Mother benign of our redeeming Lord,

Star of the sea and portal of the skies,

Unto thy fallen people help afford –

Fallen, but striving still anew to rise.

Thou who dids’t once, while wond’ring

worlds adored,

Bear thy Creator, Virgin then as now,

O by thy holy joy at Gabriel’s word,

Pity the sinners who before thee bow.

                                                              Roman Breviary, Antiphon of the

                                                                                    Blessed Virgin

                                                               (Hermann Contractus, 1013-1054)

For Reflection:

Because Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, Our Lord, she is mother to all of us who are baptized in Him. As this new year begins, in what way do I most need Our Lady’s maternal wisdom to be my guiding “star” in all of the days that lie before me? I will pray to her now asking for her to obtain this grace for me.