March 25

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Virgin, in your love befriend me,

At the Judgment Day defend me.

Help me by your constant prayer.

For Reflection:

It is Mary’s desire as Spiritual Mother that all of her children attain eternal salvation. She never ceases praying for us. As the eminent theologian, Reverend Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. tells us, “…[Mary] knows all the graces that we need because she is our Mother and has received from God a universal mission to help us all on the way of salvation. Her prayer is fervent and extends to the last sinner without losing any of its intensity. “[Mary] is sovereignly good and prays for all men, yet she prays especially for those who offer no resistance to her good inspirations and faithfully recommend themselves to her, looking upon them with particular tenderness, interceding for them more pressingly, more absolutely, until she finally obtains what she asks and bring them safe home to the harbor of salvation.”

According to this quote, how then do we reap the full benefit of Mary’s intercession? What is your interior response?