GREATEST MARIAN PRAYERS, THE
Their History, Meaning and Usage

GREATEST MARIAN PRAYERS, THE
Their History, Meaning and Usage

Praying to the Blessed Virgin Mary has always been a part of our Christian heritage. From the beginning Christians have praised Mary as the Mother of God and prayed to her both in the Liturgy and in private devotion. They have done so knowing that whenever Mary is honored, Jesus, her Son, is duly acknowledged, loved and glorified and his commandments are observed. Twelve prayers have been singled out for study here as the greatest of these Marian prayers: the Hail Mary, the Magnificat, the SubTuum, the Akathist Hymn, the Final Antiphons (Alma Redemptoris Mater and Ave Regina Caelorum), the Hail Holy Queen, the Angelus, the Regina Caeli, the Stabat Mater, the Memorare, the Litany of Loreto and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. An Appendix to the work includes sixty other short prayers which have found their way into the popular piety of the People of God. In bringing them all together in a single volume it is hoped that knowledge of these Marian prayers will keep them alive in the hearts, minds and lives of the faithful into the new millennium.

About the Author: Anthony M. Buono, the author of two other Alba House titles dealing with the liturgy and prayer (Praying with the Church, 1990; and Active Participation at Mass, 1994) has devoted a good part of his professional life in the field of liturgical publishing. This book is in response to the great resurgence of Marian devotion in our day, attributable in large part to Pope John Paul II. As such, it seeks to throw light on these devotions that are such an integral part of the heritage of the Church, the prayers the faithful recite every day.