NOVENA IN PREPARATION FOR THE
THE ANNUNCIATION
FIRST DAY
The
Annunciation
PREPARATORY PRAYER
My Queen,
my Mother, remember I am thine own. Keep me, guard me, as thy property and
possession!
MEDITATION
At Nazareth,
a mountain village in Judea, lived poor and in obscurity Mary, the virgin
selected by God to become the Mother of His Son. On March 25th she was in
prayer in her chamber, and perhaps sent up to heaven the yearning petition, "Drop
down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just; let the
earth be opened and bud a Saviour" (Is. xlv. 8). Behold, suddenly the chamber is
suffused by a heavenly light. The archangel Gabriel stands reverently before
her and says, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among
women. And when
Mary heard the angel's words, she was troubled at his saying, and thought with
herself what manner of salutation this should be" (Luke i. 28, 29).
PRACTICE
The
angel's salutation comprises two titles of ineffable greatness. Mary is called "full
of grace," because of
her innocence and purity; she is called "blessed among
women," because
she is the elect Mother of God. Never before was a human being thus greeted. It
was God Himself who sent the message to Mary. A good angel now repaired the
harm once done by a bad angel. For Lucifer, the fallen angel, seduced Eve to
sin and thereby caused the ruin of the whole human race; now another angel,
Gabriel, was sent to announce the glad tidings to Mary, that she was to
conceive the Redeemer from sin, who was to accomplish the salvation of mankind.
Mary was
troubled at the angel's words, and reflected on the meaning of the message. St.
Ambrose writes: "Mary was troubled, not because the angel was a heavenly
spirit, but because he appeared to her in the form of a youth. Still more was
she troubled at the praises spoken to her. She was innocent and humble, and
therefore reflected on the meaning of the message. She had always considered
herself as a poor and unknown virgin; she deemed herself unworthy of God's
grace; therefore she was troubled at the salutation. In that decisive moment
she was and remained our model."
PRAYER
Pour
forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we unto whom
the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel,
may, by His passion and cross, be brought to the glory of the resurrection.
Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lord, have mercy
on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy
on us,
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father
of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son,
Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy
Ghost, have mercy on us.Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray
for us.
Holy Mother of
God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of
virgins, pray for us.
Mother of
Christ, pray for us.
Mother of divine
grace, pray for us.
Mother most pure,
pray for us.
Mother most
chaste, pray for us.
Mother
inviolate, pray for us.
Mother
undefiled, pray for us.
Mother most
amiable, pray for us.
Mother most
admirable, pray for us.
Mother of good
counsel, pray for us.
Mother of our
Creator, pray for us.
Mother of our
Redeemer, pray for us.
Virgin most
prudent, pray for us.
Virgin most
venerable, pray for us.
Virgin most
renowned, pray for us.
Virgin most
powerful, pray for us.
Virgin most
merciful, pray for us.
Virgin most
faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of justice,
pray for us.
Seat of wisdom,
pray for us.
Cause of our
joy, pray for us.
Spiritual
vessel, pray for us.
Vessel of honor,
pray for us.
Singular vessel
of devotion, pray for us.
Mystical rose,
pray for us.
Tower of David,
pray for us.
Tower of ivory,
pray for us.
House of gold,
pray for us.
Ark of the
covenant, pray for us.
Gate of heaven,
pray for us.
Morning star,
pray for us.
Health of the
sick, pray for us.
Refuge of
sinners, pray for us.
Comforter of the
afflicted, pray for us.
Help of
Christians, pray for us.
Queen of angels,
pray for us.
Queen of
patriarchs, pray for us.
Queen of
prophets, pray for us.
Queen of
apostles, pray for us.
Queen of
martyrs, pray for us.
Queen of
confessors, pray for us.
Queen of
virgins, pray for us.
Queen of all
saints, pray for us.
Queen conceived
without original sin, pray for us.
Queen of the
most holy rosary, pray for us.
Lamb of God, who
takest away the sins of the world: Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who
takest away the sins of the world: Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who
takest away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God:
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray
Pour forth, we
beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the
incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by
His passion and cross be brought to the glory of His resurrection. Through the
same Christ our Lord. Amen.
V. Pray for us, O
holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be
made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray
Vouchsafe, O
Lord, that we may be helped by the merits of Thy most holy Mother's spouse;
that what of ourselves we can not obtain may be given us through his
intercession. Who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment