15th August 2013 - Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary - Consecration of Ireland to the Immcaculate Heart of Mary -

Today at Knock Shrine Cardinal Sean Brady together with co-adjutor Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop Charles Brown - the Papal Nuncio  and the Bishops of Ireland will consecrate Ireland to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  We pray that this entrusting of our country to Mary our Mother will bear abundant fruit in holiness of life in our people. 

At our Eucharist this morning we, in solidarity with the Bishops, prayed the act of consecration entrusting ourselves, our community, our Church and our country to Mary's hands.

Act of Consecration

Most Blessed Virgin Mary,

Mother of God and Refuge of Sinners,

we entrust and consecrate ourselves,

our family, our home and our Dioceses

to Jesus through your Immaculate Heart.

As your children,

we promise to follow your example in our lives

by doing at all times the will of God.

O Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit,

we renew today the promises of our Baptism and Confirmation.

Intercede for us with the Holy Spirit

that we may be always faithful to your Divine Son,

to his Mystical Body, the Catholic Church,

and to the teachings of his Vicar on earth, our Holy Father the Pope.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, our Queen and our Mother,

we promise to uphold the sanctity of marriage

and the welfare of the family.

Watch over our minds and hearts

and preserve our youth from dangers to the faith

and the many temptations that threaten them in the world today.

We ask you, Mary our Advocate,  to intercede with your divine Son.

Obtain for our country the grace to uphold the uniqueness of every human life,

from the first moment of conception to natural death.

O Blessed Mother, Our Life, our Sweetness and Our Hope,

we wish that this Consecration be for the great glory of God

and that it lead us safely to Jesus your Son.

A Naomh-Mhuire, a Mháthair Dé,

guigh orainn na peacaigh, anois agus ar uair ár mbáis.

Amen.

 

Prayer to Mary, Mother of the Church and Mother of our faith

(This prayer is taken from Lumen Fidei, the recent Encyclical of Pope Francis.)

 

Mother, help our faith !

Open our ears to hear God’s word and to recognise his voice and call.

Awaken in us a desire to follow in his footsteps,

to go forth from our own land and to receive his promise.

Help us to be touched by his love,

that we may touch him in faith.

Help us to entrust ourselves fully to him

and to believe in his love,

especially at times of trial, beneath the shadow of the cross,

when our faith is called to mature.

Sow in our faith the joy of the Risen One.

Remind us that those who believe are never alone.

Teach us to see all things with the eyes of Jesus,

that he may be light for our path.

And may this light of faith always increase in us,

until the dawn of that undying day

which is Christ himself, your Son, our Lord!

Amen