from Saint John Chrysostom
The Son of God chose not for His Mother a woman of wealth or property, but that blessed Maiden whose soul was adorned with all the virtues. It was because the Blessed Mary had preserved her purity more perfectly than any other of our human kind that she conceived Christ, our Lord, within her womb. Let us, then, have speedy recourse to this most holy Virgin, the Mother of God, that we may obtain the help of her patronage. Come, then, all you maidens, whosoever you may be, take refuge with the Mother of our Lord; for, under her protection, she will keep for you inviolate the fairest and most precious of all your possessions.
The blessed and ever-virgin Mary, my dearly beloved Brethren! was indeed most wonderful. For, what has ever been, or can at any time be, discovered greater or more illustrious than she? She, in her sole self, is greater than the heavens and the earth. And what is holier than she? Neither Prophets, nor Apostles, nor Martyrs, nor Patriarchs, nor Angels, nor Thrones, nor Dominations, nor Seraphim, nor Cherubim, nor, finally, any other creature whatsoever, whether visible or invisible, can be found greater or more excellent than she. She is both the handmaid and the Mother of God, and at one and the same time both maiden and mother.
She is the Mother of Him who was begotten of the Father before all ages, and who is acknowledged as the Lord of all by Angels and by men. Would you know how much more eminent is this Maiden than the heavenly Powers? 'They stand by, in fear and trembling, veiling their faces, while she presents the human race to Him whom she brought forth. Through her also we obtain the remission of our sins. Hail, 'then, O Mother! - heaven! damsel! virgin! throne! - ornament, and boast, and buttress of our Church! pray for us assiduously to Jesus, thy Son and our Lord, that through thee we may find mercy in the day of judgment, and may attain to the good things which are reserved for them who love God, by the grace and bounty of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be glory and honour and empire, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Let us pray
O God! who didst vouchsafe to choose the Blessed Mary to be Thy court and Thy virginal dwelling-place, grant, we beseech Thee, that, strengthened by her protection, we may, through Thee, joyfully take part in commemorating her: who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Magnificat
My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because He hath regarded the humility of His handmaid; for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because He that is mighty hath done great things to me; and holy is His name. And His mercy is, from generation unto generations, to them that fear Him. He hath showed might in His arm: He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel, His servant, being mindful of His mercy. As He spoke to our fathers - to Abraham and to His seed, for ever. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Salve Regina!
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy! Hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate! thine eyes of mercy towards us, and, after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God! That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Petition
We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God! despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin!
- from The May-Book of the Breviary, by Father John Fitzpatrick