O God, Father of mercies,
who placed your people under the singular protection
of your Son’s most holy Mother,
grant that all who invoke the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe
may seek with ever more lively faith
the progress of peoples in the ways of justice and of peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
- Collect, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
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| Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Basilica, Mexico City, 2003 |
Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Mystical Rose,
make intercession for holy Church,
protect the sovereign Pontiff,
help all those who invoke you in their necessities,
and since you are the ever Virgin Mary
and Mother of the true God,
obtain for us from your most holy Son
the grace of keeping our faith,
of sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life
of burning charity, and the precious gift
of final perseverance.
Mystical Rose,
make intercession for holy Church,
protect the sovereign Pontiff,
help all those who invoke you in their necessities,
and since you are the ever Virgin Mary
and Mother of the true God,
obtain for us from your most holy Son
the grace of keeping our faith,
of sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life
of burning charity, and the precious gift
of final perseverance.
Amen.
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| Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico City, 2003 |
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“Do not let anything afflict you and be not afraid of illness or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Are you not in the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else you need?”
- Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego
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| Offertory Procession at the 2008 WUCWO Latin America-Caribbean Regional Conference Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico City |
Our Blessed Mother Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, is a source of inspiration and strength to all those who trust in her maternal protection. She continues to play an important role in my life, and has done so even before I came to know her “personally” during visits to the Basilica dedicated to her in Mexico City where it was profoundly moving to see people, literally on their knees, approaching her image.
The woman who preceded me as President General of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations (WUCWO) passed on to me her great devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, whom she was sure was instrumental in her election at the WUCWO Assembly in Canberra, Australia in 1996. A decade later, as I was preparing to welcome to the USA the preparatory team for the 2006 Assembly, I was making prayer visits to some of my “favorite” chapels at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington , DC Australia to Mexico , from Paris to Rome , from New York to Washington , from Seattle to Harrisburg
“… I will give all my love, my compassion, my help and my protection to the people. I am your merciful mother, the merciful mother of all of you who live united in this land, and of all mankind, of all those who love me, of those who cry to me, of those who seek me, of those who have confidence in me. Here I will hear their weeping, their sorrow, and will remedy and alleviate all their multiple sufferings, necessities and misfortunes.”
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
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| Karen M. Hurley, President General, with an Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe at the Dedication of the WUCWO Office in Palazzo San Calisto, Rome, 2009 |
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Karen,
ReplyDeleteThank you again for a most beautiful inspirational article.
We will visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, WI http://www.guadalupeshrine.org when you come next year!
Peace,
Diane