The Most Holy Name of Mary

The Most Holy Name of Mary
September 12
Optional Memorial

MASS

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON          Cf. Jdt 13: 18-19
Benedicta es tu, Virgo Maria, a Domino Deo excelso prae omnibus mulieribus super terram; quia nomen tuum it magnificavit, ut non recedat laus tua de ore hominum.
Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary, by the Lord God Most High,
above all women on the earth;
for he has so exalted your name,
that your praise shall be undying on our lips.

COLLECT
Concede, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus, ut cunctis gloriosum beatae Mariae Virginis nomen celebrantibus misericordiae tuae beneficia ipsa procuret.
Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that, for all who celebrate the glorious Name
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
she may obtain your merciful favor.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Readings from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or:

FIRST READING (1st Option)           Galatians 4:4-7
Brothers and sisters:
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an heir, through God.

FIRST READING (2nd Option)           Ephesians 1:3-6
Brothers and sisters:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.

In him we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM          Luke 1:46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55

R./ The Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. or:
R./ O blessed Virgin Mary, you carried the Son of the eternal Father.
"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."
R./
"For he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
holy is his Name."
R./
"He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit."
R./
"He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty."
R./
"He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever."
R./

ALLELUIA          Cf Luke 1:45
Beata es, Virgo Maria, quae credidisti quoniam perficientur ea quae dicta sunt tibi a Domino..
Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary, who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.

GOSPEL           Luke 1:39-47
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."

And Mary said:

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior."

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Intercessio, quaesumus, Domine, beatae Mariae semper Virginis munera nostra commendet, nosque in eius nominis veneratione tuae maiestati reddat acceptos.
May the intercession of the Blessed Mary ever-Virgin
commend our offerings
we pray, O Lord,
and may it make us acceptable to your majesty
as we revere and venerate her Name.
Through Christ our Lord.

PREFACE I OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
PREFACE II OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Cf. Lk 1:48
Beatam me dicent omnes generationes, quia ancillam humilem respexit Deus.
All generations will call me blessed,
for God has looked on his lowly handmaid.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Benedictionis tuae, Domine, intercedente Dei Genetrice Maria, gratiam consequamur, ut, cuius venerandum nomen celebramus, eius in omnibus necessitatibus auxilium percipiamus.
May we obtain the grace of your blessing, O Lord,
through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God,
that from her, whose holy Name we venerate,
we may obtain help in our every need.
Through Christ our Lord.

Liturgy of the Hours
Most Holy Name of Mary

SECOND READING

From the homilies of St Bernard of Clairvaux on the glories of the Virgin Mother

Think of Mary and invoke her in all situations

“And the Virgin’s name was Mary”. Let us speak a little about this name, which is said to mean “star of the sea,” and which so well befits the Virgin Mother. Rightly is she likened to a star. As a star emits a ray without being dimmed, so the Virgin brought forth her Son without receiving any injury. The ray takes naught from the brightness of the star, nor the Son from His Mother’s virginal integrity. This is the noble star risen out of Jacob, whose ray illumines the whole world, whose splendour shines in the heavens, penetrates the abyss, and, traversing the whole earth, gives warmth rather to souls than to bodies, cherishing virtues, withering vices. Mary is that bright and incomparable star, whom we need to see raised above this vast sea, shining by her merits, and giving us light by her example.

All of you, who see yourselves amid the tides of the world, tossed by storms and tempests rather than walking on the land, do not turn your eyes away from this shining star, unless you want to be overwhelmed by the hurricane. If temptation storms, or you fall upon the rocks of tribulation, look to the star: call upon Mary! If you are tossed by the waves of pride or ambition, detraction or envy, look to the star, call upon Mary. If anger or avarice or the desires of the flesh dash against the ship of your soul, turn your eyes to Mary. If troubled by the enormity of your crimes, ashamed of your guilty conscience, terrified by dread of the judgement, you begin to sink into the gulf of sadness or the abyss of despair, think of Mary.

In dangers, in anguish, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let her name be ever on your lips, ever in your heart; and the better to obtain the help of her prayers, imitate the example of her life. Following her, you do not stray; invoking her, you do not despair; thinking of her, you do not wander; upheld by her, you do not fall; shielded by her, you do not fear; guided by her, you do not grow weary; favoured by her, you reach the goal. And thus you experience in yourself how good is that saying: “And the Virgin’s name was Mary”.

RESPONSORY Cf. Sirach 24:27-28; Lk 1:27
My teaching is sweeter than honey,
my inheritance sweeter than honeycomb.
- And the virgin’s name was Mary.
The memory of me lasts through the generations.
- And the virgin’s name was Mary.

COLLECT
Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that, for all who celebrate the glorious Name
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
she may obtain your merciful favor.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

The English translation of Psalm Responses, Alleluia Verses, Gospel Verses from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL); the English translation of Antiphons, Invitatories, Responsories, Intercessions, Psalm 95, the Canticle of the Lamb, Psalm Prayers, Non-Biblical Readings from The Liturgy of the Hours © 1973, 1974, 1975, ICEL; excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, ICEL. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

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