Week 4, Day 3
Daily Prayer
Hail Holy Queen
Hail Holy Queen,
Mother of mercy,
Our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping
In this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
Thine eyes of mercy towards us.
And after this, our exile,
Show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement O loving O sweet Virgin Mary.
V. Pray for us O holy mother of God.
(This line is read by one person when the Hail Holy Queen is being recited in a group setting.)
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
(This line is the response given by the group.)
Mary, Queen of Heaven
Scripture Reading from Psalm 45:8-15 – Leave behind your family and all that you love and go to the Lord
What is cassia? A spice made from the bark of East Asian trees related to “true cinnamon.”
Duc in Altum! – “Put out into the Deep!”
It is hard to imagine the glory that Mary entered into after her Assumption into Heaven, but we can catch a brief view of it in our faith and hope. Mary, assumed into Heaven, lives now with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in perfect love. Mary shows and shares with us this perfect love among the Persons of the Holy Trinity. This is the life we are all called to be a part of, and, God willing, one day we will be in Heaven too!
What does it mean to love as God loves? – It means to love no matter what, to will only what is the best for the other person and not what we may selfishly want.
Mary is our Mother too (We have the same mother as Jesus!), she loves us just as much as she loves her son, Jesus. Now that may be hard to understand, but it is true. As a good mother, she loves us, encourages us, and leads us closer to God. What is our response to this great love? St. John Paul II told us to put out into the deep, which in Latin is “Duc in Altum!” (Luke 5:4). Mary knows how difficult it is for us to leave ourselves behind and trust God so completely, but she made that choice and encourages us to do so too. Our Mother will help us to have the courage to follow God into the deep – into ever deeper love, faith, and hope in God.
How can we go deeper into Love, Faith, and Hope? Some specific ways are spending more time in prayer, serving the poor more often, and adjusting our priorities and putting God first. Always trust that God will provide for your needs, even when you can’t see how it is possible. Always be joy-filled and share that joy with the people you know. No one enjoys being around a grumpy Christian!
We meet people on a regular basis who find no joy in their Christian faith. They go to church, they pray, but there is no zeal (or excitement) in them about their faith. It is just something they do, not something they are. We need to pray for these people, and as best we can, encourage them to live their Christian faith fully. Perhaps, by our joyful, fully alive Christian faith, we will inspire them to come alive once again and regain that original faith, hope, and love that they once had for God.
How do we keep ourselves spiritually alive? Always go deeper. Never be satisfied with where you are in your faith life. There is always more to learn about God.
How do you know when your spiritual life is dying? Have good relationships with other Christians and ask them to let you know when they see your faith growing cold.
Daily Pious Practice Reminder
- This week strive to let the Light of Christ shine in our world by evangelizing others.
Closing Prayer
Holy God, our Father, all of our hope is in you. In Mary and together with her, you allow us to share some of the unity you enjoy with your beloved Son and your Holy Spirit. Mary, you are our mother, and you have been given to us. You are close to us, and ask us to go ever further in love, faith, and hope, without stopping. Strengthen us by your motherly presence, and so push on, further and higher into the depths of God’s mystery. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Put Out Into the Deep
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