Virgo Potens

HYMN Behold that open grave, adorn'd With blossoms fair and bright, And saints who mourned for Mary, stand Enraptur'd with the sight. They find her spotless body gone, Sweet roses in its place. Assumed on high she leaves this world To get and give us grace. ~ The Rev. Mark J. Smith, S.J., The Rosary Devotions: A Thought for Every Day in October (circa 1924)

2 of 2 The Month of the Holy Rosary October 28th 28th DAY Mary was assumed into heaven; the Angels rejoiced, and praising Him, they blessed God. Antiphon, Roman Breviary, Feast of the Assumption THE ASSUMPTION For the first time among the fifteen mysteries, we find one devoted exclusively to Mary! It is Mary, Mother of God, who is carried up by the Angels, and placed upon her heavenly throne, whence from henceforth throughout eternity she is to reign as "Queen of Angels," Queen of heaven and earth. Our Holy Mother the Church sets apart the 15th of August as a special holyday, and guarantees its observance with the same sanction that she imposes on the observance of Sunday thereby setting her seal of approval on this most Catholic belief, that Mary was taken bodily up into heaven! As we devoutly recite this decade let us keep the picture of Mary's triumphal entrance into heaven before our minds. ~ The Rev. Mark J. Smith, S.J., The Rosary Devotions: A Thought for Every Day in October (circa 1924)

1 of 2 28th DAY Mary was assumed into heaven; the Angels rejoiced, and praising Him, they blessed God. Antiphon, Roman Breviary, Feast of the Assumption.

HYMN A faithful band had gathered round Their Lord's own Mother dear, A mighty rushing wind is heard, The Paraclete is near. Lo! fiery tongues are resting now On every sainted head, And since on every Christian soul The Spirit's light is shed. ~ The Rev. Mark J. Smith, S.J., The Rosary Devotions: A Thought for Every Day in October (circa 1924)

2 of 2 The Month of the Holy Rosary October 27th 27th DAY And there appeared to them cloven tongues as it were of fire; and it sat upon each of them. Acts 2:3 THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST Before the day of His ascension Our Blessed Lord had promised that He would ask the Father that “He shall give you another Paraclete, that He may abide with you for ever." That Paraclete is a Comforter, an Advocate, because by inspiring prayer, He prays, as it were, in us, and pleads for us. That Paraclete is the Holy Ghost, and in this third decade of the Glorious Mysteries we are asked to picture to ourselves the fulfilment of Christ's promise as portrayed for us in the Acts of the Apostles. The Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles in the form of fiery tongues; the flames representing ardor and power; and the tongues implying persuasion and wisdom. Mary, the Spouse of the Holy Ghost, is the "Seat of Wisdom." In this decade let us beg her to grant us the intelligence needed in our daily life, and the courage to use it always. ~ The Rev. Mark J. Smith, S.J., The Rosary Devotions: A Thought for Every Day in October (circa 1924)

1 of 2 27th DAY And there appeared to them cloven tongues as it were of fire; and it sat upon each of them. Acts 2:3

HYMN And now the friends of Jesus come With wistful yearning eyes, To gaze on their dear Savior's form Ascending to the skies. He mounts in robes of light arrayed; And Mary stands behind For fifteen years to teach them all That upward path to find. ~ The Rev. Mark J. Smith, S.J., The Rosary Devotions: A Thought for Every Day in October (circa 1924)

2 of 2 The Month of the Holy Rosary October 26th 26th DAY And it came to pass whilst He blessed them, that He departed from them and was carried up into heaven. Luke 24:51 THE ASCENSION As we recite this second decade of the Glorious Mysteries let us strive to picture that scene on the hill of Bethania. Jesus instructs and commissions His Apostles and disciples to go into the whole world as witnesses of His words and works; and He promises them that He will be with them through all time even to the consummation of the world. He who by His passion and death redeemed the world and by His resurrection proved Himself to be God, now blesses His faithful followers, and while blessing them—ascends, before their very eyes,—to heaven. And is Mary to accompany Him? No! A new sacrifice is asked of her, the sacrifice of fifteen years of separation from Her Divine Son; that she may remain to guide and direct by her example and prayer the Infant Church. ~ The Rev. Mark J. Smith, S.J., The Rosary Devotions: A Thought for Every Day in October (circa 1924)

1 of 2 26th DAY And it came to pass whilst He blessed them, that He departed from them and was carried up into heaven. Luke 24:51

HYMN The day of days has dawned at last And white robed angels say, The Lord has left His cold dark grave, The stone is rolled away. O Mary Magdalen be glad ! O loving saint rejoice Though blinded by your tears you know Your risen Master's voice. ~ The Rev. Mark J. Smith, S.J., The Rosary Devotions: A Thought for Every Day in October (circa 1924)

HYMN The day of days has dawned at last And white robed angels say, The Lord has left His cold dark grave, The stone is rolled away. O Mary Magdalen be glad ! O loving saint rejoice Though blinded by your tears you know Your risen Master's voice. ~ The Rev. Mark J. Smith, S.J., The Rosary Devotions: A Thought for Every Day in October (circa 1924)

2 of 2 The Month of the Holy Rosary October 25th 25th DAY And behold there was a great earthquake. For an Angel of the Lord descended from heaven; and coming rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.—And for fear of him, the guards were struck with terror, and became as dead men. Matt. 28:2, 4. THE RESURRECTION The ''sword of grief" has been plucked out; the balm of unutterable consolation has been poured in; the wound of Mary's heart is healed, and no scar or spot remains! Jesus her Son is risen and before the Angel has completed the rolling back of the stone, Jesus is with Mary consoling her as only such a Son can comfort such a mother! Truly "The Lord is with thee," Mary,—not now in the concealment of the Angel's message, but in the might and triumph of His glorious resurrection. The atonement is accomplished: and the Sacred Redeemer meets, embraces and glorifies the Co-Redemptrix of our fallen race. What raptures of love pass between them it is not given us to witness. Even the Holy Scriptures are silent on this! Let us cease striving to penetrate that sacred scene, and bow our heads in humblest prayer of gratitude and faith. ~ The Rev. Mark J. Smith, S.J., The Rosary Devotions: A Thought for Every Day in October (circa 1924)

1 of 2 25th DAY And behold there was a great earthquake. For an Angel of the Lord descended from heaven; and coming rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.—And for fear of him, the guards were struck with terror, and became as dead men. Matt. 28:2, 4.

HYMN Holy Queen we bow before thee Queen of purity divine! Make us love thee we implore thee Make us truly to be thine. Teach, O teach us, Holy Mother How to conquer every sin How to love and help each other; How the prize of life to win. Thou to whom a child was given Greater than the sons of men Coming down from highest heaven, To create the world again. ~ The Rev. Mark J. Smith, S.J., The Rosary Devotions: A Thought for Every Day in October (circa 1924)

2 of 2 The Month of the Holy Rosary October 24th 24th DAY And returning they prepared spices and ointments; and on the Sabbath day they rested, according to the commandment. Luke 23:56 THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES In all the fifteen mysteries of the Holy Rosary, there are only two, and they the last two, that belong wholly to Mary alone. All the others centre around Jesus, her Divine Son, telling of His coming into the world, His sufferings while here, His glorious return and triumphant departure. What a lesson of unselfishness this teaches us! Here is a method of prayer specifically designed to honor Mary, and she in her humility turns the gaze of her faithful clients from herself to the One whom she loves most, intentionally diverting our attention from herself to Jesus! "He that is Mighty hath done great things to me''—what greater return could Mary make than that which she has made? Transferring even her own Holy Rosary to His glory! ~ The Rev. Mark J. Smith, S.J., The Rosary Devotions: A Thought for Every Day in October (circa 1924)

1 of 2 24th DAY And returning they prepared spices and ointments; and on the Sabbath day they rested, according to the commandment. Luke 23:56

HYMN What a sea of tears and sorrows Did the soul of Mary toss To and fro upon the billows While she wept her bitter loss; In her arms her Jesus holding, Torn so newly from the cross. O that mournful Virgin Mother! See her tears, how fast they flow Down upon His mangled body, Wounded side, and thorny brow! While His hands and feet she kisses— Picture of immortal woe. ~ The Rev. Mark J. Smith, S.J., The Rosary Devotions: A Thought for Every Day in October (circa 1924)

2 of 2 The Month of the Holy Rosary October 23rd 23rd DAY The Month of the Holy Rosary October 23rd And Joseph taking the body wrapped it up in a clean linen cloth; and laid it in his own new monument which he had hewed out of a rock. Matt. 27:59-60 A REVIEW From the death of St. Joseph until the death of Her Divine Son, the sorrows of Mary accumulated and intensified until beneath—not the shadow—but beneath the cross itself the climax of human endurance in suffering was experienced by Mary. ''The sword of grief" had pierced her soul: and only the gentle but all-powerful hand of her Divine Son possessed the strength to dislodge it! He and He alone could withdraw that jagged blade from her transfixed heart. But if Mary's sorrows were unfathomable, the glories that awaited her were likewise beyond compute. And it is to the mysteries of these glories that we now progress in our study of the Holy Rosary. ~ The Rev. Mark J. Smith, S.J., The Rosary Devotions: A Thought for Every Day in October (circa 1924)

1 of 2 23rd DAY And Joseph taking the body wrapped it up in a clean linen cloth; and laid it in his own new monument which he had hewed out of a rock. Matt. 27:59-60

HYMN Stabat Mater dolorosa, Juxta crucem lacrymosa, Dum pendebat Filius. Cujus animam gementem, Constristatem et dolentem, Pertransivit gladius. O quam tristis et afflicta, Fuit ilia benedicta Mater Unigeniti. [AT the Cross her station keeping, Stood the mournful Mother weeping, Close to Jesus to the last : Through her heart, His sorrow sharing, All His bitter anguish bearing, Now at length the sword had pass’d. Oh, how sad and sore distress’d Was that Mother highly blest Of the sole-begotten One !] ~ The Rev. Mark J. Smith, S.J., The Rosary Devotions: A Thought for Every Day in October (circa 1924)