Mater Boni Consilii, ora pro nobis!
Novena to
Our Lady of Good Counsel
April
18 – April 26
Our Lady of Good Counsel is a title given
to the Blessed Virgin Mary, after a painting said to be miraculous, now found
in the thirteenth century Augustinian church at Genazzano, near Rome, Italy.
Measuring 40 by 45 centimeters the image is a fresco executed on a thin layer
of plaster no thicker than an egg shell. Over the centuries, devotions to Our
Lady of the Good Counsel grew among saints and Popes, to the extent that a
reference to it was added to the Litany of Loreto and the devotion spread
throughout the world. Her feast day is April 26.
In the 5th century, during the reign
of Pope Sixtus III, the town of Genazzano, about 30 miles (48 km) south of
Rome, had contributed a large portion of its revenue for the Roman basilica now
known as Santa Maria Maggiore. In appreciation, a church was built in Genazzano
and was later entrusted to the Augustinian Order in 1356.
According to tradition, in the year
1467, in the midst of the festivities for the Feast of Saint Mark, the townsfolk
suddenly heard "exquisite music." A mysterious cloud was then said to
have descended and obliterated an unfinished wall of the parish church. In
front of the populace, the cloud dissipated and a beautiful fresco, no thicker
than a carte-de-visite and no more than eighteen inches square, of the Virgin
Mary and the Christ Child was revealed. It was widely believed that it had been
miraculously transported from a church in Scutari, Albania.
Such was the holy image's reputation
that Pope Urban VIII made a "glittering" pilgrimage there in 1630,
invoking the protection of the Queen of Heaven, as did Pope Pius IX in 1864. On
November 17, 1682, Pope Innocent XI had the picture solemnly crowned. Among her
noted clients have been St Aloysius Gonzaga, St Alphonsus Liguori, St John
Bosco, and Blessed Stephen Bellesini.
In 1753, Pope Benedict XIV
established the Pious Union of Our Lady of Good Counsel. More than any other
pope, Leo XIII, who was himself a member of the pious union, was deeply
attached to this devotion. The small Scapular of Our Lady of Good Counsel (the
White Scapular) was presented by the Hermits of St. Augustine to Pope Leo XIII,
who, in December 1893, approved it and endowed it with indulgences. On April
22, 1903, that same Pope included the invocation "Mater boni
consilii" in the Litany of Loreto. In 1939, Venerable Pope Pius XII placed
his pontificate under the maternal care of Our Lady of Good Counsel and
composed a prayer to her.
By Ven. Pope Pius XII
Holy Virgin, moved by the painful
uncertainty we experience in seeking and acquiring the true and the good, we
cast ourselves at thy feet and invoke thee under the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel. We beseech thee: come to our aid at this
moment in our worldly sojourn when the double darkness of error and of evil
plot our ruin by leading minds and hearts astray.
Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea,
enlighten the victims of doubt and of error so that they may not be seduced by
evil masquerading as good; strengthen them against the hostile and corrupting
forces of passion and of sin.
Mother of Good Counsel, obtain for us our
most urgent need...
(Mention
your request)
And secure for us from thy Divine Son
the love of virtue and the strength to choose, in doubtful and difficult
situations, the course agreeable to our salvation.
Supported by thy hand we shall thus
journey without harm along the paths taught us by the word and example of Jesus
our Savior, following the Sun of Truth and Justice in freedom and safety across
the battlefield of life under the guidance of thy maternal Star, until we come
at length to the harbor of salvation to enjoy with thee unalloyed and
everlasting peace. Amen.
Pray the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory
Be, three times each.
Our Father
Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee;
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death.
Amen.
Glory be
Glory be, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the
Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world
without end. Amen.
Our Father
Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee;
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death.
Amen.
Glory be
Glory be, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the
Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world
without end. Amen.
Our Father
Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee;
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death.
Amen.
Glory be
Glory be, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the
Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world
without end. Amen.
Mater Boni Consilii, ora pro nobis!
Ven. Pope Pius XII, ora pro nobis!
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