Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church

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Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church

On the 11^th of February 2018, the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments inscribed a new obligatory Memorial, Mary, Mother of the Church. It was to be celebrated in the Roman Calendar on the first Monday after Pentecost.

At the close of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), Saint Pope Paul VI formally declared Mary as the “Mother of the Church,” and invited Catholics to invoke Mary’s help under that title. Pope Francis now decreed that a Memorial Mass be celebrated each year to invoke Mary under this title

“Mary, Mother of the Church”

In his decree Pope Francis  writes “She became the tender Mother of the Church which Christ begot on the cross, handing on the Spirit. Christ, in turn, in the beloved disciple, chose all disciples as ministers of his love towards his Mother, entrusting her to them so that they might welcome her with filial affection. This celebration will help us to remember that growth in the Christian life must be anchored to the Mystery of the Cross, to the oblation of Christ in the Eucharistic Banquet and to the Mother of the Redeemer and Mother of the Redeemed, the Virgin who makes her offering to God.”

Opening Prayer of the Memorial Mass

“O God, Father of mercies,
whose Only Begotten Son, as he hung upon the Cross,
chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, his Mother,
to be our Mother also,
grant, we pray, that with her loving help
your Church may be more fruitful day by day
and, exulting in the holiness of her children,
may draw to her embrace all the families of the peoples”
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you

 

 

 

 

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