Marie de Nazareth
To Jesus, through Mary
The Blessed and mystic Anne-Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824)
In chapter XXV of her Life of the Virgin Mary, Blessed and mystic Anne-Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) gives us the advice the Virgin Mary gave her to prepare herself to honour the feast of Her Nativity on 8 September. She also relates a vision of the consequences of prayers made on earth in Her honour.
"I saw many things concerning Saint Brigid, and I was aware of several communications that had been made to her about the Conception and Nativity of Mary. I remember the Blessed Virgin telling her that when pregnant women sanctify the eve of the day of Her birth by fasting and devoutly reciting nine Hail Marys in honour of the nine months she spent in her mother's womb, when they frequently repeat this exercise of piety during their pregnancy and on the eve of their delivery, and when they also approach the sacraments with piety, she brings their prayer before God and obtains for them a happy deliverance, even in difficult circumstances.
As for me, the Blessed Virgin came to me and told me, among other things, that whoever today, in the afternoon, devoutly recites nine Hail Marys in honour of her nine-month stay in her mother's womb and her birth, and continues this exercise of piety for nine days, gives the angels nine flowers each day to form a bouquet which she receives in heaven and presents to the Holy Trinity, in order to obtain a grace for the person who has made these prayers.Later, I felt transported as if on a height between heaven and earth. The earth was dark and indistinct beneath me. In heaven, among the choirs of angels and saints, I saw the Blessed Virgin before the throne of God. With the prayers and devotions of the faithful living on earth, I saw two doors or two thrones of honour built for her, which grew to form churches, palaces and even whole cities. I was amazed to see that these edifices were made entirely of plants, flowers and garlands, the different kinds of which expressed the nature and merit of the prayers made, either by individuals or by whole communities. I saw all this taken from the hands of those praying, by angels or saints, who carried it up into heaven."
Source:
-A.-C. Emmerich. Life of the Virgin Mary, chap. XXV.
-about Blessed A.-C.Emmerichin the Marian Encyclopaedia
-on the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (8 September)in the Marian Encyclopaedia
L’équipe de MDN.