Collect taken from memorial of Our Lady of Fatima.
Collect: 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…
“O God, who chose the Mother of your Son to be our Mother also“
– “Behold, your mother.” So spoke Jesus on the cross and this is a fact we must often recall. Mary is our Mother. Just as Eve became the mother of all the living, Mary, the new Eve, has become mother of all those reborn in Christ.
“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.”
– Christ is our King and we seek to extend his kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven grows when souls are saved from damnation and when Christians grow in holiness. We often remember prayer as a way to do this, but the blessed Mother’s appearance at Fatima and elsewhere reminds us of the need to offer deliberate acts of penance as well.
Questions & Advice: How much do you know about the Our Lady of Fatima apparition? What are some of the ways that Mary is a mother to you and in your experience? Do you pray for the salvation of the world? Do you offer acts of penance?
Learn more about the message of Fatima. Spend some of your daily prayer time reflecting on ways that Mary has been a mother to you. Ask the Lord to confirm and increase your desire for the salvation of the world. Ask specifically for the grace to act on this desire through more devout prayer and acts of self-denial, however small.
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| Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis! |