Prayers of Saints

Prayers from Gregory the Wonderworker to Mother Teresa

Prayers	Author, dates and source of text
O Most Honored One, we are poor in divine gifts, O Mary, but through you we see the riches of kindness offered to us. Therefore, we say with confidence: the earth is full of the mercies of the Lord. Rejected by God because of the multitude of our sins, through you we seek Him out again, rediscover him, and are saved. Therefore, O Mother of God, grant us your powerful help so that we may attain salvation. And obtain for us the aid of your Son, the sole Mediator necessary with God. For your magnificence is infinite, your goodness in helping the needy is inexhaustible, and the number of your benefits is limitless. No one achieves salvation except through you, O Most Immaculate One! No one receives grace except through you, O Most Chaste One! And no one obtains mercy except through you, O Most Honored One! Who would then fail to call you blessed? I will call you who were enriched by your Son and God glorious and blessed, and I will praise you with all generations. Amen.	St. Germanus (638-730), first bishop of Cyzicus, patriarch of Constantinople. Blessed Art Thou: A Treasury of Marian Prayers and Devotions / Richard J. Beyer, Notre Dame, IN : Ave Maria Press, c1996, BX2160.2 B46 1996, pp.87-89.
Our Lady Your name is Our Lady. You alone are Mother of God and raised high over all the earth. O Spouse of God, we celebrate you with faith, we honor you with longing, we venerate you with awe; at every moment we exalt you and reverently proclaim you blessed. Amen.	St. Germanus (638-730), first bishop of Cyzicus, patriarch of Constantinople. Blessed Art Thou: A Treasury of Marian Prayers and Devotions / Richard J. Beyer, Notre Dame, IN : Ave Maria Press, c1996, BX2160.2 B46 1996, p. 88.
My refuge and my strength My Lady, my refuge, life, and help, my armor and my boast, my hope and my strength, grant that I may enjoy the ineffable, inconceivable gifts of your Son, your God and our God, in the heavenly kingdom. For I know surely that you have power to do as you will, since you are Mother of the most High. Therefore, Lady most pure, I beg you that I may not be disappointed in my expectations but may obtain them, O Spouse of God, who bore Him who is the expectation of all, Our lord Jesus Christ, true God and master of all things, visible and invisible, to whom belongs all glory, honor, and respect, now and always and through endless ages. Amen.	St. Germanus (638-730), first bishop of Cyzicus, patriarch of Constantinople. Blessed Art Thou: A Treasury of Marian Prayers and Devotions / Richard J. Beyer, Notre Dame, IN : Ave Maria Press, c1996, BX2160.2 B46 1996, p. 89.
Who could know God, if it were not for you, most holy Mary? Who could be saved? Who would be preserved from dangers? Who would receive any grace, if it were not for you, Mother of God, full of grace? What hope could we have of salvation if you were to abandon us, O Mary, who are the life of Christians?	St. Germanus of Constantinople (d. 732) The Greatest Marian Prayers : Their History, Meaning, and Usage / Anthony M. Buono, New York : Alba House, c1999, BX2160.2 .B86 1999, p. 116
O Sovereign Queen! Thou art our defense and our joy. Make me worthy to share with thee the happiness which thou enjoyest in heaven. Yes, my refuge, my defense, my strength, my hope, obtain for me, by thy all-powerful intercession, a place with thee in Paradise. Being the Mother of God, thou canst obtain it, if thou pleasest, O Mary. Thou are all-powerful in saving sinners, and being the Mother of mercy, thou canst want no inducement to save them by thy intercession.	St. Germanus Mary : Our Life, Our Sweetness, and Our Hope : in three parts principally taken from authorized works / by Bernard Widger, Dublin : J. Duffy & Co., 1904 BX2160 .W54 1904, p. 189
Most Holy Virgin! Who art the greatest consolation that I receive from God, thou who art the heavenly dew which assuages all my pains, thou who art the light of my soul when it is enveloped in darkness, thou who art my guide in unknown paths, the support of my weakness, my treasure in poverty, my remedy in sickness, my consolation in trouble, my refuge in misery, and the hope of my salvation, hear my supplications, have pity on me, as becomes the Mother of so good a God, and obtain for me a favourable reception of all my petitions at the throne of mercy.	St. Germanus Mary : Our Life, Our Sweetness, and Our Hope : in three parts principally taken from authorized works / by Bernard Widger, Dublin : J. Duffy & Co., 1904 BX2160 .W54 1904, p. 188-9
Virgin Mary, hear my prayer: through the Holy Spirit you became the Mother of Jesus; from the Holy Spirit may I too have Jesus. Through the Holy Spirit your flesh conceived Jesus; through the same Spirit may my soul receive Jesus. Through the Holy Spirit you were able to know Jesus, to possess Jesus, and to bring him into the world. Through the Holy Spirit may I too come to know your Jesus. Imbued with the Spirit, Mary, you could say "I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to your word"; in the Holy Spirit, lowly as I am, let me proclaim the great truths about Jesus. In the Spirit you now adore Jesus as Lord and look on him as Son; in the same spirit, Mary, let me love your Jesus	St. Ildephonsus of Spain (d. 677) A Marian Prayer Book : A Treasury of Prayers, Hymns, and Meditations / edited by Pamela Moran, Ann Arbor, Mich. : Servant Publications, c1991, BX2160.2 .M37 1991, p. 222-3
I beg you, O holy Virgin, that I may have Jesus from the Spirit from Whom you conceived Jesus. May my soul receive Jesus through the Spirit, through Whom your flesh conceived the same Jesus. Let it be granted to me to know Jesus from the Spirit, from Whom it was given to you to know, to have and to bring forth Jesus. May I in my lowliness speak exalted things of Jesus in the Spirit, in Whom you confess yourself to be the handmaid of the Lord, choosing that it be done unto you according to the angel’s word. May I love Jesus in that Spirit in which you adore Him as Lord and contemplate Him as your Son. Amen. In Beyer translated as: Holy Virgin, I beg you: enable me to receive Jesus from the Spirit, according to the same process by which you bore Him. May my soul possess Christ, thanks to the Spirit through Whom you conceived Christ. May the grace to know Jesus be granted to me through the Spirit Who enabled you to know how to possess Jesus and bring him forth. May my littleness show forth the greatness of Christ in virtue of the Spirit in Whom you recognized yourself as the handmaid of the Lord, desiring that it be done to you according to the word of the angel. May I love Christ in the Spirit in whom you adored Him as your Lord and looked after Him as your son.	St. Ildefonsus of Toledo (d. 677) The Essential Mary Handbook : A Summary of Beliefs, Practices, and Prayers : with a glossary of key terms and cross-referenced to the Catechism of the Catholic Church / [edited and compiled by Judith A. Bauer], Liguori, Mo. : Liguori Publications, c1999, BX2160.2 .E88 1999 , pp. 118-9. Also found in: Blessed Art Thou: A Treasury of Marian Prayers and Devotions / Richard J. Beyer, Notre Dame, IN : Ave Maria Press, c1996, BX2160.2 B46 1996, p. 86.
Today, the root of Jesse has produced its shoot: she will bring forth a Divine flower for the world.... Today, the Creator of all things, God the Word, composes a new book: a book issuing from the heart of his Father and written by the Holy Spirit, Who is the tongue to God.... O daughter of King David and Mother of God, the universal King; O Divine and living object whose beauty has charmed God the Creator; your whole soul is completely open to God's action and attentive to God alone. All your desires are centered only on what merits to be sought and what is worthy of love. You harbor anger only for sin and its author. You will have a life superior to nature - but not for your own sake. For it has not been created for you but has been entirely consecrated to God, who has introduced you into the world to help bring about our salvation in fulfillment of his plan - the Incarnation of his Son and the Divinization of the human race. Your heart will find nourishment in the words of God, like the tree planted near the living waters of the Spirit, like the tree of life that has yielded its fruit in due time - the incarnate God who is the life of all things. Your ears will be ever attentive to the Divine words and the sounds of the harp of the Spirit, through whom the Word has come to take on our flesh.... Your nostrils will inhale the fragrance of the Bridegroom, the Divine fragrance with which he scented his humanity. Your lips will savor the words of God and will rejoice in their Divine sweetness. Your most pure heart, free from all stain, will ever see the God of all purity and will experience ardent desire for Him. Your womb will be the abode of the one whom no place can contain. Your milk will provide nourishment for God, in the little Infant Jesus.... Your hands will carry God, and your knees will serve as a throne for Him that is more noble than the throne of the Cherubim.... Your feet, led by the light of the Divine Law, will follow him along an undeviating course and guide you to the possession of the Beloved. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit, the city of the living God, made joyous by abundant flowers, the sacred flowers of divine grace. You are all-beautiful and very close to God, above the Cherubim and higher than the Seraphim, right near God Himself!	St. John Damascene (d. 754) The Greatest Marian Prayers : Their History, Meaning, and Usage / Anthony M. Buono, New York : Alba House, c1999, BX2160.2 .B86 1999, pp. 117-8
Your name, O Mother of God, is replete with all graces and Divine blessings. You have contained Him who cannot be contained, and nourished Him who nourishes all creatures. He who fills heaven and earth, and is the Lord of all, was pleased to be in need of you, for it was you who clothed Him with that flesh which He did not have before. Rejoice, then, O Mother and Handmaid of God! Rejoice, because you have made Him a debtor who gives being to all creatures. We are all debtors to God, but He is a debtor to you. That is why, O most holy Mother of God, you possess more goodness and greater charity than all the other Saints, and have freer access to God than any of them, for you are His Mother. Be mindful of us, we beg you, in our miseries, for we celebrate your glories and know how great is your goodness.	St. Methodius (d. 847) The Greatest Marian Prayers : Their History, Meaning, and Usage / Anthony M. Buono, New York : Alba House, c1999, BX2160.2 .B86 1999, pp. 119
Deign, O Immaculate Virgin, Mother most pure, to accept the loving cry of praise which we send up to you from the depths of our hearts. Though they can but add little to your glory, O Queen of Angels, you do not despise, in your love, the praises of the humble and the poor. Cast down upon us a glance of mercy, O most glorious Queen; graciously receive our petitions. Through your immaculate purity of body and mind, which rendered you so pleasing to God, inspire us with a love of innocense and purity. Teach us to guard carefully the gifts of grace, striving ever after sanctity, so that, being made like the image of your beauty, we may be worthy to become the sharers of your eternal happiness. Amen.	St. Paschasius Radbertus (d. 865), Benedictine The Essential Mary Handbook : A Summary of Beliefs, Practices, and Prayers : with a glossary of key terms and cross-referenced to the Catechism of the Catholic Church / [edited and compiled by Judith A. Bauer], Liguori, Mo. : Liguori Publications, c1999, BX2160.2 .E88 1999 , pp. 116-7
O Mary, you are inviolate, pure and without stain, you who became the glistening gate of heaven. O most dear and gracious Mother of Jesus, receive our modest songs of praise. We beg you with heart and lips: make our bodies and our souls pure. By your sweet prayers, obtain eternal pardon for us. O Mother most kind! O Queen! O Mary! Who alone remained inviolate!	Unknown (11 c) The Greatest Marian Prayers : Their History, Meaning, and Usage / Anthony M. Buono, New York : Alba House, c1999, BX2160.2 .B86 1999, p. 119
O holy Virgin, Mother of God, help those who implore your assistance. Turn toward us. Have you perhaps forgotten us because you have been elevated to a position close to God? No, certainly not. You know well in what danger you left us. You know the miserable condition of your servants. No, it would not benefit such great mercy as yours to forget such great misery as ours. Turn toward us, then, with your power, for He who is powerful has made you omnipotent in heaven and on earth. For you, nothing is impossible. You can raise even those who are in despair to a hope of salvation. The more powerful you are, the greater should be your mercy. Turn also to us in your love. I know, O Mary, that you are all kindness and that you love us with a love that no other love can surpass. How often you appease the wrath of our Divine Judge, when He is on the point of punishing us! All the treasures of the mercy of God are in your hands. You will never cease to benefit us, I know, for you are only seeking an opportunity to save all sinners and to shower your mercies upon them. Your glory is increased when, through you, penitents are forgiven and reach heaven. Turn, then, toward us, so that we may also be able to go and see you in heaven. For the greatest glory that we can have, after seeing God, will be to see you, to love you, and to be under your protection. So be pleased to grant our prayer; for your beloved Son wishes to honor you by refusing nothing that you ask.	St. Peter Damian (1007-1072) The Greatest Marian Prayers : Their History, Meaning, and Usage / Anthony M. Buono, New York : Alba House, c1999, BX2160.2 .B86 1999, p. 1120-1
Assist me by the wings of your prayers, O you who are called the Mother of the living, so that on my exit from this valley of tears I may be able to advance without torment to the dwelling of life that has been prepared for us to lighten the end of a life burdened by my iniquity. Healer of the sorrows of Eve, change my day of anguish into a feast of gladness. Be my Advocate, ask and supplicate. For as I believe in your inexpressible purity, so do I also believe in the good reception that is given to your word. O you who are blessed among women, help me with your tears for I am in danger. Bend the knee to obtain my reconciliation, O Mother of God. Be solicitous for me for I am miserable, O Tabernacle of the Most High. Hold out your hand to me as I fall, O heavenly temple. Glorify your Son in you: may He be pleased to operate Divinely in me the miracle of forgiveness and mercy. Handmaid and Mother of God, may your honor be exalted by me, and may my salvation be manifested through you.	St. Gregory of Narek (d. 1010) The Greatest Marian Prayers : Their History, Meaning, and Usage / Anthony M. Buono, New York : Alba House, c1999, BX2160.2 .B86 1999, p. 120
Mother of Salvation, Blessed Lady, you are the Mother of Justification and those who are justified; the Mother of Reconciliation and those who are reconciled; the Mother of Salvation and those who are saved. What a blessed trust, and what a secure refuge! The Mother of God is our Mother. The Mother of the One in whom alone we hope and whom alone we fear is our Mother! ... The One who partook of our nature, and by restoring us to life made us children of His Mother, invites us by this to proclaim that we are His brothers and sisters. Therefore, our Judge is also our Brother. The Savior of the world is our Brother. Our God has become - through Mary - our Brother!	St. Anselm (1033-1109), bishop, scholar, and Doctor of the Church, Archbishop of Canterbury Blessed Art Thou: A Treasury of Marian Prayers and Devotions / Richard J. Beyer, Notre Dame, IN : Ave Maria Press, c1996, BX2160.2 B46 1996, pp. 92-93.
O Jesus, Son of God, and you, O Mother Mary, you desire that whatever you love should be loved by us. Therefore, O good Son, by the love you bear your Mother, to grant to me that I may truly love her. And you, O Good Mother, I beg you by the love that you bear your Son, to pray for me that I may truly love him. Behold, I ask nothing that is not in accordance with your will. Since this is in your power, will my sins prevent this being accomplished? O Jesus, lover of all, you were able to love criminals and even to die for them. Can you, then, refuse me, who asks only the love of You and your Mother? And you, too, Mary, Mother of Him who loved us, who did bear Him in your womb, and feed Him at your breast, are you not able to obtain for one who asks it the love of your Son and yourself? May my mind venerate you both as you deserve. May my heart love you as it should. May my body serve you as it ought. In your service may my life be spent. Blessed be God forever. Amen, amen.	St. Anselm (1033-1109) The Essential Mary Handbook : A Summary of Beliefs, Practices, and Prayers : with a glossary of key terms and cross-referenced to the Catechism of the Catholic Church / [edited and compiled by Judith A. Bauer], Liguori, Mo. : Liguori Publications, c1999, BX2160.2 .E88 1999 , p. 115

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