OCTOBER DEVOTION: UNDERSTANDING THE MARIAN TITLES IN THE LITANY OF LORETO (PART 2) – DAY 10: “QUEEN OF PROPHETS” (REGINA PROPHETARUM)

DAY 10 PRAYER INTENTION: Today, pray for all those preparing for and writing one exam, scholarship and the likes… May they be visited, assisted, and enlightened by Our Lady Queen of Prophets, which would lead to their success story, to the greater glory of God (Also add your own intention…)

Now, say the 20 decades of the Rosary…

At the end of the 20 decades, say the following Prayers:

Hail Holy Queen

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile show us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray

O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation. Grant, we beseech Thee, that while meditating on these mysteries of the most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us! St. Joseph, pray for us!

Litany of Loreto

Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Christ hear us.
Christ graciously hear us.

God, the Father of heaven,
have mercy on us (Repeat after each invocation)

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity, one God,

Holy Mary,
pray for us (Repeat after each invocation)
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
Mother of Christ,
Mother of the Church,
Mother of Mercy,
Mother of divine grace,
Mother of Hope,
Mother most pure,
Mother most chaste,
Mother inviolate,
Mother undefiled,
Mother most amiable,
Mother most admirable,
Mother of good counsel,
Mother of our Creator,
Mother of our Saviour,
Virgin most prudent,
Virgin most venerable,
Virgin most renowned,
Virgin most powerful,
Virgin most merciful,
Virgin most faithful,
Mirror of justice,
Seat of wisdom,
Cause of our joy,
Spiritual vessel,
Vessel of honour,
Singular vessel of devotion,
Mystical rose,
Tower of David,
Tower if ivory,
House of gold,
Ark of the covenant,
Gate of heaven,
Morning star,
Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Solace of Migrants,
Comfort of the afflicted,
Help of Christians,
Queen of Angels,
Queen of Patriarchs,
Queen of Prophets,
Queen of Apostles,
Queen of Martyrs,
Queen of Confessors,
Queen of Virgins,
Queen of all Saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen assumed into heaven,
Queen of the most Holy Rosary,
Queen of families,
Queen of peace.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray
Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord God, that we, your servants, may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body;
and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may be delivered from present sorrow, and obtain eternal joy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Memorare

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Prayer to Saint Joseph after the Rosary

To you, O Blessed Joseph, we come in our trials, and having asked the help of your most holy spouse, we confidently ask your patronage also. Through that sacred bond of charity which united you to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the fatherly love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you to look graciously upon the beloved inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased by his blood, and to aid us in our necessities with your power and strength.

O most provident guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ. Most beloved father, dispel the evil of falsehood and sin. Our most mighty protector, graciously assist us from heaven in our struggle with the powers of darkness. And just as you once saved the Child Jesus from mortal danger, so now defend God’s Holy Church from the snares of her enemies and from all adversity. Shield each one of us by your constant protection, so that, supported by your example and your help, we may be able to live a virtuous life, die a holy death, and obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.

Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

DAY 10: “QUEEN OF PROPHETS” (REGINA PROPHETARUM)

The third of Our Lady’s twelve invocations as “Queen” in the Litany of Loreto praises her as “Queen of the Prophets,” (Latin, Regina Prophetarum). Like the Patriarchs, the Prophets also predate her, except John the Baptist, obviously, the last prophet (cf. Matt. 11:9-11), who was sanctified in his mother’s womb as a result of the visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary (pregnant with the Child Jesus) – Lk. 1:41-44. Now, the question is, did the Blessed Virgin Mary share in the prophetic ministry? If yes, does the Bible give us a clue? If no, why, then, is she invoked as “Queen of the Prophets?” Therefore, today being the tenth day of our October Devotion, we shall reflect on this impressively beautiful title. In order to do this, we ask the salient question: How is the Blessed Virgin Mary “Queen of Prophets?”

To begin with, the first prophecy ever made in Scripture was pronounced by God Himself and it was about the advent of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her Child Jesus – the Woman and her Seed (cf. Gen. 3:15). Since the coming of the Messiah was at the heart of the Jewish history and religion, and prophets were raised by God to announce this coming; it follows then, that the Woman through whom the Messiah would come also becomes an important figure prophetically linked with the Jewish history.

Throughout the Old Testament (and at the commencement of the New Testament), God raised some people to prepare the world for the advent of the Messiah. We call these people prophets. These include Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah, and many others. All of them, in one way or another, foretold and prefigure the coming of the Messiah; and as a matter of fact, some of these prophets even prophesied about the Blessed Virgin Mary. Put differently, the great mission of all the prophets was to announce the coming of the Saviour to the world, so Mary was also at the very heart of this great prophecy; since the prophets had the grace to profess the Word of God, and since God’s Word was Christ incarnate, in a way, all the prophets looked forward to the coming of Our Lady and her “Yes.” This appears clearly in the dream of St. Joseph, described in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because she conceived what was in her by the power of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, whom you will name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. All this happened in order to fulfil what the Lord spoke for the prophet: Behold, the Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, who will be called Immanuel (Is. 7:14), which means: God with us ”(Mt 1:20- 23). This prophecy of Isaiah refers indirectly to Mary, the young woman God chose to be the Mother of His beloved Son. This way, the prophet Isaiah “praises” the Virgin who would give birth to God in the flesh.

Prophet Jeremiah in his own regard, prophesied about the Blessed Virgin Mary—”the Lord has created a new thing upon the earth. A Woman shall compass a man” (Jer. 31:22), meaning that a Woman would bear in Her womb a grown man. Thus, Jeremiah too contemplated the “Woman” foretold in Genesis. Put differently, Jeremiah was also privileged to foresee in some way, the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was to bring forth the seed to crush the serpent’s head. He, too, knew Her to be his Queen, the Queen of all prophets since her Son is King.

When the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would be the Mother of the Saviour, all the prophecies reached their standstill; the whole heaven waited patiently for her answer. Finally, Mary replied, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to thy word” (Lk 1:38). We could say that at that moment: “‘Prophecy’ became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). Mary’s ‘Yes’ paved the way for the fulfilment and incarnation of all prophecies. In other words, when her yes was proclaimed, it was the TIMELIEST PROPHECY that our history has ever heard. Mary opened this door, and that is why we must invoke her as “Queen of the Prophets.”

It is also amazing that all of Mary’s close associates at the beginning of the Mystery of the Incarnation were filled with the prophetic spirit. We see this in Zachariah who proclaimed the “Benedictus” (Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel… Lk. 1:68-79); Elizabeth, bearing the last prophet in her womb also cried out in great reverence for the queen of prophets: “Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?”; John the Baptist (the very last prophet himself, who stood on the threshold between the Old and the New Testament), leapt for joy at the presence of the pregnant queen (Lk. 1:44); Simeon, with his “Nunc Dimittis” (cf. Lk. 2:29-32); Anna, the prophetess, etc., all glorified the God Whom Mary bore, but they also reverenced the Blessed Virgin Mary whose greatness and blessedness their prophetic souls visualized; in other words, they reverenced her as their Queen; And the Blessed Virgin Mary, of course, makes her own famous prophesy when she proclaims in her Magnificat, “All generations shall call me blessed” (cf. Lk 1:48). Therefore, it becomes apparent that the Blessed Virgin Mary must have a special place in the prophetic ministry as Queen of Prophets – one who bore the Son of God who is King, Priest, and Prophet.

Having said these, it becomes apt to say that the Blessed Virgin Mary is “Queen of Prophets” not only because the prophets prophesied about her and reverenced her for being the Mother of the Messiah, but because She was a Prophetess Herself, and in fact, the queen of all the prophets: “For behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed” (Lk. 1:48). The “Magnificat” proclaims Her a prophet without an equal – the Woman called Blessed by all generations, not only the generation of time but the generation of eternity.

Above all, in her capacity as the queen of prophets, she continues to remain a prophet for us; since her Assumption into heaven till date, she still appears to us on earth to leave a message for mankind to turn towards Christ in the spirit of conversion and penance; her various apparitions prove this reality. Hence, she has been prophesying to our souls, illuminating the way, showing us how we may come to her Divine Son. Blessed shall we be if we pay attention to this magnificent “Queen of Prophets.” Therefore, all of us, through baptism, must live our vocation as prophets by imitating and invoking our Blessed Mother, “Queen of Prophets,” and announcing the truth and denouncing all forms of injustice.

Let us pray

O God, you called the Blessed Virgin Mary to share in the prophetic ministry in heralding the advent of Your Beloved Son. Grant that by invoking her as “Queen of Prophets,” we may continually harken to the message of salvation realized in Christ in living out our baptismal vocation as common “prophets, kings and priests.” We make our prayers through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Great job reflecting on Day 10! Click here for Day 11 – “Queen of Apostles”