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| Mary's Mantle Covering Dominicans (in Choir Loft at Holy Name of Jesus in Fishtown, PA) |
TO THE MOST BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
O most blessed and sweet Virgin Mary,
Mother of God, filled with all tenderness,
Daughter of the most high King,
Lady of the angels,
Mother of all the faithful,
On this day and all the days of my life,
I entrust to your merciful heart
my body and my soul,
all my acts, thoughts, choices,
desires, words, deeds,
my entire life and death,
So that, with your assistance,
all may be ordered to the good
according to the will of your beloved Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Be to me,
my most holy Lady,
a comforter
and an ally against the stratagems
and traps of the ancient enemy
and of all those
who harbor ill intentions against me.
From your Beloved Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
request for me
the grace to resist firmly
the temptations
of the world, the flesh, and the devil,
and a constant resolve
to sin no more
and to persevere in your service
and the service of your beloved Son.
My most holy Lady,
I also beseech you to obtain for me
true obedience and true humility of heart
So that I may recognize myself truly
as a sinner--wretched and weak--
and powerless,
without the grace and help of my Creator
and without your holy prayers,
to do any kind of good work
or even to resist
the unrelenting assaults of evil.
Procure for me also,
O my most sweet Lady,
perpetual purity of mind and body,
so that with a pure heart and chaste body
I may be strengthened
to serve you and your beloved Son
through the Dominican Order.
From Him,
obtain for me a spirit of poverty
willingly accepted
with patience and tranquility of mind,
so that I will have the strength
to sustain the labors of this Order
and to work for my own salvation
and that of my neighbors.
Obtain for me as well,
O most sweet Lady,
true charity with which
from the depths of my heart
I may love
your most holy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
and, after Him,
love you above all other things,
and love my neighbor
in God and because of God.
Thereby may I
rejoice in his goodness,
sorrow over his evils,
despise no one,
never judge rashly,
and never in my heart exalt myself over anyone.
Grant, O Queen of Heaven,
that ever in my heart
I may have fear and love alike
for your most sweet Son;
That I may always give thanks
for the many blessings bestowed upon me
not for my merits
but by His kindness;
And that I may ever
make a pure and sincere confession
and do true penance for my sins,
in order that I might deserve
to obtain His mercy and grace.
I pray also that, at the end of my life,
you,
Mother without compare,
Gate of Heaven,
and Advocate of sinners,
will not allow me, your unworthy servant,
to stray from the holy Catholic faith
But that you will
protect me with your great piety and mercy,
defend me from evil spirits,
and obtain for me,
through the blessed and glorious Passion of your Son
and through your own intercession,
received in hope,
the forgiveness of all my sins.
When I die in your love and His love,
may you direct me
into the way of salvation and blessedness.
Amen.
