Here is a prayer composed by St. Francis:
Hail, O Lady, Holy Queen,Mary, holy Mother of God:
you are the Virgin made Church
chosen by the most Holy Father in heaven whom He consecrated with His most holy beloved Son and with the Holy Spirit the Paraclete,
in whom there was and is all fullness of grace and every good.
Hail His Palace!
Hail His Tabernacle!
Hail His Dwelling!
Hail His Robe!
Hail His Servant!
Hail His Mother!
And hail all you holy virtues which are poured into the hearts of the faithful through the grace and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, that from being unbelievers, you may make them faithful to God. Amen.
It might seem odd, the way “hail all you holy virtues” seems tacked on to a prayer to our Lady. But it is a deep insight of Francis, reflective of his knowledge of the scriptures. In the Gospel from last Sunday (the Wedding at Cana), Mary is an instrument, bringing the needs of the couple to her Son, Jesus. She also says, “Do whatever He tells you.” And when we pray for her help, she says the same to us. And that, of course, is virtue, following the words and example of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, which can only happen in the Holy Spirit.(Note: icon from the Orthodox Cathedral of St. Seraphim, Dallas TS)
God bless!
2 comments:
Nice post, Rashfriar. At the risk of sounding trite, whenever I've met someone I've really admired, I've always wanted to know and to meet that person's mother.
Besides, what good sons among us don't know that sometimes we need a good push from our mothers to get us moving, and it seems the Lord was no different in that regard.
Thanks, Jeff. I don't think it sounds trite at all. I thank God for my mother, here on earth, and for the gift of Jesus' mother as mine too. God bless!
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