Showing posts with label Holy Name of Mary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Name of Mary. Show all posts

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Holy Names

Blessed be God, 
Blessed be His Holy Name...
Blessed be the Name of Jesus...
Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother...
Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints.

If it be blasphemy to take the name of the Lord in vain, it is likewise wicked to mock and profane the name of His Incarnate Son, of His Son's dear Mother, and of all His elect, the Saints of God made such by the triumph of divine grace – just as it would be outrageous and condemnable to curse rather than compliment the good name of any decent man, let alone persons worthy of respect by reason of their high offices and/or outstanding lives (parents, superiors, and leaders civil and ecclesiastical – Her Majesty the Queen, His Holiness the Pope).

If it be blasphemy to take the name of the Lord in vain, it is virtuous to laud, bless and praise His Holy Name – and likewise to give the glory to Jesus Christ our Saviour and Redeemer by bowing one's head at His Holy Name.  Similarly, the most sweet name of Mary, and the names of God's triumphant Saints in due order, are all worthy of honour and respect.

Blessed to-day in especial be the Holy Name of Mary.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Collects and Texts in Honour of the Holy Name of Mary

From the Ambrosian, Traditional and Modern Roman, and Dominican liturgical books come these nine Collects in Honour of the Holy Name of Mary:

Concede, quæsumus, omnipotens Deus: ut fideles tui, qui sub sanctissimæ Virginis Mariæ Nomine et protectione lætantur, ejus pia intercessione a cunctis malis liberentur in terris, et ad gaudia æterna pervenire mereantur in cœlis. Per... [Trad. Rom. & Amb. (Or. I ad Vesp. & ad Laudes; Or. ad Tertiam)]

Precibus et mentis beatæ Mariæ semper virginis, cujus Nomini hodiernas persolvimus laudes, eripe nos, quæsumus, Domine, a præsentibus ærumnis: ut exterioribus curis soluti, debitum nomini tuo impendere possimus obsequium. Per... [Trad. Amb. (Or. II ad Vesp. & ad Laudes; Or. ad Sextam)]

Præsta, omnipotens et misericors Deus: ut qui venerabile Deiparæ Virginis Mariæ Nomen colimus, illud etiam in hora mortis invocare valeamus. Per... [Trad. Amb. (Or. III ad Vesp.)]

Beatissimæ Virginis Mariæ Nomen venerantibus da nobis, quæsumus, Domine: ut ejus quoque virtutes imitantes, nostra in cœlis nomina scripta esse gaudeamus. Per... [Trad. Amb. (Or. IV ad Vesp.; Or. ad Nonam)]

Deus, qui gloriosam Matrem tuam nominari Mariam voluisti: concede, quæsumus, ut, qui dulce Mariæ nomen implorant, perpetuum sentiant suæ benedictionis auxilium. Qui vivis...  [Trad. O.P.]

Concede, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus, ut cunctis gloriosum beatae Mariae Virginis nomen celebrantibus misericordiae tuae beneficia ipsa procuret. Per... [MR 2002, Collecta]

Benedictionis tuae, Domine, intercedente Dei Genetrice Maria, gratiam consequamur ut, cuius venerandum nomen celebramus, eius in omnibus necessitatibus auxilium percipiamus. Per... [MR 2002, Postcommunio]

Deus, qui beátam Vírginem Maríam, grátia tua plenam, inter mulíeres elegísti, ut Fílii tui, Redemptóris nostri, fíeret Mater; concéde nobis, qui sanctum nomen eius venerámur, praeséntis témporis perícula declináre, et vitam cum ipsa cónsequi aetérnam. Per... [MR 2002 Missa Votiva, Collecta]

Deus, cuius Fílius in ara crucis exspírans beatíssimam Vírginem Maríam Matrem vóluit esse nostram, quam suam elégerat, concéde propítius, ut, qui sub eius praesídium secúre confúgimus, matérno invocáto nómine confortémur. Per... [MR 2002 Missa Votiva, alia Collecta]

The Traditional Ambrosian Mass for the Feast of Mary's Holy Name featured a first lesson from Judith (xiii, 22-26), an excellent choice of text:

And they all adored the Lord, and said to her: The Lord hath blessed thee by his power, because by thee he hath brought our enemies to nought.  
And Ozias the prince of the people of Israel, said to her: Blessed art thou, O daughter, by the Lord the most high God, above all women upon the earth. 
Blessed be the Lord who made heaven and earth, who hath directed thee to the cutting off the head of the prince of our enemies. 
Because he hath so magnified thy name this day, that thy praise shall not depart out of the mouth of men who shall be mindful of the power of the Lord for ever, for that thou hast not spared thy life, by reason of the distress and tribulation of thy people, but hast prevented our ruin in the presence of our God. 
And all the people said: So be it, so be it.

Interestingly, the Entrance Antiphon for both the optional memorial and the Votive Mass of Our Lady's Name in the modern Roman Missal of 2002 is derived from Judith xii, 23 & 25, and - but for the insertion of Virgo Maria in place of filia - is exactly the same text as that of the Ambrosian Epistolella at Sext for the same feast:

Benedícta es tu, Virgo María, a Dómino Deo excélso prae ómnibus muliéribus super terram; quia nomen tuum ita magnificávit, ut non recédat laus tua de ore hóminum.

Furthermore, the Transitorium for the old Ambrosian Mass was taken from II Paralipomenon xxvi, 8b:

Divulgatum est nomen ejus... propter crebras victorias.

(Her name was spread abroad... on account of her frequent victories.)

Indeed!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Most Holy Name of Mary - III

What the power of Mary's Name?

Read and consider...

Most Holy Name of Mary - II

We had sung Mass at the Pro. tonight at 6.30pm; I made it to the prefatory Holy Hour, and managed to say Matins before Benediction.  (I've gone back to the Breviary since Monday, but until today had compromised by saying the modern Office of Readings rather than attempting the nine-psalm Matins of the Breviary; taking up a suggestion I've seen elsewhere, I say Lauds and Prime before work, Terce, Sext and None after work, Vespers in the evening and Compline at bedtime, and fit in Matins when I can, even if out of order.)

Again, the music provided was modest: Rossini psalm-toned Propers, Missa de Angelis, and for hymns Ave maris stella at Offertory, O sanctissima at Communion, the martial "Help of Christians, guard this land" for a processional and the Lourdes Hymn, with its refrain Ave, ave, ave Maria, as a fitting recessional - the congregation even burst into harmony for this last item.  With twenty at Mass, plus two servers for Fr (so incense, but no candles), and Rosemary and myself as the choir, we did pretty well.  Fr Rowe of course gave us a good sermon on the sweet Name of Mary, and why it is so worthy of our entire respect and veneration, being pregnant with sacred meaning and a most strong weapon against the enemies of our salvation, just as once with her aid the victorious Christians defeated the Turkish hordes before Vienna.

Speaking of history, again Aaron and I joined Fr for dinner afterward, and I read to them from Butler's Lives of the Saints his description of the defeat of the Turks at the hands of John Sobieski; I had also read out St Bernard's celebrated encomium of Our Lady from his Homily II in Praise of Mary (formerly read at Matins to-day as the Lessons of the Second Nocturn).  I read, because Fr's habit is for us to use the grace before and after meals from the Breviary, and I had been blessed to read as part of this!  Oh, and we had some Orval Trappist beer to celebrate...

Friday, September 12, 2008

Most Holy Name of Mary

The Dominican Missal and Breviary has this Collect for the Holy Name of Mary, instead of the Roman one:

Deus, qui gloriosam Matrem tuam nominari Mariam voluisti: concede, quæsumus, ut, qui dulce Mariæ nomen implorant, perpetuum sentiant suæ benedictionis auxilium.  Qui vivis...