Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.
(It is piously believed that whoever recites the above prayer fifteen times a day from the feast of St. Andrew (30th November) until Christmas will obtain what is asked.)
Imprimatur
+MICHAEL AUGUSTINE, Archbishop of New York
New York, February 6, 1897
This week, the beginning of Advent is full of wonderful feast days. Tomorrow is St. Andrew, Wednesday is St. Bibiana. If you are a Californian, and live in the Los Angeles area, I would suggest visiting the Cathedral just for the sake of visiting her tomb in the crypt. I have done this several times and distributed prayer cards of her in the past, and have found her quite efficacious. So powerful are the many many ancient martyr saints that have since been deleted from the calendar of the newchurch.
Thursday is St. Francis Xavier, Friday is St. Barbara, and next Sunday is St. Nicholas. And this Saturday is Our Lady's first Saturday. What a wonderful week of feasts and graces to be reaped during this first week of Advent. Happy and blessed advent to all.