. 2 on the Nativity) adds as another reason that by this rite Christ’s character was hidden from the devil: “The merciful and Almighty Saviour, so conducting the beginning of His assumption of human nature as to hide the virtue of the Godhead inseparable from His humanity with the veil of our infirmity, eluded the craft of the enemy, who was secure in the supposition that the birth of this child, begotten for the salvation of mankind, was no less liable to His power than that of all other children who are born.”
S. Augustine (Serm. 9 on the Nativity) gives yet another reason—that putting an end to the carnal, Christ might put in its place that spiritual circumcision which consists in the mortification and cutting away of vices and concupiscence—“Christ,” he says, “took circumcision upon Himself as about to do away with circumcision; He admitted the shadow as about to give light—the figure as He that should fulfil the verity.”
Lastly, by this act He began that suffering by which He became the Redeemer and Saviour of the world. So it was that in this rite the name of “Jesus” was given Him, because He healed not our infirmities with drugs, as the physicians do, but by taking them upon Himself and making satisfaction for them to God, so earning the power of healing all the diseases of soul and of body, all our passions, temptations, sorrows, and afflictions, whether in this life or in the life to come. Art thou afflicted, then, with fear or over-scrupulousness, with anger or bitterness, with sorrow or poverty? Call upon Jesus, and thou shalt feel that He is thy Consoler and thy Saviour.
Christ was circumcised in the cave where He was born by some priest or Levite, and felt greater pain than other infants, in that He had the use of reason which other infants lack, and possessed a more delicate and active sense of touch.
His name was called Jesus. The name of Jesus signifies the function of Saviour in its greatest fulness, inasmuch as He not only saved men Himself, but gave to His apostles and to these like them the power of saving. This is what is implied by the word Josue, or, as the Hebrews say, Jehosua. Let the faithful then remember that they are children of Jesus, and that they ought therefore to imitate Him in bringing about the salvation of souls.
Which was so named of the angel (when Gabriel announced to the Blessed Virgin His conception, ch. i. ver. 31) before He was conceived in the womb. For Christ was conceived at the end of the Annunciation, when the Blessed Virgin answered, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to Thy word.” In this sentence S. Luke gives us to understand that the name of Jesus had been decreed by God, for this Child from all eternity, to signify that He was to be the Saviour of the world.
Observe here how God joins and couples in Christ: the humble with the sublime, the human with the divine, the poison with the antidote, to show that in Him human nature was joined to the Divine Majesty. Christ would be circumcised, so taking on Him the appearance of sin, but presently, when He wipes away this appearance He gives Him the name of Jesus—the Saviour that heals all sins. So, too, He would have Christ born in a stable and laid in a manger, as being poor and abject, but soon He summoned by the star the three kings, and by the angel the shepherds to adore Him. So, again, He would have Him suffer, be crucified, and die; but at the same time He darkened the sun and the moon, rent the rocks and shook the earth, that all the elements might testify of, and mourn for, the ignominious murder of their Creator. The more, then, Christ humbled Himself, the more the Father exalted Him. To thee, Christian, He will do the same; wherefore fear not to be humbled, knowing, for certain that by this means thou art to be exalted. For the road to glory is humiliation, according to that promise of Christ, “Every one that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
Verses 45-52
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| Jesus amid the Doctors. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum |
Ver. 45.— Origen adds, “They sought Him, lest perchance He might have gone away from them, lest He might have left them and betaken Himself elsewhere—or as seems most probable—lest He might have returned to heaven, to descend from thence when it should please Him . . . but she mourned because she was a mother, and the mother of a Son worthy of her immeasurable love—because He had departed without her knowledge, and quite contrary to her expectation.”
Ver. 46.—After three days, that is, on the third day. The first day was that on which they left Jerusalem; the second, that on which, not finding Him at the inn, they returned; and the third, when they sought and found the Holy Child in the Holy Temple. And in S. Mark viii. 31, “The Son of Man must suffer many things . . . after three days (that is, on the third day) to rise again.”
In the Temple—For the place of God Incarnate is in the Temple. There is He to be sought, there shall He be found—not in the market-place, not in the tavern, not in the theatre.
The whole of these three days, then, Jesus spent in praying and hearing and answering the doctors in the Temple; His food He received from the doctors, who, being present, and admiring His wisdom, invited Him. Others, with less probability, think that He lived by begging from door to door; S Thomas, in the Summa, favours this view, proving that Christ did sometimes beg, from the words of Ps. xl. 17, “But I am poor and needy.”
Sitting in the midst of the doctors. A Hebraism—among the doctors, but in a lowly position like a disciple, in order that He might rouse them to think and inquire about the advent of the Messiah, asking them questions. (1.) Because it was fitting that the child should ask questions of these learned men, and not teach them. (2.) To teach the young modesty, and the desire to hear, to question, and to learn, “Lest,” says Bede, “if they will not be disciples of the truth, they become masters of error.” (3.) That, asking them questions, He might be questioned in turn by them, and might teach them by His replies.
Ver. 47.—And all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. That a child of twelve, the son of a carpenter, one who had never attended the schools, should be so versed in Holy Scripture, should question so wisely and answer so intelligently as to surpass even the doctors themselves, so that they said, “What thinkest thou that this child will be?”—will He be a Prophet? will He be the Messiah, whom we all anxiously expect from day to day to be the Teacher of the World?
Ver. 48.—And when they saw him, they were amazed. His parents, who were seeking Him, wondered and rejoiced at finding Him alone disputing with the doctors, manifesting such wisdom, while the doctors, and all the rest who were present, wondered at Him.
And His mother said unto Him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, Thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing—the Arabic adds, “with labour.” Such are the words of His mother, not as finding fault with Christ, but in wonder and in sorrow, and sorrowfully unfolding her grief. The reverence felt by this mother for her Child—the God-Man—assures us of this; so it is most likely that she said this to Him, not publicly in the assemblage of doctors, but privately, calling Him aside, or when the assembly had dispersed. So Jansenius, Maldonatus, and others.
Thy father and I. S. Augustine (Serm. 63 De Diversis, xi.) remarks upon the, humility of the Virgin, who, knowing that she was in every sense (in solidum) the Mother of Christ, and, therefore, of God, and that Joseph had no part in begetting Him, yet modestly puts herself after Joseph as her husband. “She expresses herself always,” says an anonymous writer in the “Catena Græcca,” like a mother, with trustfulness, humility, and affection.”
Tropologically, let the soul that has separated itself from Jesus by mortal sin, or from its wonted communion with Him by venial negligence, seek Him again (1) with the sorrow and tears of a penitent heart, for, as S. Gregory Nazianzen says (Orat. 3), “The tears of righteous men” (and of sinful too, if they repent) “are the flood that covers sin, and the expiation of the world, as was Noah’s flood;” (2) with earnestness and solicitude, as the Blessed Virgin did, and that in the Temple, by passing some time in prayer and in spiritual reading and meditation; (3) among the doctors, among learned and good men, who shall instruct the soul as well in knowledge as in piety.
Ver. 49.—And He said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? These words of Christ, then, are the words of one instructing and consoling; excusing himself, and defending what he has done: “He blames her not because she sought Him as her son, but forces her to raise the eyes of her mind to what He owes Him whose Eternal Son He is.”
In order to understand this thoroughly we must notice that Christ, besides His Divine actions, which He had as God and the Son of God, such as creating, preserving, and ruling all things, and breathing the Holy Spirit, had human actions of two kinds. Of these He had some as man, common to Him with other men, eating, walking, labouring, &c.; others were proper to Him as the God-Man, the Redeemer, the Christ, and these actions are called by S. Dionysius “Theandric” (Θέος α̉νηζ); being the works partly of God and partly of a man. Such actions were those of teaching, working miracles, calling His disciples, creating and ordaining apostles, &c. In respect of the former class of actions Christ was willing to obey His parents; but as to the latter He would obey only God His Father, because these, as being of a higher order, were received by and were under the direction of God alone. Wherefore He answered His parents, when they sought an explanation of His conduct, that these things were to be done, not at their will and pleasure, but at God’s—as appears from this passage, and at the marriage at Cana, in the turning of the water into wine, S. John ii. 4, and in other similar cases.
And these actions which Christ did as the God-Man He calls the actions of God His Father, and attributes to His Father, not to Himself (1) because on account of these works He was sent by His Father into the world; (2) because He had His Divinity from the Father, and these were the works chiefly of His Divinity; (3) because He did them by the Father’s command; (4) because in these matters He was subject to no one but His Eternal Father, to teach us that God’s command or counsel must come before even the tenderest love for mother—as when God calls any one to religion, to the priesthood, to martyrdom, or to the apostolate, and his parents are opposed to the call.
Ver. 50.—And they understood not the saying which He spake unto them. Some make these words refer to the ignorance of those who stood by, who were astonished at the wisdom and the answers of Jesus—others to Joseph alone by a synecdoche. But they clearly refer both to the Blessed Virgin and Joseph; for, though they knew that their Jesus was Christ, the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, still they did not understand in what manner He was going to set about the work of this His office, or what was that business of His Father which He had said that it behoved Him to be about—that is to say, whether, or when, or how He was going to teach, to live, to die, and to be crucified for the salvation of the world; for these things had not yet been revealed to them by God. However, they learnt all this in progress of time, either by experience or by revelation from Jesus. And, out of reverence for Him, they durst not ask Him curiously in this place what those mysteries were, but prudently awaited the fitting opportunity.
Ver. 51.—And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them. He “came to Nazareth” of His own accord, notwithstanding that S. Bernard says (Serm. 19 in Cant.), “Having remained in Jerusalem, and having told them that He must needs be engaged in what belonged to His Father, He yet did not disdain to follow them to Nazareth—
—the Master—the disciples
—God—Men,
—the Word and Wisdom,—a carpenter and a woman.
Subject. In the Greek ύποκείμενος, obedient, that is, as regards His human nature, not as regards His Divine nature, as S. Augustine shows, in opposition to the Arians (Contra Maximinum, lib. iii. cap. xviii.)
Observe that the human nature in Christ, though considered in itself, it was under the rule of His mother, yet, being elevated by God to the Person [Hypostasis] of the Word, and being, therefore, one with God—one Divine Person—was, for this reason, exempt from the obligation of obedience to His mother as much as from that of obedience to the laws of Augustus and all other worldly authorities. Just as a member of a religious order, if he be made Pope, is exempted from the obedience of his order, and, indeed, becomes its superior. Yet Christ, to give us an example of profound humility and perfect obedience, made Himself subject to His mother, and to Joseph too.
Christ wished to teach us by the whole of His early life, for thirty years without cessation, that the perfection of virtue, and especially of religious life, consists in obedience. He did and said many things in these thirty years, but S. Luke sums them all up in the sentence, “He was subject to them.” Glorious panegyric of a religious man! All His life He was obedient and subject to His superiors.
It is the opinion of the old writers that Christ assisted Joseph in his trade as a carpenter. For it was fitting that He, who, together with His true Father, is the Artificer of the Universe, should practise with His supposed father the trade of an artificer.
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| The Holy Family. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum |
But His mother kept all these sayings in her heart—that, in course of time, she might the more fully understand all that Christ should say and do, and also that she might impart them to S. Luke and the other Apostles, to be written or handed down to posterity. “For although,” says Titus, “she did not perfectly follow all that was said by Him, yet she understood them to be Divine things, and above human understanding. She heard Jesus, not as a child of twelve years, but received and heeded His words as those of a man perfect in every way.” Or, as Euthymius says, “as the words not merely of a child, but also of the Son of God.”
Ver. 52.—And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. For stature the Greek has ήλικία, “age,” or “proficiency.” See also chap. xii. 25. Both renderings are true and apposite.
Christ, therefore, is said to have progressed in wisdom and grace as He progressed in years—
1. In the estimation of men, and in outward seeming. For sometimes Scripture speaks according to what is seen outwardly, and the judgment formed by men. So Origen, Theophylact, Nazianzen, S. Athanasius, and Cyril.
2. Christ did really increase in experimental wisdom, for from mere use He acquired experience—“He learned obedience by the things which He suffered” Heb. v. 8.
3. Though Christ did not increase in habitual, yet He did increase in actual and practical wisdom and grace. For, even while yet a child, He daily exerted more and more of the strength of mind and heavenly wisdom that lay hidden in His soul; so that in face and manner, in word and deed, He ever acted with greater and greater modesty, gravity, prudence, sweetness, and piety.
To the objection that Christ is said to have increased in grace before God, S. Thomas (p. iii. Quæst. vii.), answers that Christ increased in grace in Himself, not as regards the habit, but as regards the acts and effects produced by it.
Tropologically, Damascene (De fide, 1 iii c. xxii.) says that Christ progresses in wisdom and grace, not in Himself, but in His members, that is, in Christians. For He went on producing greater acts of virtue day by day that He might teach us to do the same. All our life is without ceasing either a progress or a falling off; when it is not becoming better it is becoming worse, as S. Bernard tells us. Ep. 25.
With God and man. “For,” says Theophylact, “it behoves us to please God first and then man.” If we please God He will make us pleasing to men. It is not enough to please man, for this is often false and feigned, nor to please God only, for this is peculiar to oneself and unseen, but we must please “God and man,” that we may show to men that grace by which we are pleasing to God, and so attract them to it. “To God,” says S. Bernard, “we owe our conscience, to our neighbours our good reputation.”
Luke: Chapter 2
[16] And they came with haste; and they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. [17] And seeing, they understood of the word that had been spoken to them concerning this child. [18] And all that heard, wondered; and at those things that were told them by the shepherds. [19] But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart. [20] And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God, for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.[21] And after eight days were accomplished, that the child should be circumcised, his name was called JESUS, which was called by the angel, before he was conceived in the womb.
[45] And not finding him, they returned into Jerusalem, seeking him. [46] And it came to pass, that, after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them, and asking them questions. [47] And all that heard him were astonished at his wisdom and his answers. [48] And seeing him, they wondered. And his mother said to him: Son, why hast thou done so to us? behold thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. [49] And he said to them: How is it that you sought me? did you not know, that I must be about my father's business? [50] And they understood not the word that he spoke unto them.[51] And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them. And his mother kept all these words in her heart. [52] And Jesus advanced in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and men.
Évangile : Luc 2 :16-21, 45-52
Ils se hâtèrent d’y aller, et ils découvrirent Marie et Joseph, avec le nouveau-né couché dans la mangeoire. Après avoir vu, ils racontèrent ce qui leur avait été annoncé au sujet de cet enfant. Et tous ceux qui entendirent s’étonnaient de ce que leur racontaient les bergers. Marie, cependant, retenait tous ces événements et les méditait dans son cœur. Les bergers repartirent ; ils glorifiaient et louaient Dieu pour tout ce qu’ils avaient entendu et vu, selon ce qui leur avait été annoncé. Quand fut arrivé le huitième jour, celui de la circoncision, l’enfant reçut le nom de Jésus, le nom que l’ange lui avait donné avant sa conception. (Luc 2 :16-21)
Ne le trouvant pas, ils retournèrent à Jérusalem, en continuant à le chercher. C’est au bout de trois jours qu’ils le trouvèrent dans le Temple, assis au milieu des docteurs de la Loi : il les écoutait et leur posait des questions, et tous ceux qui l’entendaient s’extasiaient sur son intelligence et sur ses réponses. En le voyant, ses parents furent frappés d’étonnement, et sa mère lui dit : « Mon enfant, pourquoi nous as-tu fait cela ? Vois comme ton père et moi, nous avons souffert en te cherchant ! » Il leur dit : « Comment se fait-il que vous m’ayez cherché ? Ne saviez-vous pas qu’il me faut être chez mon Père ? » Mais ils ne comprirent pas ce qu’il leur disait. Il descendit avec eux pour se rendre à Nazareth, et il leur était soumis. Sa mère gardait dans son cœur tous ces événements. Quant à Jésus, il grandissait en sagesse, en taille et en grâce, devant Dieu et devant les hommes. (Luc 2 :45-52)
Deuxième Semaine: Prières quotidiennes
- Litaniae de Sancto Spiritu: see below.
- Ave Maris Stella: for Latin and English versions, see here.
- Litaniae Lauretanae: see below. For a version sung by a sister of the FSI, see here.
- Oraison à Marie (Saint-Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort)
- Prier un Rosaire ou un Chapelet
Litaniae de Sancto Spiritu
From the Coeleste Palmetum, 1741 edition. Tr MWM.Kyrie, eleison
R. Kyrie, eleison.
Christe, eleison
R. Christe, eleison.
Kyrie, eleison
R. Kyrie, eleison.
Spiritus sancte a Patre Filioque procedens,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus Domini Deus Israel,
R. Miserere nobis.
Dominator hominum,
R. Miserere nobis.
Replens orbem terrarum,
R. Miserere nobis.
Habens omnem virtutem,
R. Miserere nobis.
Omnia bona operans, et omnia prospiciens,
R. Miserere nobis.
Ornans caelos, stabilis, et securus,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus veritatis omnia suggerens, et distribuens,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus sapientiae et intellectus,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus consilii, fortitudinis, scientiae, et pietatis,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus timoris Domini et prudentiae,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus, quo inspirante locuti sunt sancti Dei homines,
R. Miserere nobis.
Quae ventura annuntians,
R. Miserere nobis.
Donum et promissio Patris,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus sancte Paraclite arguens mundum,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus, in quo daemonia eiiciuntur,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus, ex quo renascimur,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus, per quem caritas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus adoptionis filiorum Dei,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus gratiae et misericordiae,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus adiuvans infirmitatem nostram et reddens testimonium spiritui nostro, quod simus filii Dei,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus suavis, benigne, super mel dulcis,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus pignus hereditatis nostrae, deducens nos in terram rectam,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus principalis, vivificans et confortans,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus salutis, iudicii et gaudii,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus fidei, pacis, et ardoris,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus humilitatis, caritatis, et castitatis,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus benignitatis, bonitatis, longanimitatis, ac mansuetudinis,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus lenitatis, veritatis, unitatis ac consolationis,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus compunctionis, promissionis, renovationis, ac sanctificationis,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus vitae, patientiae, continentiae, ac modestiae,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus omnium gratiarum,
R. Miserere nobis.
Propitius esto,
R. Parce nobis sancte Spiritus.
Propitius esto,
R. Exaudi nos sancte Spiritus.
A spiritu erroris,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
A spiritu immundo,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
A spiritu blasphemiae,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Ab omni obstinatione et desperatione,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Ab omni praesumptione et veritatis contradictione,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Ab omni malitia, et prava consuetudine,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Ab invidia fraternae caritatis,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
A finali impaenitentia,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Per aeternam a Patre et Filio processionem tuam,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Per invisibilem unctionem tuam,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Per omnem gratiarum plenitudinem, qua Virginem Mariam semper possedisti,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Per supereffluentem sanctitatis abyssum, qua conceptione Verbi Matrem Dei inundare fecisti,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Per sanctam in baptismo Christi apparitionem tuam,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Per salutarem super apostolos adventum tuum,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Per ineffabilem bonitatem tuam, qua Ecclesiam gubernas, concilias Praesides, Martyres corroboras, Doctores illuminas, Religiones instituis,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Peccatores,
R. Te rogamus, audi nos.
Ut in spiritu ambulemus, et desideria carnis non adimpleamus,
R. Te rogamus, audi nos.
Ut Te numquam contristemus,
R. Te rogamus, audi nos.
Ut omnes Ecclesiasticos Ordines in sancta religione, et vero spiritu conservare digneris,
R. Te rogamus, audi nos.
Ut cuncto populo Christiano cor unum et animam unam donare digneris,
R. Te rogamus, audi nos.
Ut virtutem omnium complementum nobis donare digneris,
R. Te rogamus, audi nos.
Ut nos exaudire digneris,
R. Te rogamus, audi nos.
Spiritus Dei,
R. Te rogamus, audi nos.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
R. Effunde in nos Sanctum Spiritum.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
R. Emitte in nos promissum Patris Spiritum.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
R. Da nobis spiritum bonum. (Lk 11:13)
V. Spiritus Domini replevit orbem terrarum:
R. Et hoc, quod continet omnia, scientiam habet vocis.
Oremus
Adsit nobis, quaesumus Domine, virtus Spiritus Sancti: quae et corda nostra clementer expurget, et ab omnibus tueatur adversis. Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate eiusdem Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen.
Ave Maris Stella
The first verse of the following hymn is said genuflecting.Ave maris stella,
Dei Mater alma,
Atque semper Virgo,
Felix cæli porta.
Sumens illud Ave
Gabriélis ore,
Funda nos in pace,
Mutans Hevæ nomen.
Solve vincla reis,
Profer lumen cæcis,
Mala nostra pelle,
Bona cuncta posce.
Monstra te esse matrem,
Sumat per te preces,
Qui pro nobis natus,
Tulit esse tuus.
Virgo singuláris,
Inter omnes mitis,
Nos culpis solútos
Mites fac et castos.
Vitam præsta puram,
Iter para tutum,
Ut vidéntes Iesum,
Semper collætémur.
Sit laus Deo Patri,
Summo Christo decus,
Spirítui Sancto,
Tribus honor unus.
Amen.
Litaniae Lauretanae
The Litany contains many praises found in a Hymn which was first translated into Latin around the year 800. The other titles and praises are found in the writings of the early Church Fathers of the first six centuries. It is believerd the Litany was composed in Paris towards thre end of the 12th century. It gets its name from the Italian shrine at Loreto where it was adopted in 1558.
For a version (in Latin) sung by a sister of the FSI, see here.
Kyrie, eleison.
R. Christe, eleison.
Kyrie, eleison.
Christe, audi nos.
R. Christe, exaudi nos.
Pater de caelis, Deus,
R. miserere nobis.
Fili, Redemptor mundi, Deus,
R. miserere nobis.
Spiritus Sancte Deus,
R. miserere nobis.
Sancta Trinitas, unus Deus,
R. miserere nobis.
Sancta Maria,
R. ora pro nobis.
Sancta Dei Genetrix,
R. ora pro nobis.
Sancta Virgo virginum,
R. ora pro nobis.
Mater Christi,
R. ora pro nobis.
Mater Ecclesiae,
R. ora pro nobis.
Mater Divinae gratiae,
R. ora pro nobis.
Mater purissima,
R. ora pro nobis.
Mater castissima,
R. ora pro nobis.
Mater inviolata,
R. ora pro nobis.
Mater intemerata,
R. ora pro nobis.
Mater amabilis,
R. ora pro nobis.
Mater admirabilis,
R. ora pro nobis.
Mater boni Consilii,
R. ora pro nobis.
Mater Creatoris,
R. ora pro nobis.
Mater Salvatoris,
R. ora pro nobis.
Virgo prudentissima,
R. ora pro nobis.
Virgo veneranda,
R. ora pro nobis.
Virgo praedicanda,
R. ora pro nobis.
Virgo potens,
R. ora pro nobis.
Virgo clemens,
R. ora pro nobis.
Virgo fidelis,
R. ora pro nobis.
Speculum iustitiae,
R. ora pro nobis.
Sedes sapientiae,
R. ora pro nobis.
Causa nostrae laetitiae,
R. ora pro nobis.
Vas spirituale,
R. ora pro nobis.
Vas honorabile,
R. ora pro nobis.
Vas insigne devotionis,
R. ora pro nobis.
Rosa mystica,
R. ora pro nobis.
Turris Davidica,
R. ora pro nobis.
Turris eburnea,
R. ora pro nobis.
Domus aurea,
R. ora pro nobis.
Foederis arca,
R. ora pro nobis.
Ianua caeli,
R. ora pro nobis.
Stella matutina,
R. ora pro nobis.
Salus infirmorum,
R. ora pro nobis.
Refugium peccatorum,
R. ora pro nobis.
Consolatrix afflictorum,
R. ora pro nobis.
Auxilium Christianorum,
R. ora pro nobis.
Regina Angelorum,
R. ora pro nobis.
Regina Patriarcharum,
R. ora pro nobis.
Regina Prophetarum,
R. ora pro nobis.
Regina Apostolorum,
R. ora pro nobis.
Regina Martyrum,
R. ora pro nobis.
Regina Confessorum,
R. ora pro nobis.
Regina Virginum,
R. ora pro nobis.
Regina Sanctorum omnium,
R. ora pro nobis.
Regina sine labe originali concepta,
R. ora pro nobis.
Regina in caelum assumpta,
R. ora pro nobis.
Regina Sacratissimi Rosarii,
R. ora pro nobis.
Regina familiae,
R. ora pro nobis.
Regina pacis,
R. ora pro nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
R. parce nobis, Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
R. exaudi nos, Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
R. miserere nobis.
V. Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genetrix,
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.
Oremus
Concede nos famulos tuos, quaesumus, Domine Deus, perpetua mentis et corporis sanitate gaudere: et gloriosa beatae Mariae semper Virginis intercessione, a praesenti liberari tristitia, et aeterna perfrui laetitia. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.
R. Amen.
Tempore Adventus:
V. Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae,
R. Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto.
Oremus
Deus, qui de beatae Mariae Virginis utero Verbum tuum, Angelo nuntiante, carnem suscipere voluisti: praesta supplicibus tuis; ut, qui vere eam Genetricem Dei credimus, eius apud te intercessionibus adiuvemur. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.
R. Amen.
Tempore Nativitatis:
V. Post partum, Virgo, inviolata permansisti,
R. Dei Genetrix, intercede pro nobis.
Oremus
Deus, qui salutis aeternae, beatae Mariae virginitate fecunda, humano generi praemia praestitisti: tribue, quaesumus; ut ipsam pro nobis intercedere sentiamus, per quam meruimus Filius tuum auctorem vitae suscipere. Qui tecum vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen.
Tempore Paschali:
V. Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia.
R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.
Oremus
Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi, mundum laetificare dignatus es: praesta, quaesumus: ut, per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam, perpetuae capiamus gaudia vitae. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum.
R. Amen.
Oraison à Marie
(Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort)Je vous salue, Marie, Fille bien-aimée du Père Eternel; je vous salue, Marie, Mère admirable du Fils ; je vous salue, Marie, Epouse très fidèle du Saint-Esprit ; je vous salue, Marie, ma chère Mère, mon aimable Maîtresse et ma puissante Souveraine, je vous salue, ma joie, ma gloire, mon cœur et mon âme! Vous êtes toute à moi par miséricorde, et je suis tout à vous par justice. Et je ne le suis pas encore assez: je me donne à vous tout entier de nouveau, en qualité d’esclave éternel, sans rien réserver pour moi ni pour autre. Si vous voyez encore en moi quelque chose qui ne vous appartienne pas, je vous supplie de le prendre en ce moment, et de vous rendre la Maîtresse absolue de mon pouvoir; de détruire et déraciner et d’y anéantir tout ce qui déplait à Dieu, et d’y planter, d’y élever et d’y opérer tout ce qui vous plaira. Que la lumière de votre foi dissipe les ténèbres de mon esprit ; que votre humilité profonde prenne la place de mon orgueil; que votre contemplation sublime arrête les distractions de mon imagination vagabonde; que votre vue continuelle de Dieu remplisse ma mémoire de sa présence; que l’incendie de la charité de votre cœur dilate et embrase la tiédeur et la froideur du mien ; que vos vertus prennent la place de mes péchés ; que vos mérites soient mon ornement et mon supplément devant Dieu. Enfin, ma très chère et bien-aimée Mère, faites, s’il se peut, que je n’aie point d’autre esprit que le vôtre pour connaître Jésus-Christ et ses divines volontés ; que je n’aie point d’autre âme que la vôtre pour louer et glorifier le Seigneur; que je n’aie point d’autre cœur que le vôtre pour aimer Dieu d’un amour pur et d’un amour ardent comme vous.
Je ne vous demande ni visions, ni révélations, ni goûts, ni plaisirs même spirituels. C’est à vous de voir clairement sans ténèbres; c’est à vous de goûter pleinement, sans amertume ; c’est à vous de triompher glorieusement à la droite de votre Fils dans le ciel, sans aucune humiliation ; c’est à vous de commander absolument aux anges et aux hommes et aux démons, sans résistance, et enfin de disposer, selon votre volonté, de tous les biens de Dieu, sans aucune réserve.
Voilà, divine Marie, la très bonne part que le Seigneur vous a donnée et qui ne vous sera jamais ôtée; et ce qui me donne une grande joie. Pour ma part, ici-bas, je n’en veux point d’autre que celle que vous avez eue, savoir: de croire purement, sans rien goûter ni voir; de souffrir joyeusement, sans consolation des créatures; de mourir continuellement à moi-même sans relâche; et de travailler fortement jusqu’à la mort, pour vous, sans aucun intérêt, comme le plus vil de vos esclaves. La seule grâce que je vous demande, par pure miséricorde, c’est que, tous les jours et moments de ma vie, je dise trois fois Amen:
Ainsi soit-il, à tout ce que vous avez fait sur la terre, lorsque vous y viviez; Ainsi soit-il, à tout de que vous faites à présent dans le ciel; Ainsi soit-il, à tout ce que vous faites en mon âme, afin qu’il n’y ait que vous à glorifier pleinement Jésus en moi pendant le temps et l’éternité. Ainsi soit-il.
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