The Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
Laudetur Jesus Christus et Maria Immaculata!
The Traditional Rite of Baptism
See here for a PDF showing the powerful words and actions that the Church included in the traditional rite of Baptism before the tragic excisions and alterations that followed in the wake of the Second Vatican Council.
A small gift to the Holy Mother of God
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| The Holy Mother of God. FaceMePLS from The Hague. CC BY 2.0. |
👈 The image shown is venerated in the Chapel of the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius, Lithuania. Some sources trace this painting to the 14th century (or earlier) in Crimea. Although there is no agreement on the date, both the Orthodox and the Catholics lay claim to this image, proof of the deep and ancient tradition of veneration and love for the Holy Mother of God found in both wings of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Let us pray that our holy Mother will intercede for all her faithful sons so that, from East to West, they may be united as they once were.
The painting features prominently a crescent moon, which is quite common in images of the Blessed Virgin, recalling the words of St John in Chapter xii of the Apocalypse:
And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet... [Apoc. xii. 1]
and echoing the words from the Canticle of Canticles:
Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair [pulchra] as the moon ... terrible as an army set in array? [Canticles (Solomon) vi. 9].
The word "woman" used by St John in the Apocalypse recalls the word used by Christ on the Cross, entrusting the beloved disciple to His Holy Mother:
When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son... Behold thy mother. [John xix. 26-27]
I felt moved to conceive a paraphrase, slightly adapting the original lyrics and re-interpreting or super-interpreting them in the form of a prayer to the Blessed Virgin, praying for her help in drawing closer to her Divine Son. This prayer is reproduced below under the title Ad Jesum per te, Maria! ("To Jesus through thee, O Mary"). These words form part of the motto that I have used in recent years as a personal seal to close posts and written work (see close of post). Scriptural references have been included in the Footnotes after the prayer, together with the original Czech lyrics for those who wish to follow the sung performance.
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| Patricia Janečková.1998-2023. |
✠ REQUIEM æternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. ✠
ETERNAL rest grant unto her , O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her . May she rest in peace. Amen.
Here is a link to an audio-file of her performance:
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Below is the poem-prayer which I wrote and which I offer as a gift to our gentle Queen and Mother on this her feast day, the anniversary of my baptism. There is, providentially, a full moon this evening!
Ad Jesum per te, Maria!
To Jesus through thee, O Mary!
Hail O beautiful moon,[1] our Mother in the highest heaven,
Whose gentle gaze sees far and wide;
The light of thy maternal love streams down
Upon thy children here below.
O radiant moon, our Queen, please pause awhile
And tell me, O tell me where He is who hath so loved me; [2]
Help me to tell Him, O Heavenly Mother,
To tell Him my heart yearns for us to draw close;
How I pray that for a little while
I may be present to His thoughts;
With the light of Grace, I ask thee to show me His distant dwelling, [3]
Tell Him, O tell Him that someone is seeking Him...
And knocking for His attention; [4]
May this little plea prompt a recollection;
Beautiful moon, our gentle Queen and Mother, don't leave me, don't leave me...
Don't leave me!
[1] Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array? [Canticles (Solomon) vi. 9].
And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet... [Apoc. xii. 1]
[2] For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; [John iii. 16]
Father ... I have made known thy name to them, and will make it known; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me, may be in them, and I in them.
[John xvii. 25-26]
[3] Who only hath immortality, and inhabiteth light inaccessible, whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and empire everlasting. Amen. [1 Tim. vi. 16]
[4] Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you.
For every one that asketh, receiveth: and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. [Matt. vii. 7-8]
Song to the Moon : Czech lyrics
Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém,
světlo tvé daleko vidí,
po světě bloudíš širokém,
díváš se v příbytky lidí.
Měsíčku, postůj chvíli,
řekni mi, řekni, kde je můj milý!
Řekni mu, stříbrný měsíčku,
mé že jej objímá rámě,
aby si alespoň chviličku
vzpomenul ve snění na mě.
Zasvit' mu do daleka, zasviť mu,
řekni mu, řekni, kdo tu naň čeká!
O mně-li duše lidská sní,
af se tou vzpomínkou vzbudí!
Měsíčku, nezhasni, nezhasni!
Měsíčku, nezhasni!
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SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.
The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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