Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Saturday
Morning
God, come to my assistanceLord, Make haste to help me. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
To the souls of Your servants, O Christ, grant rest among the saints, where there is no pain, no sorrow, no mourning, but only life without end.
O Lord, Maker of nature, the world offers You the godly martyrs as the first-fruits of nature. By their supplications, through the Mother of God, preserve Your Chruch and Your people in profound peace, O most Merciful One.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity. Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me. To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee: that thou mayst be justified in thy words, and mayst overcome when thou art judged. For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceive me. For behold thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me. Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice. Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels. Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit. I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted to thee. Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice. O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise. For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted. A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up. Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and whole burnt offerings: then shall they lay calves upon thy altar.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us. Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us. Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Glory to Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
It is truly right to bless you, O God-bearing One, as the ever-blessed and immaculate Mother of our God. More honorable than the cherubim and by far more glorious than the seraphim; ever a virgin, you gave birth to God the Word, O true Mother of God, we magnify you.
God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me.
I have sinned without number, forgive me, O Lord.
Hail, holy Queen of the Heavens. Hail, holy Queen of the Angels. Hail, Root of Jesse. Hail, Gate of Heaven. By you the Light has entered the world. Rejoice, glorious Virgin, Beautiful among all women. Hail, radiant Splendor, Intercede with Christ for us.
Holy Mary, my Queen and sovereign Lady, I give you myself, trusting in your fidelity and your protection. I surrender myself entirely to your motherly tenderness, my body, my soul, all that I am, all that I possess, for the whole of this day, for every moment of my life, and especially at the hour of my death. I entrust to you once more all my hopes, all my consolations, all my anxieties, all my troubles, my life, my dying breath, so that by your prayers and merits, I may have, in all I do, one only goal, your good pleasure and the holy will of your Son.
Blessed are you, O Mary, for the world's salvation come forth through you; now in glory, you rejoice for ever with the Lord.
It is good to give praise to the Lord: and sing to thy name, O most High. To shew forth thy mercy in the morning, and thy truth in the night: Upon an instrument of ten strings, upon the psaltery: with a canticle upon the harp. For thou hast given me, O Lord, a delight in thy doings: and in the works of thy hands I shall rejoice. O Lord, how great are thy works! thy thoughts are exceeding deep. The senseless man shall not know: nor will the fool understand these things. When the wicked shall spring up as grass: and all the workers of iniquity shall appear: That they may perish for ever and ever: but thou, O Lord, art most high for evermore. For behold thy enemies, O Lord, for behold thy enemies shall perish: and all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. But my horn shall be exalted like that of the unicorn: and my old age in plentiful mercy. My eye also hath looked down upon my enemies: and my ear shall hear of the downfall of the malignant that rise up against me. The just shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow up like the cedar of Libanus. They that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God. They shall still increase in a fruitful old age: and shall be well treated, that they may shew, That the Lord our God is righteous, and there is no iniquity in him.
The Virgin Mary is exalted above the choirs of angels; let all believers rejoice and bless the Lord.
For I will take you from among the Gentiles, and will gather you together out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. And I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness, and I will cleanse you from all your idols. And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in the midst of you: and I will cause you to walk in my commandments, and to keep my judgments, and do them. And you shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
The Lord has made you so glorious that your praise will never cease to resound among men.
O Lord our Lord, how admirable is thy name in the whole earth! For thy magnificence is elevated above the heavens. Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected praise, because of thy enemies, that thou mayst destroy the enemy and the avenger. For I will behold thy heavens, the works of thy fingers: the moon and the stars which thou hast founded. What is man that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him? Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour: and hast set him over the works of thy hands. Thou hast subjected all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen: moreover the beasts also of the fields. The birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea, that pass through the paths of the sea. O Lord our Lord, how admirable is thy name in all the earth!
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God: for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation: and with the robe of justice he hath covered me, as a bridegroom decked with a crown, and as a bride adorned with her jewels.
And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
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.
Today the glorious, ever- virgin Mary ascends to heaven. I urge you to rejoice, for, if I may so put it, she has been raised up in an ineffable way to be with Christ who reigns for ever. The Queen of the world is today taken from the earth and from this present evil time. I say again: rejoice, because she who is sure of her imperishable glory has reached the palace of heaven. Exalt, I say, and rejoice, and let the whole world rejoice, because this day Salvation has drawn nearer for as all... "Hail, Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women." It was fitting that the Virgin should be given such gifts and be full of grace, since she has bestowed glory on heaven and has brought God and peace to the earth, faith to pagans, an end to vice, order to life, and discipline to morals. And it was right that an angel be sent to the Virgin, because virginity always means kingship with the angels... "Rejoice," the angel says, "for you are full of grace." Yes, full! for while a share of grace was given to others, the undiminished fullness of grace was poured into Mary.
The Virgin Mary was taken up to heaven. For all eternity she shares the victory of Christ. The Virgin Mary was taken up to heavenGlory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. The Virgin Mary was taken up to heaven.
This daughter of Jerusalem is lovely and beautiful as she ascends to heaven like the rising sun at daybreak.
Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just: let the earth be opened and bud forth a Savior. Lord, Thou hast blessed Thy land: Thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people: And hath raised up an horn of salvation to us, in the house of David his servant: As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning: Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us: To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy testament, The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us, That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear, in holiness and justice before him, all our days. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways: To give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins: through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us: To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
All-powerful and ever-living God, you raised the sinless Virgin Mary, mother of your Son, body and soul to the glory of heaven. May we see heaven as our final goal and come to share her glory. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
Evening
God, come to my assistanceLord, make haste to help me. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
The Lord is reigning, He is clothed with beauty. The Lord is clothed with power, and has girded Himself. For He has so firmly established the earth that it will not be overthrown. Holiness becomes Thy house, O Lord, forever.
My Lady, my refuge, life and help, my armor and my boast, my hope and my strength, grant that I may enjoy the ineffable, inconceivable gifts of your Son, your God and our God, in the heavenly kingdom. For I know surely that you have power to do as you will, since you are Mother of the Most High. Therefore, Lady Most Pure, I beg you that I may not be disappointed in my expectations but may obtain them, O spouse of God, who bore him who is the expectation of all: Our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and Master of all things, visible and invisible, to whom belongs all glory, honor, and respect, now and always and through endless ages. Amen.
Mary has been taken up to heaven; the angels rejoice. They bless the Lord and sing his praises.
I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house of the Lord. Our feet were standing in thy courts, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem, which is built as a city, which is compact together. For thither did the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord: the testimony of Israel, to praise the name of the Lord. Because their seats have sat in judgment, seats upon the house of David. Pray ye for the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem: and abundance for them that love thee. Let peace be in thy strength: and abundance in thy towers. For the sake of my brethren, and of my neighbors, I spoke peace of thee. Because of the house of the Lord our God, I have sought good things for thee.
Through Eve the gates of heaven were closed to all mankind: through the Virgin Mother they were opened wide again.
Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord: Lord hear my voice. Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it. For with thee is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord. My soul hath relied on his word: my soul hath hoped in the Lord. From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord. Because with the Lord there is mercy: and with him plentiful redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
The Virgin Mary has been exalted above all the heavens; come, let all men glorify Christ the King, whose kingdom will endure for ever.
For let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in the habit found as a man. He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross. For which cause God also hath exalted him, and hath given him a name which is above all names: That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth: and that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.
Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned. For until the law sin was in the world; but sin was not imputed, when the law was not. But death reigned from Adam unto Moses, even over them also who have not sinned after the similitude of the transgression of Adam, who is a figure of him who was to come. But not as the offence, so also the gift. For if by the offence of one, many died; much more the grace of God, and the gift, by the grace of one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one sin, so also is the gift. For judgment indeed was by one unto condemnation; but grace is of many offenses, unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned through one; much more they who receive abundance of grace, and of the gift, and of justice, shall reign in life through one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offence of one, unto all men to condemnation; so also by the justice of one, unto all men to justification of life. For as by the disobedience of one man, many were made sinners; so also by the obedience of one, many shall be just. Now the law entered in, that sin might abound. And where sin abounded, grace did more abound. That as sin hath reigned to death; so also grace might reign by justice unto life everlasting, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Truly, yes truly, and again I shall say in thanksgiving: even though you have left us, you have not deserted the Christian race. You who are like incorruptible life have not abandoned our mortal world, but on the contrary you draw near to those who call upon your name. You are found by those who faithfully seek you. And these visions indicate a living and continually active spirit and an everlasting body. For how could dissolution of the body return you to dust and ashes, you who delivered the human race from the destruction of death through the incarnation of your Son?
Indeed you left our earth to prove that the mystery of the awe- inspiring incarnation was really fulfilled. The fact that you waited for the natural end of human life would convince the world that the God who was born of you came into being also as perfect man, the Son of a true Mother, who was subject to the laws and constraints of nature, by divine decree and the requirement of an earthly lifetime. As one who possessed a human body you could not escape death, the common fate of humanity.
Thus even your Son, though God of all things, even he, through sharing, so to speak, the mortality of all our race, TASTED a similar bodily DEATH. It was clearly in the same way as he made his own life- giving tomb that he made your sepulcher wonderful also, as the tomb of your falling asleep, a tomb which received life; therefore both tombs really received your bodies, but could in no way affect them with corruption. For nor could you, as the vessel which contained God, waste away to dust in the destruction of death.
For since he who humbled himself in you was God from beginning and eternal life, so the Mother of Life was to share the dwelling of Life, to accept her death like a sleep and consent to her translation like a waking, as the Mother of Life. For just as a child seeks and longs for its own mother, and the mother loves to spend her time with her child, so it was right that you, with your maternal love for your Son and God, should return to him. And it was right too that God, preserving a Son's love for you, should make his companionship with you into a perpetual association.
In this way, then, you suffered the death of finite beings and the translation to the immortal way of life of eternal beings where God dwells; and because you are his companion, Mother of God, you do not abandon your life with him.
The august Mother of God was mysteriously united from all eternity with Jesus Christ in one and the same decree of predestination, immaculate in her conception, a virgin inviolate in her divine motherhood, the whole hearted companion of the divine Redeemer who won complete victory over sin and its consequences.
Thus, she gained at last the supreme crown of her privileges--to be preserved immune from the corruption of the tomb, and like her Son, when death had been conquered, to be carried up body and soul to the exalted glory of heaven, there to sit in splendor at the right hand of her Son, the immortal King of the ages.
The Virgin Mary is exalted above the choirs of angelsBlessed is the Lord who has raised her up. Above the choirs of the angels. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. The Virgin Mary is exalted above the choirs of angels.
As Mary is taken up to heaven, the angels of God rejoiceThey worship the Lord and sing his praises. The angels of God rejoice. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. As Mary is taken up to heaven, the angels of God rejoice.
Today the Virgin Mary was taken up to heaven; rejoice, for she reigns with Christ for ever.
O my most holy Mother. I see the graces which thou hast obtained for me; and I see the ingratitude of which I have been guilty towards thee. An ungreatful soul is no longer worthy of favors; but I will not on this account distrust thy mercy, which is greater than my ingratitude. O my great advocate, pity me. Thou dispensest all the graces which God grants to us miserable creatures, and for this purpose he has made thee so powerful, so rich, and so benign. He hath done so, that thou mightest succor us in our miseries. Ah, Mother of mercy, leave me not in my poverty. Thou art the advocate of the most miserable and guilty criminals who have recourse to thee; defend me also, who recommend myself to thee. Say not that my cause is too difficult to be gained; for all causes, however desperate, when defended by thee are gained. In thy hands, then, do I place my eternal salvation; to thee do I intrust my soul: it was lost; thou, then, by thy intercession hast to save it. I wish to be inscribed amongst thy most devoted servants; reject me not. Thou seekest the miserable to relieve them; abandon me not, who am a wretched sinner, and who have recourse to thee. Speak for me; thy Son does all that thou askest him. Take me under thy protection; that is all that I ask. Yes; for if thou protectest me, I fear nothing. I do not fear my sins; for thou wilt obtain me a remedy for the evil they have done me. I do not fear the devils; for thou art more powerful than all hell. I do not even fear Jesus my Judge himself; for by a single prayer of thine he is appeased. I only fear that by my negligence I may cease to recommend myself to thee, and thus be lost. It is true that these graces are too great for me, who have not deserved them; but they are not too great for thee, who art so much loved by God. Hence he grants thee all that thou askest. Thou hast only to speak, and he denies thee nothing. Pray, then, to Jesus for me; tell him that thou protectest me; and then he is sure to pity me. My Mother, in thee too I do trust; in this hope I shall live in peace, and in it I wish to die.
Live Jesus our love, and Mary our hope!
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.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Mary, full of grace, intercede for us.
All-powerful and ever-living God, you raised the sinless Virgin Mary, mother of your Son, body and soul to the glory of heaven. May we see heaven as our final goal and come to share her glory. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Eternal and incarnate Wisdom, most lovable and adorable Jesus, true God and true man, only Son of the eternal Father and of Mary always Virgin, I adore you profoundly, dwelling in the splendor of our Father from all eternity and in the virginal womb of Mary, your most worthy Mother, at the time of your Incarnation.
I thank you for having emptied yourself in assuming the condition of a slave to set me free from the cruel slavery of the evil one.
I praise and glorify you for having willingly chosen to obey Mary, your holy Mother, in all things, so that through her I may be your faithful slave of love.
But I must confess that I have not kept the vows and promises which I made to you so solemnly at my baptism. I have not fulfilled my obligations, and I do not deserve to be called or child or even your slave.
Since I cannot lay claim to anything except what merits your rejection and displeasure, I dare no longer approach the holiness of your majesty on my own. That is why I turn to the intercession and the mercy of your holy Mother, whom you yourself have given me to mediate with you. Through her I hope to obtain from you contrition and pardon for my sins, and that Wisdom whom I desire to dwell in me always.
I turn to you, then, Mary immaculate, living tabernacle of God, in whom Eternal Wisdom willed to receive the adoration of both men and angels.
I greet you as Queen of heaven and earth, for all that is under God has been made subject to your sovereignty.
I call upon you, the unfailing refuge of sinners, confident in your mercy that has never forsaken anyone.
Grant my desire for divine Wisdom and, in support of my petition, accept the promises and the offering of myself which I now make, conscious of my unworthiness.
I, an unfaithful sinner, renew and ratify today through you my baptismal promises. I renounce forever Satan, his empty promises, and his evil designs, and I give myself completely to Jesus Christ, the incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after him for the rest of my life, and to be more faithful to him than I have been till now.
This day, with the whole court of heaven as witness, I choose you, Mary, as my Mother and Queen. I surrender and consecrate myself to you, body and soul, as your slave, with all that I possess, both spiritual and material, even including the value of all my good actions, past, present and to come. I give you the full right to dispose of me and all that belongs to me, without any reservations, in whatever way you please, for the greater glory of God in time and throughout eternity.
Accept, gracious Virgin, this little offering of my slavery to honor and imitate the obedience which Eternal Wisdom willing chose to have towards you, his Mother. I wish to acknowledge the authority which both of you have over this little worm and pitiful sinner. By it I wish also to thank God for the privileges bestowed on you by the Blessed Trinity. I declare that for the future I will try to honor and obey you in all things as your true slave of love.
O admirable Mother, present me to your dear Son as his slave now and for always, so that he who redeemed me thorough you, will now receive me through you.
Mother of mercy, grant me the favor of obtaining the true Wisdom of God, and so make me one of those whom you love, teach and guide, whom you nourish and protect as your children and slaves.
Virgin most faithful, make me in everything so committed a disciple, imitator, and slave of Jesus, your Son, incarnate Wisdom, that I may become, through your intercession and example, fully mature with the fullness which Jesus possessed on earth, and with the fullness of his glory in heaven.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
