Today's Feast: The Immaculate Heart of Mary

Litany of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
by Venerable Cardinal John Henry Newman

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, redeemer of the world...
God the Holy Spirit...
Holy Trinity, one God...

Heart of Mary, pray for us.
Heart of Mary, after God’s own Heart...
Heart of Mary, in union with the Heart of Jesus...
Heart of Mary, the vessel of the Holy Spirit...
Heart of Mary, shrine of the Trinity...
Heart of Mary, home of the Word...
Heart of Mary, immaculate in your creation...
Heart of Mary, flooded with grace...
Heart of Mary, blessed of all hearts...
Heart of Mary, Throne of glory...
Heart of Mary, Abyss of humbleness...
Heart of Mary, Victim of love...
Heart of Mary, nailed to the cross...
Heart of Mary, comfort of the sad...
Heart of Mary, refuge of the sinner...
Heart of Mary, hope of the dying...
Heart of Mary, seat of mercy...

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

L: Immaculate Mary, meek and humble of heart.
A: Conform our hearts to the heart of Jesus.

Let us pray: O most merciful God, who for the salvation of sinners and the refuge of the wretched, has made the Immaculate Heart of Mary most like in tenderness and pity to the Heart of Jesus, grant that we, who now commemorate her most sweet and loving heart, may by her merits and intercession, ever live in the fellowship of the hearts of both Mother and Son, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

According to Catholic Culture, "The saintly John Henry Newman, in filial devotion to the Mother of God and of man, composed this litany in honor of the Immaculate Heart soon after his reception into the Catholic Church (1845). A garbled version, without giving the convert the credit of its creation, was included in the Golden Manual of 1851, under title of 'The Sacred Heart of Mary'; a 'Litany of the Heart of Mary,' either adapted from this or written by a coincidence in very similar language, was published in Help of Christians (1863, 1875). " This particular litany, like so many of the 200+ litanies of the Catholic Church (for further information and inspiration, see "A Treasure of 206 Litanies") , is for private devotion only. Aquinas and More in its article on litanies, "an old and deeply spiritual form of prayer," lists the six litanies that the Church has officially proved for public recitation.

During the nine months of preparation immediately preceding my consecration as a virgin living in the world, I made a point of praying each day Cardinal Newman's Litany to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The consecrated virgin has a special love for and devotion to Our Lady, whose immaculate heart God made the home of the eternal Word and the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit (see Opening Prayer, Mass of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary). As Pope Benedict XVI explains, "The heart that resembles that of Christ more than any other is without a doubt the Heart of Mary, his Immaculate Mother" (6/5/05).

Those nine months of intense preparation were like a pregnancy to me. I spent them in Mary's womb and heart as the life of her Beloved Son, my Beloved Bridegroom, took new form within me. The rite of consecration that Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza bestowed upon me on that grand and glorious day six years ago was both wedding and birth, and Our Lady was my mother of the bride and my midwife.

To live in and from the Immaculate Heart of Mary is to live in and from the Sacred Heart of her Beloved Son Jesus. According to the French missionary St. John Eudes, the Hearts of Jesus and Mary were and are so identical in their spirit, affection and will that they were and are but one single heart: "You must never separate what God has so perfectly united. So closely are Jesus and Mary bound up with each other that whoever beholds Jesus sees Mary; whoever loves Jesus, loves Mary; whoever has devotion to Jesus, has devotion to Mary."

Immaculate Heart of Mary, may we always love and praise you!