The Blessed Virgin Mary, Gate of Heaven
Beata Maria Virgo, Ianua Cæli
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Entrance Antiphon
Maiden-Mother, bearing the Word of God,
you are the gate of paradise;
in bringing God into the world
you have unlocked for us the gate of heaven.
Ave, Virgo Verbo gravida, paradisi ianua:
dum Deum mundo reddis cælum nobis aperis.
COLLECT
Lord our God, in your goodness
you have made your Son
the gateway to salvation and life;
grant that, as we follow the example
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
we may remain faithful in the love of Christ
and so pass safely through the gate
of your city in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Deus, qui Filium tuum
ostium salutis et vitæ constituisti benignus,
præsta, quresumus,
ut, præveniente beata Virgine Maria,
in Christi dilectione maneamus fideles
et cælestis civitatis nobis pateant limina.
Per Dominum.
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading
Rev 21, 1-5a
I saw the new Jerusalem, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband..
A reading from the Book of Revelation
I,John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.
God will dwell with them and they will be his people
and God himself will always be with them as their God.
God will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain,
for the old order has passed away.”
The One who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.”
Or:
Gen 28:10-17
This is nothing else but the house of God and the gate of heaven.
A reading from the book of Genesis
Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and proceeded toward Haran.
When he came upon a certain shrine, as the sun had already set,
he stopped there for the night.
Taking one of the stones at the shrine, Jacob put it under his head
and lay down to sleep at that spot.
Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground,
with its top reaching to the heavens;
and God’s messengers were going up and down on it.
And there was the LORD standing beside him and saying:
“I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham and the God of Isaac;
the land on which you are lying
I will give to you and your descendants.
These shall be as plentiful as the dust of the earth,
and through them you shall spread out east and west, north and south.
In you and your descendants
all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.
Know that I am with you;
I will protect you wherever you go,
and bring you back to this land.
I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you.”
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he exclaimed,
“Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!”
In solemn wonder he cried out: “How awesome is this shrine!
This is nothing else but an abode of God,
and that is the gateway to heaven!”
The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 24, 1-2. 3-4ab. 5-6
R. (2 Chronicles 7:16a) I have chosen and sanctified this house.
The earth and what fills it are the LORD’S,
the world and those who live there.
For God founded it on the seas,
established it over the rivers. R.
Who may go up the mountain of the LORD?
Who can stand in that holy place?
“The clean of hand and pure of heart,
who are not devoted to idols,
who have not sworn falsely.” R.
They will receive blessings from the LORD,
and justice from their saving God.
Such are the people that love the LORD,
that seek the face of the God of Jacob. R.
Or:
Ps 122, 1-2. 3-4. 8-9
R. (See 1b) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
And now our feet stand
within your gates, Jerusalem, R.
Jerusalem—built as a city
walled round about.
Here the tribes come,
the tribes of the LORD,
as it was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD. R.
For family and friends I say,
“May peace be yours.”
For the house of the LORD, our God, I pray,
“May blessings be yours.” R.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The gates of paradise, closed by Eve,
were reopened by you, O Virgin Mary.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mt 25, 1-13
Look, the bridegroom comes. Go out to meet him
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
At midnight, there was a cry,
‘Behold, the bridegroom!
Come out to meet him!’
Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish ones said to the wise,
‘Give us some of your oil,
for our lamps are going out.’
But the wise ones replied,
‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you.
Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’
While they went off to buy it,
the bridegroom came
and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.
Then the door was locked.
Afterwards the other virgins came and said,
‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’
But he said in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’
Therefore, stay awake,
for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
Lord, we offer to the glory of your name
the Sacrament of unity and peace
as we honor the memory of the glorious Virgin Mary,
the very gate of life,
through whom the Savior of the world came among us,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Maiestati tuæ, Domine,
unitatis et pacis offerimus sacramentum,
gloriosæ Virginis Mariæ memoriam recolentes,
ex qua, præclara vitæ ianua, salus mundi orta est,
Jesus Christus Dominus noster.
Qui vivit.
PREFACE
The Gate Closed by Eve Has Been Reopened by the Blessed Virgin
(Quam Eva clausit ianuam beata Virgo reseravit)
(Quam Eva clausit ianuam beata Virgo reseravit)
The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
R. We lift them up to the Lord
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R. It is right and just.
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, and to praise and bless your holy name
as we celebrate the memory of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
She is the Virgin Mother,
prefigured in the eastern gate of the temple,
through which the Lord would enter,
and after him no other.
She is the humble Virgin,whose faith opened the gate of eternal life,
closed by the disbelief of Eve.
She is the Virgin at prayer,
always interceding for sinners
that they may turn to her Son,
who unseals the fountain of ever-flowing grace
and opens the door of forgiveness.
Through him the Angels of heaven
offer their prayer of adoration
as they rejoice in your presence for ever.
May our voices be one with theirs
in their triumphant hymn of praise:
Vere dignum et iustum est, æquum et salutare,
nos tibi, sancte Pater, semper et ubique gratias agere,
et in hac celebratione beatæ Virginis Mariæ
te debitis magnificare præconiis:
Hæc est Virgo Mater,
figuram adimplens orientalis portæ templi:
per eam Dominus transiit,
ipsi soli patuit et clausa mansit.
Hæc est Virgo humilis,
quæ æternæ vitæ ianuam,
quam Eva incredula clauserat,
nobis reseravit fidelis.
Hæc est Virgo supplex,
pro peccatoribus iugiter ex6rans,
ut ad Filium suum convertantur,
perennis gratiæ fontem et veniæ patens ostium.
Per quem maiestatem tuam adorat exercitus Angelorum,
ante conspectum tuum in æternitate lætantium.
Cum quibus et nostras voces ut admitti iubeas, deprecamur,
socia exsultatione dicentes:
Holy, Holy, Holy....
Communion Antiphon
Blessed are you, Virgin Mary, resplendent gate of light;
through you there came to shine on us Christ,
the light of the world.
Beata es, Virgo Maria, porta lucis fulgida,
per te Christus, lux mundi, nobis effulsit.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Refreshed, Lord God, by this joyous Sacrament,
we pray that through the Blessed Virgin Mary,
who brought our Savior into the world,
your gifts of grace may come down on us
and the gate of heaven may be opened to receive us
into the joy of your Kingdom.
Through Christ our Lord.
Refecti, Domine, sacramentis et gaudiis,
supplices deprecamur,
ut, per beatam Virginem Mariam,
ex qua mundo Salvator advenit,
ad nos descendant cælestis gratiæ munera
et nobis pateat felix cæli porta.
Per Christum.
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