DAY 10: (September 17) MARY AND THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD

33 DAYS PREPARATORY PRAYER FOR THE RE-CONSECRATION OF NIGERIA TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY.

DAY 10
(September 17)
MARY AND THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD
V. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
V. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful.
R. And enkindle in them the fire of your love.
V. Send forth your spirit and they shall be created.
R. And you shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray: Oh God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation, through Chris our Lord. Amen.

HYMN TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.
1. O come to the throne of grace,
O come to the heart most pure!
To Mary, our hope of life,
In whom salvation is sure.

O Lady of Fatima, hail!
Immaculate Mother of grace;
O, pray for us, help us today,
Thou hope of the human race!

2. Immaculate Heart! we kneel
To consecrate all to thee:
The present, its pain and joy—–
The future, all it may be.

O Lady of Fatima, hail!
Immaculate Mother of grace;
O, pray for us, help us today,
Thou hope of the human race!

OPENING PRAYER.
Eternal Father, we honour the holiness and glory of the Virgin Mary. May her prayers bring us the fullness of your life and love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

ROSARY

SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 2:22-35
When the day came to purify them according to the law of Moses, the couple brought him up to Jerusalem so that he could be presented to the Lord. For it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every first born male shall be consecrated to the Lord.” They came to offer in sacrifice, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons,” in accord with the dictate in the law of the Lord. There lived in Jerusalem at the time, a certain man named Simeon. He was just and pious, and awaited the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not experience death until he had seen the anointed of the Lord. He came into the temple now, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to perform for him the customary ritual of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God in these words:  “Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace; you have fulfilled your word. For my eyes have witnessed your  saving deed displayed for all the peoples to see! A revealing light to the Gentiles, the glory to your people Israel.” The child’s father and mother were marveling at what was being said about him. Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother: “This child is destined to be the downfall and the rise of many in Israel, a sign that will be opposed –and you yourself shall be pierced with a sword so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bare.”
The Gospel of the Lord.

REFLECTION:
Presentation in the Temple is a Jewish rite in which the firstborn is presented to God and a sacrifice is made to redeem the child. This follows Gods instruction to Moses in Exod 13:2 Consecrate to me every firstborn. The first to open the womb among the Israelites, whether human or animal, is mine. Obeying this instruction would be an act of appreciation to God for sparing their firstborn when those of the Egyptians were slain (cf. Exod 12:29-30). The idea of making a ransom to redeem the firstborn is gotten from Num 18:15-16. Jesus parents, being ideal Jews, obeyed those legal and spiritual stipulations. Like them, we must realize the importance of taking our children back to God. In our world that is now bedeviled with great juvenile delinquency, we need to get back to our root in God. He is our only hope.

INTERCESSORY PRAYER:
a. For our families.
b. For the Church.
c. For Nigeria.

PRE-CONSECRATION PRAYER OF NIGERIA TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

Lord God, we thank you for the gift of our country Nigeria. You made it a fertile ground for the work of missionaries, guided by the power of the Holy Spirit. Your Word is now firmly established in our land such that we have not only become missionaries to ourselves but also to other nations.

As your Son Jesus Christ reposed in the arms of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so have we reposed Nigeria in her arms by making her our Patron Saint. As a nation, we are going through turbulent moments, with hunger, pain, killing, kidnapping and many other atrocities being committed against each other. We believe that never was it known that anyone who fled to her protection, implored her help or sought her intercession was left unaided. And so we come before her again, sinful and sorrowful, and desiring to re-consecrate Nigeria to her Immaculate Heart. May she intercede on our behalf to stabilize our ship of state.

We present ourselves as a nation, renouncing our past faults and offences. We resolve to imitate the exemplary life of our Mother Mary. Help us to renew and rectify the vows of our Baptism; rejecting Satan and all his works and empty promises. Obtain for us the grace for a perfect consecration of our nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We seek her continual intercession and maternal protection.

May this this re-consecration bring forth peace, unity and tranquility to the nation and foster communion and service so as to radiate the joy of the Gospel for the common good of our country.

We make our prayer through your son, our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen

Our Lady Queen of Nigeria, Pray for us.
Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for us.

CONCLUDING PRAYER
O God, who chose the Mother of your Son to be our Mother also, grant us that, persevering in penance and prayer for the salvation of the world, we may further more effectively each day, the reign of Christ. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.