The Communion of Saints
Credo in sanctorum communionem.
The Blessed Virgin Mary
Mother of God
Feasts: January 1; June 20; August 15, 22; September 8, November 21; December 8, 12; optionally almost any Saturday
And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,
to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David: and the virgin's name was Mary.
And the angel being come in, said unto her: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." Who having heard, was troubled at his saying and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.
And the angel said to her: "Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father: and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end."
And Mary said to the angel: "How shall this be done, because I know not a man?"
And the angel answering, said to her: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy One which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."
And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda. And she entered into the house of Zachary and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.
And she cried out with a loud voice and said: "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord."
And Mary said:
My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him. He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy. As he spoke to our fathers: to Abraham and to his seed for ever. [Luke 1:26–35; 39–55, DRB]
Jesus's mother saith unto the servants, "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it" (John 2:5, KJV).
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
St. Gianna Molla
Unofficial patron of the pro-life movement.
Feast: April 28
St. Gianna is the unofficial patron of the pro-life movement, having refused an abortion and a hysterectomy and ultimately giving her life to save the life of her daughter. The second official miracle attributed to her in her cause for canonization is amazing. Through the intercession of St. Gianna, a Brazilian woman gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby girl even though she lost all her amniotic fluid 16 weeks into the pregnancy.
On the web:
O God, Creator and lover of mankind, You were close to Saint Gianna when, affected by illness, she was in the painful dilemma of choosing between her own life and the life of the child whom she was carrying in herself, a gift long-awaited. Trusting You alone, and aware of Your Commandment to respect human life, Gianna found the courage to do her duty as a mother and to say "yes" to the new life of her baby, generously sacrificing her own. Through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Jesus, and after the example of Gianna, inspire all mothers to welcome with love the sparkle of new life. Grant us the grace we are praying for mothers everywhere and the joy to find an inspiration in Saint Gianna who, as a model spouse and mother, after the example of Christ, gave up her life for the life of others.
St. Gianna, pray for us!
