Litany Lullaby

When my family immigrated here to the States, my family and I lived in Far Rockaway, New York. From what I remember, it's basically NYC, in Queens, I think. I remember that my then-only younger brother (there are two of them now) and I went to a St. Mary's Star of the Sea Catholic School, a private Catholic school attached to St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish (which is now a Baptist church from what I hear). We lived in an apartment complex across from the East River, and I remember that most Saturdays, my family and I would go to the "beach" across the street and play in the sand. I also remember my dad trying to teach us how roller skate and ride a bike in the hallway. I remember trick-or-treating, celebrating Christmas, birthdays, and watching the fireworks during New Year's. But what I remember the most is that every single night, my family would pray the Rosary. Now when I say "pray the Rosary", I mean my parents would pray the Rosary and my brothers and I prayed our "kiddie" prayers: Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be. And we always did this right before we would go to sleep. My brother and I would get into our bunk bed (I think I always had the top bunk), my parents would tuck us in, and then we would start praying. After we prayed our "kiddie" prayers together, my parents would sit down, face the little grotto that had a Santo Nino and a Mahal na Birhen, and they would pray the Rosary as we went to sleep. It became almost like a lullaby for me and my brother. It was not until much later when I finally learned how to pray the Rosary in RE that we started praying the Rosary together as a family. We did this every...single...night. I do not remember ever missing it. It was our thing, our nightly ritual. Even now, my family still prays the Rosary every night, and of course, I join them when I'm home.

Over the years, because of life and circumstance, our nightly ritual changed a little bit, but not much. When I was younger, after the Rosary, my parents would pray the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the Litany of Loreto. If you asked 5 year old me, I would have told you that all it was, was my dad saying some big words, and both of them saying "pray for us". But 5 year old me would have also told you that I remember the things my dad said, what I realize now to epithets of the BVM, were always pretty sounding, stuff like: "Tower of David", "Tower of Ivory", "Cause of Our Joy", "Singular Vessel of Devotion", and a bunch of other stuff. It was always around this time, when they were praying the Litany, that I started to fall asleep...knowing I was safe and in a good place (spiritually). I don't exactly remember when, probably a little after my baby brother was born, but eventually my parents stopped praying the Litany. They still prayed the Rosary, but the Litany stopped. I never asked why, but maybe I will someday. And over time, I had forgotten it. It wasn't actually until I was in college, when I just happened across it again, that it brought back all these wonderful memories. I think I was giving a talk on the Rosary and I wanted to show people how my family prayed it. So after a bit of web surfing, I just stumbled upon it. I was reading it, and all those pretty words came flooding back to me, as if they never left. And I guess in a way, they never did. In retrospect, the Rosary and the Litany, and my parents devotion to both, is what has probably heavily influenced my own strong devotion to Mama Mary. Being a mama's boy, I guess I see my own mother in the  Mahal na Birhen and vice-versa. But regardless, I am a Marianist, through and through. 

So now I come to the point of this post. I want to share with all of you...my lullaby. For those who don't know, a litany is basically a list. You have the Litany of the Saints, the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and a whole host of other beautiful litanies that the Church gives us. But out of all, this will always be my favorite. It lists many of the different epithets of the Holy Mother, always with the invocation of "pray for us". Critics of prayer like this, both Catholic and non-Catholic, always criticize the repetitiveness of it. How can this be prayer, repeating the same thing over and over again? My question to them is: how is not? When we are praying for something, something important to us, we don't just say it once, right? We say it over and over and over again, hoping and praying that God would hear us. So to with this. As Catholics, we believe Mama Mary to be the greatest intercessor on our behalf, the Mother of God, exalted higher than all the saints and even all the angels. This is the Virgin to whom the angels proclaim "Hail, full of grace". As my priest says, "she has the ear of Christ", just as she did during the wedding at Cana. 

So here it is, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, my lullaby:

Lord have mercy on us.
Lord have mercy on us.
Christ have mercy on us.
Christ have mercy on us.
Lord have mercy on us.
Lord have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us
Holy Mother of God, pray for us
Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us
Mother of Christ, pray for us
Mother of divine grace, pray for us
Mother most pure, pray for us
Mother most chaste, pray for us
Mother inviolate, pray for us
Mother undefiled, pray for us
Mother most amiable, pray for us
Mother most admirable, pray for us
Mother of good counsel, pray for us
Mother of our Creator, pray for us
Mother of our Redeemer, pray for us
Virgin most prudent, pray for us
Virgin most venerable, pray for us
Virgin most renowned, pray for us
Virgin most powerful, pray for us
Virgin most merciful, pray for us
Virgin most faithful, pray for us
Mirror of justice, pray for us
Seat of wisdom, pray for us
Cause of our joy, pray for us
Spritual vessel, pray for us
Vessel of honor, pray for us
Singular vessel of devotion, pray for us
Mystical rose, pray for us
Tower of David, pray for us
Tower of ivory, pray for us
House of gold, pray for us
Ark of the covenant, pray for us
Gate of Heaven, pray for us
Morning Star, pray for us
Health of the sick, pray for us
Refuge of sinners, pray for us
Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us
Help of Christians, pray for us
Queen of Angels, pray for us
Queen of Patriarchs, pray for us
Queen of Prophets, pray for us
Queen of Apostles, pray for us
Queen of Martyrs, pray for us
Queen of Confessors, pray for us
Queen of Virgins, pray for us
Queen of all Saints, pray for us
Queen conceived without original sin, pray for us
Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us
Queen of peace, pray for us
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world: Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world: Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.
Pray for us, most holy Mother of God,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray.

O God, whose only begotten Son, by his life, death and resurrection has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech you, that while meditating of the mysteries of the most holy rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

During Easter:
God our Father, you give joy to the world by the resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Through the prayers of his mother, the Virgin Mary, bring us to the happiness of eternal life. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.


And for any Latin fanatics out there like me, here is the Litany in Latin: Litaniae Virginis Maria


Thanks letting me take my trip down memory lane. My mother always says "the family that prays together, stays together". And even though, my family has had its fair share of problems, I firmly believe that our prayers, by the grace of God, have kept us together. If I ever figure out my vocation, and its to be a father and family man, I fully intend on praying every night with my family and spreading our tradition. But then again, even if I was Father, I think I'd still do the same thing. 


May this prayer be for you what it has been for me: a lullaby, soothing me, and letting me know that everything is ok. 


Dominus vobiscum.

Belgian folk print depicting the different names of the Blessed Virgin Mary said in the Litany of Loreto.