Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

O Mary, mother of Jesus and mother of his Church,
we are mindful of the role you play
in the evangelization of souls who do not yet know him.
We are mindful of how missionaries
came with the power of Christ's gospel
and committed the success of their work to you.
As the mother of divine grace
you were with the missionaries in all their efforts.
And as mother of the Church
you presided over all the activities of evangelization
and over the implantation of the gospel
in the hearts of the faithful.
You sustained the missionaries in hope
and you gave joy to every new community
that was born of the Church's evangelizing activity.
You were there with your intercession and your prayers,
as the first grace of baptism developed,
and as those who had new life in Christ your Son
came to a full appreciation of their Christian calling.
We ask you, Mary,
to help us to fulfill this mission of evangelization
which your Son has given to his Church
and which falls to us.
Mindful of your role as help of Christians,
we entrust ourselves to you
in the work of carrying the gospel
ever deeper into the hearts
and lives of all the people.
We entrust to you our missionary mandate
and commit our cause totally to your prayers.
To Jesus Christ your Son, with the Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit
be praise and thanksgiving forever and ever. Amen.