DAY 19: (September 26) QUEENSHIP OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
33 DAYS PREPARATORY PRAYER FOR THE RE-CONSECRATION OF NIGERIA TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY.
DAY 19
(September 26)
QUEENSHIP OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
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.
O God, who made the Mother of your Son to be our Mother and our Queen, graciously grant that, sustained by her intercession, we may attain in the heavenly kingdom the glory promised to your children. throught our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
ROSARY
SCRIPTURE READING: Isa 9:1-6
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as men make merry when dividing spoils. For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian. For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for flames. For a child is born to us, a son is given us, upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counsellor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful. From David’s throne, and over His kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by judgement and justice, both now and forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
The word of the Lord.
REFLECTION
In the above prophecy, Isaiah described a child who would be born, historically to the house of Ahaz, who would be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6). With a Christian eye, that child is seen as Jesus. And just as God promised David that his dynasty would not end, Jesus would become the everlasting king who would sit on the throne of David. The Blessed Virgin Mary is going to be an integral part of that throne. How? If you look at kingship in Israel, the mothers of kings are usually powerful and acts more as the queen than the wives (with the exception of some aberrations like the case of Ahab and Jezebel). Consider the case of Solomon and his mother as an instance. Adonijah went to Solomon’s mother to help him get a favour from the king (1 Kings 2:13ff) because of this understanding. The mothers were considered more as queens instead of the wives. In that light, Mary would be the one to push Jesus into performing the miracle even when it was not yet time (John 2:4). So, when we talk about the Queenship of Mary, we refer to her privileged connection with Jesus who is the King of Kings. Such honour is not an invention of man but a setting by God whose angel delivered the message to Mary, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God” (Luke 1:30). Are you not going to join him in sharing in that favour? The decision is yours to make.
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
We humbly beseech you, O Lord, that we who devoutly honour the Blessed Virgin Mary may be worthy to share with her in the charity of heaven. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
