02 July 2009

Feast of the Visitation (One Year)

From the liturgy of the feast (which we celebrated last evening):

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior... Almighty God, You chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of Your Son and made known through her Your gracious regard for the poor and lowly and despised. Grant that we may receive Your Word in humility and faith and so be made one with Jesus Christ... Remember all the wonders He has done, His miracles and the judgments He uttered... Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. Alleluia!... Behold, the Lord's creator wears The form and fashion of a slave; Our very flesh our maker shares, His fallen creatures all to save. For this how wondrously He wrought! A maiden in her lowly place Became in ways beyond all thought, the chosen vessel of His grace... for by Your Holy Spirit, Your only-begotten Son was conceived in the womb of the blessed virgin Mary and brought forth in the substance of our human flesh, that we might partake of His divine life. Therefore with angels and archangels...

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