Marian May Devotion (Day 24)
May 24, 2025
Fr. John Colacino C.PP.S.
Day 24
 
A reading from the second book of Samuel (7:1-5, 8b-11, 16)
 
When King David was settled in his palace, and the Lord had given him rest from his enemies on every side, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!” Nathan answered the king, “Go, do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.” But that night the Lord spoke to Nathan and said: “Go tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Should you build me a house to dwell in?’
  “‘It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be commander of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth. I will fix a place for my people Israel; I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place without further disturbance. Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old, since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.’”
 
From her poem "Why I Love You, O Mary," by St Thérèse of Lisieux (cont'd)
 

While waiting for Heaven, O my dear Mother
I want to live with you, to follow you each day.
Mother, contemplating you, I joyfully immerse myself,
Discovering in your heart abysses of love.
You motherly gaze banishes all my fears.
It teaches me to cry, it teaches me to rejoice.
Instead of scorning pure and simple joys,
You want to share in them, you deign to bless them.
At Cana, seeing the married couple’s anxiety
Which they cannot hide, for they have run out of
wine,
In your concern you tell the Saviour,
Hoping for the help of his divine power,
Jesus seems at first to reject your prayer:
“Woman, what does this matter,” he answers,”to you
and to me?”
But in the depths of his heart, He calls you his Mother,
And works his first miracle for you…

One day when sinners are listening to the doctrine
Of Him who would like to welcome them in Heaven,
Mary, I find you with them on the hill.
Someone says to Jesus that you wish to see him.
Then, before the whole multitude, your Divine Son
Shows us the immensity of his love for us.
He says: “Who is my brother and my sister and my
Mother,
If not the one who does my will?”

O Immaculate Virgin, most tender of Mothers,
In listening to Jesus, you are not saddened.
But you rejoice that He makes us understand
How our souls become his family here below.
Yes, you rejoice that He gives us his life,
The infinite treasures of his divinity !…
How can we not love you, O my dear Mother,
On seeing so much love and so much humility ?

You love us, Mary, as Jesus loves us,
And for us you accept being separated from Him.
To love is to give everything. It’s to give oneself.
You wanted to prove this by remaining our support.
The Saviour knew your immense tenderness.
He knew the secrets of your maternal heart.
Refuge of sinners, He leaves us to you
When He leaves the Cross to wait for us in Heaven.

Mary, at the top of Calvary standing beside the Cross
To me you seem like a priest at the altar,
Offering your beloved Jesus, the sweet Emmanuel,
To appease the Father’s justice…
A prophet said, O afflicted Mother,
« There is no sorrow like your sorrow ! _ » O Queen of Martyrs, while remaining in exile
You lavish on us all the blood of your heart !

Saint John’s home becomes your only refuge.
Zebedee’s son is to replace Jesus…
That is the last detail the Gospel gives.
It tells me nothing more of the Queen of Heaven.
But, O my dear Mother, doesn’t its profound silence
Reveal that The Eternal Word Himself
Wants to sing the secrets of your life
To charm your children, all the Elect of Heaven ?

Soon I’ll hear that sweet harmony.
Soon I’ll go to beautiful Heaven to see you.
You who came to smile at me in the morning of my life,
Come smile at me again … Mother… It’s evening now !…
I no longer fear the splendour of your supreme glory.
With you I’ve suffered and now I want
To sing on your lap, Mary, why I love you,
And to go on saying that I am your child !…

Musical Selection (Daughters of Mary)

O Mary of Graces and Mother of God
May I tread in the paths that the righteous have trod
And mayest thou save me from evil's control
And mayest thou save me in body and soul.
 
And mayest thou save me by land and by sea
And mayest thou save me from tortures to be
May the guard of the angels around me abide
May God be before me and God at my side.
 
O Mary of Graces, oh answer my plea
Under crosses in trials, to thee do I flee
O teach me Sweet Mother to follow His Will
To journey with courage up Calvery's Hill
 
O Mary my Mother and Mother of all
Be my guide and Protectress that I may not fall
And mayest Thou lead me to Heaven above
With Saints and Angels I'll share in Thy Love
 
Prayer
 
O God,
through the resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
you have brought joy to the world;
grant through the prayers of his Mother, the Virgin Mary,
that we may possess the joys of eternal life.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen. (Common BVM)

 

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