Ad Jesum per te, Maria : 3/33

The Psalms of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary

By way of preparation for the great Feast of the Annunciation, I am re-posting a daily commentary on each of the Psalms of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin. The commentary includes text published by Father Ethelred L. Taunton in 1903.

 

To read the commentary on today's Psalm, click on the following link:

 👉    Psalm 18

Here is an excerpt:

In sole posuit tabernaculum suum : et ipse

tamquam sponsus procedens de thalamo suo

In the sun He hath set His tabernacle : and He Himself as a

Bridegroom coming forth from His chamber.

In this and the following verse the Church has, from the beginning, seen a marvellous type of the Incarnation. In the sun He hath set His tabernacle. In the literal sense, of natural objects, the sun is the best and clearest representation of the Creator. So the wise man in Ecclesiasticus : The sun when it appeareth declareth at his rising a marvellous instrument, the works of the most High. In it many nations of the earth have seen the image of the God they adore. But for us, knowing that it shall pass away and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, it is but God’s tabernacle. The true Sun is that which shall no more go down, when the Lord shall be our everlasting Light and the days of our mourning shall be ended. 

Then, in the mystical sense, the sun and the tabernacle are the Lord's abiding in the Womb of Mary ; and the writers do not fail to quote from Ecclesiasticus that text : As the sun when it ariseth in the high heavens so is the beauty of a good wife in ordering her house. The sun is also the spotless soul of Mary shining with the splendour of her pre-eminent redemption, a meet resting place for the most High God, the tabernacle He Himself hath made holy. The tabernacle is the flesh of the Lord which was united for ever to His Divinity. Or again, as they who go out to war dwell not in houses or tents, so our Lord going forth to His war with Satan dwelt in the tabernacle of His flesh while He entered into the conflict with and when He overcame His enemy. 

As a Bridegroom cometh out of His chamber. And here none can fail to see the Lord’s entrance into the world from the Womb of Mary. The Bridegroom, hereafter to be betrothed to the Church on the Cross, came forth, as it were, in the morning of that day of which the sufferings of Calvary were the evening. The Eternal Light, says St.John of Damascus (c. 756), which, proceeding from the Co-eternal Light, had His existence before all worlds, came forth bodily from the Virgin Mary, as a Bridegroom from His chamber.

Previous Psalms

Psalm 8

Psalm 94

Prayers 

The following prayers follow the model written by St Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort and are recited in preparation for the renewal of consecration* to Lord Jesus Christ our King, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, on the Feast of the Annunciation. *PEEKPTEE&A

Veni Creator Spiritus [To see a translation of this hymn to the Holy Spirit, click here:  👉 Veni Creator Spiritus ]

Ave Maris Stella

 

Magnificat

 

Gloria 

+       +        +

The Virgin of Tenderness. >12th century.

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.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

Ad Jesum per te, Maria : 2/33

The Psalms of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary

By way of preparation for the great Feast of the Annunciation, I am re-posting a daily commentary on each of the Psalms of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin. The commentary includes text published by Father Ethelred L. Taunton in 1903.

 

To read the commentary on today's Psalm, click on the following link:

 👉   Psalm 8

Previous Psalms

Psalm 94

👈 This is an image of King David, author of the Psalms. By Willem Vrelant (early 1460s), Bruges, Belgium. 

Prayers 

The following prayers follow the model written by St Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort and are recited in preparation for the renewal of consecration* to Lord Jesus Christ our King, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, on the Feast of the Annunciation. *PEEKPTEE&A

Veni Creator Spiritus [To see a translation of this hymn to the Holy Spirit, click here:  👉 Veni Creator Spiritus ]

Ave Maris Stella

 

Magnificat

 

Gloria 

+       +        +

The Virgin of Tenderness. >12th century.

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.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

Ad Jesum per te, Maria : 1/33

The Psalms of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary

By way of preparation for the great Feast of the Annunciation in thirty-three days' time, I am re-posting a daily commentary on each of the Psalms of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin. The commentary includes text published by Father Ethelred L. Taunton in 1903.

 

To read the commentary on today's Psalm, click on the following link:

 👉   Psalm 94

👈 This is an image of King David, author of the Psalms. By Willem Vrelant (early 1460s), Bruges, Belgium. 

Prayers 

The following prayers follow the model written by St Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort and are recited in preparation for the renewal of consecration* to Lord Jesus Christ our King, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, on the Feast of the Annunciation.

*PEEKPTEE&A

Veni Creator Spiritus [To see a translation of this hymn to the Holy Spirit, click here:  👉 Veni Creator Spiritus ]

Ave Maris Stella

 

Magnificat

 

Gloria 

+       +        +

The Virgin of Tenderness. >12th century.

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.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

"I am the Immaculate Conception"

From a decorative tile in Holy Cross Church,
Carshalton. Taken by author.

Sainte Bernadette Soubirous

On Thursday, February 11, 1858, fourteen-year-old Bernadette was sent with her younger sister and a friend to gather firewood, when a very beautiful lady appeared to her above a rose bush in a grotto called Massabielle. From the 11th of February until the 16th of July, the lady appeared 18 times. She revealed her identity to Bernadette in the words: 

Que soy era immaculada councepciou. ('I am the Immaculate Conception'). 

She caused a spring to pour forth water in the grotto which was to become a world-famous place of pilgrimage for the sick in soul and body from the lifetime of Bernadette until today.

  

Her life

Marie-Bernadette Soubirous est née le 4 janvier 1844 dans le bourg de Lourdes.  Ayant survécu à une épidémie de choléra, elle demeure de santé très précaire. Pour apprendre à lire et à écrire, elle est accueillie, en janvier 1858, dans la classe des petites filles pauvres de l’Hospice de Lourdes dirigé par les Sœurs de la Charité de Nevers.

Marie-Bernadette Soubirous was born on the 4th of January 1844 in the town of Lourdes. She survived a cholera epidemic but her health remained fragile. In order to learn to read and write, she was accepted in January 1858 into a class for poor little girls in a Home run by the Sisters of Charity from Nevers.

Entre le 11 février et le 16 juillet 1858, sur la grotte de Massabielle, la Vierge Marie lui apparut 18 fois. Comme Bernadette lui demandait avec insistance son nom, elle répondit: « Je suis l’Immaculée Conception. » Le 18 février 1858, la Vierge Marie dit à Bernadette : « Je ne vous promets pas de vous rendre heureuse en ce monde mais dans l’autre. »

Between the 11th of February and the 16th of July 1858, in a grotto of Massabielle, the Virgin Mary appeared to her 18 times. Bernadette asked several times for the lady's name and she replied: "I am the Immaculate Conception." On the 18th of February 1858, the Virgin Mary said to Bernadette: "I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the next." [Some say the dialect used is more accurately translated as : 'I do not promise you the happiness of this world, but of the next.']

Après avoir transmis aux prêtres l’affirmation solennelle d’identité et d’autres messages célestes, Bernadette, pour mieux échapper à la vue du monde, demanda son admission chez les Sœurs de la Charité et de l’Instruction chrétienne de Nevers. Elle arriva à Nevers en juillet 1866. Modèle de fidélité religieuse, supportant avec la plus grande patience toutes sortes de croix et des infirmités prolongées, elle se livrait fréquemment à l’oraison et à la méditation de la Parole du Seigneur. Elle avait un amour filial la Vierge Immaculée. Elle portait sur elle la Médaille Miraculeuse.  Dans l’infirmerie devenue aujourd’hui un oratoire, âgée de trente-cinq ans, elle rend le dernier soupir et s’endort dans le Seigneur à 3 heures de l'après-midi, le 16 avril 1879.

Having passed on to the priests this solemn affirmation of identity  and other heavenly messages, Bernadette, in order to flee from the prying eyes of the world, asked to be admitted into the Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction in Nevers. She arrived in Nevers in July 1866. A model of religious fidelity, enduring with the greatest patience all sorts of crosses and extended periods of illness, she gave herself over to frequent prayer  and meditation on the Word of the Lord. She had a daughter's love for the Immaculate Virgin. She wore the Miraculous Medal. Within the infirmary (which is today a place of prayer), aged 35 years, she breathed her last and fell asleep in the Lord at 3.00 pm on the 16th of April 1879. 

 

Ste Bernadette in death. [Public Domain]

Elle se tint, des années durant, silencieuse près de Marie au pied de la Croix, jusqu’au dernier moment, où elle, en murmurant:

Sainte Marie Mère de Dieu, priez pour moi, pauvre pécheresse

Year after year she stood silently next to Mary at the foot of the Cross, right up to her last moment, saying softly:

  Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me a poor sinner.

👑       👑       👑

Seeking Colloquy with Marie

Today, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, is the anniversary of my first consecration in 2019 to Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ through His Mother Mary, the Glorious and Blessed Virgin of Virgins, and our own dearest Mother. Laudetur Jesus Christi et Maria Immaculata!

Here is a verse I began recently and finished today. I offer it to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in thanksgiving for all the graces, favours and help she has given to me in recent years, particularly since October 2017 (when I was delivered from a great affliction).

The Virgin of Tenderness >12th century.

Seeking Colloquy with Marie

To thee Marie, divine Marie:

I fain would pen a verse to thee!

But where or whence or whither be

The theme or thought to sing of thee?

Perhaps a shelt’ring willow tree

That weeps yet gives us graces free?

Or else a lily’s purity

Whose scent is sweet sublimity?

But no, ‘tis in thine eyes I see,

As through a window wondrously,

Thy gentle soul which tenderly

Pours forth a Mother’s love for me.

Envoi

Crave of thy Son His clemency

That I a son of thine may be!

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.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

Our Lady of Lourdes.
Crowned by Pius IX in 1879

Today is the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful." 

Pope Pius IX issued the Papal Bull “Ineffabilis Deus” in 1854.

With fervent prayers to our gentle Queen and Mother for the author and his family on this day which is also the anniversary of a great blessing received in Corpus Christi Church (Covent Garden) in 1981. With prayers too for the repose of the soul of the officiating priest, Fr. Henry Dodd (1921-1992) R.I.P.

MEMORARE, O piissima Virgo Maria, non esse auditum a sæculo, quemquam ad tua currentem præsidia, tua implorantem auxilia, tua petentem suffragia, esse derelictum. Ego tali animatus confidentia, ad te, Virgo Virginum, Mater, curro, ad te venio, coram te gemens peccator assisto. Noli, Mater Verbi, verba mea despicere; sed audi propitia et exaudi. Amen.

REMEMBER, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly to thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do 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.

+       +        +

The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

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.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Christina MacDonald of Clanranald : In Memoriam

On 30 November 1977, on the feast of St Andrew, patron saint of her native Scotland, my dear mother passed away after a long battle with cancer. The local priest had administered the last rites some time previously. Although she had seemed barely conscious, I could see her lips moving slightly after he had invited her to join him in saying one ''Hail Mary'' . She received Holy Communion and she seemed then to be very much at peace. The priest, a serious, taciturn but tender-hearted man, noted that this was often the case.

✠ Requiescas in pace, mater dilectissima! ✠

Three poems

I was living in Cambridge during this sad time in 1977. For no particular reason that I can recall, I felt prompted to make the train journey across country to pay a visit to my mother in north Warwickshire. I prepared the following poem en route, not knowing that my mother would depart this world only a matter of days after my arrival. She was sitting near the fireside when I arrived, nursing a hot water bottle. I read my poem to her and I could see that she was listening intently. When I had finished, she said: 'Well, how lovely!' She then retired to her bedroom and never left her bed again before her death some days later.

Kirsty bheag is the Scots Gaelic for 'little Kirsty'. She was called 'little' to distinguish her from her mother, who was also called Kirsty. I completed the pen and ink drawing of the boat (21cm x 21cm) several years later and named it 'Kirsty' in honour of my mother. RIP.

Kirsty Bheag

Kirsty. PB

Alone sate she in soft and muted shade,
A fairy child of woodland ferns and flowers,
A slender sylph from Spring's most sacred glade,
A smiling sprite of silent, scented bowers.

Her careless hair was gold as sun-gold corn,
In breeze-blessed streams and tresses lightly flowing;
Her eyes were the smiling blue of a sky-blue morn,
Her cheeks with cheerest roses ever-glowing.

Withal a shape so supple, slim and svelte
As like a willow-sapling's lithely grace;
A light and happy spirit therein dwelt,
Whose dancing smiles did play upon her face.

Upon her lap an open book she lay,
Whose lines she scanned with fond and eager gaze;
Then 'loud the alien words she 'gan to say,
In heart to grave for all her mortal days.

Alone sate she, this darling Highland child,
In woods, in fields, by many a mountain stream;
But now in time long-lived to old age mild,
Of these her girlhood joys she doth but dream.

Envoi

Learn friends, this fairest She, she is no other
Than my own dear, beloved mother.
 © PB 1977


My mother was to suffer enormously from cancer before she died on the 30th November. As someone born in the Scottish Highlands, it was altogether fitting that she should have passed on the Feast of St Andrew. I wrote 'Curse' mindful of the echoing metre used by the witches in the "Scottish play."

Curse

Burn in Brimni's blazing bane,
Die in cruel and crazing pane!

Slowly burning, slowly maiming,
Never easing, never resting,
Bitter raw with deadly fest'ring;
Vicious jaws within thee gnawing,
Biting, ripping, tearing, savage,
These thy entrails hotly ravage.

Burn in Brimni's blazing bane,
Die in cruel and crazing pain!
© PB 1977



In this same year, my mother had already lost her first-born son (aged 44) as well as a favourite brother. This triple loss inspired the following lines.

This Weeping Year

This weeping year,
This year of ache and pain;
This heart-sore year,
This year with sorrow stain'd.

O woeful year,
Unweary of thy ever-wearing woes;
Black-visaged year,
Unyielding midst thy yield of deadly throes.

The Fates, they three,
This fated year of three,
Death-fated three
And dealt three fatally.

© PB 1977

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

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.

Baptism on the Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

The Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

Today is the anniversary of my Baptism, which took place when I was three weeks old, on Friday the 27th of November 1953, the feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, in the church of St Theresa of the Child Jesus (Perry Bar, Birmingham). I discovered this very late in life and, Deo volente, I shall never cease to thank Our Lord for everything He did to make this possible on His Mother's feast day and in a church dedicated to Ste Thérèse de l’Enfant Jésus. 

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

The Holy Mother of God.
FaceMePLS from The Hague. CC BY 2.0.

Whilst listening to a "Song to the Moon" from Antonin Dvorak's lyric fairy tale Russalka (1901), I was overwhelmed by the the haunting melody, the Czech lyrics and the beautiful voice of Patricia Janečková. The emotion grew when reflecting on this singer's heart-breaking death from cancer at the tragically young age of 25 (on the 1st of October 2023).

👈    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.

 

Patricia Janečková.1998-2023. 

👈 Here is a picture of the soprano, taken from her recording of Mozart's Laudate Dominum.

✠ 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:

👉  Song to the Moon

+       +        +

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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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

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.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.