OCTOBER DEVOTION: UNDERSTANDING THE MARIAN TITLES IN THE LITANY OF LORETO (PART 2) – DAY 11: “QUEEN OF APOSTLES” (REGINA APOSTOLORUM)

DAY 11 PRAYER INTENTION: Today, pray for all those preparing to relocate or seek “greener pastures” elsewhere… May they be visited and helped by Our Lady Queen of Apostles, which would lead to their visa approval and 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 11 REFLECTION: “QUEEN OF APOSTLES” (REGINA APOSTOLORUM)

The fourth of the twelve invocations of the Blessed Virgin Mary as “Queen” praises her as “Queen of the Apostles,” (Latin, Regina Apostolorum), which becomes the theme of our reflection today, the eleventh day of our October Devotion. Apparently, Jesus chose twelve apostles (men) to follow him more closely from the many disciples he had. The number twelve is an allusion to the twelve tribes of Israel. However, in what context can the Blessed Mother of God be known as the “Queen of Apostles?” Is the title “Regina Apostolorum” an appropriate one for her, being an invocation or devotion that is one of the oldest devotions in the Church?

First, the term Apostle springs from the Greek “ἀπόστολος” (apóstolos), literally “one who is sent off”, from the verb “ἀποστέλλειν” (apostéllein), “to send off”. Our Lord Jesus Christ was also referred to as “Apostle” (cf. Heb 3:1) because he was “sent” by the Father (as John the evangelist describes Him); as a result, He could be said to be the “King of Apostles.” Being sent by the Father, Christ began His apostolate through Mary’s intercession at Cana. Likewise, the mission of the apostles commenced with the presence of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the cenacle where they prayed for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14). This way, through the centuries of the Church, all apostolates have received their origin and strength through the Blessed Virgin Mary, “Queen of Apostles.”

It is also important to reflect on the connection between the “King and Queen” of the Apostles in relation to the Apostles at the Institution of the Holy Eucharist and at Pentecost. At the Institution of the Holy Eucharist, the Apostles were gathered in the “Upper Room” with Our Lord Jesus Christ – King of the Apostles. While, at the Pentecost (the Descent of the Holy Spirit), the Apostles were gathered in the same “Upper Room” with Our Lady – Queen of Apostles.  This is not to say that the Blessed Virgin Mary takes the place of Our Lord Jesus; rather, she was with the Apostles, united in prayers as their queen and of course, Mother of the Church. Little wonder Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical “Adiutricem Populi” wrote of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Cenacle: “With a generous heart Mary undertook and discharged the duties of her high but labourious office, the beginnings of which were consecrated in the Cenacle. With wonderful care, she nurtured the first Christians by her holy example, her authoritative counsel, her sweet consolation, her fruitful prayers. She was, in truth, the Mother of the Church, the Teacher and Queen of the Apostles, to whom she confided no small part of the divine mysteries which she kept in her heart.” In consonance, St. John Paul II, teaches us: “The Marian dimension of the Church is an antecedent to that of the Petrine, without being in any way divided from it or being less complementary. Mary Immaculate precedes all others, including obviously Peter himself and the Apostles.  This is so, not only because Peter and the Apostles, being born of the human race under the burden of sin, form part of the Church which is ‘holy from out of sinners,’ but also because their triple functions [—priests, prophets, and kings—] has no other purpose except to form the Church in line with the ideal of sanctity already [designed] and prefigured in Mary.” (Address to the Cardinal and Prelates of the Roman Curia, December 22, 1987; “L’Osservatore Romano,” Dec. 23, 1987).

The Blessed Virgin Mary is the queen of the apostles, the missionaries and the evangelizers, because she received the announcement of the angel and immediately got up in a hurry and went to serve her cousin Elizabeth. She is the first Christian, the first missionary and the first apostle. Jesus’ first missionary work was in his mother’s womb – the sanctification of John the Baptist. Put differently, in the Gospel of Luke, Mary becomes a model of faith, the first to hear the saving proclamation. She faithfully believed in that announcement, so she is the first disciple. Not only did she hear the Word of God, but she also assumed, with her own life, fidelity to God’s call. Mary, Queen of the Apostles, is also known as the Mother of all vocations.

Dear friends in Christ, nourished by the love of Mary, Queen of Apostles, we continue to offer Jesus to the recipients of our time, for our mission. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Apostles intercede for us all in our various Church apostolates.