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In March 2018, Pope Francis announced the new Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary: “Mary, Mother of the Church" to be celebrated the Monday after Pentecost
Mary, Mother of the Church
By: Pope Paul VI“Mother Of The Church”
Therefore, for the glory of the Virgin Mary and for Our own consolation, We proclaim the Most Blessed Mary Mother of the Church, that is to say of all the people of God, of the faithful as well as of the Pastors, who call her the most loving Mother. And We wish that the Mother of God should be still more honored and invoked by the entire Christian people by this most sweet title.
This is a title, Venerable Brothers, not new to Christian piety; it is precisely by this title, in preference to all others, that the faithful and the Church address Mary. It truly is part of the genuine substance of devotion to Mary, finding its justification in the very dignity of the Mother of the Word Incarnate.
Basis: Divine Maternity
Just as, in fact, the Divine Maternity is the basis for her special relationship with Christ, and for her presence in the economy of salvation brought about by Jesus Christ, thus it also constitutes the principal basis for the relations between Mary and the Church, since she is the mother of Him Who, right from the time of His Incarnation in her virginal bosom, joined to Himself as head of His Mystical Body which is the Church.
Mary, then, as Mother of Christ, is mother also of all the faithful and of all the Pastors.
It is therefore with a soul full of trust and filial love that We raise Our glance to her, despite Our unworthiness and weakness. She, who has given Us in Jesus the fountainhead of grace, will not fail to succor the Church, now flourishing through the abundance of the gifts of the Holy Ghost and setting herself with new zeal to the fulfillment of its mission of salvation.
Yet Close To UsAnd Our trust is even more lively and fully corroborated if We consider the very close links between this heavenly Mother of Ours and mankind. Although adorned by God with the riches of admirable prerogatives, to make her a worthy Mother of the Word Incarnate, she is nevertheless very close to us.
Daughter of Adam, like ourselves, and therefore our sister through ties of nature, she is, however, the creature who was preserved from Original Sin in view of the merits of the Savior, and who possesses, besides the privileges obtained, the personal virtue of a total and exemplary faith, thus deserving the evangelical praise beata quae credidisti (blessed art thou who believe). In her earthly life, she realized the perfect image of the disciple of Christ, reflected every virtue, and incarnated the evangelical beatitudes proclaimed by Christ. Therefore in her, the entire Church, in its incomparable variety of life and of work, attains the most authentic form of the perfect imitation of Christ.
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Diocesan Prayer of Consecration
Bishop Cotta invites all the clergy, religious and laity of the Diocese of Stockton, to offer a prayer of consecration of our Diocese of Stockton to the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady, “Mary, Mother of the Church”.
In our consecration to Mary, Mother of the Church, we seek the graces to be closer to Christ through the intersession of His blessed mother, who He gave to us as our own.Prayer of Consecration:
Holy Mary Mother of the Church,with renewed gratitude for your maternal presence
we join our voice to that of all the generations who call you blessed.We celebrate in you the works of God, who never tires of looking downwith mercy upon humanity, afflicted with the wound of sin, to heal it and save it.Accept with the benevolence of a Mother the act of consecration
that we perform today with confidence.
We are certain that each of us is precious in your eyes
and that nothing of all that lives in our hearts is unknown to you.
We let ourselves be touched by your most sweet regard
and we welcome the consoling caress of your smile.
Hold our life in your arms: bless and strengthen every desire for good;
revive and nourish faith; sustain and enlighten hope;
awaken and animate charity; guide all of us along the path of holiness.
Teach us your own preferential love for the little and the poor,
for the excluded and the suffering, for sinners and the downhearted:
bring everyone under your protection and entrust everyone
to your beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Oracion de consagracion:
Santa María Madre de la Iglesia,
con renovada gratitud por tu presencia maternal unimos nuestra voz
a la de todas las generaciones que te llaman bienaventurada.
Celebramos en ti las grandes obras de Dios, que nunca se cansa
de inclinarse con misericordia hacia la humanidad,
afligida con la herida del pecado, para sanarla y salvarla.
Acoge con benevolencia de Madre el acto de consagración
que hoy hacemos con confianza. Estamos seguros de que
cada uno de nosotros somos valiosos ante tus ojos
y que nada de lo que habita en nuestros corazones es ajeno a ti.
Nos dejamos tocar por tu dulce mirada y recibimos
la consoladora caricia de tu sonrisa. Protege nuestra vida entre tus brazos:
bendice y fortalece todo deseo de bien; aviva y alimenta la fe;
mantiene e ilumina la esperanza; despierta y motiva la caridad;
guíanos a todos por el camino de la santidad.
Enséñanos tu gran amor y tu preferencia por los pequeños y los pobres,
por los excluidos y los que sufren, por los pecadores y los pobres de corazón:
lleva a todos bajo tu protección y encomiéndalos a todos
a tu amado Hijo, Nuestro Señor Jesús.
Amén.
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