Vergine Benedicta

(PRAYER OF POPE PIUS XII)

Blessed Virgin who, under the title of Repose,
reminds us of the succoring pity
with which your maternal heart is open to your children,
hear our prayer!

Through your powerful intercession, O Mary,
may minds and hearts find repose in abandoning themselves
to the Will of the Heavenly Father,
in the consciousness of their frailty,
in faith in divine promises,
in the hope of eternal blessings,
and in adhering lovingly to your Crucified Jesus
who has made our crosses his own.

If we are protected by you, O Mary,
calm amid earthly perturbation will not be an empty word.
It will be repose for the strong,
watchful against hostile forces;
repose for the pure,
away from worldly corruption.
And as through you we shall have had peace in this life,
so, at the end of our pilgrimage in time,
we shall enjoy peace for ever and ever.

Amen.

Bend Tenderly Over Our Wounds - Prayer Of Pope Pius XII

Enraptured by the splendor of your heavenly beauty,
and impelled by the anxieties of the world,
we cast ourselves into your arms,
O Immaculate Mother of Jesus and our Mother, Mary,
confident of finding in your most loving heart
appeasement of our ardent desires,
and a safe harbour from the tempests
which beset us on every side.

Though degraded by our faults
and overwhelmed by infinite misery,
we admire and praise the peerless richness
of the sublime gifts with which God has filled you,
above every other mere creature,
from the first moment of your conception
until the day on which,
after your assumption into heaven,
he crowned you Queen of the Universe.

O crystal Fountain of Faith,
bathe our minds with the eternal truths!
O fragrant Lily of All Holiness,
captivate our hearts with your heavenly perfume!
O Conqueress of Evil and Death,
inspire in us a deep horror of sin,
which makes the soul detestable to God
and a slave of hell!

O well-beloved of God,
hear the ardent cry
which rises up from every heart.
Bend tenderly over our aching wounds.
Convert the wicked,
dry the tears of the afflicted and oppressed,
comfort the poor and humble,
quench hatreds, sweeten hardness,
safeguard the flower of purity in youth,
protect the holy church,
make all men feel the attractions of Christian goodness.
In your name,
resounding harmoniously in heaven,
may they recognize that they are brothers,
and that the nations are members of one family,
upon which may there shine forth the sun
of a universal and sincere peace.

Receive, O most sweet Mother,
our humble supplications,
and above all obtain for us that,
one day, happy with you,
we may repeat before your throne that hymn
which today is sung on earth around your altars:
You are all-beautiful, O Mary!
You are the glory,
your are the joy,
your are the honor of our people!

Amen.

Consecration of the Sick to Mary

(PRAYER OF POPE PIUS XII)

O kind and good Mother,
whose own soul was pierced by the sword of sorrow,
look upon us while,
in our sickness,
we arraign ourselves beside you
on the Calvary where your Jesus hangs.

Dowered with the high grace of suffering,
and hopeful of fulfilling in our own flesh
what is wanting in our sharing of Christ's passion,
on behalf of his Mystical Body, the Church,
we consecrate to you ourselves and our pain.
We pray that you will place them
on that Altar of the Cross to which Jesus is affixed.
May they be little victims of propitiation for our salvation,
for the salvation of all peoples.

O Mother of Sorrows,
accept this consecration.
Strengthen our hopeful hearts,
that as partakers of Christ's sufferings
we may also share in his comfort now and for evermore.

Amen.

O Full Of Grace

By Pope Pius XII

O Mary, "full of grace and blessed among women," stretch out the hand of your motherly protection, we ask you, upon us who gather round your queenly throne as your handmaidens, obedient to your command and resolved with your help to bring to realization in ourselves and our sisters the ideals of truth and Christian perfection.

Our eyes are fixed on you in admiration, immaculate Virgin; you who are loved by the Heavenly Father above all others!

O Virgin Spouse of the Holy Spirit!

Tender Mother of Jesus!

Obtain for us from your Divine Son the grace to reflect your sublime virtues in our conduct, according to our age and condition of life.

Grant that we may be spotless and pure in our thoughts and in our behavior; gentle, affectionate, and sympathetic companions to our husbands; to our children solicitous, vigilant and wise mothers; prudent administrators of our homes; exemplary citizens of our dear country; faithful daughters of the Church, ever ready to allow ourselves to be guided by her in thought and deed.

Help us, loving Mother, to be truly devoted to the duties of our state of life; help us make our homes true centers of spiritual life and active charity, schools where consciences will be rightly formed, gardens where every virtue will flourish.

Give us your help that in social and political life we may be patterns of deep faith, of consistent and gracious Christian practice, of incorruptible integrity, and of well-balance judgment based upon the solid principles of religion.

Bless these our resolutions which you have inspired us to make and the trials you have helped us to bear; may we with your aid come to see their abundant fruits in time and in eternity.

Amen.

Prayer To Our Lady of Rest

By Pope Pius XII

Hear, O Blessed Virgin, the prayers which we address you, Our Lady of Rest, as we are mindful of that maternal love in which you receive your children.

It is by your powerful intercession, O Mary, that our hearts and minds find rest.

We know well our own weakness; but we trust in the everlasting promises, and we hope for eternal happiness as we cling to the crucified Jesus, who has made His cross to be ours as well.

O Mary, under your patronage we find peace in the midst of earthly tribulation.

You are the quiet certainty of the strong soul, ever on guard against the enemy.

You are the sanctuary of the pure who remain unstained by earth's corruption.

And just as, with you, we find peace during the present life, so shall we find with you, when the days of our pilgrimage are over, everlasting peace in the world to come.

Amen.

Obedient To The Invitation

By Pope Pius XII

Obedient to the invitation given in your own maternal words, O Virgin Immaculate of Lourdes, we hurry to your feet at the humble grotto, where you appeared to point out the way of prayer and penance to those gone astray and to dispense the graces and wonders of your supreme goodness to the sick.

O gracious Queen, accept the homage and the prayers that the peoples and the nations, caught in bitter straits, trustingly raise to you.

O resplendent vision of Paradise, dispel from our minds the darkness of error by the light of faith!

O mystical garden of roses, comfort the broken hearts of people with the heavenly perfume of hope!

O inexhaustible fountain of saving waters, refresh with the floods of divine charity the hearts that are dry.

Grant that we, your children, may be consoled in our sorrows, protected in danger, and sustained in our struggles!

May we love and serve your dear Son Jesus in such a way that we may deserve eternal joy before your throne in heaven above.

Amen.