Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is attested from the earliest days of the Church. And the oldest
known written version of a prayer to her is found on an Egyptian papyrus from the Third Century. It is the prayer we sing to her each Sunday evening:
We place ourselves in your keeping, holy Mother of God. Refuse not the prayer of your children in their distress, but deliver us from all danger, ever Virgin, holy and blessed.
She will never forget us or neglect us, for her Son has entrusted us to her care. How fitting that we remember her Birthday, for she is gateway to the Hope, Holiness and Peace which is ours in Christ Jesus, her Son.
