The Psalms of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Previous Psalms
👈 Taken from a book of hours, this is an image of King David, author of the Psalms, by Willem Vrelant (early 1460s), Bruges, Belgium.
Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
The following prayers follow the model for consecration written by St Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort and are recited in preparation for the renewal of our family's consecration to Lord Jesus, Christ our King, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the Feast of the Annunciation.
Veni Creator Spiritus
Ave Maris Stella
Magnificat
Gloria
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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.
I have for some time been closing my posts with a triple seal:
* the beautiful icon of the Holy Mother of God known to many as the Vladimirskaya Icon;
* the Sub tuum præsidium, said to be the oldest prayer to Our Lady; and
* a short prayer of consecration to the Immaculate heart of Mary.
Over the coming weeks, I shall include a short commentary on one or other of these prayers, (recalling that holy icons are traditionally said to be written like prayers rather than painted).
The Vladimirskaya Icon : Mary as Ark of the Covenant
The maphorion (shawl) worn by our Blessed Mother calls to mind the veil that traditionally covers the tabernacle in our churches. These Christian tabernacles have as their type the movable tent-like sanctuary of the Hebrews before the erection of Solomon's Temple (see Exodus xxvii et seq.). Within the tabernacle court was the Tabernacle proper.
The latter was conceived to be the dwelling-tent of God; hence it consisted essentially of curtains, the wooden framework, though indispensable, being only of secondary importance. The whole structure ... was divided into two sections; the one to the west, the "Holy Place", containing the altar of incense, the golden candlestick, and the table of shewbreads; and the other, the "Holy of Holies", containing the Ark of the Covenant with the propitiatory and the cherubim. [Catholic Encyclopedia]
The Ark of the Covenant was built following instructions from God Himself (see Exodus xxv. 10-22). After the fall of Jerusalem, in 587 B.C., the Ark disappeared and its whereabouts remain unknown. According to one tradition, Jeremias hid it and sealed it in a cave.
In the Litany of Loreto, one of the titles given to our Blessed Mother is Fœderis Arca / Ark of the Covenant. There are striking parallels between the Ark and the Most Holy Theotokos. Here are a few examples:
⮚ After the Annunciation and the news that her kinswoman was six months pregnant, Mary hurried to see Elizabeth, who greeted her with the words:
And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? [Luke i. 43]
This question is an echo of the one asked by King David:
How shall the ark of the Lord come to me? [2 Kings vi. 9]
⮚ When the Ark of the Covenant is finally brought before David, we learn that:
David danced with all his might before the Lord [2 Kings vi. 9]
Elizabeth recounts what happened when Mary came to see her:
For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. [Luke i. 44]
⮚ St Paul writes of the Ark in his letter to the Hebrews:
....and the ark of the testament covered about on every part with gold, in which was a golden pot that had manna, and the rod of Aaron, that had blossomed, and the tables of the testament. [Hebrews ix. 4]
The Ark was made of the most beautiful and precious materials; the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was to become the Holy Theotokos, was adorned with the most beautiful and precious virtues and graces.
Within the Ark was the word of God in the form of the the two tables with the commandments written on them. Within Mary was the Word made flesh, the Lord incarnate, who was to teach men:
If you love me, keep my commandments: [John xiv. 15]
Within the Ark was a golden pot that had manna; within Mary was the Living Bread, who was to teach:
Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. [John vi. 49-51]
The Ark also contained the rod of Aaron, that had blossomed, symbol of the true priesthood; within Mary was the great high priest, referred to by St Paul in his letter to the Hebrews:
Having therefore a great high priest that hath passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God [Hebrews iv. 14]
⮚ The Ark brought tremendous victories to Israel, as when Jericho was taken and destroyed (see Joshua vi); Our Blessed Mother has also helped bring about defeat for the enemies of Christ and His Church, as in victory at the Battle of Lepanto on the 7th October 1571:
Our Lady’s image [a replica of Our Lady's image on the Guadalupe tilma] sailed into battle on the mast of the ship of the Genoese admiral Giovanni Andrea Doria. That was not all. Pius V asked that all the inhabitants of Christian Europe pray the Rosary for the success of the offensive. The Holy League’s forces prayed it as well, with every man being given a set of rosary beads before the battle. In 1572, the year after the Battle of Lepanto, Pope Pius V established the feast of Our Lady of Victory in thanksgiving for her intercession at Lepanto. It was later renamed the “Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary” by his successor, Gregory XIII.
⮚ The Ark features in the vision St John records in the Apocalypse:
And the temple of God was opened in heaven: and the ark of his testament was seen in his temple[Apoc. xi. 19]
The Blessed Virgin also features in the Apocalypse:
And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: [Apocalypse (Revelation) xii.1]
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Let us offer with great fervour to the Fœderis Arca the following prayer from the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
Beata Dei Genitrix, Maria, Virgo perpetua, templum Domini, sacrarium Spiritus sancti : sola sine exemplo placuisti Domino nostro Jesu Christo : ora pro populo, interveni pro clero, intercede pro devoto femineo sexu.Blessed Mother of God, Mary, ever Virgin, Temple of the Lord, Sanctuary of the Holy Ghost : thou alone, beyond compare, hath pleased our Lord Jesus Christ : Pray for the people; intervene for the clergy ; intercede for the devout female sex.
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SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.
WE fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us from all dangers always Glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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