Immaculate Conception

Today is Immaculate Conception, a holy day of obligation in the Catholic church. I attended the solemn high mass this evening and the old rite Latin mass never disappoints. Although I was tired and mentally slushy, God still finds ways to shake me from my slumber in all his reverent ways.


At the end of mass, I found this prayer in my missal:






Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary

O Mary, Virgin and Mother most holy,
behold I have received thy dearly beloved son,
Whom thou didst concieve in they immaculate womb,
didst bring forth and nourish and strain to thyself
in sweetest embrace.
Behold Him Whose every glance filled thee with joy and all delight:
Him I present and offer to the in loving humility,
to be clasped in thy arms and loved in thy heart,
and to be offered in supreme adoration to the most Holy Trinity,
for thine own honour and glory,
for my needs, and for the needs of the whole world.
I beg thee, therefore, most dear Mother,
obtain for me forgiveness of all my sins,
the precious grace of serving thee more faithfully for the future,
and that final grace of being able along with thee
to praise Him through endless ages.
Amen.