November 16 BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF MERCY PATRONESS OF THE AMERICAN PROVINCE Feast – For the American Province The title of this formulary comprises two titles frequently attributed to the Blessed Virgin, both of which speak of her graciousness and are much loved by the faithful: “Queen of mercy” and “Mother of mercy.” The title “Queen of mercy” (Ent Ant, Col, B, All) celebrates the kindness, the generosity, the dignity of the Blessed Virgin, who from her place in heaven fulfills the role of Queen Esther (cf. Esther 4:17), “never ceasing to pray” to her Son (Pref) for the salvation of her people as they confidently fly to her for refuge in their trials and dangers. The Blessed Virgin is thus the “gracious” and “compassionate” queen (Pref, PC) “who has herself uniquely known [God’s] loving kindness and stretches out her arms to embrace all who take refuge in her” (Pref; cf. PC); hence, she is rightly addressed as “solace of the repentant, hope of the distressed” (Ent Ant). The title “Mother of mercy” (Col, A, Pref, PO) is thought to have been first given to the Blessed Virgin by St. Odo (d. 942), Abbot of Cluny (cf. Vita Odonis I:9: PL 133:47). It is a fitting title of Our Lady both because she brought forth for us Jesus Christ, the visible manifestation of the mercy of the invisible God, and because she is the spiritual mother of the faithful, full of grace and mercy; in the words of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, “the Blessed Virgin is called ‘mother of mercy,’ that is, the most merciful, the most compassionate mother, the most tender mother, the most loving mother”(Mariale, Second sermon on the “Salve Regina,” III: Opera omnia, I, Seminary Press, Padua, 1928, p. 391). The Mother of Jesus from her place in heaven points out the needs of the faithful to her Son, with whom she interceded on earth on behalf of the bridegroom and bride of Cana (cf. John 2:1-11). In this formulary the Blessed Virgin is celebrated as: — a prophet extolling the mercy of God (cf. Luke 1:39-55): for in her Magnificat she twice praises God’s mercy: “He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation”; “He has come to the help of his servant Israel, for he has remembered his promise of mercy” (Luke 1:50, 54; cf. Com Ant, B). The faithful therefore pray that they “may always praise [God’s] mercy in company with the Blessed Virgin” (PC); — a woman who has uniquely experienced God’s mercy: “She is the gracious queen who has herself uniquely known [God’s] loving kindness and stretches out her arms to embrace all who ... call upon her help in their distress” (Pref). These words of the Preface echo those of Pope John Paul II: “Mary is ... the one who obtained mercy in a particular and exceptional way, as no other person has ...” (Encyclical Letter Dives in misericordia, n. 9: AAS 72 [1980], pp. 12081209).
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