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May 1, 2020Bishop McManus renewed the consecration of the Diocese of Worcester to Mary at today’s 9 a.m. Mass at St. Paul Cathedral, in yet another prayerful response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Mass was broadcast on television and livestreamed online and can be viewed on the diocesan website, www.worcesterdiocese.org.
In offering this prayer, Bishop McManus was joining with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, who are reconsecrating their nations today to the care of the Blessed Mother, under the title “Mary, Mother of the Church.”
Bishop McManus had entrusted the diocese to the Blessed Mother’s protection in the face of the coronavirus several weeks ago. On March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation, he traveled to six churches, praying at each one with area clergy and seminarians.
In 2017 he consecrated the diocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in honor of the 100th anniversary of her apparitions at Fatima, Portugal.
Before renewing the consecration today, he commented about the Gospel read at the Mass, saying that the Blessed Virgin knew suffering as she stood at the foot of the cross looking at the bruised body of her Son. She knows our fears and the deaths this pandemic has caused, the bishop added.
He spoke of turning to her today, in union with U.S. and Canadian bishops, and begging her to be with us, guide the hands of doctors and nurses and intercede with her Son.
Bishop McManus went to an image of Mary holding Baby Jesus that hangs on the wall in the cathedral’s lower church and prayed the “Prayer of renewal of our consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
“In this time of pandemic we come to you, our sign of sure hope and comfort,” he said. “Today we renew the act of consecration and entrustment carried out by those who have gone before us.”
He asked Mary, “with the love of a Mother and Handmaid,” to embrace our nation, diocese and parishes, and to “embrace us as we renew our consecration to you, together with our brothers and sisters in Christ.”
The bishop also entrusted to Mary those infected with the coronavirus, those who have lost loved ones in this pandemic, all who are suffering from it in any way, those seeking a cure, and caregivers, leaders and policymakers.
“Help us to be your Son’s instruments for the healing and salvation of our country and the world,” Bishop McManus pleaded. He asked Mary to intercede for our country, “that faith may be revived and nourished, hope sustained and enlightened, charity awakened and animated.”
He concluded by asking Mary to “bring everyone under your protection and entrust everyone to your beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The USCCB said in an April 23 press release that “through a collective dedication or entrustment of a nation to Mary, an act of consecration is meant to be a reminder … of the Blessed Mother’s witness to the Gospel and to ask for her effective intercession.”
Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, USCCB president, is to lead a prayer of reconsecration to Mary at 3 p.m. (EDT) today. He invited the bishops to join in.
The bishops of Italy are to consecrate their nation to Mary’s care today, praying for an end to the pandemic. That prayer service is to be held in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Fountain near Caravaggio, in the hard-hit province of Bergamo.
Pope Francis asked Catholics to pray the rosary in May to ask for Mary’s intercession in stopping the pandemic. He also wrote two prayers to pray with the rosary.
The text of the letter and prayers in English
The text of the letter and prayers in Spanish
(Photo by Lucas LaRoche, seminarian in the Diocese of Worcester)
