Saturday of our Lady
Introit
Hail Holy Parent, who didst bring forth the King, who rules heaven and earth forever, alleluia, alleluia. Ps 44:2 My heart hath uttered a good word I speak my works to the king; My tongue is the pen of a scrivener that writeth swiftly. Glory be ... Hail Holy Parent, who didst bring forth the King, who rules heaven and earth forever, alleluia, alleluia.
Ave Maria, holy Mother and Parent of our great Lord and Saviour, King Jesus! Hail! It is the beginning of Mass and we greet her whom the angels greeted with the good news of the birth of the Messiah, the Christ, Son of the living God, second Person of the Most Holy Trinity. It is her Saturday, and we find ourselves called to worship by our holy Mother, the Church. We will utter many good words, because we have been taught them at our Mother's knee and we have learned and kept them in our heart so that we might meditate on these glorious mysteries. We speak them, sing them, offer them to our Lord the King.
Collect
Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord God, unto all thy servants, that they may remain continually in the enjoyment of soundness both of mind and body, and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, always a Virgin, may be delivered from present sadness, and enter into the joy of thine eternal gladness.
Our holy Mother, she who bore our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, helps us in our prayers and intercedes for us herself. This Collect reminds us that it is not selfish or wrong to pray for our health and well-being, and to ask the same for those we love. It is in the Canon of the Mass and is repeated here so that we might learn its importance. We need a firmness and strength in our bodies so that we might not grow wearing in well-doing, that we might not faint through fastings and prayers. We need a sound mind to grasp the difficult truths and hidden mysteries of our salvation. There is enough pain and confusion in this world to discourage and distract us from our first calling: the salvation of our souls. This prayer asks for sufficient health to ensure our dutiful preparation for the enjoyment of the Beatific vision.
Lesson
Lesson from the book of Ecclesiasticus
Sir 24:14-16
From the beginning, and before the world, was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling place I have ministered before him. And so was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem. And I took root in an honourable people, and in the portion of my God his inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints.
R. Thanks be to God.
From before the creation of the world! O noble creature of the most High God, immaculate, protected soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary, born in time to Anna and Joachim! She, full of grace and wisdom, became herself the holy dwelling place of our Lord. He took his flesh of the holy Virgin and He who was God did not despise the Virgin's womb. For her part in this great kenosis of our Lord, for her 'Yes' to all that was asked of her, all generations will call her 'Blessed' - as we do today, and as we will for all eternity. She whom we acknowledge as the Virgin of virgins ministered before Him in His own temple, His Body. Her abode is among the saints and her eternal inheritance exceeds all the holy ones who worship in that heavenly Jerusalem. There, the holy Mother of God takes her proper precedence.
Alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia Num 17:8 The rod of Jesse had blossomed, a virgin hath brought forth God and man: God hath restored peace, reconciling in himself the lowest with the highest, alleluia. Luke 1:28 Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Alleluia.
A Virgin, who remains a virgin, shall conceive nevertheless, and bear the Son of God. Against all expectations, Aaron's rod blossoms, as does Jesse's, the forefather of our Lord according to the flesh. She who is our true Tabernacle carries within her the Fruit who is our salvation, the God-Man, Jesus Christ. He is our peace who, being in the form of God humbled Himself and took flesh of The Blessed Virgin Mary, His holy Mother and His lowly handmaid.
Gospel
John 19:25-27
Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.
R. Praise be to Thee, O Christ.
Stabat Mater dolorosa, Juxta crucem lacrymosa, Dum pendebat Filius. We see her there at Calvary, the faithful witness to the crucifixion of her Son, our Lord. In the agony of that hour Mary his mother is there suffering the sword that pierces her own soul. She is there, supported by only one Apostle: John, for the others had fled in fear. But John's love, like our Lady's, is strong and it casts out fear. His love cannot be diminished by the possibility of his own arrest and martyrdom, and so he waits at the foot of the cross with Mary. Together they share in the mystery of faith, she the Mother who keeps all these things and ponders them in her heart and he the disciple whom Jesus loved who taught us in his Gospel how the Word became flesh. There, even at the foot of the cross, he would say, together with our Blessed Mother, 'We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.' Together, for Jesus binds them together as a last act of love. She is now made the Mother of John, of all disciples, and of us... and we, like John, her protectors and sharers with her in the divine mysteries. From this hour, let us take her again into our homes.
Offertory
Blessed art thou, O Virgin Mary, who didst bear the Creator of all things, thou didst bring forth who made thee, and remainest a virgin forever. Alleluia.
The creature, blessed forever, bore the Creator in her womb. He who created all things by the Word of his power and the Breath of his mouth, forms for Himself a body to dwell in, within a Virgin womb. This profound mystery is an article of Catholic Faith. We recite it in the Creed and at the Last Gospel in every Mass and with every recitation of our Lady's Rosary. It is our Lady's Saturday in the Easter season: Regina caeli laetare, alleluia: Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia, Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia: Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.
Secret
Through thy mercy, O Lord, at the intercession of blessed Mary, ever Virgin, let this offering obtain for us welfare and peace, both now and forever.
Welfare, that is, health and well-being, as is prayed in the Canon. Our welfare, that is, the salvation of our souls, as is prayed in the Canon. This is our peace. Rest for our weary bodies, freedom from all anxiety and from every evil. For this we pray to the Lord in this Mass, and ask the assistance of the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary on this her Saturday.
Preface
Blessed Virgin
It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God: and that we should praise and bless, and proclaim Thee, in the Feast of the Blessed Mary, ever-Virgin: Who also conceived Thine only-begotten Son by the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost, and the glory of her virginity still abiding, gave forth to the world the everlasting Light, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through whom the Angels praise Thy Majesty, the Dominations worship it, and the Powers stand in awe. The Heavens and the heavenly hosts together with the blessed Seraphim in triumphant chorus unite to celebrate it. Together with these we entreat Thee that Thou mayest bid our voices also to be admitted while we say with lowly praise: Holy, Holy, Holy...
Communion
Blessed is the womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of Eternal Father, alleluia.
Post Communion
Grant, O Lord, that we who have partaken of aids of salvation, may be everywhere defended by the intercession Blessed Mary ever Virgin, in whose honour we have offered these gifts to thy majesty.
How great is this 'aid' to our salvation! A gift to us that we give back to our Lord as an act of worship. It is our very lifeline to heaven and without the Sacrament of His Body and Blood we are nothing. We must be united to Him in His death, so as to partake in His glorious resurrection. She who has been assumed in to heaven and inspires hope to all her many children, she also protects the little ones entrusted to her maternal care.
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