The Virgin
Mother! whose virgin bosom was uncrost
With the least shade of thought to sin allied;
Woman! above all women glorified,
Our tainted nature’s solitary boast;
Purer than foam on central ocean tost;
Brighter than eastern skies at daybreak strewn
With fancied roses, than the unblemished moon
Before her wane begins on heaven’s blue coast;
Thy Image falls to earth.
Yet some, I ween,
Not unforgiven the suppliant knee might bend,
As to a visible Power, in which did blend
All that was mixed and reconciled in Thee
Of mother’s love with maiden purity,
Of high with low, celestial with terrene!
William Wordsworth
“And the virgin’s name was Mary” (Lk 1:27). Let us also say a few words about this name, which means “star of the sea” and is most suitably fitting for a virgin mother. For she is most appropriately compared to a star, because, just as a star emits its rays without being corrupted, so the Virgin gave birth to her Son without any injury to her virginity. When the star emits its rays, this does not make it less bright, and neither does the Son diminish his Mother’s virginal integrity. She, therefore, is that noble star risen from Jacob, whose ray gives light to the whole world, whose brightness both shines forth in the heavens and penetrates the depths. It lights up the earth and warms the spirit more than the body; it fosters virtues and dries up vices. Mary, I say, is the distinguished and bright shining star, necessarily lifted up above this great broad sea, gleaming with merits, giving light by her example.
Oh, if any of you recognizes that he is caught between storms and tempests, tossed about in the flood of this world, instead of walking on dry land, keep your eyes fixed on the glow of this star, unless you want to perish, overwhelmed by the tempest!
If the winds of temptations surge, if you run aground on the shoals of troubles, look to this star, call upon Mary!
If you are tossed by the winds of pride or ambition or detraction or jealousy, look to this star, call upon Mary!
If anger or greed or the allurements of the flesh dash against the boat of your mind, look to Mary!
And if you are troubled by the enormity of your sins, confused by the foulness of your conscience, terrified by the horror of the Judgment, so that you begin to be swallowed up by the pit of sadness, the abyss of despair, think of Mary!
In dangers, in straits, in perplexity, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let her name be always in your mouth and in your heart, and, if you would ask for and obtain the help of her prayers, do not forget the example of how she lived.
If you follow her, you will not go astray. If you pray to her, you will not despair. If you think of her, you will not be lost. If you cling to her, you will not fall. If she protects you, you will not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is favorable to you, you will reach your goal. Thus you will experience personally how rightly it was spoken: “And the Virgin’s name was Mary.”
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
Excellent!
In a sense Her birthday is ours as well. Her Annunciation, yes to God, is another birthday of sorts.
For she, a humble little girl of 15 or so, has taken on the beast and with her Child secured freedom from death for countless children of hers.
Can you imagine the fury of Satan, beaten by the innocence of a young virgin.
Hail Mary and a Blessed birthday.
– a knight of the Immaculata.
Great post Don.
It is good to be reminded of the beauty of many of the hymns in Latin that we have discarded. I used to sing this hymn back in the late 1950’s when I was in the choir at my alma mater, Sacred heart College in Auckland, and the odd occasion in the decade following. But since then we have dumped much of the beauty that was “the Church” back in those days. WHY ???
(Hit the wrong button 🙁 )
We need to re-discover and reclaim this beauty – both in music and in art. Thank you for the constant reminders with these posts, that re-enliven our vigour in Faith, so that we too can act to help the revival of the artistic beauty which really does give us a glimpse of the wonder and beauty of our God.
Saint Anne and Joachim must have been the most faithful of parents to be blessed with the Virgin Mary, immaculate from the first moment of her conception. The Virginity of the Blessed Mother will crush the head of Satan.
It is thought to be a similar “miracle” conception not unlike that of Sarah and Abraham’s….and Elizabeth and Zachariah’s. Elder first time parents.
Again. With God all things are possible.
“‘And the virgin’s name was Mary’ (Lk 1:27). Let us also say a few words about this name, which means ‘star of the sea’ and is most suitably fitting for a virgin mother.”
The name Mary does not mean “Star of the Sea” (Stella Maris in lingua Latina). While I did copy the following from Wikipedia, research at other sources on line seems to verify that stilla maris (Drop of the Sea) underwent a scribal typographical error to become Stella Maris (Star of the Sea). The Hebrew for Mary is Miriam and means variously bitter (from myrrh), rebellion, and sea drop (e.g., tear drop because tears are salty like sea water). For example: rebellion –> bitter –> bitter taste –> salty tears –> sea drop.
Now none of this means that the Blessed Virgin Mary is NOT Star of the Sea. But name etymology is one thing, and role in salvation history is another.
STRONG’S MARIA
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3137/kjv/tr/0-1/
STRONG’S MARIAM
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h4813/kjv/wlc/0-1/
ETYMOLOGY ON-LINE MARY
https://www.etymonline.com/word/Mary
WIKIPEDIA:
The name may have originated from the Egyptian language; it is likely derivative of the root mr, meaning “love; beloved” (compare mry.t-ymn, “Merit-Amun”, i.e. “beloved of Amun“).
The name was early etymologized as containing the Hebrew root mr, meaning “bitter” (cf. myrrh), or mry, meaning “rebellious”. St. Jerome (writing c. 390), following Eusebius of Caesarea, translates the name as “drop of the sea” (stilla maris in Latin), from the Hebrew מר, mar, ‘drop’ (cf. Isaiah 40:15) and ים, yam, ‘sea’.
This translation was subsequently rendered stella maris (“star of the sea”) due to scribal error, whence Our Lady‘s title Star of the Sea.
Rashi, an 11th-century Jewish commentator on the Bible, wrote that the name was given to the sister of Moses because of the Egyptians’ harsh treatment of Jews in Egypt. Rashi wrote that the Israelites lived in Egypt for 210 years, including 86 years of cruel enslavement that began at the time Moses’ elder sister was born. Therefore, the girl was called Miriam, because the Egyptians made life bitter (מַר, mar) for her people.
Don the Kiwi,
I feel much the same as you and ironically, I am on my way to play guitar at Mass this morning.
If you aren’t familiar with a CD named “Hymns” by Beth Nelson Chapman, give it a listen.
https://www.amazon.com/Hymns-Beth-Nielsen-Chapman/dp/B00064VQVW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=7Z98C9JT8BAI&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KfkFHjZA-piPG1GYf1pnavfF_W-lFiC3PFVmU5Gx9HCLJyXtEhG_sUL0b-KIv9uGumO_tzW6ssJc1sh5vQTinCXXip3X1hHCygP-GA51kZYn69_pablW6B2aW9-bJj7coIvlu1uZWEfbATdb5CuKZD0P0re9KDmvv1MkAF3i5Bk7e0tn-NzRoZzVR5j3bsm3y1Dj34bdbPvErFFyhzKRUeXn0Ql-5XylSGwzTb0N8pA.AYhePvoPFTjhj1rdWPd-l2UiaAXeytJZPlkYQIFqkC8&dib_tag=se&keywords=beth+nielsen+chapman+hymns&qid=1725798877&sprefix=beth+nielson+chapman+hymns%2Caps%2C186&sr=8-1
This is the review I wrote on Amazon.
You can almost smell the incense.
Joni Mitchell sang “Don’t it always seem to go, you don’t know what you got till it’s gone.” That is what occurred to me when I listened to this disc. Sometime after Vatican II these classic melodies were shelved in favor of music that was considered more… accessible. The beauty of these hymns is timeless and sung by the bell-like voice of Beth Nielsen Chapman evokes a time when the Catholic Church and its rituals held a sense of mystery and awe.
Additionally, Chapman contributes a new song of her own, “Hymn to Mary” that is so beautiful and reverent that one might conclude she was born a few centuries too late.
George H, alternatively, perhaps Chapman was born just at the right time to help fuel a return to the true Faith in all its splendor, music included.
As we celebrate the Nativity of Our Lady, let’s take a cue from Fr. Chad Ripperger and begin daily offering of his prayer for consecration of the election to her care.
Fr. Ripperger’s Prayer Consecrating the Election to the Virgin Mary
Mary Immaculate, living tabernacle of the Divinity, where the eternal Wisdom lies hidden to be adored and served by angels and men, Queen of heaven and of earth, beneath whose sway are subject all things that are lower than God, Patroness of the United States of America, sorrowful and mindful of our own sinfulness and the sins of our nation, we come to Thee, our refuge and hope. Knowing that our country cannot be saved by our own works and mindful of how much our nation has departed from the ways of Thy Son, we humbly ask that Thou wouldst turn Thine eyes upon our country to bring about its conversion. We consecrate to Thee the integrity of the upcoming election and its outcome, so that what is spiritually and morally best for the citizens of our country may be accomplished, and that all of those who are elected would govern according to the spiritual and moral principles which will bring our nation into conformity with the teachings of Thy Son. Give grace to the citizens of this land so that they will choose leaders according to the Sacred Heart of Thy Son, that His glory may be made manifest, lest we be given the leaders we deserve. Trusting in the providential care of God the Father and Thy maternal care, we have perfect confidence that Thou wilst take care of us and will not leave us forsaken. O Mary Immaculate, pray for us. Amen.
Source: https://www.knightsrepublic.com/single-post/america-s-top-exorcist-releases-prayer-consecrating-the-2024-election-to-the-blessed-virgin-mary
Hi Don. I see your ‘resurrection’ of my comment from 2013. I suspect I don’t have the same wisdom as in those days, being 11 years older. 😆
In my neck of the woods, we have – thankfully – started to regain some of that beauty. The young priests recently ordained are quite conservative. 4 of the 8 priests in our diocese in recent times love the Latin Mass, & 3 have learnt it, but with the constraints imposed by the Vatican, say it only as their private Mass. But 1 of them was appointed to my parish 3 years ago, and has introduced on Sunday afternoon a Holy Hour with Adoration, Vespers, & Benediction in the traditional form – Latin hymns. All this prior the the 5 pm. Mass. As one of the 2 deacons in the parish, I have had the joy of joining him, and then assisting at the Novus Ordo Mass ( which he celebrates very reverently using the full canon.
LQC: Possibly the bitterness refers to Mary’s role as Our Lady of Sorrows. She had her share of the bitter cup that Christ had to consume on our behalf on the Cross. Her Seven Sorrows are depicted as swords piercing her Immaculate Heart.