BLESSED VIRGIN MARY MOTHER OF THE CHURCH – 9^th June

The title of Mother of the Church has been bestowed on the Blessed Virgin Mary because she gave birth to Christ, the Head of the Church, and became Mother of the redeemed before her Son gave up his spirit on the Cross. Pope Saint Paul VI solemnly confirmed the same title in an address given to the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council on November 21, 1964 and established that “by this sweetest of names the whole Christian people should henceforth give still greater honor to the Mother of God.”

From the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, except for the following:

Mother, help our faith! Open our ears to hear God’s word and to recognize his voice and call. Awaken in us a desire to follow in his footsteps, to go forth from our own land and to receive his promise. Help us to be touched by his love, that we may touch him in faith. Help us to entrust ourselves fully to him and to believe in his love, especially at times of trial, beneath the shadow of the cross, when our faith is called to mature.

Sow in our faith the joy of the Risen One. Remind us that those who believe are never alone. Teach us to see all things with the eyes of Jesus, that he may be light for our path. And may this light of faith always increase in us, until the dawn of that undying

day which is Christ himself, your Son, our Lord!

Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

One of the most recent architectural additions to Saint Peter’s Square is the mosaic of Mary “Mother of the Church,” with the inscription Totus Tuus, yet another sign of Pope St. John Paul II’s great love for Our Lady. On Saturday, March 3, 2018, Pope Francis declared that, thenceforward, the Monday after Pentecost Sunday would be celebrated as the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. The Memorial was to be observed annually. It has been added to the General Roman Calendar, the Roman Missal, and the Liturgy of the Hours with the Holy Father’s wish that this new feast day foster Marian piety and the maternal sense of the Church. Pentecost was the birth of the Church – the Mystical Body of Christ. As Mother of Christ, the Head of the Church, Mary is also the Mother of the Church, for she was with the apostles for that great event. In Catholic Mariology, Mother of the Church (Mater Ecclesiae) is a title officially given to Mary at the closing of the Second Vatican Council, by   Pope St. Paul VI. The title was first used in the 4th century by Saint Ambrose of Milan.  The same title was used by Pope Benedict IV in 1748 and then by Pope Leo XIII in 1885. Pope St. Paul VI made the pronouncement of the title Mother of the Church during his speech upon the closing of the third session of the Second Vatican Council on November 21, 1964: “For the glory of the Virgin and our consolation, we proclaim Mary the Most Holy Mother of the Church, that is, the Mother of the whole People of God, both the faithful and the pastors.” Later, the title was used by Pope St. John Paul II, and is also found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church which states that Mary joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its Head.” (CCC #963). “At once virgin and mother, Mary is the symbol and the most perfect realization of the Church.” (CCC # 507).

Act of Consecration Immaculate Virgin Mary

Mother of God and Mother of the Church,  you are also our Mother ever ready to help us.  With hearts full of love for you we consecrate ourselves to your Immaculate Heart so that we may be your devoted children.  Obtain for us true sorrow for sins and fidelity to the promises of our Baptism. We consecrate our minds and hearts to you that we always do the Will of our heavenly Father. We consecrate our lives to you  that we may love God better  and live not for ourselves but for Christ, your Son  and that we may see Him and serve Him in others. By this humble act of consecration,  dear Mother of Perpetual Help,  we pledge to model our lives on you, the perfect Christian, so that, consecrated to you in life and in death  we may belong to your Divine Son for all eternity. Amen.

 

Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

On February 11, 2018, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments inscribed a new obligatory Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, into the General Roman Calendar. This memorial is celebrated every year on the Monday after Pentecost.

Latin liturgical texts were also promulgated the same day, and on January 13, 2022, the Congregation confirmed the English translation of those texts. (An approval and confirmation process is still required for a Spanish translation.) The proper texts in English for the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church are provided below:

Roman Missal

A full Mass formulary – including Collect, Prayer over the Offerings, Preface, Prayer after Communion, and Entrance and Communion Antiphons – is already included within the Roman Missal. White vestments are worn.

From the Votive Masses: 10. Blessed Virgin Mary, B. Our Lady, Mother of the Church.

Lectionary for Mass

A set of proper (i.e., mandatory) readings are assigned for this memorial. Since the precise verses and acclamation are not found together in any one place in the Lectionary for Mass, the USCCB Secretariat of Divine Worship has prepared PDF resources of the readings in English and in Spanish to facilitate their use.

572A – The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church (Memorial)

The readings for this memorial are proper. First Reading – Genesis 3:9-15, 20 Mother of all the living.

or: Acts 1:12-14

They were continually in prayer with Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 87:1-2, 3 and 5, 6-7

R. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God!

Gospel Acclamation O joyful Virgin, who gave birth to the Lord;

O blessed Mother of the Church, who nurture in us the Spirit of your Son Jesus Christ!

Gospel – John 19:25-34

Behold your Son. Behold your mother.

Liturgy of the Hours

Biography

The title of Mother of the Church has been bestowed on the Blessed Virgin Mary because she gave birth to Christ, the Head of the Church, and became Mother of the redeemed before her Son gave up his spirit on the Cross. Pope Saint Paul VI solemnly confirmed the same title in an address given to the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council on November 21, 1964 and established that “by this sweetest of names the whole Christian people should henceforth give still greater honor to the Mother of God.”

From the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, except for the following:

Office of Readings

Second Reading

From the Address of Pope Saint Paul VI, at the conclusion of the third session of the most holy Second Vatican Council

(November 21, 1964: AAS 56 [1964], 1015-1016)

 

Mary, Mother of the Church

Taking into consideration the close ties by which Mary and the Church are bound together, to the glory of the Blessed Virgin and for our consolation, We declare Mary Most Holy to be Mother of the Church, that is, of the whole Christian people, faithful and Pastors alike, who invoke her as their most loving Mother; and We establish that by this sweetest of names the whole Christian people should henceforth give still greater honor to the Mother of God and

offer her their supplications.

Venerable Brothers, this concerns a title by no means new to Christian piety; indeed the Christian faithful and the universal Church choose to invoke Mary principally by the name of Mother. In truth, this name belongs to the genuine nature of devotion to Mary, since it rests firmly on that very dignity with which Mary is endowed as the Mother of the Incarnate Word of God.

Just as the Divine Motherhood is the basis both for Mary’s unique relationship with Christ and for her presence in the work of human salvation accomplished by Christ Jesus, so likewise, it is principally from the Divine Motherhood that the relationships which exist between Mary and the Church flow. Mary is indeed the Mother of Christ who, at the moment he assumed human nature in her virginal womb, joined to himself, as Head, his Mystical Body, which is the Church. Mary, therefore, as Mother of Christ, must also be regarded as Mother of all the faithful and Pastors alike, that is to say, of the Church.

Herein lies the reason why we, though unworthy and weak, yet in a spirit of trust and with ardent filial love, raise our eyes to her. She who once gave us Jesus, the fount of heavenly grace, cannot fail to offer her maternal help to the Church, especially at this time in which the Spouse of Christ strives with greater zeal to fulfil her salvific mission

These closest of bonds between our heavenly Mother and the human race urge Us, moreover, to foster and further strengthen this confidence. Even though she has been enriched with superabundant and wondrous gifts from God so as to be made worthy to be Mother of the Incarnate Word, nevertheless, Mary is very near to us. Like us, she is a child of Adam and so too our sister on account of our common human nature; she was preserved from the stain of original sin by reason of the future merits of Christ, but she added to these gifts received from on high the example of her own perfect faith and so merited

the proclamation in the Gospel: “Blessed are you who have believed.”

In this mortal life she embodied the perfect form of a disciple of Christ, she was the mirror of all virtues, and in her manner of life exemplified fully those beatitudes proclaimed by Christ Jesus. Consequently, the universal Church, while she lives out the many facets of her life and in her active zeal, draws from the Virgin Mother of God the peerless example of how to imitate Christ perfectly.

Responsory

Cf. Luke 1:35

The Holy Spirit came down upon Mary:

— the Power of the Most High overshadowed her.

Once more it filled her, sharing in the Passion of her Son as the

Mother of the redeemed:

— the Power of the Most High overshadowed her.

Prayer, as at Morning Prayer. Morning Prayer Canticle of Zechariah

Ant. The disciples devoted themselves with one accord to prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

Blessed be the Lord, The God of Israel;

He has come to His people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, Born of the house of His servant David.

Through His holy prophets He promised of old

That He would save us from our enemies, From the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers And to remember His holy Covenant.

This was the oath He swore to our father Abraham:

To set us free from the hands of our enemies, Free to worship Him without fear, Holy and righteous in His sight All the days of our life. You, My child shall be called The prophet of the Most High, For you will go before the Lord to prepare His way,

To give his people knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our Lord The dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness And the shadow of death, And to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning.

is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Church   June 9^th

(Premiere on 8^th June)

“Mary is the Mother of the Church because she is the Mother of Christ, and the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ.”

“Mary, Mother of the Church, watches over us with love, uniting us in Christ.”

“Mary, Mother of God, leads us to her Son, our Savior.”

“As Mother of the Church, Mary is the mother of all who are reborn in Christ.”

“Mary is so interwoven in the great mystery of the Church that she and the Church are inseparable, just as she and Christ are inseparable.”

 

Prayer

O God, Father of mercies, whose Only

Begotten Son, as he hung upon the Cross, chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, his Mother, to be our Mother also, grant, we pray, that with her loving help

your Church may be more fruitful day by day and, exulting in the holiness of her children, may draw to her embrace all the families of the peoples.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

Evening Prayer

Canticle of Mary / The Magnificat

Ant. The Lord said to his mother: Woman, behold your son. And to the disciple: Behold your mother. My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, My Spirit rejoices in God my Saviour For He has looked with favour on His lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

The Almighty has done great things for me, And holy is His Name. He has mercy on those who fear Him In every generation. He has shown the strength of His arm, He has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, And has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has

sent away empty.

He has come to the help of His servant Israel For He has remembered His promise of mercy, The promise He made to our fathers, To Abraham and his children forever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning. is now, and will be forever.

Amen.

O Most Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church

O Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church, With joy and wonder we seek to make our own your Magnificat, joining you in your hymn of thankfulness and love. With you we give thanks to God “whose mercy is from generation to generation,” for the exalted vocation and the many forms of mission entrusted to the lay faithful. God has called each of them

by name to live his own communion of love and holiness and to be one in the great family of God’s children. He has sent them forth to shine with the light of Christ and to communicate the fire of the Spirit in every part of society through their life inspired by the Gospel. O Virgin of the Magnificat, fill their hearts with a gratitude and enthusiasm for this vocation and mission. With humility and magnanimity you were the “handmaid of the Lord;” give us your unreserved willingness for service to God and the salvation of the world. Open our hearts to the great anticipation of the Kingdom of God and of the proclamation of the Gospel to the whole of creation. Your mother’s heart is ever mindful of the many dangers and evils which threaten to overpower men and women in our time. At the same time your heart also takes notice of the many initiatives undertaken for good, the great yearning for values, and the progress achieved in bringing forth the abundant fruits of salvation.

O Virgin full of courage, may your spiritual strength and trust in God inspire us, so that we might know how to overcome all the obstacles that we encounter in accomplishing our mission. Teach us to treat the affairs of the world with a real sense of Christian responsibility and a joyful hope of the coming of God’s Kingdom, and of a “new heavens and a new earth.” You who were gathered in prayer with the Apostles in the Cenacle, awaiting the coming of the spirit at Pentecost, implore his renewed outpouring on all the faithful, men and women alike, so that they might more fully respond to their vocation and mission,

as branches engrafted to the true vine, called to bear much fruit for the life of the world.

O Virgin Mother guide and sustain us so that we might always live as true sons and daughters of the Church of your son. Enable us to do our part in helping to establish on earth the civilization of truth and love, as God wills it, for his glory.

Amen.

Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of heaven,

Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God, Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Pray for us. (repeat after each line)

Holy Mother of God,

Holy Virgin of virgins,

Mother of Christ,

Mother of the Church,

Mother of mercy,

Mother of divine grace,

Mother of hope,

Mother most pure,

Mother most chaste,

Mother inviolate,

Mother undefiled,

Mother most amiable,

Mother most admirable,

Mother of good counsel,

Mother of our Creator,

Mother of our Savior,

Virgin most prudent,

Virgin most venerable,

Virgin most renowned,

Virgin most powerful,

Virgin most merciful,

Virgin most faithful,

Mirror of justice,

Seat of wisdom,

Cause of our joy,

Spiritual vessel,

Vessel of honor,

Singular vessel of devotion,

Mystical rose,

Tower of David,

Tower of ivory,

House of gold,

Ark of the covenant,

Gate of heaven,

Morning star,

Health of the sick,

Refuge of sinners,

Comfort of Migrants,

Comforter of the afflicted,

Help of Christians,

Queen of Angels,

Queen of Patriarchs,

Queen of Prophets,

Queen of Apostles,

Queen of Martyrs,

Queen of Confessors,

Queen of Virgins,

Queen of all Saints,

Queen conceived without original sin,

Queen assumed into heaven,

Queen of the most holy Rosary,

Queen of Families,

Queen of Peace,

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,

Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,

Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,

Have mercy on us.

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Grant, we beseech you, Lord God, that we your servants may rejoice in continual health of mind and body and, by the glorious intercession of Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may we be delivered from present sorrow to delight in joy eternal. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.