Mary, Mother of the Church

On Monday May 24, the day after Pentecost, we will be celebrating the newly added feast day; the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. Pope Francis has added this memorial to the Roman calendar to honour the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title as, 'Mother of the Church'. The Marian title 'Mother of the Church' was given to the Blessed Mother by Saint Pope Paul VI at Vatican II. Pope Francis, throughout his papacy, has emphasized the importance of having a devotion to Our Lady and, how for Christians, this is not being recommended as something that is a good thing to do, but it is something necessary in our lives. “Devotion to Mary is not spiritual etiquette; it is a requirement of the Christian life." Pope Francis

Readings

Gen 3:9-15   "But the Lord God called to the man. "Where are you?" he asked. ...

OR

Acts 1:12-14   "...With one heart all these were constantly persevering in prayer, together with the women, including Mary the Mother of Jesus, and with his brothers."

John 19:25-34   '... Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, "Woman, this is your son." Then to the disciple he said, "This is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.'...

Himene

Mō Maria is our special himene to Mary, originating from the first Catholic missionaries arriving in Aotearoa.

The words are attributed to Bishop Jean Baptiste Pomapallier (1802-1871). There are many verses to this piece but it is most frequently sung with the following three verses.

You can download the music HERE

The words in Te Reo and English can be downloaded HERE

More background information and videos of Mō Maria HERE

Māori Madonna by Julia Lynch