The Novena to the Immaculate Conception begins today
DAY XNUMX: INVOCATION OF AID TO MARY
O Immaculate Virgin, first and sweet fruit of salvation, we admire you and celebrate with you the greatness of the Lord who has done wonderful wonders in you. By looking at You, we can understand and appreciate the sublime work of the Redemption and we can see in their exemplary result the infinite riches that Christ, with his Blood, has given us. Help us, O Mary, to be, like You, saviors together with Jesus of all our brothers. Help us to bring the gift received to others, to be "signs" of Christ on the roads of our world thirsting for truth and glory, in need of redemption and salvation. Amen.
3 Hail Mary.
DAY 2: GREETINGS, O MARIA
I greet you, O Mary, all pure, all irreproachable and worthy of praise. You are the co-redemptrix, the dew of my arid heart, the serene light of my confused mind, the repairer of all my ills. O my very pure, infirm the infirmity of my soul. You can do everything because you are the Mother of God; nothing is denied to You, because you are the Queen. Don't despise my prayer and my tears, don't disappoint my expectation. Bend your Son in my favor and, as long as this life lasts, defend me, protect me, guard me.
3 Hail Mary.
DAY 3: GET ME A FAITHFUL HEART
Holy Mary, Mother of God, keep me a child's heart, pure and clear as spring water. Get me a simple heart that does not fold up to savor its sadness: a magnanimous heart in giving oneself, easy to compassion; a faithful and generous heart, which does not forget any good and does not hold a grudge against any evil. Form me a sweet and humble heart that you love without demanding to be loved in return; a large and indomitable heart so that no ingratitude can close it and no indifference can tire it; a heart tormented by the glory of Jesus Christ, wounded by his great love with a plague that does not heal except in Heaven.
3 Hail Mary.
DAY 4: HELP US, OR MOTHER
Our Queen, incl. Mother of God, we pray you: make our hearts full of grace and shine with wisdom. Make them strong with your strength and rich in virtues. Upon us pour out the gift of mercy, because we obtain the forgiveness of our sins. Help us to live so as to deserve the glory and bliss of Heaven. May this be granted to us by Jesus Christ, your Son, who exalted you above the Angels, crowned you Queen, and made you sit forever on the shining throne. To him honor and glory over the centuries. Amen.
3 Hail Mary.
DAY 5: SAVE US, O MARIA!
O Virgin, beautiful as the moon, delight of Heaven, in whose face the blessed look and the Angels are reflected, make us, your children, look like you, and that our souls receive a ray of your beauty that does not set with the years, but which shines in eternity. O Mary, Sun of Heaven, awakens life wherever death is and brightens spirits where darkness is. By mirroring yourself in the face of your children, grant us a reflection of your light and your fervor. Save us, O Mary, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, strong as an army deployed, supported not by hatred, but by the flame of love. Amen.
3 Hail Mary.
DAY 6: YOU, O MARIA
Ave Maria! Full of grace, holiest of saints, highest in the heavens, most glorious of the angels, most venerable of every creature. Hail, heavenly Paradise! All fragrance, lily that smells sweet, fragrant rose that opens to the health of mortals. Ave, an immaculate temple of God built in a holy way, adorned with divine magnificence, open to all, an oasis of mystical delights. Ave pure! Virgin Mother! Worthy of praise and veneration, source of gushing waters, treasure of innocence, splendor of holiness. You, o Mary, guide us to the port of peace and salvation, to the glory of Christ who lives eternally with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. Amen.
3 Hail Mary.
DAY 7: REMEMBER YOUR CHILDREN
Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, we recommend the whole Church to you. You who are called "help of the Pastors", protect and assist the bishops in their apostolic mission, and those who, priests, religious, lay people, help them in their arduous effort. Remember all your children; confirm their prayers with God; keep their faith firm; fortify their hope; increase charity. Remember those who pour into tribulations, needs, dangers; remember those especially who suffer persecution and who are in prison for the faith. To them, O Virgin, grant strength and hasten the longed-for day of just liberty.
3 Hail Mary.
DAY 8: O MERCY FATHER
Father of mercy, giver of all good, we thank you because from our human lineage you have chosen the Blessed Virgin Mary to be Mother of your Son made man. We thank you because you have preserved it from every sin, you have filled it with every gift of grace, you have joined it to the work of redemption of your Son and you have taken it in soul and body to Heaven. We ask you, through her intercession, to be able to fulfill our Christian vocation, to grow every day in your love and to come with her to enjoy forever in your blessed kingdom. Amen.
3 Hail Mary.
DAY 9: BEND ABOUT US
Hear, or beloved by God, the ardent cry that every faithful heart raises towards you. Bend over our aching sores. Change the minds of the wicked, dry the tears of the afflicted and oppressed, guard the flower of purity in young people, protect the holy Church, make men all feel the charm of Christian goodness ... Welcome, O sweetest Mother, our humble plead and get us above all that we can one day repeat before your throne the hymn that rises today on earth around your altars: all beautiful you are, O Mary! You glory, You gladness, You honor of our people. Amen.
3 Hail Mary.