Ad Jesum per te, Maria : 17/33

The Psalms of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary

By way of preparation for the great Feast of the Annunciation, I am re-posting a daily commentary on each of the Psalms of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin. The commentary was compiled by Father Ethelred L. Taunton and published in 1903. 

To read the commentary on today's Psalm, click on the following link: 👉 Psalm 112

Previous Psalms

Psalm 8        Psalm 18        Psalm 23        Psalm 44

Psalm 45      Psalm 53        Psalm 62        Psalm 84

Psalm 86      Psalm 92        Psalm 94        Psalm 95        

Psalm 96      Psalm 97        Psalm 99        Psalm 109

👈 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.

• Litany of the Holy Ghost
• Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Ave Maris Stella

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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 : Become as little children

In the icon, we behold a child and a mother. Today's post considers the heavenly significance of the child-like qualities of inocence and purity. We start with the opening verses of today's Psalm:

Praise the Lord, ye children: praise ye the name of the Lord.  Blessed be the name of the Lord, from henceforth now and for ever. [Psalm cxii. 1-2]

The triple utterance of the Divine name here, as well as the triple call to praise it, hint at the sublime mystery of the Blessed Trinity. The icon mirrors the Trinity in the person of Mary, who is daughter of the Father, Spouse of the Holy Ghost and Mother of the Son. 

The Psalm calls upon children to praise the name of the Lord. The Lord is Himself embodied in the icon by a child held in His Mother's arms, for He is the Holy Infant Jesus, the Christ Child, who throughout His life was to teach us to follow His example. He declares, for example:

 

I am the light of the world: he that followeth me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life.  [John viii. 12]

The word child in this context does not refer to chronological age:

St. Augustine bids us note purity, innocence, and docility are here denoted, not any special time of life ; as the Apostle says : Brethren, do not become children in sense: but in malice be children, and in sense be perfect.[1] [From The Little Office of Our Lady, Fr. E.L.Taunton. 1903]

[1] 1 Cor. xiv. 20

 For the words of St Paul cited above (in the Douay-Rheims version), the Knox translation reads as follows:

Brethren, do not be content to think childish thoughts; keep the innocence of children, with the thoughts of grown men.

This casts light on the words in the Psalm and also upon passages such as the following:

 

Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected praise. [Psalm viii. 3]

 

Unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven. [Matt. xviii. 3-4]

Suffer the little children, and forbid them not to come to me: for the kingdom of heaven is for such. [Matt. xix. 14]

As we contemplate the icon once more, we may note that Jesus is represented as no bigger than a child, cradled in His Mother's arms. His proportions and his expression, however, suggest someone who is much older. This seeming contradiction is perhaps now understandable in the light of the words of Our Lord, the Psalmist and St Paul the Apostle which we have cited above.

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Prayer

Dear gentle Queen and Mother, help us to offer up praise to Lord Jesus Christ our King, Son of the Living God:

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the name of the Lord is worthy of praise. The Lord is high above all nations; and his glory above the heavens. Who is as the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high and looketh down on the low things in heaven and in earth?  Raising up the needy from the earth, and lifting up the poor out of the dunghill.[Psalm cxii. 3-7]

Through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Lord, I offer Thee thanks for lifting up this poor sinner from the dunghill of his iniquity and I pray for continued help in order to offer heartfelt contrition and reparation with for all the betrayals and scandals resulting from sin.

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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.