November 30, 2010
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Even the Great God of the Universe Was Once So Small…
I was catching up on some news and stumbled across the following prayer; it was composed by Pope Benedict XVI for a Vigil for the Unborn that took place this Saturday past. I thought it was quite beautiful and very relevant to Advent since we are, after all, remembering the birth of One Baby in particular!
Lord Jesus,
You who faithfully visit and fulfill with your Presence
the Church and the history of men;
You who in the miraculous Sacrament of your Body and Blood
render us participants in divine Life
and allow us a foretaste of the joy of eternal Life;
We adore and bless you.Prostrated before You, source and lover of Life,
truly present and alive among us, we beg you.Reawaken in us respect for every unborn life,
make us capable of seeing in the fruit of the maternal womb
the miraculous work of the Creator,
open our hearts to generously welcoming every child
that comes into life.Bless all families,
sanctify the union of spouses,
render fruitful their love.Accompany the choices of legislative assemblies
with the light of your Spirit,
so that peoples and nations may recognize and respect
the sacred nature of life, of every human life.Guide the work of scientists and doctors,
so that all progress contributes to the integral well-being of the person,
and no one endures suppression or injustice.Give creative charity to administrators and economists,
so they may realize and promote sufficient conditions
so that young families can serenely embrace
the birth of new children.Console the married couples who suffer
because they are unable to have children
and in Your goodness provide for them.Teach us all to care for orphaned or abandoned children,
so they may experience the warmth of your Charity,
the consolation of your divine Heart.Together with Mary, Your Mother, the great believer,
in whose womb you took on our human nature,
we wait to receive from You, our Only True Good and Savior,
the strength to love and serve life,
in anticipation of living forever in You,
in communion with the Blessed Trinity.
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Comments (24)
good post
Amen.
Pope Benedict XVI, proving once again that he is big teddy bear!
That is a very beautiful and wonderful prayer.
beautiful prayer
too hard to read on the back background, sorry.
It was the Second Person of the Trinity who became Man and was crucified for the forgiveness of our sins. although since God is One it is understood and believed that Mary is the Mother of God. There must exist in Catholic philosophic literature appropriate terms to distinguish the motive action of One Person of the Godhead from the motive active of another Person of the Godhead, but I don’t know what those terms are. But I do know that when The Father acts, the Son and Spirit also act, and so on for each other Three Persons of God. But, specifically, it was the Son of God, The Word, who became the man Jesus.
That is a really interesting picture. I like it.
totally loved that – totally…
specially
Reawaken in us respect for every unborn life,
make us capable of seeing in the fruit of the maternal womb
the miraculous work of the Creator,
open our hearts to generously welcoming every child
that comes into life.
and
Accompany the choices of legislative assemblies
with the light of your Spirit,
so that peoples and nations may recognize and respect
the sacred nature of life, of every human life.
and the
Console the married couples who suffer
because they are unable to have children
and in Your goodness provide for them.
Teach us all to care for orphaned or abandoned children,
so they may experience the warmth of your Charity,
the consolation of your divine Heart.
un-explainable words… superb..
How beautiful.
I love this! <3
Interesting that I know almost all of the Biblical allusions in this picture.
@socialdemocracyforall -
That’s one of the beautiful things about a lot of Catholic art; literally worth a thousand words!
@Ancient_Scribe -
So true. I visited a church in a tiny rural town in Germany (they always leave them open any time of day for anybody that wants to come in, even if nobody is watching the place!) and they had stained glass windows that basically told the entire Gospel story.
@socialdemocracyforall -
Yes! So many people during the medieval ages and later were illiterate, but they remembered the stories of the Bible when they heard them. Artists designed the stained glass windows to tell the stories of the Bible and of saints and martyrs so that the illiterate, who could not read about such things, could learn and remember by seeing. Unfortunately today so many either can read about it or wait to be told and have forgotten how to understand such artwork; some such people just call Catholics “idolaters” and dismiss it altogether! But hopefully with patience and love such people will come to a deeper understanding.
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I think that Mary was NOT the “mother of God”. She was his vessel because she had a pure heart and loved God. For Christ to redeem us from ALL sin he was to experience all things as a man does.even birth. I think the purpose of that is to know that God knows what we are struggling with here and that the most despondent cannot blaspheme God by saying “You don’t know what it is like ?” He does know what it is like, he walked among us.
He knows the pains of mortal man…The lust, the fear, the greed.
He knows temptations facing us…He knows what all we need.
He comforts me through every hour…He leads me by His hand,
He sits upon the throne of God…But once…he was…a man.
I love this picture.
@mortimerZilch -
@mommachatter -
What on earth do your comments have do to with ancient-scribe’s post? I don’t follow at all.
Hmmm
@mommachatter -
“I think that Mary was NOT the ‘mother of God.’”
That’s a pity, because a majority of Christians have believed that she is for over 1500 years, and it was officially declared by the Council of Ephesus in the year 431AD. Why do you not believe Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ (who is God), but rather that she was simply a vessel?
@Kurasini -
good point. my comment does relate. Mary was the mother of Jesus, the cute little male child she had in the stable of Bethlehem. But He was the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Not the First Person. Mary is not the mother of the First Person of God. But the Word, the Second Person. But, because God is One – that when one Person acts, All act….Mary is therefore the Mother of God. That’s how she is the mother of God. You might think it trivial, but when you start dealing with the different Persons of God, they are all God, but different in Their Persons….they give you a different “feel.”
@mortimerZilch -
No, no, I get what you mean. It’s just that ancient scribe’s post didn’t say anything about Mary either being or not being the Mother of God– I’m not sure why you and mommachatter are having that discussion here, what it has to do with either the picture or the prayer.
my brother; i’m serving notice; i intend to shamelessly copy this marvelous pic and post it, and mention where i got it, and explain the symbolism; and so this vulgar wicked one (moi) thanks you for your post.
BTW; where IS it from?
@wrybreadspread -
It is a work by Sr. Grace Remington of Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey, a Trappist community in Iowa. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Very nice indeed.