Daily Message
Goodevening!
from the book,""She is my mother"...
We fly to your patronage...
I recalled the long history of this prayer. As Francis had explained, it is probably the oldest Christian prayer to Mary. It has been prayed for a long time in the rites of both the Western and the Eastern Church, although there are always alight variations in the translation. It is part of the prayers recited by many Christians, and the life of many religious communities and catholic families, and can be found in the evening prayer of the Church ( Breviary ) among the Marian antiphons.
We fly to your patronage,
O holy Mother of God;
despise not our petitions in our necessities,
but deliver us always from all dangers,
O glorious and blessed Virgin.
Amen.
In 1917, the John Roland's Library in Manchester, England, acquired a number of Egyptian Papyri. These included a fragment measuring 18 cmx9.4cm with the Greek text of this prayer. Scientists do not agree about the age of this papyrus. The most pessimistic, like C.H.Roberts, date it to the fourth century. Roberts was the first to publish a study of this text in 1938. His main arguement is that the title Theotokos(Mother of God) did not exit before the fourth century. However, today we know that this title was used in about 250 AD in Alexandria....irrespective of the date of the text, the discoveryof the papyrus is highly significant for Mariology, from an historical and liturgical and theological point of view. The early church did not normally address prayers directly to Mary. At least there are few signs of this practice. THe Egyptian papyrus with the prayer Sub tuum Presidium is valuable evidence of an early devotion to Mary.
This is one place where I have recited this prayer many times in my life.
Buona sera!
from the book,""She is my mother"...
We fly to your patronage...
I recalled the long history of this prayer. As Francis had explained, it is probably the oldest Christian prayer to Mary. It has been prayed for a long time in the rites of both the Western and the Eastern Church, although there are always alight variations in the translation. It is part of the prayers recited by many Christians, and the life of many religious communities and catholic families, and can be found in the evening prayer of the Church ( Breviary ) among the Marian antiphons.
We fly to your patronage,
O holy Mother of God;
despise not our petitions in our necessities,
but deliver us always from all dangers,
O glorious and blessed Virgin.
Amen.
In 1917, the John Roland's Library in Manchester, England, acquired a number of Egyptian Papyri. These included a fragment measuring 18 cmx9.4cm with the Greek text of this prayer. Scientists do not agree about the age of this papyrus. The most pessimistic, like C.H.Roberts, date it to the fourth century. Roberts was the first to publish a study of this text in 1938. His main arguement is that the title Theotokos(Mother of God) did not exit before the fourth century. However, today we know that this title was used in about 250 AD in Alexandria....irrespective of the date of the text, the discoveryof the papyrus is highly significant for Mariology, from an historical and liturgical and theological point of view. The early church did not normally address prayers directly to Mary. At least there are few signs of this practice. THe Egyptian papyrus with the prayer Sub tuum Presidium is valuable evidence of an early devotion to Mary.
This is one place where I have recited this prayer many times in my life.
Buona sera!
Comments
Post a Comment