“Mondays with Mary” – The Marian Prayer of Saint Casimir of Poland

By Tom Perna on March 2, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

Two days from today, on March 4, the Catholic Church will remember one of the great Polish saints – Saint Casimir of Poland. Patron Saint to the youth of both Poland and Lithuania, he lived between the years 1458 to 1483. From his earliest days, he had a true love for the Catholic faith and showed to be incredibly holy. He particularly loved the Holy Eucharist and had a special relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In 1522, he was elevated to sainthood by Pope Adrian VI. In 1604, when his tomb was opened to transfer his bodily remains to the church that was built to honor him, and named after him, by Sigismund III, it was discovered that his body was incorruptible. In his hands, he was holding the prayer below to the Blessed Virgin Mary –

Every day, O my soul, pay your respects to Mary,
Make her feasts solemn and celebrate her brilliant virtues;
Contemplate and admire her elevation;
Proclaim her blessedness both as Mother and Virgin;
Honor her so that she delivers you from the weight of your sins;
Invoke her so as not to be driven by the torrent of passion;
I do know if anybody can honor Our Lady worthily
Yet he who keeps silent in her praises is senseless;
Everyone should exalt and love her in a special way,
And never cease to cherish and pray to her;
O Mary, the honor and glory of all women,
You who God has raised above all creatures;
O Virgin of Mercy, hear the prayers of those who never stop praising you;
Purify those who are guilty and make them worthy of heaven;
Hail, O holy Virgin, through whom the gates of heaven were opened to undeserving souls
You, who, the old serpent’s snares never managed to seduce;
You repair and console despairing souls
Preserve us from the evils that will fall on the wicked;
Obtain perpetual peace for me,
And save me from the misfortune of the flames of Gehenna;
Obtain for me to be chaste and modest, gentle, kind, sober, pious, prudent, upright and the enemy of all falsehood;
Grant me meekness, love of harmony and purity;
Make me strong and constant on the path of righteousness.