The Madonna of The Roses
by William Adolphe Bourguereau
On Mother's Day I find myself thinking of the iconic symbol of motherhood, the Virgin Mary. Especially so because when my grandmother passed away five months ago, my mom and I said this prayer over her.
Hail Mary, full of grace
The Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou among women
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners
Now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Here's a breathtakingly gorgeous version of Schubert's Ave Maria, sung by Leontyne Price. Enjoy, and Happy Mother's Day.
I always love Ave Maria...
ReplyDeleteBut it is still weird to see prayers in english because I never went to church in english!
Here it is en francais, just for you, Jill -
ReplyDeleteJe vous salue, Marie, pleine de grâce.
Le Seigneur est avec vous.
Vous êtes bénie entre toutes les femmes,
et Jésus, le fruit de vos entrailles, est béni.
Sainte Marie, Mère de Dieu,
Priez pour nous, pauvres pécheurs,
maintenant et à l'heure de notre mort. Amen
Julia, I know it by heart in french! I'm just not use hearing it and seeing it in english!
ReplyDeleteNope, I'm the wrong girl for an Ave Maria. Although I had a friend volunteer to sing it at my wedding...
ReplyDeleteWhat I wouldn't do for a voice like that! That was so hauntingly beautiful. I love that song!
ReplyDeleteJill - After you mentioned the English version seemed strange, I felt like looking at the French version. So we could both be freaked out.
ReplyDeleteSusan - LOL!
Ave Maria is beautiful. I even like Harry Connick, Jr.'s version.
ReplyDeleteAll right, now you're going to know I'm nuts - but I weep every time I hear Ave Maria. I had no idea that song was "hail mary" or part of the rosary. Hear the song - cry. Even at weddings - the tears just fall from my eyes.
ReplyDeleteI honestly do not cry that much - if ever. Just to Ave Maria, and heart wrenching romance....
Ave Maria is such a beautiful song.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, Claudia... i get goosebumps.
ReplyDeleteClaudia - to me, that's simply your body's way of processing the surge of feeling that comes with hearing pure beauty. I cried when I loaded this song onto my blog - but only because it's so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, Julia! I love this so very much.
ReplyDeleteI adore this song. Andrea Botchelli does an awesome version of this too.
ReplyDeleteNice poem!!!
ReplyDeleteI walked down the aisle to Ave Maria. To this day, I get goose bumps whenever I hear it.
ReplyDeleteThat song is painful for me. My Nanny's favorite song, we buried her to that song. She was 61 and fought and loss several horrific bouts of Cancer.
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather didn't last the year and I was only 15. So I just couldn't listen to the song. I couldn't.
It's beautiful but too hard. :)
((hugs)) Amy.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteHere's the Portuguese version of Ave Maria, just in case you're curious:
Avé Maria, cheia de graça,
o Senhor é convosco.
Bendita sois vós entre as mulheres;
bendito é o fruto do vosso ventre, Jesus.
Santa Maria, mãe de Deus,
rogai por nós, pecadores,
agora e na hora da nossa morte.
Amen
I also think it weird to pray the Hail Mary in English, because I've always done it in Portuguese, as my grandmother taught me.
Beautiful, both the painting and Ave Maria. Leontyne Price has an amazing voice.
ReplyDelete