Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel
Celebrated April 26.
Whenever the faithful throughout the world recite the Litany of Loreto, they invoke the Blessed Virgin as Mother of Good Counsel, a title Leo XIII inserted into the Litany in 1903. Largely through the work of the brothers and sisters of the Augustinian family, devotion to the Mother of Good Counsel has spread far and wide from the town of Genazzano, not far from Rome, which has a famous sanctuary dedicated to her.Our Lady is rightly honored under this title, for she is the Mother of Christ, whom Isaiah with prophetic vision called “Wonderful Counselor” (Isaiah 9: 5: cf.1 Read Isaiah 9: 1-3, 5-6; PC); she lived her whole life under the guidance of the “Spirit of counsel”, who “overshadowed” her (PO); she “gave herself wholeheartedly to [God’s] wise and loving plan for renewing all things in Christ” (Pref; cf. Ephesians 1: 10); “generously [God] poured out” on her “the gifts of [the] Holy Spirit” (Pref), principal among which is the “spirit of wisdom” (Ent Ant, cf. Wisdom 7: 7b).
In the texts of this Mass our Lady, enlightened by the gift of counsel, is honored as Mother and teacher as she cries out in gratitude in the words of Wisdom itself: “To me belong counsel and prudence, understanding and strength are mine” (All, Proverbs 8: 14); gifts willingly shared with the children and disciples of Wisdom (cf. Ent Ant), whom Mary instructs that they must before all else do what Christ has told them to do (cf. Gos, John 2: 1-11; Com Ant, John 2: 5).
In celebrating this Mass we earnestly ask God for the gift of counsel, to teach us how to know his will and to guide us in all we do (Col; cf. PC).
This Mass, except for the Preface, is taken from the Proprium missarum Ordinis Fratrum sancti Augustini, approved in 1975 by the Congregation for Divine Worship.
Prayer for the Feast
Lord, you know that our thoughts on earthare full of fear and uncertainty;
through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
from whom your Son took flesh and blood,
send us the gift of counsel
to teach us how to discern your will
and to guide us in all we do.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
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