Mary, Help of Christians Part 8

WE HAIL thee, strong child, who didst put to flight all h.e.l.l and the powers of darkness. We give thee our homage, and with all our hearts we pray thee to vouchsafe in thy goodness to be born again in spirit in our souls, that, led captive by thy loveliness and sweetness, they may ever live united to thy most sweet and loving heart.

Hail Mary, etc.

e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n (located on the first day of the Novena).

NINTH DAY

The Holy Name of Mary

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

MEDITATION

ST. ALPHONSUS writes of the name of Mary: "This name was neither invented on earth, nor imposed by human agency. It came from heaven and was given to the Mother of G.o.d by divine command." Just as it is a peculiar glory of our Saviour's name, that "G.o.d hath given Him a name which is above all names, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth"

(_Philipp._ ii. 9), thus it also behooves that Mary, the most perfect, the most pure, and most exalted of all created beings, should receive a most holy, lovely, and powerful name. St. Methodius declares that the name of Mary is so rich in grace and blessing, that no one can p.r.o.nounce it devoutly without at the same time receiving a spiritual favor. Bl.

Jordan exclaims: "Let a heart be ever so obdurate, let a man even despair of G.o.d's mercy, if he have recourse to thee, O Mary, virgin most clement, he can not fail to be softened and filled with confidence if he invokes thy name; for thou wilt inspire him with hope in G.o.d's mercy, pardon, and grace."

PRACTICE

IT IS, then, meet and just that we should devoutly honor and praise the name of Mary. Let us never mention it except in reverence and devotion.

Let us invoke Mary by it in all dangers of body and soul, mindful of the words of St. Bernard: "O sinner, when the floods and tempests of this earthly life overwhelm thee so that thou canst not firmly set thy foot, turn not away thy gaze from the light of this guiding star. When the storms of temptation a.s.sail thee, and the rocks and quicksands of vexation and trial threaten to shatter thy bark of hope, look up to that bright star in the heavens, and call on the name of Mary. When the billows of pride and of ambition, when the floods of calumny are about to submerge thee, look up to this star and call on the name of Mary.

When anger, avarice, and concupiscence convulse the peace of thy soul, look up to this star and call on Mary. When thy sins rise up like hideous monsters before thy troubled vision, when thy conscience stings thee, when the terrors of future judgment fill thee with deadly anguish, when gloom and sadness overpower thee, when thou findest thyself on the brink of h.e.l.lish despair, take courage; think of Mary, and thou wilt find from thy own inward experience how true are the sayings of those who tell thee that the name of the Blessed Virgin is 'Star of the Sea,'

the name of the Virgin is Mary."

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

Litany of Loreto (located in the list of approved litanies).

_Prayer_

WE HAIL thee, beloved child Mary, adorned with every virtue, immeasurably above all the saints, and therefore worthy Mother of the Saviour of the world, who by the operation of the Holy Ghost didst bring forth the incarnate Word. We give thee our homage, and with all our hearts we pray thee to vouchsafe in thy goodness to be born again in our souls, that, led captive by thy loveliness and sweetness, they may ever live united to thy most sweet and loving heart.

Hail Mary, etc.

e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n (located on the first day of the Novena).

III

Novena for the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

FIRST DAY

The Annunciation

PREPARATORY PRAYER

MY QUEEN, my Mother, remember I am thine own. Keep me, guard me, as thy property and possession!

Indulgence. 40 days, every time. (Pius IX, August 5, 1851.)

MEDITATION

AT NAZARETH, a mountain village in Judea, lived poor and in obscurity Mary, the virgin selected by G.o.d 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 pet.i.tion, "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 t.i.tles 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 G.o.d.

Never before was a human being thus greeted. It was G.o.d 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 G.o.d's grace; therefore she was troubled at the salutation. In that decisive moment she was and remained our model."

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Flight into Egypt]

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

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 pa.s.sion and cross, be brought to the glory of the resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Litany of Loreto (located in the list of approved litanies).

_Prayer_

WITH wonder I revere thee, holiest Virgin Mary; for of all G.o.d's creatures thou wast the humblest on the very day of thy annunciation, when G.o.d Himself exalted Thee to the sublime dignity of His own Mother.

O mightiest Virgin, make me, wretched sinner that I am, know the depths of my own nothingness, and make me humble myself at last with all my heart, beneath the feet of all men.

Hail Mary, etc.

_e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n_

Virgin Mary, Mother of G.o.d, pray to Jesus for me!

Indulgence. 50 days, once a day. (Leo XIII, March 20, 1894.)

SECOND DAY

The Import of the Angel's Salutation

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

MEDITATION

"HAIL, full of grace!" Mary was greeted as full of grace by the Giver of grace Himself. The angel's salutation meant: "The grace of G.o.d has preserved thee from all sin. Neither the stain of original sin, nor the guilt of actual sin, ever obscured the mirror of thy soul. By the special favor of G.o.d the most sublime virtues were infused into thy soul."