Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia! 1) Mary's lively Faith

 Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia!

 

REGINA cæli, lætare, alleluia:
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,
Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia.

Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

 

O QUEEN of heaven rejoice! alleluia:
For He whom thou didst merit to bear, alleluia,
Hath arisen as he said, alleluia.
Pray for us to God, alleluia.

V. Gaude et lætare, Virgo Maria, alleluia,
R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.
R. Because the Lord is truly risen, alleluia.

Oremus

Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi, mundum lætificare dignatus es: præsta, quæsumus; ut, per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam, perpetuæ capiamus gaudia vitæ. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Let us pray

O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; grant, we beseech Thee, that through His Mother, the Virgin Mary, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Renewal of Consecration to Jesus through Mary

There now remain eight days before the great feast of the Annunciation, postponed this year because Easter came early. St Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort recommends the Annunciation as being a fitting day for consecration to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary (or renewal of consecrations). He mentions this in his work True Devotion to Mary (1712) where he also refers approvingly to La triple couronne de la bien-heureuse Vierge Mère de Dieu (The Triple Crown of the Blessed Virgin Mother of God), by Fr F Poiré, published in 1634

Accordingly I am posting my translation of excerpts taken from chapter 11 of the  of fourth treatise  in The Triple Crown of the Blessed Virgin.  This chapter addresses the eight great qualities of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. The first is her lively Faith.;

1) Mary's lively Faith

Her clear-sighted Faith

 

Faith is called by St Paul the foundation of our hope [Now faith is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that appear not. Hebr. xi. 1]... Faith is found to such a degree of perfection in the Blessed Virgin that the great Bishop Avila went so far as to name Mary the head of all believers. This title belongs properly and chiefly to her most honourable Son who is the Head par excellence of all the Elect and consequently of all the faithful. The Blessed Virgin, however, has a special right to this prerogative because Faith had no place in the Saviour's soul. She took it to the highest degree of perfection. To be more specific, her Faith was notable for three eminent qualities, being clear-sighted, very simple and most constant.

     St Gregory the Miracle-Worker calls her the foremost treasury of all the mysteries [Orat. 2 de Annuntiat]. Here is the prayer he composed for the Annunciation:

Thou hast knowledge of things unknown to the Patriarchs; thou hast learnt what hitherto had been unknown even to the Angels; thou hast heard what so many Prophets inspired of God never heard. Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel and many others spoke sublimely of the mysteries of our faith, it is true, but it was not given to them to penetrate the way these mysteries should be accomplished. In sum, what was hidden from all the previous ages was revealed to thee. Besides all this, it was to be through thee in person that the majority of these miracles were to be accomplished.

Her simple Faith

After considering the words of the Angel, Mary believed she was to become the Mother of God whilst remaining true to her vow of virginity. When this first secret message was delivered to her, she accepted the honour being conferred by the Most Holy Trinity. I follow here St Augustine in saying that with her open and unambiguous assent, she deserved with justification the honour of opening the gates of Heaven which up until then had been kept closed. We can say with St Anselm that the faith of Mary was the gate through which our Saviour Jesus Christ came into the world. We can perhaps add to this that she was the gate from which issued forth not only Jesus but also countless wonders which were not to be accomplished except in the Blessed Virgin.

Her constant Faith

The Virgin Mary was the first who saw the Lord God as a tiny infant, needing her help. She saw the divine Power in a helpless child, Wisdom as a little infant, Majesty trembling in a baby's frame. She watched the King of glory lead a simple workman's life; she saw Him stretched on the Cross, defenceless and abandoned by His own. She beheld all this and much more but without losing her calmness and trust in God.... She retained her Faith not only within her heart but also in her public profession at the foot of the Cross at a time when the storm of persecution had driven away the bravest and most zealous Disciples and Apostles of the Saviour. With all the power she could muster, she strove to bring them back to the fold, like poor sheep who had strayed.

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

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.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.