Part 1

Produced by Michael Gray, Diocese of San Jose

MARY, THE HELP OF CHRISTIANS

Novenas in Preparation for the Principal Feasts of the Blessed Virgin

COMPILED BY REV. BONAVENTURE HAMMER, O.F.M.

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NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, CHICAGO BENZIGER BROTHERS

PRINTERS TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE PUBLISHERS OF BENZINGER'S MAGAZINE

Imprimi Permittitur. FR. CHRYSOSTOMUS THEOBALD, O.F.M., _Minister Provincialis._ Cincinnati, Ohio, die 30, Martii, 1908.

Nihil Obstat. REMY LAPORT, S.T.L., _Censor Librorum._

Imprimatur. JOHN M. FARLEY, Archbishop of New York.

NEW YORK, March 4, 1909.

COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY BENZIGER BROTHERS.

Contents

RULES FOR THE PROPER OBSERVANCE OF NOVENAS ON THE MANNER OF READING THE MEDITATIONS AND OBSERVING THE PRACTICES INTRODUCTION: MARY, THE HELP OF CHRISTIANS

I. NOVENA IN HONOR OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

FIRST DAY.--THE PREDESTINATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY SECOND DAY.--MARY'S IMMACULATE CONCEPTION THIRD DAY.--MARY, THE VICTRIX OF SATAN FOURTH DAY.--MARY WITHOUT ACTUAL SIN FIFTH DAY.--MARY, FULL OF GRACE SIXTH DAY.--MARY, OUR REFUGE SEVENTH DAY.--MARY, THE MOTHER OF CHASTITY EIGHTH DAY.--THE IMAGE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION NINTH DAY.--THE FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

II. NOVENA IN HONOR OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

FIRST DAY.--THE BIRTH OF MARY SECOND DAY.--MARY, THE ELECT OF GOD THIRD DAY.--MARY, THE CHILD OF ROYALTY FOURTH DAY.--MARY, THE CHILD OF PIOUS PARENTS FIFTH DAY.--MARY'S SUPERNATURAL PREROGATIVES SIXTH DAY.--MARY, THE JOY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY SEVENTH DAY.--THE ANGELS REJOICE AT MARY'S BIRTH EIGHTH DAY.--THE JOY OF THE JUST IN LIMBO AT MARY'S BIRTH NINTH DAY.--THE HOLY NAME OF MARY

III. NOVENA FOR THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

FIRST DAY.--THE ANNUNCIATION SECOND DAY.--THE IMPORT OF THE ANGEL'S SALUTATION THIRD DAY.--THE EFFECT OF THE ANGEL'S SALUTATION FOURTH DAY.--MARY'S QUESTION FIFTH DAY.--THE SOLUTION SIXTH DAY.--MARY'S CONSENT SEVENTH DAY.--MARY'S FORTITUDE IN SUFFERING EIGHTH DAY.--MARY, THE MOTHER OF GOD NINTH DAY.--MARY OUR MOTHER

IV. NOVENA IN HONOR OF THE SEVEN SORROWS OF MARY

FIRST DAY.--DEVOTION TO THE SEVEN SORROWS OF MARY SECOND DAY.--MARY'S FIRST SORROW: SIMEON'S PROPHECY IN THE TEMPLE THIRD DAY.--MARY'S SECOND SORROW: THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT FOURTH DAY.--MARY'S THIRD SORROW: JESUS LOST IN JERUSALEM FIFTH DAY.--MARY'S FOURTH SORROW: SHE MEETS JESUS CARRYING HIS CROSS SIXTH DAY.--MARY'S FIFTH SORROW: BENEATH THE CROSS SEVENTH DAY.--MARY'S SIXTH SORROW: THE TAKING DOWN OF JESUS' BODY FROM THE CROSS EIGHTH DAY.--MARY'S SEVENTH SORROW: JESUS IS BURIED NINTH DAY.--WHY MARY HAD TO SUFFER

V. NOVENA FOR THE FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

FIRST DAY.--MARY'S DEATH WAS WITHOUT PAIN SECOND DAY.--AT MARY'S TOMB THIRD DAY.--THE EMPTY TOMB FOURTH DAY.--REASONS FOR THE BODILY ASSUMPTION OF MARY INTO HEAVEN FIFTH DAY.--MARY'S GLORIOUS ENTRANCE INTO HEAVEN SIXTH DAY.--MARY CROWNED IN HEAVEN SEVENTH DAY.--MARY'S BLISS IN HEAVEN EIGHTH DAY.--MARY, THE QUEEN OF MERCY NINTH DAY.--MARY IN HEAVEN THE HELP OF CHRISTIANS ON EARTH

LITANY OF LORETO, IN HONOR OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

List of Illustrations

The Sacred Heart of Mary Virgin Most Pure The Immaculate Conception The Presentation of Mary in the Temple The Annunciation Mary, the Mother of Sorrows Simeon's Prophecy in the Temple The Flight into Egypt The Finding of Jesus in the Temple Jesus' Body, Taken Down from the Cross The Assumption Mary's Death Mary Crowned in Heaven Mary, the Help of Christians on Earth

Mary, the Help of Christians

Novenas in Preparation for the Principal Feasts of the Blessed Virgin

"Holy Mary, aid the miserable, assist the desponding, strengthen the weak, pray for the people, plead for the clergy, intercede for the devout female sex. Let all who have recourse to thee experience the efficacy of thy help!"--HOLY CHURCH.

Rules for the Proper Observance of Novenas

_By St. Alphonsus Liguori_

1. THE soul must be in the state of grace; for the devotion of a sinful heart pleases neither God nor the saints.

2. We must persevere, that is, the prayers for each day of the novena must never be omitted.

3. If possible, we should visit a church every day, and there implore the favor we desire.

4. Every day we ought to perform certain specified acts of exterior self-denial and interior mortification, in order to prepare us thereby for the reception of grace.

5. It is most important that we receive holy communion when making a novena. Therefore prepare yourself well for it.

6. After obtaining the desired grace for which the novena was made, do not omit to return thanks to God and to the saint through whose intercession your prayers were heard.

On the Manner of Reading the Meditations and Observing the Practices

HOLY SCRIPTURE says, "Before prayer prepare thy soul; and be not as a man that tempteth God" (_Eccles._ xviii. 23). Therefore place yourself in the presence of God, invoke the assistance of the Holy Ghost, and make a most sincere act of contrition for your sins. Offer up to God your will, your intellect, and your memory, so that your prayer may be pleasing to God and serve to promote your spiritual welfare.

Then read the meditation slowly, reflecting on each point of the thought or mystery treated, and consider what you can learn from it, and for what grace you ought to implore God. This is the principal object to be attained by mental prayer.

Never rise from your prayer without having formed some special resolution for practical observance. The practices at the end of each consideration in the following novenas will aid you to do so. Finally, ask for grace to carry out effectively your good purposes, and thank God for enlightening your mind during the meditation.

Introduction

Mary, the Help of Christians

NO CATHOLIC denies that Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only mediator through whose merits we became reconciled to God. Nevertheless, it is a doctrine of our faith that God willingly grants us grace if the saints, and especially the Blessed Virgin Mary, the queen of saints, intercede for us. If the saints, during their life on earth, were so potent with God that through their prayers the blind obtained sight, the deaf hearing, and the dumb speech, that the sick of all conditions were healed, the dead restored to life, and the most obstinate sinners converted; if thousands of other miracles in the order of nature and of grace were performed through their intercession; what, then, will not she obtain for us from God, whose virtue and merits transcend those of all the saints, and who did more for the greater honor and glory of God than they all? Mary is the queen of saints not only because she is the Mother of the Most High, but also because her sanctity is more perfect than theirs, and she therefore thrones above them all in heaven. Hence the favor with which God regards her, and consequently the power of her intercession with Him is so much the greater.

If Mary's sanctity thus impressively illustrates the potency of her intercession, the contemplation of her dignity as the Mother of God does still more so. Mary brought forth Him who is the Almighty. She calls Him her Son, who by the word of His omnipotence created from out of nothing the whole world with all its beauties, and who can call into being countless millions of other worlds. She calls Him her Son, whose throne is heaven and whose footstool is the earth, who governs all nature with almighty power and reveals His name to mankind through the most astounding miracles. In a word, Mary calls Him her Son, whose omnipotence fills heaven and earth; and this great, almighty God, who honors her as His Mother and has wrought in her such great things, will He not heed her word of intercession, and hear her pleading for those who have recourse to her? On earth He was subject to her. Her intercession moved Him to exercise His omnipotent power at the wedding feast at Cana; and now, when He has glorified and raised her up so high He would let her invoke Him in vain? No, it is inconceivable that God should not hear the prayers of His Mother!

The holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church vie with each other in proclaiming the power of Mary's intercession with the Heart of her divine Son. Some say that having been subject to her on earth, He desires to be so in heaven, inasmuch as to refuse her nothing she asks. Hence St. Bernard calls her the "Intercessory Omnipotence." Indeed, when all the angels and saints in heaven join in supplication to God, their prayers are but those of servants; but when Mary prays her intercession is that of His Mother.

Therefore we can not sufficiently thank God for having given us in Mary so powerful an advocate. St. Bernard aptly says: "The angel announces, 'thou hast found grace before God.' O supreme happiness! Mary shall always find grace. And what else could we wish? If we seek grace, let us seek it through Mary; for what she seeks, she finds. Never can she plead ineffectually."

God, then, who in His infinite mercy has been pleased to provide for all our needs, desires through Mary to console us, to comfort us, to remove all distrust, to strengthen our hope. How consoling to him who calls upon God in sore distress, or implores His pardon for sins committed, is the thought that at the throne of divine Mercy he has in Mary an advocate as mighty as she is gracious, who supplements his great unworthiness by her sublime dignity, and who makes good the defects of his prayer by her intercession! Therefore St. Bonaventure exclaims: "Verily, great is Our Lord's mercy! That we, through fear of our divine Judge, depart not forever from Him, He gave us His own Mother for our advocate and mediatrix of grace."

I.

Novena in Honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

INDULGENCES

TO ALL the faithful who by themselves or with others, in church or at home, with at least contrite heart and devotion, shall make this novena: (1) 300 days indulgence for each of the nine days; (2) a plenary indulgence on one day of the novena or of the eight days following it. (Pius IX, January 5, 1849.) Conditions: Confession, communion, and prayer, according to the intentions of the Holy Father.

_Remark._--Whenever, in the following pages, an indulgence is said to be granted "under the usual conditions," these conditions are the same as above.

_Note._--The above indulgences may also be gained for making the novena at any other time of the year, and are not attached to any prescribed formula of prayer. The same applies to all other novenas in honor of the Blessed Virgin.

FIRST DAY

Predestination of the Blessed Virgin Mary

PREPARATORY PRAYER

IN THY conception, O Virgin Mary, thou wast immaculate; pray for us to the Father, whose Son Jesus, conceived in thy womb by the Holy Ghost, thou didst bring forth.

Indulgence. 200 days, every time. (Pius VI, November 21, 1793.)

MEDITATION

HOLY Church, our Mother, purposely gathered into the season of Advent everything which might contribute to assist us in preparing for the coming of the Redeemer. Purity of heart is the most necessary and helpful requirement for receiving God worthily, and for participating in the fruits of our Redemption through Christ. To remind us of this, Holy Church celebrates the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, this primary feast of purity, in Advent.

The Church, moreover, intends to remind us that the coming of Christ, our promised Redeemer, depended on the consent of the Blessed Virgin. The Redeemer could not appear before she was born of whom He was to be born. The aurora must precede the rising sun. Thus also Mary, the spiritual aurora, had to be conceived and born before the appearance of the Sun of Justice in this world.

PRACTICE

IN MARY appeared the woman who was to crush the serpent's head, who was to repair by her willing co-operation with God's designs the damage wrought by the disobedience of our first parents, and who was to become our mother and mighty advocate with God.

The designs of God concerning Mary were fully accomplished. God also has designs concerning us. Our life was planned by Him from all eternity, and we were destined to co-operate with Him harmoniously and conscientiously in working out our salvation. Have we corresponded with God's designs? Did we not oppose them by yielding to our evil inclinations and passions? What a disparity between God's intentions concerning us and our own co-operation, between His merciful designs and our cowardly resistance to them!

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

O GOD, who through the immaculate conception of the Virgin didst prepare a worthy dwelling-place for Thy divine Son; grant that, as in view of Thy Son Thou didst preserve her from all taint, so Thou wouldst vouchsafe unto us that cleansed from all sin by her intercession we too may arrive at Thine eternal glory. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Litany of Loreto (located in the final section of the book).

_Prayer_

BEHOLD, Virgin immaculate, at thy sacred feet I bow, while my heart overflows with joy in union with thine own, because from eternity thou wast the Mother-elect of the eternal Word, and was preserved stainless from the taint of Adam's sin. Forever praised, forever blessed be the Most Holy Trinity, who in thy conception poured out upon thy soul the riches of that matchless privilege. I humbly pray thee, most gracious Mother, obtain for me the grace to overcome the bitter results of original sin. Make me victorious over them, that I may never cease to love my God.

Hail Mary, etc.

_Ejaculation_ O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Indulgence. 100 days, once a day. (Leo XIII, March 25, 1884.)

SECOND DAY

Mary's Immaculate Conception

Preparatory Prayer (located on the first day of the Novena).

MEDITATION

ACCORDING to the definition of Pope Pius IX, the immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is that privilege by which she was preserved, in view of the merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ, from original sin in the first moment of her conception.

By solemnly proclaiming the dogma of Mary's immaculate conception, the Church confirmed anew the fundamental principles of Christianity which in our times are so frequently attacked, derided, or forgotten. God reserved the solemn proclamation of this dogma, which seemingly has no practical bearing on the Christian life, for our age, to recall to our mind the doctrines resulting from it.

PRACTICE

THE most important of these doctrines is that of original sin, which to-day is rejected by many as a debasement of human nature, and is forgotten by others as having no practical influence on our moral state. By the promulgation of the doctrine of the immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Church solemnly declares and defines as an article of faith, that the Blessed Virgin Mary is conceived without the stain of original sin by a special privilege and grace of God. If, then, Mary's sinlessness is an exception, the general rule remains in force, and all other human beings enter this world in the state of original sin.

Thus, by the proclamation of the dogma of the immaculate conception, the Church combats human pride and sensuality, the foremost vices of the age.

Prayer of the Church (located on the first day of the Novena).

Litany of Loreto (located in the final section of the book).

_Prayer_

MARY, unsullied lily of heavenly purity, I rejoice with thee, because at thy conception's earliest dawn thou wast full of grace and endowed with the perfect use of reason. I thank and adore the ever-blessed Trinity, who gave thee such high gifts. I am overwhelmed with shame in thy presence, to see myself so poor in grace. O thou who wast filled with heavenly grace, impart some portion of it to my soul, and make me share the treasures of thy immaculate conception.

Hail Mary, etc.

Ejaculation (located on the first day of the Novena).

THIRD DAY

Mary, the Victrix of Satan

Preparatory Prayer (located on the first day of the Novena).

MEDITATION

THE immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary inaugurated the fulfilment of the divine promise made to our first parents in paradise in the words addressed to the serpent: "I shall put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head" (_Gen._ iii. 15). Mary is the woman in whom Satan never had a part. Her intimate connection with God was announced by the angel: "Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with thee." Now was fulfilled the saying of the Psalmist, "The Most High hath sanctified His own tabernacle. God is in the midst thereof, it shall not be moved: God will help it in the morning early" (_Ps._ xlv. 5-6). Mary was chosen to be the glorious tabernacle of the Son of God "in the morning early," that is, in the first moment of her existence. God called her into being that she might assume the exalted dignity of the Mother of His Son, and therefore granted her the singular privilege of exemption from original sin. In her were fulfilled Solomon's prophetic words of praise, "Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee" (_Cant._ iv. 7). It was in view of her Son's merits applied to her beforehand that God thus produced in her the image of the new man regenerated in the Holy Ghost.

PRACTICE

THE spirit of darkness holds mankind enslaved, but one human being escapes him. A destructive fire lays waste the whole earth, but one tree remains unscathed. A terrible tyrant conquers the whole world, but one fortified city repels his assaults. This human being retaining liberty, this tree escaping destruction, this city repelling the enemy's attack is the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Will the almighty and merciful God, who has accomplished such great things in Mary, who has selected her for His Mother, not listen to her prayers when she intercedes for us? St. William of Paris exclaims: "No other created being can obtain for us so many and so great graces from God as His Mother. By the all-powerful might of her intercession He honors her not only as His handmaid, but also as His Mother." Therefore we ought not be surprised when the holy Fathers maintain that a single sigh of Mary is more effective with God than the combined intercession of all the angels and saints. If, then, Mary's power is so great, she will surely hear us when we invoke her help in our combat with Satan. Having conquered him herself, she will also help us to conquer him.

Prayer of the Church (located on the first day of the Novena).

Litany of Loreto (located in the final section of the book).

_Prayer_

MARY, thou mystical rose of purity, my heart rejoices with thine at the glorious triumph which thou didst gain over the infernal serpent by thy immaculate conception, and because thou wast conceived without stain of original sin. I thank and praise with my whole heart the ever-blessed Trinity, who granted thee this glorious privilege; and I pray thee to obtain for me strength to overcome all the wiles of the infernal foe, and never to stain my soul with sin. Be thou mine aid; make me, by thy protection, victorious over the common foe of our eternal welfare.

Hail Mary, etc.

Ejaculation (located on the first day of the Novena).

FOURTH DAY

Mary without Actual Sin

Preparatory Prayer (located on the first day of the Novena).

MEDITATION

MARY conceived without sin is the most blessed daughter of the eternal Father, the real and true Mother of the divine Son, the elect spouse of the Holy Ghost. But in the world, in what condition do we behold her? She dwells not in a splendid palace; she is not surrounded by a retinue of servants ready at every moment to do her bidding; she is not exempt from trials and suffering. On the contrary, she is poor; she lives in obscurity, and suffered so much on earth that, without shedding her blood, she merits to be styled the queen of martyrs. Her heart was transfixed with the sword of sorrow. Mary is not exempt from tribulations and adversity; but one thing God does not permit to touch her, _i.e.,_ sin. Hence Holy Church applies to her the words, "Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee" (_Cant._ iv. 7).

PRACTICE

THOUGH we were not preserved from sin like Mary, yet God in His ineffable goodness and mercy granted us the grace to be cleansed from sin and to be clothed with the garment of sanctifying grace in Baptism. No treasure of the world can be compared with this prerogative. But as we bear this grace in a fragile vase, we must be most careful to protect and preserve it in ourselves and others from all danger. Let the Blessed Virgin Mary be our example. Well knowing the inestimable value of the grace conferred upon her, she guarded it with the greatest care. Although exempt from concupiscence and "full of grace," she was so distrustful of herself as if she were in continual danger. How much more, then, must we use precaution to preserve in ourselves and in others this treasure of grace, since we feel in ourselves constantly the law of the flesh, which resists the law of the spirit, and urges us on to evil, whilst the world and the devil never weary in placing snares for us in order to accomplish our ruin. Therefore let us have recourse to Mary, and invoking her aid bravely resist all temptations.

Prayer of the Church (located on the first day of the Novena).

Litany of Loreto (located in the final section of the book).

_Prayer_

MIRROR of holy purity, Mary, Virgin immaculate, great is my joy while I consider that, from thy immaculate conception, the most sublime and perfect virtues were infused into thy soul, and with them all the gifts of the Holy Ghost. I thank and praise the Most Holy Trinity, who bestowed on thee these high privileges. I pray thee, gentle Mother, obtain for me grace to practise virtue, and to make me worthy to become partaker of the gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost.

Hail Mary, etc.

Ejaculation (located on the first day of the Novena).

FIFTH DAY

Mary, Full of Grace

Preparatory Prayer (located on the first day of the Novena).

MEDITATION

SATAN'S relation to God as His child was severed by sin. The beautiful image of God imprinted on man's soul was disfigured by it. But with the immaculate conception of Mary, a being full of grace, an object of God's supreme complacency entered this world. After the lapse of four thousand years God, in His wisdom, power, and love, for the first time again created a human being in that state in which He had originally created our first parents. Mary, from the first moment of her existence was, in virtue of the sanctifying grace infused into her soul, most intimately united with God, and endowed with the most precious gifts of heaven. Because she was predestined to become the Mother of the Redeemer of mankind, it was befitting that she should unite in herself all the gifts becoming to such an ineffable dignity. Hence she surpassed in grace and holiness all other created beings, and was consecrated a worthy temple of the incarnate Word. Therefore she was saluted by the angel as "full of grace," and the Church, in our behalf, addresses the Almighty: "O God, who through the immaculate conception of the Virgin didst prepare a worthy dwelling-place for Thy divine Son; grant, that, as in view of the death of that Son Thou didst preserve her from all taint, so Thou wouldst vouchsafe unto us that, cleansed from all sin by her intercession, we too may arrive at Thine eternal glory."

PRACTICE