Virgin most merciful . . .
Home Page
Mary
Introduction
Mary's Litany
Judgment belongs to God alone who will exact equity of all for our actions both at the particular moment of our death, and publicly, before all to see at the end of time when the present world ends. It is not Mary's role to act as judge. Mary, is the virgin who, upon saying yes to God's plan of salvation, became the mother of the Son of God our Savior and Redeemer. Mary became mother not only to God's Son, but also of all humanity for we are all God's children whom her Son came to save. We are led, watched over, prompted, even given special graces and protected from harm; even harm which we sometimes chose to bring upon ourselves. Because of her motherly care and love, she never rejects us, but enfolds us in the shelter of her mantle. With a mother's love and patience she guides her children toward her divine Son. Our chosen wrongs may be forgiven by the sacrament of Reconciliation through the Church of her Son. Wayward actions are treated with compassion for she is kind and welcomes all who ask for her help. She desires only good for her children as she leads us ever closer to her Son.
Why
does the church call Mary “The Queen of Mercy?” It is because we believe that
she opens the abyss of the mercy of God to whomsoever she will, when she will,
and as she will; so that there is no sinner, however great, who is lost if Mary
protects him.
(1) St. Bernard-abbot of Clairvaux
We praise her humility, we admire her virginity; but her mercy is sweeter to the unfortunate; we cling more tenderly to her mercy, we remember it more frequently, we invoke it more unceasingly. (2) St. Bernard-abbot of Clairvaux
O Mary, God established you as the queen of mercy; therefore I who am the most miserable of sinners ought to be received by you as a very dear subject. (3) St. Bernard-abbot of Clairvaux
We praise her virginity, we admire her humility; but because we are poor sinners, mercy attracts us more and tastes sweeter. We embrace mercy more lovingly; we remember it more often, and invoke it more earnestly. (4) St. Bernard-abbot of Clairvaux
The great, and the special privilege of Mary is, that she is all-powerful with her son. Therefore let us be certain that as her power with God exceeds that of all the saints, so is she in the same proportion our must loving advocate and one who is the most solicitous for our welfare. (5) St. Bonaventure
The higher and more holy Mary is, the greater is her sweetness and compassion toward sinners who approach her with the desire to amend their lives. (6) St. Gregory the Great, pope
God has loved us so much as to die for us; but in the heart of our Lord there is justice, which is an attribute of God; in that of the most holy virgin there is nothing but mercy. (7) St. John Vianney
The blessed virgin has so merciful a heart, that she deserves not only to be called merciful, but mercy itself. (8) St. Leo the Great, pope
The
heart of Mary is like the court room in which the needs of her children are
assessed and from which Mercy is given.
(9) St. Madeleine Barat
Truly we are passing through disastrous times, when we may well make our own lamentation of the prophet: “There is no truth, and there is no mercy, and there is no knowledge of God in the land.” Yet in the midst of the tide of evil, the virgin most merciful rises before our eyes like a rainbow, as the arbiter of peace between God and man. (10) St. Pius X, pope
When the blessed virgin conceived the eternal word in her womb, and brought him forth, she obtained half the kingdom of God: so that she is queen of mercy as Jesus Christ is king of justice. (11) St. Thomas Aquinas
She is a queen so sweet, so merciful and so ready to help us in our sorrows, that holy church wills that we should salute her under the title of Queen of Mercy. (12) St. Alphonsus Liguori
Nor
should the multitude of our sins diminish our confidence that Mary will grant
our petitions when we cast ourselves at her feet. She is the Mother of Mercy;
but mercy would not be needed did none exist who require it.
The
mother of mercy has so great a desire to save the most abandoned sinners, that
she herself goes in search of them, in order to help them; and if they have
recourse to her, she knows how to find the means to render them acceptable to
God.
Who can ever form an idea of the tender care that this most loving mother takes of all of us, offering and dispensing her mercy to every one. (15) St. Antonius
You are My Mother, the Mother of Mercy, and the consolation of the souls in Purgatory. (16) St. Bridget
The clients of this most merciful Mother are very fortunate. She helps them both in this life and in the next, consoling them and sponsoring their cause in Purgatory. For the simple reason that the Souls in Purgatory need help so desperately, since they cannot help themselves, our Mother of Mercy does so much more to relieve them. She exercises over these Poor Souls, who are the spouses of Christ, particular dominion, with power to relieve them and even deliver them from their pains. See how important it is then to have devotion to this good Lady, because she never forgets her servants as long as they suffer in these flames. If she helps all the Poor Souls, she is especially indulgent and consoling to her own clients. (17) St. Alphonsus Liguori
Seek refuge in Mary because she is the city of refuge. We know that Moses set up three cities of refuge for anyone who inadvertently killed his neighbor. Now the Lord has established a refuge of mercy, Mary, even for those who deliberately commit evil. Mary provides shelter and strength for the sinner. (18) St. Anthony of Padua
I am not only the Queen of Heaven, but also the Mother of Mercy. (19) St. Faustina
There is no one, O Most Holy Mary, who can know God except through thee; no one who can be saved or redeemed but through thee, O Mother of God; no one who can be delivered from dangers but through thee, O Virgin Mother; no one who obtains mercy but through thee, O Filled-With-All-Grace! (20) St. Germanus of Constantinople, Patriarch
It is impossible to be saved without the help of the Most Blessed Virgin, because those who are not saved by the justice of God are saved by the intercession of Mary. (21) St. John Chrysostom
We praise her virginity, we admire her humility; but because we are poor sinners, mercy attracts us more and tastes sweeter; we embrace mercy more lovingly; we remember it more often, and say its name more earnestly. (21) St. Bernard
Mary,
then, is a Queen: but, for our common consolation, be it known that she is a
Queen so sweet, so clement, and so ready to help us in our miseries, that the
holy Church wills that we should salute her in our prayers under the title of
Queen of Mercy.
(22) St. Alphonsus de Liguori
The
Church calls Mary, "the Queen of Mercy" because we believe that she opens the
abyss of the mercy of God to whomsoever she will, when she will, and as she
wills; so that there is no sinner, however great, who is lost if Mary protects
him.
(23) St. Alphonsus de Liguori
No sinner, having recourse to the compassion of Mary, should fear being rejected; for she is the Mother of Mercy, and as such desires to save the most miserable. (24) St. Alphonsus de Liguori
Hail, Mary, gracious Mother of Mercy; who would not love you? For you are our certain salvation! (25) Pius XII, pope
None,
O Mother of God, obtains salvation except through you, none receives a gift from
the throne of mercy except through you.
(26) Leo XIII, pope
Mary is our Mother, the mother of pity and of grace, the mother of mercy, to whom Christ Our Lord in his dying breath on the Cross entrusted us, in order that, as he implores his heavenly Father for us, she may likewise entreat her Son on our behalf. (27) Pius VIII, pope
When
we petition Mary in prayer we petition the Mother of mercy, who is so well
disposed toward us that, whatever the necessity that presses upon us, especially
in attaining eternal life, she is instantly at our side of her own accord, even
though she has not been asked.
(28) Leo XIII, pope
Since Mary is 'Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope,' let us cry to her, 'mourning and weeping in the vale of tears,' and place ourselves and all that is ours confidently under her patronage. She became our Mother when the divine Redeemer was consummating the sacrifice of himself; hence, by this title also, we are her children. (29) Pius XII, pope
The heavenly Child is Mary's heart's delight and the delight of the world; from his kiss springs up that fire of love which makes her Mother of Mercy and magnanimous clemency toward every child of Adam. (30) Pius XII, pope
O Holy Mother of God, to thee we lift our prayers, for you, powerful and merciful, are the Mediatrix of our salvation. By the sweetness of the joys which come to you by your sweet Son Jesus, by your participation in his indescribable sorrows, by the splendors of his glory shining in you, we petition you, listen, have pity on us, hear us. (31) Leo XIII, pope
Jesus in nailed to the Cross and he is reproached with insults 'for having made himself the Son of God.' But Mary unceasingly recognized and adored the divinity in him. She bore his dead body to the tomb, but never for the moment doubted that he would rise again. Then the love of God with which she burned made her a partaker in the sufferings of Christ and the associate of his Passion; with him, as if forgetful of her own sorrow, she prayed for the pardon of the executioners although they in their hate cried out: 'His blood be upon us and upon our children'. (32) St. Pius X, pope
Since the first public miracle performed by our divine Redeemer in Cana of Galilee was brought about by Mary's merciful intercession . . . why should not we . . . entrust ourselves and all our interest to her most efficacious intercession? (33) Pius XII, pope
Mary is as immensely rich in mercy as she is in power; and that, as her charity is most powerful, so also it is most clement and compassionate, and its effects continually prove it to be so. (34) St. Bernard
O
Mary, you are so full of mercy, so attentive in relieving the wretched, that it
seems that you have no other desire, no other anxiety.
(35) St. Bonaventure
The divine Mother shows, by the innumerable graces that she obtains for us, her greater mercy; for now she is better acquainted with our miseries. (36) St. Bonaventure
Mary
has made herself all to all, and opens her merciful heart to all, that all may
receive of her fullness; the slave redemption, the sick health, those in
affliction comfort, the sinner pardon, and God glory; that thus there may be no
one who can hid himself from warmth.
(37) St. Bernard
Mary
is the throne, at which all - just and sinners - find the consolations of mercy.
For as we have a most merciful Lord, so also we have a most merciful Lady.
Our Lord is plenteous in mercy to all who call upon him, and our Lady is
plenteous in mercy to all who call upon her.
(38) St. Bonaventure
O Mother of Mercy, your tender compassion is as great as your power, and you are as compassionate in forgiving as you are powerful in obtaining all. (39) Adam of Perseigne
O Mother of Mercy, you are full of charity for all; forget not my miseries; you see them full well. Recommend me to God, who denies you nothing. Obtain for me the grace to imitate you in holy charity, as well towards God as toward my neighbor. (40) St. Alphonsus de Liguori
Mary
is as clement and merciful toward those who have recourse to her intercession as
she is powerful with God.
(41) St. Alphonsus de Liguori
Since the power to save us cannot be wanting to Mary, as she is the Mother of God, so neither can the will be wanting to her, for she is our Mother. (42) St. Bernard
Mary has so great a desire to be called upon by us, so that she may dispense her favors to us in greater abundance, that she is not only offended by those who speak ill of her, but also by those who neglect to ask her for graces. (43) St. Bonaventure
To
obtain her help, we are not obliged to pray much to this Mother of Mercy; it is
enough to ask for it with confidence.
(44) St. Alphonsus de Liguori
Her
mercy comes to our aid before we call upon her, because she cannot know and see
our miseries without relieving them.
(45) Richard of St. Victor
O most glorious Mother of God, I, in the miserable state to which I reduced by my sins, have recourse to you, full of confidence, and if you reject me, I remind you that you are in a way bound to help me, since the whole Church of the faithful calls you and proclaims you the Mother of Mercy. (46) William of Paris
When
shall I kiss that hand which has delivered me so many times from hell, and has
dispensed me so many graces, when, on account of my sins, I deserved to be hated
and abandoned by all?
(47) St. Alphonsus de Liguori
O my
most holy Mother, I see the graces which you have obtained for me; and I see the
ingratitude of which I have been guilty toward you. An ungrateful soul is
no longer worthy of favors; but I will not on this account distrust your mercy,
which is greater than my ingratitude.
(48) St. Alphonsus de Liguori
Mother
of mercy, leave me not in my poverty. You are the advocate of the most
miserable and guilty criminals who have recourse to you; defend me also, who
asks these favors of you. (49) St. Alphonsus de Liguori
O how
long since, would the world have been destroyed, had not Mary sustained it by
her powerful intercession! (50) St. Fulgentius
A gentle maiden having lodged a God in her womb, asks as its price peace for the world, salvation for those who are lost, and life for the dead. (51) St. Peter Chrysologus
Mary
is called the Mother of Mercy, and it was by God's own mercy that she was made
thus compassionate and sweet toward all.
(52) St. Bridget
This Queen is so compassionate and benign, that when a sinner, whoever he may be, asks for her charity, she does not question his merits, or whether he is worthy or unworthy to be attended to, but she hears and assists all. (53) St. Bernard
Though our sins may cause us to fear to approach the Almighty, because it is his infinite majesty that we have offended, we must never fear to go to Mary, for in her we shall find nothing to terrify us. True it is that she is holy, immaculate, and the Queen of the world; but she is also of our flesh, and, like us, a child of Adam. (54) Hugh of St. Victor
As the devil goes about seeking whom he may devour, on the other hand, does Mary go about seeking whom she may save, and to whom she may give life. (55) Bernardine de Bustis
For
as the moon enlightens and benefits the lowest creatures on earth, so does Mary
enlighten and assist the most unworthy sinners.
(56) St. Idelbert
O Lady, when I behold you, I can only see mercy, for you were made Mother of God for the wretched, and then you were entrusted with their charge: you are all solicitude for them; you are walled in with mercy; your only wish is to show it. (57) St. Bonaventure
However great a sinner he may have been, if he shows himself devout to Mary, he will never perish. (58) St. Hilary
He who is faithful in serving the Mother of God will soon receive God himself by the means of Mary. (59) Paciucchelli
O Mother of mercy, your tender compassion is forgiving as you are powerful in obtaining all. (60) Abbot Adam of Perseigne
Mother of Mercy, I hope, first, through the death of my Redeemer, and then through your sorrows, to obtain pardon and eternal salvation. (61) St. Alphonsus de Liguori
Most holy Virgin obtain for me the grace of calling on the name of your Son Jesus in all my necessities, together with your own, my Mother Mary; but let me call your names with confidence and love. (62) St. Alphonsus de Liguori
As
a consoler of the human race, Mary never ceases to pour out before the Son her
prayer for the salvation of the faithful crushed by the weight of their sins.
(63) St. Pius V, pope
Home Page
Mary
Introduction
Mary's Litany