Our Lady holding Jesus as He accepts flowers from the shepherd child

Our Lady holding Jesus as He accepts flowers from the shepherd child

Welcome to our intercessory prayer ministry for families, babies, little ones and those who love them.

In our prayers for families, we pray for the sanctity of all life and for vocations to marriage, the priesthood and consecrated life, which are born and nurtured in families.

The
Prayer of Entrustment to Mary was prayed for this ministry at the icon of the Madonna Salus Populi Romani (Salvation of the Roman People, Our Lady of Good Health) in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (Basilica of Mary Major) in Rome, Italy, in Nossa Senhora do Rosario da Fatima (Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary) in Fatima, Portugal, in Eglise du Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart Parish Church), the site of St. Bernadette's baptismal font, in Lourdes, France and at The National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts at the Shrine of the Holy Innocents before Our Lady of Guadalupe and at Basilica Papale de San Pietro in Vaticano (St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City) at the Tomb of St. John Paul II in Rome, Italy and at the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe) in Mexico City, Mexico.

This ministry is consecrated to Jesus Christ, Wisdom Incarnate, through the hands of Mary and dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. In our prayers to Mary, we honor and worship her Son Jesus. When He was on the Cross, He gave His Mother to John and she became our Mother as well. "Behold, your Mother." John 19:27

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
For the greater glory of God

January 23, 2011

A child's prayer



Now the word of the Lord came to me saying: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I consecrated you; a prophet to the nations I appointed you. Jeremiah 1:5

"It is impossible to further the common good without acknowledging and defending the right to life, upon which all the other inalienable rights of individuals are founded and from which they develop." Pope John Paul II, The Gospel of Life

At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a child over, placed it in their midst and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:1-4

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a "Gospel of life." It invites all persons and societies to a new life lived abundantly in respect for human dignity. God entrusted His Son to Mary for the redemption of the world.

Mary, patroness of America, renew in us a love for the beauty and sanctity of the human person from conception to natural death; and as Your Son gave His life for us, help us to live our lives serving others. Mother of the Church, Mother of our Savior, open our hearts to the Gospel of life, protect our nation, and make us witnesses to the truth.

January 22, 2011

The Holy Innocents






Our Lady of Guadalupe
Shrine of the Holy Innocents
National Shrine of Divine Mercy
Stockbridge Massachusetts






Deuteronomy 30:19-20
I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land which the LORD swore he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."


Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, that in thy celestial apparitions on the mount of Tepeyac, thou didst promise to show thy compassion and pity towards all who, loving and trusting thee, seek thy help and call upon thee in their necessities and afflictions. Thou didst promise to hearken to our supplications, to dry our tears and to give us consolation and relief. Never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, either for the common welfare, or in personal anxieties, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, we fly unto thee, O Mary, ever Virgin Mother of the True God! Though grieving under the weight of our sins, we come to prostrate ourselves in thy august presence, certain that thou wilt deign to fulfill thy merciful promises. We are full of hope that, standing beneath thy shadow and protection, nothing will trouble or afflict us, nor need we fear illness, or misfortune, or any other sorrow. Thou hast decided to remain with us through thy admirable image, thou who art our Mother, our health and our life. Placing ourselves beneath thy maternal gaze and having recourse to thee in all our necessities we need do nothing more. O Holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer us.

For the Protection of all LIFE in the womb and for the lives of the Holy Innocents, let us pray five Hail Marys in gratitude for the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

A Mother's Prayer



A Mother’s Prayer by Rachel Aldous

My sweet baby on loan from above. No better treasure could I more love. I stand here beside your bed as I pray, I lay my hand on your head and I say:

May you grow up to serve Him all of your days. May He lead you and guide you in all of your ways. May His hand bless your future with friendships that last. May you cherish your youth and not grow up too fast.

I stare in wonder at your tiny frame. Just to think that God knows you by name. He knows every hair on your beautiful head. He knows your thoughts before they are said.

May you grow up to serve Him all of your days. May He lead you and guide you in all of your ways. May His Hand bless your future with friendships that last. May you cherish your youth and not grow up too fast.

May God grant you peace in the midst of a storm. May God give you strength even when you’re forlorn. May you answer the door when Jesus comes knocking. May wisdom guide when your mouth is talking. May discretion protect you and keep you pure. May you never stumble or fall for a lure. May your heart remain humble to the very end. May uprightness and truth be what you defend. May the world not ensnare or change who you are. May the light that's within you shine like the stars. May angels surround you body, spirit, mind. May favor and peace be yours to find. May rejection and pain never reach you. May your spirit grow bold for what you’re called to.

May you grow up to serve Him all of your days. May He lead you and guide you in all of your ways. May His Hand bless your future with friendships that last. May you cherish your youth and not grow up too fast. As you rest in God’s care I will rest, too. Knowing that Jesus is watching over you. Amen.

January 21, 2011

Sacredness of all human life










The Beloved Community and the Unborn
As our nation pauses to recommit itself to fulfilling the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we invite our fellow citizens to reflect on how that dream touches every human life. Dr. King taught that justice and equality need to be as wide-reaching as humanity itself. Nobody can be excluded from the Beloved Community. He taught that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

In his 1967 Christmas sermon, he pointed out the foundation of this vision: “The next thing we must be concerned about if we are to have peace on earth and good will toward men is the nonviolent affirmation of the sacredness of all human life. …Man is a child of God, made in His image, and therefore must be respected as such….And when we truly believe in the sacredness of human personality, we won’t exploit people, we won’t trample over people with the iron feet of oppression, we won’t kill anybody.”

The work of building the Beloved Community is far from finished. In each age, it calls us to fight against poverty, discrimination, and violence in every form. And as human history unfolds, the forms that discrimination and violence take will evolve and change. Yet our commitment to overcome them must not change, and we must not shrink from the work of justice, no matter how unpopular it may become.

In our day, therefore, we cannot ignore the discrimination, injustice, and violence that are being inflicted on the youngest and smallest members of the human family, the children in the womb. Thousands of these children are killed every day in America by abortion, throughout all nine months of pregnancy.

We declare today that these children too are members of the Beloved Community, that our destiny is linked with theirs, and that therefore they deserve justice, equality, and protection.

And we can pursue that goal, no matter what ethnic, religious, or political affiliation we have. None of that has to change in order for us to embrace Dr. King’s affirmation of the sacredness of all human life. It simply means that in our efforts to set free the oppressed, we include the children in the womb.

We invite all people of good will to join us in the affirmation that children in the womb have equal rights and human dignity.

Dr. Alveda King
Director, African-American Outreach, Priests for Life
Niece of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mrs. Naomi Barber King
Wife of the late Rev. A.D. King (brother of Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Rev. Derek King
Pastor
Indianapolis, Indiana
Nephew of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life

January 19, 2011

Image and likeness of God

You show me the path of life, in your presence there is fullness of life. Psalm 16:11

Man is set apart because he is a person. Made in the image and likeness of God, he is conscious and responsible. Even in his spiritual dimension, he experiences the succession of different phases, all equally fleeting. Saint Ephrem, the Syrian, liked to compare our life to the fingers of a hand, both to emphasize that its length is no more than a span, and to indicate that each phase of life, like the different fingers, has its particular character, and “the fingers represent the five steps by which man advances.”



With the Sign of the Cross, we send a visible sign to the world and follow the advice of Saint Ephrem of Syria (died A.D. 373):
"Mark all your actions with the sign of the life giving Cross. Do not go out from the door of your house till you have signed yourself with the Cross. Do not neglect that sign whether in eating or drinking or going to sleep, or in the home or going on a journey. There is no habit to be compared with it. Let it be a protecting wall round all your conduct, and teach it to your children that they may earnestly learn the custom."

In one of Saint Ephrem's hymns, he speaks of the pearl as a symbol of the riches and beauty of faith:
"I placed the pearl, my brothers, on the palm of my hand, to be able to examine it. I began to look at it from one side and from the other: it looked the same from all sides. Thus is the search for the Son inscrutable, because it is all light. In its clarity, I saw the Clear One who does not grow opaque; and in his purity, the great symbol of the Body of Our Lord, which is pure. In his indivisibility, I saw the truth which is indivisible."

Lord, grant that we may lovingly accept Your Will, and place ourselves each day in Your merciful hands. Mary, Our Mother, pray for us, “now and at the hour of our death.” Keep us ever close to Jesus, your beloved Son, the Lord of life and glory. Amen.

January 15, 2011

Pope John Paul II on the road to sainthood



Pope Benedict XI announced yesterday that Pope John Paul II will be beatified on May 1, 2011 on Divine Mercy Sunday, a day so dear to his heart. His life was spent spreading the message of Divine Mercy through the writings of Saint Faustina. How fitting that it is also the first day of May, the month dedicated to Our Blessed Mother Mary. He had a great devotion to Mary and the rosary. How beautiful that May 1st will be the one-year anniversary of this baby prayer ministry dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary! Praise be to Jesus and Mary in thanksgiving for this holy man on the next step to sainthood.

Pope John Paul II, pray for us and for all the little children for whom we pray.

January 14, 2011

The Faith of Mary

Mary, Model of Faith for Priests
by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.
excerpt from The Real Presence Christ in the Eucharist

Mary's faith was a trustful faith. Hers, therefore, was a faith built on confidence. At the Annunciation, as Luke describes the event, Mary was invited to become the mother of the Holy One who was to be called the Son of God. Remember, unlike us, she had none of the evidence we now possess to the truth of the Incarnation. She was the one who got the Incarnation started; there was no incarnation before the Incarnation. She had none of the centuries of believers that we do to build our faith upon as on a secure refuge for reason to undergird the faith. She stood alone as the bridge between the Old and New Covenants; it was her faith that bridged the two Testaments.

She was a young girl who had just heard a strange, we may be sure heretofore unseen messenger call her "full of grace", and ask her to consent to becoming the mother of the Savior. How strange of God. Really, how normal of God! God asks us to do His will. She consented, and the second person of the eternal Trinity was conceived in her womb, but only because she had first conceived Him in her mind by faith. As all the Fathers of the Church testify: she was worthy to conceive in body, because she had first conceived by faith in spirit.

Mary knew how to believe trustfully as Christ began His physical existence in her womb and as He began years later His public ministry of the Word. We all know the situation well. There was a wedding at Cana of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there along with the Savior and His disciples. When the wedding feast ran out of wine, immediately Mary noticed it. Without a moment's hesitation she went to her Son to tell Him simply (as all mothers do-their sons never grow up), "They have no wine." After all, she had been in the habit of telling Him what to do for so many years.

Even Christ's apparent rebuke did not stop her from promptly going over to the servants and telling them, "Do whatever He tells you" - talk about a woman having her mind! She knew her boy. Whatever learned exegetes think Christ told His mother, she knew what He said. Six large stone jars were then filled with water at Jesus' command, and as the poet says, "the water recognized its Maker and blushed". The water had become wine through the power of Christ no doubt; but only because of the trustful faith that Mary had in he Son's divinity.

Not only was Mary's faith trustful; Mary's faith was charitable. The same event at Cana also reveals the fruitfulness of Mary's faith in the practice of good works. It is not commonly adverted to that what Mary believed she also put into practice and specifically in the practice of charity.

It is comforting to recall that while on the cross the Savior paid tribute to His mother's patient loyalty by entrusting her to His newly ordained priest and beloved disciple, John. This entrusting was meant to be more than symbolic. It is profoundly significant when we consider that not only was Mary entrusted by Christ to John, but John was entrusted to Mary.

What the Savior did on Calvary He has been doing ever since. He has confided His mother to be the mother of priests, to lead them and teach them in many ways. But in no way is Mary more necessary to the priests of the New Testament than as the one to teach them what it means to believe in her Son. It means to participate in His cross.

Priests are chosen to be partners in the Savior's work of redemption, to save a sinful world from its folly and bring it to the wisdom of God. But souls are not redeemed except by blood, either the physical blood of martyrdom or the spiritual blood of pain. Mary shed her blood in spirit, in union with her dying Son. She wants all, especially her priests, to learn from her to do the same. Every priest who is seriously trying to live his priestly life in today's world knows what this means. We priests need to be reminded of our noble responsibility. But mainly, we need to have someone show us the way. Mary, the Virgin Most Faithful, makes the road very plain.

The beauty of this mystery is that already in this life and not only in the life to come, those who have resolved to suffer with Christ discover what happiness there can be in total submission to the divine Will, even when this Will presses hard on our own and makes demands on our generosity. After all, what greater joy can anyone, surely a priest, ask for here in this world than the joy of total surrender to the Son of God, who is the Son of Mary.

When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it became known that he was at home. Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he preached the word to them. They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Child, your sins are forgiven."
Mark 2:1-5
Today's Gospel teaches us about faith and the healing of the paralytic through the faith of his friends. By turning to Jesus, He will heal us and forgive us of our sins.

Let us always pray for our priests through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother Mary. It is through our priests that we receive forgiveness of our sins. It is through our priests that we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist. May Mary's faith be a model for our priests and for us.

January 12, 2011

Holy Mother, hear our prayer.



Thus says the Lord, the God of your forefather David: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you. 2 Kings 20:5

At the Cross, Jesus gave us His Mother. Mary, Our Mother, always leads us to Jesus and Jesus leads us back to His Mother.

Rising very early before dawn, He left and went off to a deserted place, where He prayed. Mark 1:35

Holy Mary, Mother of God, teach us how to pray, as your Beloved Son prayed. Intercede for us and carry our prayers for these babies and little ones to your Son. Help us go to a quiet place to be with Jesus, our Divine Healer.

January 07, 2011

The Holiness of Mary



She conceived the Word, the promise to humanity of God’s love. The Word that was revealed in so many ways through the prophets, from generation to generation, was the Word to whom Mary attentively listened and that she carefully kept. It was the Word to which she was undividedly dedicated and that was enfleshed in Her Womb.

There is so much to contemplate in the Virgin Mary’s Heart. She “carefully kept all these things,” reveals to us the Virgin Mother’s contemplative and prayerful dimension. To keep and to guard is to take care of something treasured; it is to preserve, to gather what is valued, and to set it in a secure place: the heart. To keep, like the soil keeps the seed, is an attitude of the heart that is born and blossoms in prayer, in internal recollection, and in mature reflection of the Word. It requires an openness to purification so the Word is not diluted or accommodated to our wills.

In order to “keep” the Word one must first hear it; to hear it one must be recollected; and to be recollected one must first have a prayerful heart, a heart with interiority, a heart that is profound and not superficial, a heart that is responsible not careless, a heart that is serene not impulsive, a heart that is mature and not led by any wind, a heart that does not allow itself to be shaken by anything. Loving prayer was the Virgin Mary’s fountain of life, the strength of her heart. In prayer, she learned how to be in total communion with God, how to belong totally to Him, and how to be generously disposed to His designs.

Our Lady prayed and kept all things in her heart. In prayer, she kept her heart in a constant and loving dialogue with God’s Heart. In prayer, she kept “all things.” This includes even more so what she did not comprehend, what She could not see, what seemed beyond her capacity or strength, what was beyond her understanding. All of these things she kept in her heart to immerse them in God’s love and light, through the prayer of a Virgin’s heart. Her prayer was the prayer of a pure heart with her human love in perfect harmony with Divine Love. Her prayer was the one God needed to find in a human heart in order to bring about His plan of salvation. In her Heart, the Lord’s desires were heard, perceived, and received with perfect docility, with full openness, and with perfect obedience. In her, the Lord’s plan could be fulfilled because her heart, matured in prayer, had day after day carefully kept all the promises, words, gestures and deeds of God.

To pray like the Blessed Mother must be our life. We are to be receivers of the Word; we are to be men and women of prayer, rich and fertile soil for the seed. It is in the imitation of the Virgin’s attitude of interior recollection that our identification with Mary begins. She learned to be a daughter of the Father in prayer; she preserved the fullness of her grace in prayer; she grew in her spousal dimension through prayer; she prepared the Temple of Her heart and Womb in prayer; She lived her docility to the movements of the Spirit in prayer; and in prayer, her heart was formed into a servant’s heart, totally disposed to letting the Will of God be done in her.

Like our Blessed Mother, we must learn to keep all things with care and to protect our hearts, the soil where the Word must be enfleshed. We must take care of the soil through internal recollection and mature discernment. There is too much noise inside and outside of us. Too many words and too many voices speak to our hearts and suffocate the fruitfulness of the Word of God in us. Being careful is to be responsible, recognizing that the treasure is too valuable to leave it exposed for thieves. Being careful is to be wise enough to recognize that the treasure placed in our hearts is a precious pearl that cannot be exchanged for just any rock, for any thing that glitters, for any word, or for any teaching that is spoken to us. For there exist many lights, particularly in our time, that appear to be very bright; yet, they are false or temporary imitations of the only true treasure: the Word of God, revealed to us and united with a Marian heart.

January 06, 2011

Saint André Bessette

Today is the Feast Day of Saint André Bessette, the doorkeeper who became a saint. Brother André dedicated his life to Saint Joseph and to people suffering from spiritual and physical illness. He convinced the Holy Cross community in Montreal in the early 1900s to build Saint Joseph's Oratory. Today, the oratory houses the many crutches, canes, and wheelchairs left behind by healed pilgrims who prayed to Saint Joseph upon Brother André's request.

Because of his ill health, members of Holy Cross did not initially want Brother André as a member of the Congregation. His novice master begged the community to allow him to stay because of his intense prayer. He professed vows and was assigned as porter at Notre Dame College in Montreal, the only formal ministry he held his entire life. He began to welcome the sick and the fragile, the ill and the outcast. His door became his entry into people's deep suffering and isolation.

Brother André persevered in his devotions. He told people who were ill to pray to Saint Joseph, to rub oil on their wounds, to believe in the miracles of Christ Jesus. He experienced God's healing of thousands of people. He became known as the "miracle worker of Mount Royal." Because he could not read, André memorized the Beatitudes and other passages of Scripture that offer hope to people in pain. He believed that faith alone was the answer to real human suffering. When he was given the humble job of doorkeeper at Notre Dame College in Montreal, with additional duties as sacristan, laundry worker and messenger. “When I joined this community, the superiors showed me the door, and I remained 40 years.”

In his little room near the door, he spent much of the night on his knees. On his windowsill, facing Mount Royal, was a small statue of Saint Joseph, to whom he had been devoted since childhood. When asked about it he said, “Some day, Saint Joseph is going to be honored in a very special way on Mount Royal!”

When he heard someone was ill, he visited to bring cheer and to pray with the sick person. He would rub the sick person lightly with oil taken from a lamp burning in the college chapel. Word of healing powers began to spread. When an epidemic broke out at a nearby college, André volunteered to nurse. Not one person died. The trickle of sick people to his door became a flood. His superiors were uneasy; diocesan authorities were suspicious; doctors called him a quack. “I do not cure,” he said again and again. “Saint Joseph cures.” In the end he needed four secretaries to handle the 80,000 letters he received each year.

Brother André died on January 6, 1937. More than a million pilgrims streamed to Montreal for his funeral. In those days before jet planes, the Internet, and cell phones, the real communication of faith and gratitude spread rapidly among believers. Brother André Bessette was canonized in Rome on Sunday, October 17, 2010.

Saint André Bessette and Saint Joseph, pray for us.

January 04, 2011

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. Many separations from dear ones by death and distance, served to draw Elizabeth's heart to God and eternity. The accepting and embracing of God's will would be a keynote in her spiritual life.

Elizabeth's deep concern for the spiritual welfare of her family and friends eventually led her into the Catholic Church. In Italy, Elizabeth captivated everyone by her own kindness, patience, good sense, wit and courtesy. During this time Elizabeth became interested in the Catholic Faith, and over a period of months, her Italian friends guided her in Catholic instructions.

Elizabeth's desire for the Bread of Life was to be a strong force leading her to the Catholic Church. Having lost her mother at an early age, Elizabeth felt great comfort in the idea that the Blessed Virgin was truly her mother. She asked the Blessed Virgin to guide her to the True Faith. Elizabeth finally joined the Catholic Church in 1805.

Elizabeth opened the first Catholic school in America in Baltimore, Maryland. She and two other young women, who helped her in her work, began plans for a Sisterhood. When the young community adopted their rule, they made provisions for Elizabeth to continue raising her children. On March 25, 1809, Elizabeth Seton pronounced her vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, binding for one year. From that time she was called Mother Seton.

Although Mother Seton was now afflicted with tuberculosis, she continued to guide her children. The Rule of the Sisterhood was formally ratified in 1812. It was based upon the Rule St. Vincent de Paul had written for his Daughters of Charity in France. By 1818, in addition to their first school, the sisters had established two orphanages and another school. Today six groups of sisters trace their origins to Mother Seton's initial foundation.

For the last three years of her life, Elizabeth felt that God was getting ready to call her, and this gave her joy. Mother Seton died in 1821 at the age of 46, only sixteen years after becoming a Catholic. She was canonized on September 14, 1975.

Praise to the holy woman whose home is built on faithful love and whose pathway leads to God.
Proverbs 14:1-2

God is love

1 John 4:7-12
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.

January 01, 2011

Mary Mother of God

The Church Fathers gave witness in the following passages to their recognition of the sacred truth and great gift as Mother of God, that was bestowed upon Mary, the humble handmaid of the Lord. Today we celebrate the Feast Day of Mary Mother of God.

Irenaeus "The Virgin Mary, being obedient to his word, received from an angel the glad tidings that she would bear God" (Against Heresies, 5:19:1 [A.D. 189]).

Hippolytus "[T]o all generations they [the prophets] have pictured forth the grandest subjects for contemplation and for action. Thus, too, they preached of the advent of God in the flesh to the world, his advent by the spotless and God-bearing (theotokos) Mary in the way of birth and growth, and the manner of his life and conversation with men, and his manifestation by baptism, and the new birth that was to be to all men, and the regeneration by the laver [of baptism]" (Discourse on the End of the World 1 [A.D. 217]).

Gregory the Wonderworker "For Luke, in the inspired Gospel narratives, delivers a testimony not to Joseph only, but also to Mary, the Mother of God, and gives this account with reference to the very family and house of David" (Four Homilies 1 [A.D. 262]). "It is our duty to present to God, like sacrifices, all the festivals and hymnal celebrations; and first of all, [the feast of] the Annunciation to the holy Mother of God, to wit, the salutation made to her by the angel, ‘Hail, full of grace!’" (ibid., 2).

Peter of Alexandria "They came to the church of the most blessed Mother of God, and ever-virgin Mary, which, as we began to say, he had constructed in the western quarter, in a suburb, for a cemetery of the martyrs" (The Genuine Acts of Peter of Alexandria [A.D. 305]).

Methodius "While the old man [Simeon] was thus exultant, and rejoicing with exceeding great and holy joy, that which had before been spoken of in a figure by the prophet Isaiah, the holy Mother of God now manifestly fulfilled" (Oration on Simeon and Anna 7 [A.D. 305]).

Cyril of Jerusalem "The Father bears witness from heaven to his Son. The Holy Spirit bears witness, coming down bodily in the form of a dove. The archangel Gabriel bears witness, bringing the good tidings to Mary. The Virgin Mother of God bears witness" (Catechetical Lectures 10:19 [A.D. 350]).

Ephraim the Syrian "Though still a virgin she carried a child in her womb, and the handmaid and work of his wisdom became the Mother of God" (Songs of Praise 1:20 [A.D. 351]).

Athanasius "The Word begotten of the Father from on high, inexpressibly, inexplicably, incomprehensibly, and eternally, is he that is born in time here below of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God" (The Incarnation of the Word of God 8 [A.D. 365]).

Let us pray to Mary beginning on this first day of January through January ninth, asking Mary for her protection over all these babies and little ones.

Mother of God Novena Prayer

Lord Jesus, we come before you this day mindful of the presence of your Mother Mary.

As we pray this novena we are aware of how Mary proclaimed her yes – her Fiat with joy. We reflect on how Mary lived each and every event in her life with deep trust in God, with the assurance that God was with her every step of the way and with the love of God constantly dwelling within her being.

During this novena may we grow in our trust in God, deepen our longing to know God and proclaim everyday our belief in the almighty and everlasting God who is constantly calling us to live a grace filled life.

Like Mary may we be able to say Yes – to proclaim our Fait - with the sure and constant faith that allowed Mary to walk the path of life God called her to live. We ask this in your name. Amen