O Marie, Ma Reine et ma Mère

Today is the anniversary of the death of Monsieur le Chanoine Louis François CROSET. Born at Annecy-le-Vieux in 1914, he was ordained to the priesthood in the Cathedral of Annecy on 7 June 1941. He exercised the sacred ministry in the diocese of Annecy from 1941 until 1952, and in the diocese of Bayonne from 1952-1990. He died on the Vigil of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, 7 December 1990.
Père Croset’s priestly life was marked by great suffering, by an extraordinary love for the Blessed Virgin Mary, and by a wonderful spiritual fruitfulness. I was privileged to be numbered among the many souls touched by his priesthood. At the end of his life Père Croset lived in a residence for elderly priests in Pau, not far from Lourdes. A number of years ago he drove me to Lourdes where, together in the February rain, we stood before the grotto and prayed this Act of Abandonment to the Blessed Virgin. Père Croset composed it in 1952 in a moment of intense moral suffering and darkness.
O Marie, ma Reine et ma Mère,
reçois en tes mains mon Acte d’Abandon
à la volonté du Père de notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ,
afin qu’à l’exemple de son Fils bien aimé
et par le secours de ta Tendresse,
je laisse conduire ma vie par l’Esprit-Saint
selon les mysterieux desseins de la Trinité.
O Mary, my Queen and my Mother,
receive into your hands
my Act of Abandonment
to the will of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
so that, following the example of His beloved Son
and with the help of your tenderness,
I may let my life be directed by the Holy Spirit
according to the mysterious designs of the Trinity.
Aide-moi à livrer sans réserve tout mon être à Dieu
dans la clarté obscure de la foi,
l’élan austère de l’Espérance
et l’étreinte crucifiante de l’Amour.
Help me to surrender without reserve
my whole being to God
in the dark brightness of Faith,
the austere élan of Hope,
and the crucifying embrace of Love.
Je veux m’enfoncer en ton Coeur Immaculé
pour y devenir l’hostie que tu donneras à Jésus,
afin qu’en son sacrifice
Il me consacre à la gloire de son Père
et à la fécondité de l’Eglise son Épouse.
Amen.
I want to hide myself within your Immaculate Heart
to become there the host
that you will give to Jesus,
so that He may consecrate me in His sacrifice
to the glory of His Father
and to the fecundity of His Bride the Church.
Amen.