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The Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
 
 
 


Our Lady of the Expectation of Jesus Christs Holy Birth

 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
O Virgin of virgins!

how shall this be?

for never was there one like thee,

nor will there ever be.

Ye daughters of Jerusalem,

why look ye wondering at me?

What ye behold, is a divine mystery.
 
 
 
The Expectation Of The Blessed Virgin Mary

Source: Abbott Prosper Louis Paschal Guranger, O.S.B., The Liturgical Year, Vol. 1, Advent. Westminster, MD: The Newman Press, 1948, pp. 488-9O. Translation by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.; December 18


THIS FEAST, which is now kept not only throughout the whole of Spain but in many other parts of the Catholic world, owes its origin to the bishops of the tenth Council of Toledo, in 656.

These prelates thought that there was an incongruity in the ancient practice of celebrating the feast of the Annunciation on the twenty-fifth of March, inasmuch as this joyful solemnity frequently occurs at the time when the Church is intent upon the Passion of our Lord, so that it is sometimes obliged to be transferred into Easter time, with which it is out of harmony for another reason; they therefore decreed that, henceforth, in the Church of Spain there should be kept, eight days before Christmas, a solemn feast with an octave, in honour of the Annunciation, and as a preparation for the great solemnity of our Lords Nativity.

In course of time, however, the Church of Spain saw the necessity of returning to the practice of the Church of Rome, and of those of the whole world, which solemnize the twenty-fifth of March as the day of our Ladys Annunciation and the Incarnation of the Son of God.

But such had been, for ages, the devotion of the people for the feast of the eighteenth of December, that it was considered requisite to maintain some vestige of it. They discontinued, therefore, to celebrate the Annunciation on this day; but the faithful were requested to consider, with devotion, what must have been the sentiments of the holy Mother of God during the days immediately preceding her giving Him birth. A new feast was instituted, under the name of the Expectation of the blessed Virgins delivery.
 
 
 


Expectant Madonna with Saint Joseph; Unknown Master, French; 1425-1450; National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; https://www.wga.hu

 
 
 


Mater Admirabilis by Pauline Perdrau; 1844; fresco; Convent of Trinita dei Monti, Rome, Italy. "Pope Pius IX titled her Mater Admirabilis (Mother Most Admirable) in 1846. She is the patron of all the schools of the Sacred Heart." https://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com

 
 
This feast, which sometimes goes under the name of Our Lady of O, or the feast of O, on account of the great antiphons which are sung during these days, and, in a special manner, of that which begins O Virgo virginum (which is still used in the Vespers of the Expectation, together with the O Adona, the antiphon of the Advent Office), is kept with great devotion in Spain. A High Mass is sung at a very early hour each morning during the octave, at which all who are with child, whether rich or poor, consider it a duty to assist, that they may thus honour our Ladys Maternity, and beg her blessing upon themselves.

It is not to be wondered at that the Holy See has approved of this pious practice being introduced into almost every other country. We find that the Church of Milan, long before Rome conceded this feast to the various dioceses of Christendom, celebrated the Office of our Ladys Annunciation on the sixth and last Sunday of Advent, and called the whole week following the Hebdomada de Exceptato (for thus the popular expression had corrupted the word Expectato). But these details belong strictly to the archology of liturgy, and enter not into the plan of our present work; let us, then, return to the feast of our Ladys Expectation, which the Church has established and sanctioned as a new means of exciting the attention of the faithful during these last days of Advent.

Most just indeed it is, O holy Mother of God, that we should unite in that ardent desire thou hadst to see Him, who had been concealed for nine months in thy chaste womb; to know the features of this Son of the heavenly Father, who is also thine; to come to that blissful hour of His birth, which will give glory to God in the highest, and, on earth, peace to men of good-will.

Yes, dear Mother, the time is fast approaching, though not fast enough to satisfy thy desires and ours. Make us redouble our attention to the great mystery; complete our preparation by thy powerful prayers for us, that when the solemn hour has come, may our Jesus find no obstacle to His entrance into our hearts.

 
 
 


Mater Admirabilis by Pauline Perdrau; 1844; fresco; Convent of Trinita dei Monti, Rome, Italy. "Pope Pius IX titled her Mater Admirabilis (Mother Most Admirable) in 1846. She is the patron of all the schools of the Sacred Heart." https://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com

 

The Unborn State Is Sanctified By Unborn Jesus
From Unborn Jesus Our Hope by George Peate

By coming into the world as a little unborn baby, and living that existence for nine months, Jesus sanctified the unborn state and the relationship between the unborn child and his parents, particularly the relationship with his mother. Day after day, month by month Jesus was nothing but an [apparently] insignificant unborn baby.

He chose this restricted unborn life to show the depths of Gods love for us. Perhaps the world cannot understand nor appreciate it, but we Christians must!

The modern world would have us judge unborn babies superficially by our limited abilities of observation; what we can observe them doing, learning, achieving and mastering.

Not so with God. He sees us for who we are, rather than what we can or cannot do. As the philosophical maxim states; "action follows being."

When God appeared to Moses He revealed His identity by stating: "I AM WHO AM." So too, it is more important that we discover Who [the] Unborn Jesus is rather than what things He might have done as an unborn baby.

And the same is true for all unborn babies. God designed "personhood" to be a secret core mystery of life to be discovered by oneself and others on natures terms, not ours.

 
 
 


Madonna del Parto; Unknown Master, Italian; 1490s; Gallerie dellAccademia, Venice, Italy; https://www.wga.hu
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
God hides the "unborn person" in the womb, almost in a suspended state of love that is, suspended between Gods creative love for the new creature and the mothers nurturing love, until the beauty of the infants physical development is sufficient to reflect the fullness of the infant soul.

As one professor of pastoral theology has noted "awe is intrinsic to parenting." Months of waiting contributes to the sense of awe that parents experience through pregnancy and birth. And awe is also an essential element in respecting human life as both gift and blessing.

Parents who, respecting nature and natures God, patiently wait for the birth of their child, grow themselves in that very virtue [of] patience that they will need most in the upbringing of the child.

The "unborn person" is literally a "buried treasure" of personhood and personality but, like wine, needs to age.

Such a respectful attitude was that held by Mary and Joseph during the [pregnancy]. It should be the attitude of all expectant parents.

 
 
 

 
 
 
Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain on the Just One!
Let the earth be opened, and bud forth a Savior: and let justice spring up together:
I the Lord have created him.
Isaiah 45:8
 
 
 
 
 
Intercessory Prayer to the Mother of God

O God, Who did will that Thy Word should take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the message of the Angel, grant to us, Thy humble servants and handmaids, that we who truly believe Her to be the Mother of God may be helped by Her intercession with Thee. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
 

Holy Mary, Mother of God pray for us

Holy Mary, Mother of God pray for us

 
 
 
Collect

Grant, we pray Thee, Almighty God, that we who are weighed down by the old yoke of sin, may be freed by the new Birth of Thine only-begotten Son for which we long, Who lives and reigns forever, unto ages of ages. Amen
 
 
 
December 18 - The Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary  
 

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X
OUR FATHER

Our Father, Who Art In Heaven
Hallowed Be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy Will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
Liberate us from all temptation[*]
And deliver us from all evil. Amen



[*] Liberate us is in keeping with the original Latin text.
       God usually does not "lead us" to temptation
       (unless we are tested),
       but gives us the grace to overcome and/or resist it
X
HAIL MARY

Hail Mary, full of grace
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art though among women,
And blessed is the fruit
Of thy womb, Jesus.
 
Holy Mary, Mary of God
Pray for us sinners
Now, and in the hour
Of our death. Amen


 
X
APOSTLE'S CREED

I believe in God, the Father Almighty Creator of Heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, our Lord;
Who was conceived by the
[work and grace of the] Holy Ghost,[*]
Born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into the Dead.[**]
On the third day, He rose again;
He ascended into Heaven,
And sits at the right hand of God,
the Father Almighty.
From thence he shall come to judge
the living and the dead.
 
I believe in the Holy Ghost,[*]
The Holy Catholic Church,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins.
The resurrection of the body,
And life everlasting. Amen


[*] Holy Ghost: may be substituted with the current Holy Spirit.
[**] the Dead: "inferi", the underworld or the dead in Latin.
X
GLORIA

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost[*],
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen

[*] Holy Ghost: may be substituted with the current Holy Spirit.
X
DE PROFUNDIS

Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O Lord:
Lord, hear my voice.
Let Thine ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplication.

If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities:
Lord, who shall abide it.
For with Thee there is merciful forgiveness:
and because of Thy law,
I have waited for Thee, O Lord.

My soul hath waited on His word:
my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
From the morning-watch even until night,
let Israel hope in the Lord.

For with the Lord there is mercy:
and with Him plenteous redemption.
And He shall redeem Israel
from all her iniquities.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost[*],
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen

[*] Holy Ghost: may be substituted with the current Holy Spirit.
X
DE PROFUNDIS

Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O Lord:
Lord, hear my voice.
Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice
of my supplication.

If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities:
Lord, who shall abide it.
For with Thee there is merciful forgiveness:
and because of Thy law,
I have waited for Thee, O Lord.

My soul hath waited on His word:
my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
From the morning-watch even until night,
let Israel hope in the Lord.

For with the Lord there is mercy:
and with Him plenteous redemption.
And He shall redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.

V. Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord.
R. And let perpetual light shine upon them.
V. From the gate of hell.
R. Deliver their souls, O Lord.
V. May then reset in peace.
R. Amen.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with Thy Spirit.

(50 days indulgence to all who pray the De Profundis with V. and R.
"Requiem aeternam" (Eternal Rest) three times a day.
Pope Leo XIII, February 3, 1888)


Let us pray:
O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all
the faithful, we beseech Thee to grant
to the souls of Thy servants the remission
of their sins, so that by our prayers
they may obtain pardon for which they long.
O Lord, who lives and reigns,
world without end. Amen

May they rest in peace. Amen

CERRAR
SIGUIENTE
PADRE NUESTRO

Padre Nuestro,
que estas en los Cielos
Santificado sea Tu Nombre;
Venga a nosotros tu Reino;
Hgase Tu Voluntad
en la tierra como en el cielo.
Danos hoy nuestro pan de cada da;
Perdona nuestras ofensas,
Como tambin nosotros
perdonamos a los que nos ofenden,
No nos dejes caer en la tentacin,
y lbranos del mal. Amén
 
CERRAR
SIGUIENTE
AVE MARA

Dios te salve, Mara,
llena eres de gracia;
El Seor es Contigo;
Bendita T eres
entre todas las mujeres,
Y bendito es el fruto
De tu vientre, Jess.
 
Santa Mara,
Madre de Dios,
Ruega por nosotros
pecadores,
Ahora y en la hora
De nuestra muerte.
Amn
 
CERRAR
CREDO

Creo en Dios, Padre Todopoderoso,
Creador del cielo y de la tierra.
Creo en Jesucristo,
Su nico Hijo, Nuestro Seor,
Que fue concebido por obra
y gracia del Espritu Santo,
Naci de la Santa Mara Virgen;
Padeci bajo el poder de Poncio Pilato,
Fue crucificado, muerto y sepultado,
Descendi a los infiernos,
Al tercer da resucit de entre los muertos,
Subi a los cielos
Y est sentado a la derecha de Dios,
Padre Todopoderoso.
Desde all ha de venir a juzgar
a los vivos y a los muertos.

Creo en el Espritu Santo,
La Santa Iglesia Catlica,
La comunin de los santos,
El perdn de los pecados,
La resurreccin de la carne
Y la vida eterna. Amn
 
 
CERRAR
DE PROFUNDIS

Desde lo hondo a Ti grito, Seor; Seor,
escucha mi voz;
Estn Tus oidos atentos
a la voz de mi splica.

Si llevas cuenta de los delitos, Seor,
quin podr resistir?
Pero de ti procede el perdn,
y as infundes respeto.
Mi alma espera en el Seor.

Espera en su palabra;
mi alma aguarda al Seor,
ms que el centinela la aurora.
Aguarda Israel al Seor.

Como el centinela la aurora;
porque del Seor viene la misericordia.
la redencin copiosa;
y l redimir a Israel de todos sus delitos.

Gloria al Padre, al Hijo y al
Espritu Santo,
como es desde el principio,
es ahora y ser por los siglos de los siglos.
Amn

X
GLORIA

Gloria al Padre, al Hijo y al
Espritu Santo,
como es desde el principio,
es ahora y ser por los siglos de los siglos.
Amn

CERRAR
DE PROFUNDIS

Desde lo hondo a Ti grito, Seor;
Seor, escucha mi voz;
Estn Tus oidos atentos a
la voz de mi splica.

Si llevas cuenta de los delitos, Seor,
quin podr resistir?

Pero de ti procede el perdn,
y as infundes respeto.
Mi alma espera en el Seor.

Espera en su palabra;
mi alma aguarda al Seor,
ms que el centinela la aurora.
Aguarda Israel al Seor.

Como el centinela la aurora;
porque del Seor viene la misericordia,
la redencin copiosa;
y l redimir a Israel de todos sus delitos.

V. Dadles, Seor, a todas las almas
el descanso eterno.
R. Y haced lucir sobre ellas
vuestra eterna luz.
V. Que en paz descansen.
R. Amn.