Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - July 16th

[Stone]

Our Lady of Mount Carmel
O Queen, who art the beauty of Carmel, pray for us.

O blessed Virgin, full of grace, Queen of all Saints, how sweet it is for me to venerate thee under the title of our Lady of Mount Carmel. It takes me back to the days of the prophet Elias, when thou was prefigured on Mount Carmel under the form of the little cloud, from which, as it increased, there fell a kindly rain, symbolic of the sanctifying graces that come to us from thee. Even from the days of the Apostles, thou hast been honored under this mystic title; and today I am filled with joy at the thought that we are united with those first clients of thine, and in union with them we salute thee, saying: O beauty of Carmel, glory of Libanus, thou purest of lilies, mystic rose in the flowering garden of the Church. Meanwhile, O virgin of virgins, be mindful of me in my misery, and show thyself my Mother. Shed upon me ever more and more the living light of that faith which made thee blessed; inflame me with that heavenly love wherewith thou didst love thy dear Son, Jesus Christ. I am filled with miseries both spiritual and temporal. I am straitened by many sorrows in body and soul, and I take refuge, like a child, in the shadow of thy motherly protection. Do thou, Mother of God, who hast such power and might, obtain for me from blessed Jesus, the heavenly gifts of humility, chastity, and meekness, which were the fairest ornaments of thine immaculate soul. Do thou grant me to be strong in the midst of the temptations and bitterness, which so often overwhelm my spirit. And when the days of my earthly pilgrimage are accomplished according to God's holy will, gran that my soul may obtain the glory of paradise, through the merits of Christ and thine intercession. Amen

(An indulgence of 500 days)