Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God is a liturgical feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary honoring her divine motherhood to Jesus Christ. It is celebrated by the Catholic Church on the 1st of January, the Octave (8th) day of the Christmas season. For Roman Catholics, this day is designated as a Holy Day of Obligation.

In 1914, the feast of the "Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary" was established in Portugal, occurring on 11 October. In 1931, this feast was extended to the entire Catholic Church by Pope Pius XI and maintained on 11 October. Following the Second Vatican Council in 1974, Pope Paul VI removed the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ from the liturgical calendar, and replaced it with the feast of the "Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God." In the Extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, Catholics continue to celebrate this feast day with the old name "The Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary" on 11 October, and 1 January is the Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord.The feast was celebrated in the East before it was in the West, but by the 5th century it was celebrated in France and Spain on the Sunday before Christmas. In Rome, even before the 7th century, 1 January was used as a celebration of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ had come to replace the Marian feast on 1 January. This feast is still observed by the Anglican Church and the Lutheran Church. The celebration of the Feast of the Circumcision on 1 January was expanded to the entire Catholic Church in 1570 when Pope Pius V promulgated the Missal.

The feast is a celebration of Mary's motherhood of Jesus. The title “Mother of God” is a western derivation from the Greek: Theotokos, the God-bearer. The term was adopted at the First Council of Ephesus as a way to assert the Divinity of Christ, from which it follows that what is predicated of Christ is predicated of God. So, if Mary is the mother of Jesus, she is the Mother of God. Therefore, the title “Mother of God” and the “Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God”, which celebrates her under this title, are at once both Mariological and Christological.

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Solemnity Of Mary Prayers

Solemnity Of Mary


SOLEMNITY OF MARY, PRAYERS

SUB TUUM
We fly to thy patronage,
O holy Mother of God;
despise not our petitions in our necessities,
but deliver us always from all dangers,
O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.
3rd Century; Oldest Known Prayer to Mary

ALTERNATE CATHOLIC COLLECT FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF MARY MOTHER OF GOD
Let us pray
[in the name of Jesus,
born of a virgin and Son of God]
Father
source of light in every age,
the Virgin conceived
and bore your Son
who is called Wonderful God,
Prince of Peace.
May her prayer,
the gift of a mother's love,
be your people's joy through all ages.
May her response,
born of a humble heart
draw your Spirit to rest on your people.
Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen
New Saint Joseph Sunday Missal

CATHOLIC COLLECT FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF MARY MOTHER OF GOD
Let us pray
[that Mary the mother of the Lord,
will help us by her prayers]
God our Father
may we always profit by the prayers
of the Virgin Mother Mary,
for you bring us life and salvation
through Jesus Christ her Son
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever. Amen.
New Saint Joseph Sunday Missal

LOVING MOTHER OF THE REDEEMER
Loving Mother of the Redeemer,
Gate of heaven, star of the sea,
Assist your people
who have fallen yet strive to rise again,
To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,
yet remained a virgin after as before,
You who received Gabriel's joyful greeting,
have pity on us, poor sinners.
Ancient Liturgy of the Hours Prayer

MARY MOTHER OF GOD MORNING PRAYER
God our Father,
may we always profit by the prayers
of the Virgin Mother Mary,
for you bring us life and salvation
through Jesus Christ her Son
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever. Amen
The Liturgy of the Hours

EASTERN PRAYER TO THE MOTHER OF GOD
O most glorious Ever-Virgin Mary,
Mother of Christ our God,
accept our prayers
and present them to thy son and our God,
that He may, for thy sake,
enlighten and save our souls.

EASTERN PRAYER TO THEOTOKOS
Rejoice Mary, Mother of God,
Virgin, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee:
blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb,
for thou hast borne the Savior of our souls.
Meet it is in truth, to glorify thee,
O Birth-giver of God,
ever blessed, and all undefiled,
the Mother of our God.
More honorable than the Cherubim,
and beyond compare
more glorious than the Seraphim,
thou who without stain didst bear God the Word,
true Birth-giver of God, we magnify thee.

HAIL, MOST VENERABLE QUEEN OF PEACE
Hail, most venerable Queen of Peace,
most holy Mother of God,
through the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
thy Son,
the Prince of Peace,
procure for us
the cessation of His anger,
that so He may reign over us in peace.
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known
that anyone who sought thy intercession
was left forsaken.
Inspired with this confidence,
I come unto thee.
Despise not my petitions,
O Mother of the Word,
but graciously hear
and grant my prayer.
O merciful, O kind,
O sweet Virgin Mary. Amen.

EASTERN PRAYER BEFORE AN ICON OF THE THEOTOKOS
Forasmuch as thou art a well-spring of tenderness,
O Theotokos,
make us worthy of compassion;
Look upon a sinful people;
Manifest thy power as ever,
for hoping on thee we cry aloud unto thee:
Hail I as once did Gabriel,
Chief Captain of the Bodiless Powers.

EASTERN PRAYER OF PETITION TO THE THEOTOKOS
O may I obtain this,
most-holy Lady and Birth-giver of God,
through thine intercessions and mediations,
by the grace and exceeding great love
of thine Only-Begotten son,
my Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
to Whom is due,
with the eternal Father
and the All-Holy, Good and Life-Giving Spirit,
all honor and glory and worship,
now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.