Jim Garlits Ed

Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary Jim Garlits Ed

This "Little Office" of the Blessed Virgin Mary is adapted from the 1867 Fowler edition. What elevates this version above all the others is the touching meditations at the beginning of each hour. For example, from the hour of Terce: O divine and adorable Lord, Jesus Christ, who has graciously redeemed us by thy bitter passion and death, we offer up this hour of Terce to thy honor and glory, and most humbly beseech thee through the torments thou didst endure in being cruelly scourged at a pillar, crowned with thorns, and unjustly condemned to be crucified, to grant us patience and longanimity under the scourges of temporal afflictions, courage to walk in the thorny road to the narrow gate, which opens to bliss, and perseverance under all the crosses of this life, which are the portion of the elect, that by suffering for our sins we may fully satisfy thy divine justice on earth, and may enter into thy glory immediately after death. Amen. Those who love Our Lady will appreciate that these short prayers allow them not only to sanctify the day but to do it using a text that is at reverent and readable; the language exemplifies noble simplicity and unembellished piety, in the most beautiful tradition of good liturgical prayer. It is appropriate both to those who attend the ordinary and extraordinary forms of Catholic Mass. This updated version restores the traditional ordering of the prayers and places it in a user-friendly format that eliminates flipping pages back and forth.