October 16: devotion to San Gerardo "protector of mothers and children"

Da Paolo Tessione - October 16th, 2020

SAINT GERARDO MAIELLA

Protector of mothers and children

At the age of 26, Gerardo (1726-1755) managed to pronounce the vows among the Redemptorists, welcomed as a coadjutor brother, after being rejected by the Capuchins because of his health fragility. Before leaving he had left a note to his mother with the words: «Mother, forgive me. Do not think about me. I go to make myself saint! ». «The joyful and confident" yes "to the divine will, supported by constant prayer and a strong penitential spirit, translated into him in a charity attentive to the spiritual and material needs of the neighbor, especially of the poorest. Even without having made any particular studies, Gerard had penetrated the mystery of the kingdom of heaven and radiated it with simplicity to those who approached him ». He made heroic obedience to the will of God a staple in his life. At the point of death he spoke these words before Christ viaticum: "My God, you know that what I have done and said, I have done everything and said for your glory. I die happy, in the hope of having sought only your glory and your most holy will ».

PRAYERS IN SAN GERARDO MAIELLA

Prayers for life

Lord Jesus Christ, I humbly ask you, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, your mother, and your faithful servant Gerardo Maiella, that all families know how to understand the priceless value of life, because living man is your glory. Let every child, from the first moment of his conception in the womb, find a generous and caring welcome. Make all parents aware of the great dignity you bestow on them in being father and mother. Help all Christians to build a society in which life is a gift to love, promote and defend. Amen.

For a difficult motherhood

O powerful Saint Gerard, always solicitous and attentive to the prayers of mothers in difficulty, listen to me, please, and assist me in this moment of danger for the creature I carry in my womb; protect us both because, in full serenity, we can spend these days of anxious waiting and, in perfect health, thank you for the protection you have given us, a sign of your powerful intercession with God. Amen.

Prayer of an expectant mother

Lord God, creator of mankind, who made your Son born of the Virgin Mary by the work of the Holy Spirit, turn, through the intercession of your servant Gerardo Maiella, your benign gaze on me, which I beg you for a happy birth; bless and support this expectation of mine, because the creature I carry in my womb, reborn one day in baptism and aggregated to your holy people, serve you faithfully and always live in your love. Amen.

Prayer for the gift of motherhood

O Saint Gerard, powerful intercessor to God, with great confidence I invoke your help: make my love fruitful, sanctified by the sacrament of marriage, and grant me also the joy of motherhood; arrange that together with the creature you will give me, I can always praise and thank God, the origin and source of life. Amen

Entrustment of mothers and children to the Madonna and San Gerardo

O Mary, Virgin and Mother of God, who have chosen this sanctuary to give thanks together with your faithful servant Gerardo Maiella, (on this day dedicated to life) we turn to you with trust and invoke your maternal protection on us. . To you, O Mary, who welcomed the Lord of life we entrust mothers with their spouses so that in welcoming life they may be the first witnesses of faith and love. To you, Gerardo, heavenly patron of life, we entrust all mothers and in particular the fruit they bear in their womb, so that you always be close to them with your powerful intercession. To you, the attentive and caring Mother of Christ your Son we entrust our children so that they may grow up like Jesus in age, wisdom and grace. We entrust our children to you, Gerardo, heavenly protector of children, so that you always guard them and defend them from the dangers of body and soul. To you, Mother of the Church we entrust our families with their joys and their sorrows so that every house becomes a small domestic Church, where faith and harmony reign. To you, Gerardo, defender of life, we entrust our families so that with your help they may be models of prayer, love, industriousness and are always open to welcome and solidarity. Finally, to you, Virgin Mary and to you, glorious Gerard, we entrust the Church and Civil Society, the world of work, the young, the elderly and the sick and all those who promote your worship so that united with Christ, the Lord of life, they rediscover the true meaning of work as a service to human life, as a testimony of charity and as an announcement of God's love for every man. Amen.

O glorious Saint Gerard who saw in every woman the living image of Mary, spouse and mother of God, and you wanted her, with your intense apostolate, to the height of her mission, bless me and all the mothers of the world. Make us strong to keep our families together; help us in the difficult task of educating our children in a Christian way; give our husbands the courage of faith and love, so that, following your example and comforted by your help, we can be an instrument of Jesus to make the world more good and just. In particular, help us in sickness, in pain and in any need; or at least give us the strength to accept everything in a Christian way, so that we too can be an image of Jesus crucified as you were. Give our families the joy, peace and love of God.

O Lord Jesus who was born of the Virgin Mary, - protect and bless our children.

You who have been obedient to your mother Mary, - protect and bless our children.

You who sanctified childhood, - protect and bless our children.

You who suffered poverty as a child, - protect and bless our children.

You who have suffered persecution and exile, - protect and bless our children.

You who welcomed and loved children, - protect and bless our children.

You who in baptism gave them a new life, - protect and bless our children.

You who give yourself to them as food in Holy Communion, - protect and bless our children.

You who have loved St. Gerard from an early age, - protect and bless our children.

You who played with little Gerardo, - protect and bless our children.

You who brought him the white sandwich, - protect and bless our children.

In sickness and suffering - protect and bless our children.

In difficulties and dangers - protect and bless our children.

Let's pray
Lord Jesus Christ, hear our prayers for these children, bless them in your love and keep them with your continuous protection, so that they may grow in a Christian way and come to give you full witness with free and sincere faith, with fervent charity and with persevering hope in the coming. of your kingdom. You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

NOVENA TO SAN GERARDO MAIELLA

(click to recite the Novena)

TRIDUUM IN SAN GERARDO MAIELLA

1 - O Saint Gerard, you have made your life a very pure lily of candor and virtue; you have filled your mind and heart with pure thoughts, holy words and good works. You have seen everything in the light of God, you have accepted as a gift from God the mortifications of the superiors, the misunderstandings of the confreres, the adversities of life. On your heroic journey towards holiness, Mary's maternal gaze was a comfort to you. You loved her from an early age. You proclaimed her your bride when, in the youthful ardor of your twenties, you slipped the engagement ring on her finger. You had the joy of closing your eyes under the maternal gaze of Mary. O Saint Gerard, obtain for us with your prayer to love Jesus and Mary with all your heart. Let our life, like yours, be a perennial song of love to Jesus and Mary.
Glory to the Father ...

2 - O St. Gerard, most perfect image of Jesus crucified, the cross for you was an inexhaustible source of glory. In the cross you saw the instrument of salvation and the victory against the snares of the devil. You have sought her with holy obstinacy, embracing her with serene resignation in the continuous setbacks of life. Even in the terrible slander, with which the Lord wanted to prove your fidelity, you managed to repeat: “If God wills my mortification, why must I go out of his will? So let God do it, because I want only what God wants ”. You have tortured your body with increasingly harsh vigils, fasts and penances. Enlighten, O Saint Gerard, our mind to understand the value of the mortification of the flesh and of the heart; it strengthens our will to accept those humiliations that life presents to us; implore us from the Lord who, following your example, we know how to undertake and follow the narrow path that leads to heaven. Glory to the Father ...

3 - O Saint Gerard, Jesus the Eucharist was for you the friend, the brother, the father to visit, love and receive in your heart. Your eyes, your heart, have been fixed on the tabernacle. You have become the inseparable friend of Jesus the Eucharist, to the point of spending entire nights at his feet. Ever since you were a child you have longed for it so ardently that you have obtained first communion from heaven from the archangel Saint Michael. In the Eucharist you have found comfort in sad days. From the Eucharist, bread of eternal life, you drew the missionary zeal to convert, if it were possible, as many sinners as there are grains of sand in the sea, the stars in the sky. Glorious Saint, make us in love, like you, with Jesus, infinite love. For your ardent love for the Eucharistic Lord, grant that we too know how to find in the Eucharist the necessary food that nourishes our soul, the infallible medicine that heals and strengthens our weak strengths, the sure guide that, alone, can introduce us to the radiant vision of the sky. Glory to the Father ...

Supplication

O Saint Gerard, with your intercession, your graces, you have guided many hearts to God, you have become the relief of the afflicted, support of the poor, help of the sick. You who know my pain, move to pity on my suffering. You who in tears console your devotees, listen to my humble prayer. Read in my heart, see how much I suffer. Read in my soul and heal me, comfort me, console me. Gerardo, come quickly to my aid! Gerardo, grant that I am among those who praise and thank God with you. Grant that I can sing his mercy with those who love me and suffer for me. What does it cost you to accept my prayer? I will not stop invoking you until you have fully heard me. It is true that I do not deserve your graces, but listen to me for the love you bring to Jesus, for the love you bring to Mary Most Holy. Amen.