Because She's Our Mother, too...

Linking up with {Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} over at Like Mother, Like Daughter.

{pretty}

So, each of our daughters has a name related to a family or friend, as well as having two strong patron saints. (So, Sister Stinky's middle name - Eleanor - was the name Andrew's maternal grandmother and also happened to be my paternal grandmother's name, and Sister Nugget is named for Maria, a sweet woman who was a resident at Misericordia.) The patron saints we chose for them were very intentionally chosen, too. Sister Stinky is named after one of my favorite saints (who Andrew loves, too) - St. Therese. And Sister Nugget is named after one of Andrew's favorite saints (who I love, too) - the Blessed Mother. There middle names are linked to two other saints that we love but don't have as close of a relationship to (St. Helena for Eleanor, and St. Faustina).

Long introduction but, what I'm getting at is...we very intentionally give our daughters patron saints who they can turn to, and grow close to. But, I'm always amazed at how my relationships with those saints grows as I get to know them through my daughters.

{happy, funny, and real}

St. Therese was a no-brainer for me. I fell in love with St. Therese when I was a senior in high school and I decided around then that if I ever had a daughter she would be named for her. But the Blessed Mother? I've always dutifully loved her, but it wasn't until I had children that I really began to get closer to her. Mainly, I've grown closer to her as a fellow mother. Andrew was very insistent that our second daughter be given some form of a Marian name, because of his deep devotion to Mary. And now, thanks to him and our own little Maria - I grow to love our heavenly mother more and more. That's my {happy}.

My {funny} is that my own little Maria just about lost it while I took the following pictures. ;-)

And the {real} is...this beautiful, beautiful litany. These images are found in a lower room in a large and beautiful grotto at the Carmelite Monastery where Andrew and I got engaged on October 1 (the Feast of St. Therese), 2008. When I was showing these pictures to my parents last weekend, they told me that the monastery used to have midnight Mass in this lower, cave-like room. My mom said it was an incredible thing to experience!

(They're Polish Carmelites, so the top line of each picture is in Polish and the bottom in English. We're guessing these were made in Poland because there are some English typos.)

So, in honor of the month of Mary...this beautiful litany. :-)

Lord, have mercy on us...

Christ, have mercy on us...

Lord, have mercy on us...

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father in 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 Savior...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.

Mirror of Justice...pray for us.

Cause of our Joy...pray for us.

Spiritual 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.

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 Conceived without Original Sin...pray for us.

Queen Assumed into Heaven...pray for us.

Queen of the Most Holy Rosary...pray for us.

Queen of Peace...pray for us.

Queen Beauty of Carmel...pray for us.

Queen of Poland...pray for us.

Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world...have mercy on us.

Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world...have mercy on us.

Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world...have mercy on us.

Amen.