September 8, 2018

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Queen of Heaven, ora pro nobis
September 8th marks the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The feast was introduced to Rome from the Eastern Church in the 7th century by Syro-Sicilian Pope San Sergio I (who, coincidentally, died on September 8th in 701). In celebration I'm posting the prayer Our Lady, Queen of Heaven. The accompanying photo of the Birth of the Virgin (ca. 1690) by Francesco Solimena was taken at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Evviva Maria!
Our Lady, Queen of Heaven
August Queen of Heaven! Sovereign Mistress of the angels! Thou who from the beginning hast received from God the power and mission to crush the head of Satan, we humbly beseech thee to send thy holy Legions, that, under thy command and by thy power, they may pursue the evil spirits, encounter them on every side, resist their bold attacks and drive them hence into the abyss of eternal woe. Amen