THE FRUIT OF EACH MYSTERY

Joyful Mysteries                              Spirit of Holy Joy

1. Annunciation                                Humility

2. Visitation                                      Fraternal Charity

3. Nativity                                        Spirit of Poverty

4. Presentation                                 Obedience

5. Jesus with the Doctors                 Love of Jesus and of His Holy Services

Sorrowful Mysteries                       Spirit of Compassion and Contrition

1. Agony                                         Fervor in Prayer

2. Scourging                                   Penance

3. Crowning with Thorns               Moral Courage

4. Carriage of the Cross                 Patience

5. Crucifixion                                 Self-sacrifice for God and our Neighbor

Glorious Mysteries                          Spirit of Adoration and Faith

1. Resurrection                               Faith.

2. Ascension                                   Hope.

3. Descent of the Holy Ghost         Love and Zeal for Souls.

4. Assumption                                Filial devotion to Mary.

5. Coronation of B. V. M               Perseverance.

Prayer

O GOD, Whose only -begotten Son hath purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation through His life, death, and Resurrection, we beseech Thee grant to us, who are commemorating those mysteries in the holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the grace to hearken to the lessons they teach us and to obtain the blessings they promise. Through the same Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES

First Mystery

The Annunciation

(To obtain the Virtue of Humility)

LET us contemplate in this mystery how the angel Gabriel saluted our blessed Lady with the title, Full of Grace, and declared unto her the Incarnation of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Our Father, etc., once. Hail Mary, ten times. Glory be to the Father, etc.

Prayer

O HOLY Mary, Queen of virgins, by the most high mystery of the Incarnation of thy beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, by which our salvation was so happily begun: obtain for us, by thy intercession, light to know this so great benefit which He hath bestowed upon us, vouchsafing in it to make Himself our Brother, and thee, His own most beloved Mother, our Mother also. Amen.

Second Mystery

The Visitation

(Charity)

LET us contemplate in this mystery how the Blessed Virgin Mary, understanding from the angel that her cousin St. Elizabeth had conceived, went with haste into the mountains of Judea to visit her, and remained with her three months.

Our Father, etc., as above.

Prayer

O HOLY Virgin, most spotless mirror of humility, by that exceeding charity which moved thee to visit thy holy cousin, St. Elizabeth, obtain for us by thy intercession, that our hearts may be visited by thy most holy Son, that being freed from all sin, we may praise Him and give Him thanks for ever. Amen.

Third Mystery

The Nativity

(Poverty of Spirit)

LET us contemplate in this mystery how the blessed Virgin Mary, when the time of her delivery was come, brought forth Our Redeemer, Christ Jesus, at midnight, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for Him in the inns of Bethlehem.

Our Father, etc., as above

Prayer

O MOST pure Mother of God, by thy virginal and most joyful delivery, by which thou gavest unto the world thy only Son, Our Saviour; we beseech thee, obtain for us, by thy intercession, grace to lead so pure and holy a life in this world that we may worthily sing without ceasing, both day and night, the mercies of thy Son, and His benefits to us by thee. Amen.

Fourth Mystery

The Presentation

(Obedience)

LET us contemplate in this mystery how the Blessed Virgin Mary, on the day of her purification, presented the Child Jesus in the Temple, where holy Simeon, giving thanks to God, with great devotion received Him into his arms.

Our Father, etc., as above

Prayer

O HOLY Virgin, most admirable mistress and pattern of obedience, who didst present in the Temple the Lord of the Temple, obtain for us, of thy beloved Son, that with holy Simeon and devout Anna we may praise and glorify Him forever. Amen.

The Fifth Mystery

The Finding in the Temple

(Zeal)

LET us contemplate in this mystery how the blessed Virgin Mary, having lost her beloved Son in Jerusalem, sought Him for the space of three days, and at length found Him in the Temple, in the midst of the doctors, disputing with them, being of the age of twelve years.

Our Father, etc., as above

Prayer

MOST Blessed Virgin, more than martyr in thy sufferings, and yet the comfort of such as are afflicted, by that unspeakable joy wherewith thy soul was filled in rinding thy beloved Son in the Temple, in the midst of the doctors, disputing with them, obtain of Him for us so to seek Him and to find Him in the holy Catholic Church that we may never be separated from Him. Amen.

Salve Regina

HAIL, holy Queen! Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope; to thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears; turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us. And after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!

V. Pray for us, holy Mother of God.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ,

Let us pray.

O merciful God, the prayer of Thy servants, that we who meet together in the society of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mother of God, may, through her intercession, by Thee be delivered from the dangers that continually hang over us. Amen.

O God, Whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death, and Resurrection, has purchased for us the reward of eternal life, grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating on these mysteries in the most holy Rosary of the blessed Virgin Mary we may imitate what they contain, and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

MAY DEVOTION: Day Thirty-One - Mary's Coronation as Queen of Heaven

31st Day – Mary's Coronation as Queen of Heaven

The Queen stood on Thy right hand in gilded clothing. (Psalm xliv. 11.)

I. It was not enough that Mary should be received into heaven. She was to be no ordinary denizen of the celestial court. Mary was, by her perfect and unfailing conformity to the will of God throughout her life, raised to a pre-eminence to which none other of the saints could attain. By her cooperation in the Passion of her Son she had a dignity beyond the reach even of the highest of the archangels. Mary was to be crowned Queen of heaven by the eternal Father: she was to have a throne at her Son's right hand.

2. Mary, too, enjoyed a happiness different from that of all the other saints. All others knew that if they had been more faithful they might have been fuller of happiness. Though their happiness is perfect, it is not perfect with the same perfection as Mary's. She possesses all that it was possible for God in the present order to bestow upon her. What must be her happiness now, short only of the infinite happiness of the infinite God!

3. But Mary is not Queen of heaven only for her own sake, but also for ours. Day by day, hour by hour, she is praying for us, obtaining graces for us, preserving us from danger, shielding us from temptation, showering down blessings upon us. She is our dear Mother as well as Queen of heaven. How she loves us! What a confidence we should have in her! Once more we will cry out:

O Mary, conceived without sin!

O Mary, Queen of heaven!

Pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, and sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother! To thee I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but, in thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.

Indulgence of 300 days, each time; plenary indulgence once a month, on usual conditions. — Pius IX., Dec. 11, 1846.

Ejaculation.

O Mary, who didst come into this world free from stain, obtain of God for me that I may leave it without sin.

Indulgence of 100 days, once a day. — Pius IX., March 27, 1863.

Pope Benedict XVI: Mary's Life "Is a Call to Turn From What We Are to Hear and Accept the Word"

Venerable and dear brothers,

You have come to this splendid basilica -- a place where spirituality and art come together in a centuries-old union -- to share an intense moment of prayer, by which we entrust to the maternal protection of Mary, Mater Unitatis, the whole Italian nation, 150 years after the political union of the country. It is significant that this initiative was prepared by similar meetings in the dioceses: also in this way you express the solicitude of the Church in making herself close to the destiny of this beloved nation.

We, in turn, feel in communion with every community, including the smallest, in which the tradition of dedicating May to Marian devotion is alive. This tradition is expressed in many signs: shrines, chapels, works of art and, above all, in the prayer of the holy rosary, with which the People of God give thanks for the good they receive incessantly from the Lord, through the intercession of Mary Most Holy, and pray to her for their many needs.

Prayer -- which has its summit in the liturgy, whose form is guarded by the living tradition of the Church -- is always leaving space for God: his action makes us participants in the history of salvation. This afternoon, in particular, in the school of Mary we have been invited to share in Jesus' steps: to go down with him to the Jordan River, so that the Spirit will confirm in us the grace of baptism; to sit at the banquet of Cana, to receive from him the "good wine" of the celebration; to enter the synagogue of Nazareth, as poor ones to whom is addressed the joyful message of the Kingdom of God; also to go up Mount Tabor, to receive the cross in the paschal light; and finally, to participate in the Cenacle in the new and eternal sacrifice that, anticipating the new heavens and the new earth, regenerates the whole of creation.

This basilica is the first dedicated to the Virgin Mother of God in the West. On entering it, my thoughts went back to the first day of the year 2000, when Blessed John Paul II opened the Holy Door, entrusting the Jubilee Year to Mary, so that she would watch over the path of all those who acknowledged themselves pilgrims of grace and mercy. We ourselves today do not hesitate to feel like pilgrims, desirous of crossing the threshold of that Most Holy Door that is Christ, and we want to ask the Virgin Mary to support our path and to intercede for us. As he is Son of God, Christ is the form of man: He is man's most profound truth, the sap that gives life to a history that otherwise would be irremediably impaired. Prayer helps us to recognize in him the center of our life, to remain in his presence, to conform our will to his, to do "what he tells us" (John 2:5), certain of his fidelity. This is the essential task of the Church, crowned by him as Mystical Bride, as we contemplate her in the splendor of the apse. Mary constitutes her model: she is the one who presents to us the mirror in which we are invited to recognize our identity. Her life is a call to turn from what we are to hear and accept the Word, being able in faith to proclaim the greatness of the Lord, before which our only possible greatness is that expressed in filial obedience: "Be it done unto me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38). Mary trusted: she is the "blessed one" (cf. Luke 1:42), who is blessed for having believed (cf. Luke 1:45), to the point of having been clothed in Christ to such a degree that she enters in the "seventh day," a participant in God's rest. The dispositions of her heart -- listening, acceptance, humility, fidelity, praise and waiting -- correspond to the interior attitudes and to the gestures that mold Christian life. The Church is nourished by them, conscious that they express what God expects from her.

Engraved on the bronze of this basilica's Holy Door is a representation of the Council of Ephesus. The building itself, whose original nucleus dates back to the 5th century, is linked to that ecumenical summit held in the year 431. In Ephesus the united Church defended and confirmed for Mary the title Theotokos, Mother of God: a title with Christological content, which refers to the mystery of the Incarnation and which expresses the unity of the human nature with the divine in the Son. Moreover, it is the person and the experience of Jesus of Nazareth that illumines the Old Testament and Mary's face itself. Understood clearly in her is the unitary design that intertwines the two Testaments. In her personal life is the synthesis of the history of a whole nation, which places the Church in continuity with ancient Israel. Within this perspective individual histories receive meaning, beginning with those of the great women of the Old Covenant, in whose life is represented a humiliated, defeated and deported people. However, they are also the same ones who personify hope; they are the "holy remnant," a sign that God's plan does not remain an abstract idea, but finds correspondence in a pure answer, in a liberty that gives itself without holding anything back, in a yes that is full acceptance and perfect gift. Mary is the highest expression of it. Upon her, Virgin, descends the creative power of the Holy Spirit, the same who "in the beginning" hovered over the shapeless abyss (cf. Genesis 1:1) and thanks to which God called being from nothing; the Spirit gives life to and molds creation. Opening to his action, Mary engenders the Son, the presence of God who comes to inhabit history and opens it to a new and definitive beginning, which is the possibility for every man to be reborn from on high, to live in the will of God and thus to be completely fulfilled.

Continue reading: http://www.zenit.org/article-32693?l=english

MAY DEVOTION: Day Thirty - Mary's Assumption into Heaven

30th Day — Mary's Assumption into Heaven

Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell: nor wilt Thou give Thy holy one to see corruption. (Psalm xv. 10.)

I. On the third day after Mary's death, when the apostles gathered around her tomb, they found it empty. The sacred body had been carried up to the celestial paradise. Jesus Himself came to conduct her thither; the whole court of heaven came to welcome with songs of triumph the Mother of the divine Word. What a chorus of exultation! Hark how they cry, "Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates, and the Queen of glory shall enter in."

2. Why was Mar}''s body received into heaven instead of remaining in the earth, like the rest of mankind? The grave had no power over one who was immaculate. Her flesh could not see corruption. Her body had been overshadowed by the Holy Ghost; it had been the sacred temple in which had dwelt God Incarnate, and so it had a claim to ascend whither the body of her Son had already gone before.

3. But the chief reason was that as she had shared in each detail in the sorrows and agony of her Son, so it was right that she should take part in His triumph. To her it was due that she should without delay enter into the joy of her Lord, her Son, her God. Oh, happy Mary, what were all her dolors compared with the joy of that first moment of heaven! How light are all our sorrows compared with the eternal weight of glory prepared for us!

See the Virgin Mother rise,

Angels bear her to the skies!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-Nine - Mary's Death

29th Day — Mary's Death

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. (Psalm c.w. 15.)

I. During the years which succeeded Our Lord's Ascension Mary had been making a progress in holiness and perfection which surpassed all that had gone before. She had become more and more a partaker of the divine nature, more and more like to the image of her divine Son. What a contrast I am to Mary! Yet at least I can admire her and rejoice in her unspeakable perfections.

2. At length the time came when this soul, so exquisitely beautiful, was too beautiful for earth to detain longer. She had long been languishing with love — yearning after her Beloved. Her death was not like that which we call death. She had no sickness, no pain. She died simply of love, of her insatiate desire for God. Do I long for the presence of God, for the day when I shall behold Him face to face?

3. Why was Mary's death such a triumph, such a scene of peace and joy and heavenly consolation? Because she was sinless. The sting of death is sin. It was also because she had stood by her Son's deathbed of the cross, and shared by her compassion in His agony. In return for this, Jesus Himself came to receive the sacred soul of His dear Mother. All the angels of heaven were present there, singing sweet melodies.

O happy, happy death!

If death indeed could be.

Blest Virgin, that sweet end

Which God bestowed on thee.

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-Eight - Mary the Mother of the Infant Church

28th Day — Mary the Mother of the Infant Church

Her children rose up and called her blessed. (Prov. xxxi. 28.)

1. When Our Lord ascended into heaven, we are told that the apostles went back to Jerusalem with great joy (St. Luke xxiv. 52). But there was none of them so joyful as Mary. Her sacred heart overflowed with happiness and delight. The greatest possible joy for her was thus to witness the triumph of her Son and to hear the angels welcoming the King of glory to His throne in heaven.

2. Yet Mary's life must have been one long desire after heaven, more so than ever after Jesus had ascended. Still she had no wish even for the heavenly paradise as long as it was God's will that she should remain on earth. She was quite content to wait. Am I resigned and patient when the will of God contradicts my inclinations and desires?

3. Why was Mary left on earth? To comfort and sustain, to instruct and advise the first disciples of Christ. None knew like her the secrets of His Sacred Heart; none had such an instinctive perception of what He would desire in the many doubts and difficulties that arose; none could impart such sweet consolation to the afflicted. How often the disciples beheld in her their Mother! In heaven she is still our comforter, adviser, guide.

The Mother sits all worshipful,

With her majestic mien;

The princes of the infant Church

Are gathered round their Queen.

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-Seven - Jesus Appears to Mary after the Resurrection

27th Day — Jesus Appears to Mary after the Resurrection

According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart: Thy comforts have given joy to my soul. (Psalm xciii. 19.)

1. Holy Scripture tells us nothing of Our Lord's appearance to His blessed Mother after His Resurrection. It takes it for granted that He must have appeared first to her. He who doubts it has but a poor understanding of Mary's part in the work and life of Jesus. As she was first in sharing His sufferings, so she was of necessity first in being partaker of His joy.

2. How Mary had been longing and praying for the Resurrection! It is a pious belief that for her sake those three days were shortened. How eagerly she had been expecting the dawn of that first Easter Day! She had been saying over and over again to herself, "I know that my Redeemer liveth." She knew that the darkness would in God's time usher in a glorious morning. This should be my comfort when all seems dark. I, too, must pray and wait.

3. What a meeting must that have been! All her anguish was more than compensated by the ecstasy of her joy at beholding her divine Son, radiant with heavenly beauty, conqueror over hell and death. See how she falls at His feet in rapture of delight! See how He raises her up with words of love! Who can tell the exquisite delight of hearing such words from Jesus' lips ?

See the Mother's fond embrace,

See her joy to view Thy face!

When all bright in radiant bloom

Thee she welcomed from the tomb.

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-Six - Mary Sees Jesus Laid in the Sepulcher

26th Day — Mary Sees Jesus Laid in the Sepulcher

Where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also. (St. Matt. vi. 21.)

I. When Mary had finished the mournful task of preparing the sacred body of her Son for burial, the disciples carried Him to the sepulcher in the garden of Joseph of Arimathea. Watch that mournful procession, and realize, if you can, the desolation of Mary's sacred heart. AH her hopes, all her joys, all her affections, were buried with Jesus. He was her one and only treasure, and where her treasure was laid, there was her heart also.

2. Mary amid all her anguish had experienced a strange and melancholy pleasure in embracing the dead body of her Son and performing for it the last offices of love. She knew, too, that though the human soul was parted from it, the divinity was still there. She could adore with the highest worship that mangled form, those limbs livid and cold. But now she was separated even from that sacred body. How empty, how blank, was all around without Jesus!

3. Yet Mary, in spite of her desolation, was never dejected, never gloomy. .She was full of joy and peace. In the angui.sh of her separation from Jesus she was more than comforted by the knowledge that all His sufferings were past, and that He had already begun to see the fruit of His travail. Those who love God more than themselves have always a fount of consolation in every sorrow.

By the hope thy name inspires,

By our doom reversed through thee,

Bring us, Queen of angel choirs,

To a blest eternity!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-Five - Jesus is Placed in His Mother's Arms

25th Day — Jesus is Placed in His Mother's Arms

My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? (St. Matt, xxvii. 46.)

1. These words must have echoed in Mary's heart when the body of her divine Son was placed in her arms. She was alone! Jesus was dead. She had heard His last cry of agony, and seen the spear pierce His sacred side. She was alone! Oh, Mary, what must have been thy desolation now that thy Son and thy God was no more! Listen to her words: "Therefore do I weep, and my eyes run down with water: because the comforter of my soul is far from me." (Lament, i. 16.)

2. Watch the holy Mother as she washes the blood from the body of her Son! How she kisses each wound with adoring love! Amid all her desolation there is nevertheless an underlying fount of joy at knowing that those wounds have wrought the salvation of the world, that in the paradise of God they will shine like jewels to all eternity.

3. In this mingled joy and sorrow Mary is especially full of love for sinners, and she loves them because they cost her so much anguish and because her divine Son loved them so dearly that for them He suffered and died. Mary loves me because I am a sinner — this at least may comfort and encourage me — Jesus died for me because I am a sinner.

Pope Benedict XVI: Prayer to Our Lady for China

Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother,

venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title "Help of Christians,"

the entire Church in China looks to you with devout affection.

We come before you today to implore your protection.

Look upon the People of God and, with a mother's care, guide them

along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be

a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens.

When you obediently said "yes" in the house of Nazareth,

you allowed God's eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb

and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption.

You willingly and generously co-operated in that work,

allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul,

until the supreme hour of the Cross, when you kept watch on Calvary,

standing beside your Son, Who died that we might live.

From that moment, you became, in a new way,

the Mother of all those who receive your Son Jesus in faith

and choose to follow in His footsteps by taking up His Cross.

Mother of hope, in the darkness of Holy Saturday you journeyed

with unfailing trust towards the dawn of Easter.

Grant that your children may discern at all times,

even those that are darkest, the signs of God's loving presence.

Our Lady of Sheshan, sustain all those in China,

who, amid their daily trials, continue to believe, to hope, to love.

May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world,

and of the world to Jesus.

In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high,

offering him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love.

Help Catholics always to be credible witnesses to this love,

ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built.

Mother of China and all Asia, pray for us, now and for ever. Amen!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-Four - Mary at the Foot of the Cross

24th Day — Mary at the Foot of the Cross

There stood by the cross of Jesus His Mother. (St. John xix. 25.)

1. What words can ever describe the indescribable anguish that rent the sacred heart of Mary as she looked upon her divine Son hanging on the cross! Was there ever such a spectacle? He is so torn and mangled, covered with a mantle of blood from head to foot, that one can scarcely recognize in that unsightly figure the human form. Can it be He, the fairest among the children of men? My God, what can have transformed Him into this piteous, this ghastly object?

2. Every wound in Jesus' body was also a wound in the heart of Mary: every fiber, every nerve throbbing in agony. Every pang He suffered reechoed in her heart. She endured by her compassion a share in all the anguish of His Passion. What was the thick darkness around compared with the black darkness that overspread her heart!

3. Why did Mary suffer all this? That she might be our Mother, the Mother of mankind. She who brought forth her divine Son without a pang suffered many a piercing pang when from the cross her dying Son commended to her the sinful sons of men. That was indeed a maternity of sorrow she suffered for our sins: for mine.

Jesus, when the three hours were run,

Bequeathed thee from the cross to me.

How can I rightly love thy Son,

Sweet Mother, if I love not thee?

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-Three - Mary Meets Jesus Carrying the Cross

23rd Day — Mary Meets Jesus Carrying the Cross

Bearing His own cross He went forth to that place which is called Calvary. (St. John xix. 17.)

I. As the time of the Passion drew near, Mary's realization of the approaching sufferings of her Son became more vivid. The sword of Simeon pierced her heart as it had never done before. How could she endure to see her Son and her God outraged and ill-treated, insulted, and put to death? "Weeping, she hath wept in the night: there is none to comfort her among all them that were dear to her." (Lament, i. 2.)

2. At last the storm of anguish burst upon her. The apostles bring her the heart-breaking news: He has been seized by the Pharisees, insulted by the soldiers, dragged before Pilate, scourged, and condemned to the death of the cross. What a night and morning for the Mother of Jesus! Each moment full of an agony worse than death.

3. At last she could refrain no longer. She must go and meet Him Whom her soul loved. What a meeting must that have been! Her darling Son all masked in blood, toiling under the weight of the cross. Oh, holy Mother, who would not be moved with compassion? "Attend, and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow." (Lament, i. 12.)

O thou Mother! fount of love!

Touch my spirit from above.

Make my heart with thine accord;

Make me feel as thou hast felt;

Make my soul to glow and melt

With the love of Christ my Lord.

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-Two - Mary during Our Lord's Public Life

22nd Day – Mary during Our Lord's Public Life

Whoever shall do the will of My Father that is in heaven: he is My brother, and sister, and mother. (St. Matt. xii. 50.)

I. When Our Lord left the cottage at Nazareth and went forth to enter on His public ministry, what an aching void must have been left in Mary's heart! How her heart must have yearned to be with Him! Earth was indeed for her a barren waste as long as He was away. Have we any of this love of the company of Jesus? Any desire to seek Him out where He awaits us in the tabernacle, that we may enjoy sweet intercourse with Him?

2. Yet Mary murmured not. She was willing to sacrifice for the good of others even the solace of Jesus' presence. She knew that by her obedience she would be united to Him in bonds far more intimate than the bonds of the closest earthly union. Therefore in joy and in sorrow, in consolation and desolation, whether Christ was with her or far away, her only desire was to submit to the holy will of God.

3. Mary by her prayers and tears and intercession took part in Our Lord's work. He had decreed that His Mother thus should help Him in His public ministry. Though He could do all, He left something for her to do, as He does for all the saints. What a happiness and privilege this! I, too, can take my part in the redemption of mankind!

Queen of sorrows, guide and guard me,

Let me to thine arms repair;

In thy tender bosom hide me,

Mary, take me to thy care!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-One - Mary at Cana

21st Day — Mary at Cana

Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye. (St. John ii. 5.)

1. Jesus' first miracle was performed at the marriage-feast at Cana. Thither Mary was invited, and from the words of the Gospel it seems as if Jesus was invited because His Mother had been already asked. Thus we learn that where Mary comes Jesus is sure to come also. He who entertains her with love and devotion will find that the love of Jesus will soon spring up in his heart.

2. During the marriage-feast the wine runs short. Our Lady notices it; it grieves her; she appeals to her Son in a model prayer. She simply states the need, and leaves all else to Him: "They have no wine." Like this should be our prayers. Jesus likes us to tell Him our needs; He knows them, but He makes prayer a condition of fulfilling our desires.

3. Jesus' words at first seem a rebuke: "Woman, what is it to Me, and to thee?" He often pretends to turn a deaf car to us. How does Mary behave under the seeming slight ? She regards it as a sign that He will grant her request, and turning to the servants bids them obey Him in all things. "Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye." Mary knew that it is to the submissive and obedient that Christ gives His best gifts. May the most blessed and holy will of God be done in all things! Amen.

My Lord, my God, what wiliest Thou?

Thy blessed will is mine!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty - The Death of Saint Joseph

20th Day — The Death of St. Joseph

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. (Psalm cxv. 15.)

1. For nigh thirty years Joseph had been the faithful spouse of Mary, the gentle foster-father of Jesus. But now the time came for him to die. How tenderly Mary nursed him in his failing strength! How she delighted in supplying all his wants, in ministering to them during the day, in watching by his side during the night! What a model to us who often grow weary with the long sickness of some invalid whom we are tending!

2. St. Joseph's death! Model of a happy death! What joy to die in the arms of Jesus and Mary! To be consoled by the Queen of heaven! To receive the last blessing from God Incarnate! No wonder that he is the patron of a happy death, since from the beginning of the world there was none whose death was surrounded with such glorious privileges and blessings as his.

3. How had Joseph procured so happy a death?

(a)   By waiting for God's guidance in all his actions and promptly following it.

(b)   By his devotion to Mary and to Jesus.  

(c)    By his patience, meekness, prudence, gentleness, purity.

Imitate St. Joseph. Pray to him for a happy death.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul!

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me in my last agony!

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may I die in peace in your blessed company!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Nineteen - Mary's Loss of Jesus for Three Days

19th Day — Mary's Loss of Jesus for Three Days

Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing. (St. Luke ii. 48.)

1. When Jesus was twelve years old, He went up with His parents for their annual visit to the Temple. On their return they missed Him, and for three days sought Him, and sought Him in vain. What must have been the agony of Mary's heart during those three days! Had Jesus left them never to return? Could it be that she had unconsciously, by some negligence, forfeited the privilege of the company of Jesus? Was she never to behold Him again? Such were thoughts that occurred to her in the piercing anguish of her heart. Let us compassionate the holy Mother of God in her desolation.

2. What a cruel void in Mary's heart! The light of her eyes and the joy of her heart had gone from her. What an utter blank all else seemed without Jesus — how could she live without Him? Without Him life would be death. "How shall I comfort thee, O Virgin daughter of Sion? For great as an ocean is thy sorrow."

3. Mary, then, can understand our sorrow in times of darkness and desolation. No blackness of desolation in our hearts is ever like the desolation of Mary — when she had lost Jesus. In all our anguish we will cry to her. She will not be deaf to our despairing cry, but will most surely succor us and restore to us peace and joy, as to her there returned peace and joy unspeakable when she found her divine Son in the Temple.

Mother of sorrows, pray for us !

Hear, sweet Mother, hear the weary,

Borne upon life's troubled sea!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Eighteen - Mary's Life at Nazareth

18th Day — Mary's Life at Nazareth

Besides Thee what do I desire upon earth? (Psalm Ixxii. 25.)

1. When the holy family returned from Egypt, they took up their abode in a little cottage at Nazareth. Yet that cottage was the closest approximation to heaven upon earth that ever has been or ever can be found. There dwelt the omnipotent God, the Queen of heaven, the protector of the whole Church of God. This poor and humble dwelling was chosen by almighty God as the most suitable abode for those He loved best.

2. What an unspeakable joy and consolation it must have been to Mary to dwell for those years in familiar conversation with Jesus! To carry in her arms her God, hers as He was none other's, flesh of her flesh, bone of her bone! to enjoy His sweet caresses! To hear Him call her Mother! To gaze on the unveiled countenance of God made flesh! What an ecstasy of happiness for Mary!

3. What happiness, too, Mary found in the company of her chaste spouse, St. Joseph! No husband was ever so thoughtful as Joseph, none so gentle, so unselfish. Such a tower of manly strength! What a pleasure it was to her to obey him! How she watches for every expression of his will! How promptly, joyfully, loyally she carries it out! Is this the way I behave to those to whom I am subject?

Oh, nought did Jesus love on earth

So tenderly as thee!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Seventeen - The Flight into Egypt

17th Day— The Flight into Egypt

Arise, and take the Child and His Mother, and fly into Egypt. (St. Matt. ii. 13.)

1. It was not long before Mary experienced how true Simeon's prophecy was to be. In the night, as she slept with the divine Infant by her side, she was aroused by St. Joseph, who ordered her to prepare to leave their home and to go forth into the darkness — and whither? To Egypt, the land of Israel's foes; far away across the desert, where they would be unknown and despised. What a trial for Mary's obedience!

2. The command, moreover, seemed so harsh and arbitrary; surely the omnipotent God could have provided for the safety of His own Son in a thousand ways without imposing a long and painful journey. Yet Mary murmured not. If I had received such a command, would I have yielded a willing and uncomplaining obedience?

3. Watch Mary in her preparations; how prompt! How orderly! She is thanking God for this trial as she gets ready what is necessary for the journey. How cheerful she is! How she makes the best of every thing! How she consoles St. Joseph by her thoughtfulness, her charity, her never-failing good humor! What a model to us when unforeseen annoyances arise! The only way to make our crosses light is to accept them cheerfully, as Mary did.

Mary, model of resignation, pray for us!

Refuge in grief, star of the sea.

Pray for the mourner, pray for me!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Sixteen - Simeon's Prophecy to Mary

16th Day — Simeon's Prophecy to Mary

And thy own soul a sword shall pierce. (St. Luke ii. 35.)

1. At these words of holy Simeon all Mary's joy was changed to sorrow. Her divine Son was to be a sign that would be contradicted. His life was to be one long series of disappointments, outrages, insults, ill-usage from those He had come to save. Who can describe the grief of Mary at hearing this? Her darling Son, her God, was to be persecuted even to the death.

2. From that time forth Simeon's words were ever present to her mind. There came up before her all the prophecies, the full meaning of which she had not realized before. She remembered holy David's words, "They pierced My hands and My feet," and she thought as she watched the divine Infant of His eventual crucifixion. The cry of the Psalmist, "My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" reminded her of the dereliction of His human soul. From this time forward she was indeed the Mother of sorrows.

3. Yet God in thus giving Mary so large a share in the sorrow of her Son was manifesting His special love for her. "Whom the Lord loveth He chastiseth." (Prov. iii. 12.) Mary's chastisement was great in proportion to His love for her. If we remembered this we should welcome suffering, not shrink from it, and say in real earnest:

Holy Mother, pierce me through,

In my heart each wound renew

Of my Saviour crucified.