The Salve Regina.
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, thine eye of mercy towards us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O pious, O sweet Virgin Mary.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Novena In Preparation for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.[2]
An indulgence of three hundred days each day; plenary once on the feast, or during the octave. Applicable to the dead. (Pius VII.).
To be Said Every Day.
Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle within them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let Us Pray.
O God, Who hast taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of Thy Holy Spirit, grant to us [pg 542] in the same spirit to relish what is right, and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Prevent our actions, we beseech Thee, O Lord, by Thy inspiration, and further them by Thy continual help: that every prayer and work of ours may begin from Thee, and by Thee be happily ended, through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the same spirit, God, world without end. Amen.
Preparatory Prayer.
(To be Said Every Day.)
O most pure Virgin, conceived without sin, and from that very first instant entirely beautiful and without spot, O glorious Mary, full of grace, and Mother of my God, Queen of angels and of men, I humbly worship thee as Mother of my Saviour. Inasmuch as God has taught me by the esteem He has for thee, and by His respect and submission towards thee, what honors and homage I ought to render thee, deign, I beseech thee, to accept this novena which I consecrate to thee. Thou art the secure refuge of penitent sinners, and I therefore may rightly have recourse to thee; thou art the Mother of mercy, and therefore thou canst not but be melted into tenderness by my miseries; thou, after Jesus Christ, art all my hope; thou canst not, then, but be pleased with the tender confidence which I have in thee. Make me worthy to be called thy child, that I may be able to say with confidence, Show thyself to be a Mother.
Following this prayer on each day, nine Hail Marys and a Glory be to the Father are to be said, and then the following:
First Day.
Behold me at thy most holy feet, O immaculate Virgin. I rejoice with thee exceedingly that from all eternity thou hast been chosen to be the Mother of the eternal Word, and been preserved from original sin. I thank and bless the most Holy Trinity for having enriched thee with these privileges in thy conception; and I humbly implore thee to obtain for me grace to overcome those sad effects which original sin has wrought in me. Ah, do thou enable me to conquer them, and nevermore to cease to love my God.
Here is to be recited the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, or the following:
Hymn.
V. Thou art all fair, O Mary.
R. Thou art all fair, O Mary.
V. And the original stain is not in thee.
R. And the original stain is not in thee.
V. Thou art the glory of Jerusalem.
R. Thou art the joy of Israel.
V. Thou our people's special honor.
R. Thou the advocate of sinners.
V. O Mary.
R. O Mary.
V. Virgin prudent above all.
R. Mother too most merciful.
V. Pray thou for us.
R. Intercede for us with Jesus Christ Our Lord.
V. In thy conception, holy Virgin, thou wast immaculate.
R. Pray for us to the Father, Whose Son thou didst bring forth.
Let Us Pray.
O God, Who by the Virgin's immaculate conception didst prepare a worthy dwelling for Thy Son, we beseech Thee, that Thou, Who, by the death of that same Son of Thine, foreseen by Thee, didst preserve her from every stain, wouldst grant that by her intercession we also may be purified, and so come to Thee.
Second Day.
Come, O Holy Spirit, etc.
O most pure Virgin, etc.
O Mary, immaculate lily of purity, I congratulate thee that from the very first instant of thy conception thou wast filled with grace, and also that the perfect use of reason was conferred upon thee. I thank and adore the most Holy Trinity for having imparted to thee graces so sublime; and I am utterly confounded before thee to see myself so poor in grace. Do thou, who wast so entirely filled with heavenly grace, give some portion of it to my soul, and make me a partaker of the treasures of thy immaculate conception.
Here the Litany or Hymn is to be said.
Third Day.
Come, O Holy Spirit, etc.
O most pure Virgin, etc.
O Mary, mystical rose of purity, I rejoice with thee that thou didst gloriously triumph in thy [pg 545] immaculate conception over the infernal serpent, and that thou wast conceived without stain of original sin. I thank and praise with all my heart the most Holy Trinity for having granted to thee such a privilege; and I implore thee to obtain for me courage to overcome every device of the infernal enemy, and not to stain my soul with sin. Ah, do thou always assist me; and let me, under thy protection, ever triumph over the common enemies of our eternal salvation.
Here the Litany or the Hymn is to be said.
Fourth Day.
Come, O Holy Spirit, etc.
O most pure Virgin, etc.
O immaculate Virgin Mary, mirror of purity, I rejoice with the utmost joy to see that the most sublime and perfect virtues have been from thy first conception infused into thee, and with them all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I thank and praise the most Holy Trinity for having favored thee with these privileges; and I implore thee, O gracious Mother, to obtain for me the practice of virtues, and to render me thus worthy to receive the gifts and the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Here the Litany or the Hymn is to be said.
Fifth Day.
Come, O Holy Spirit, etc.
O most pure Virgin, etc.
O Mary, bright moon of purity, I congratulate thee, inasmuch as the mystery of thy immaculate conception was the beginning of the salvation [pg 546] of all the human race and the joy of the whole world. I thank and bless the most Holy Trinity for having so exalted and glorified thy person; and I implore thee to obtain for me grace to know how to profit by the Passion and death of thy Jesus, and that the blood shed upon the cross may not be unavailing for me, but that I may live holily and be saved.
Here the Litany or the Hymn is to be said.
Sixth Day.
Come, O Holy Spirit, etc.
O most pure Virgin, etc.
O immaculate Mary, most resplendent star of purity, I rejoice with thee that thy immaculate conception has brought a most exceeding joy to all the angels of paradise. I thank and bless the most Holy Trinity for having enriched thee with so beautiful a privilege. Ah, grant that I may enter one day into a participation of that joy, and may be able, in the company of the angels, to praise and bless thee for eternity.
Here the Litany or the Hymn is to be said.
Seventh Day.
Come, O Holy Spirit, etc.
O most pure Virgin, etc.
O immaculate Mary, rising morn of purity, I rejoice with thee, and am glad that in the moment of thy conception thou wast confirmed in grace and made incapable of sin. I thank and extol the most Holy Trinity for having distinguished thee alone with this special privilege. [pg 547] Ah, obtain for me, O holy Virgin, an entire and constant abhorrence of sin above every other evil, and that I may sooner die than commit it any more.
Here the Litany or the Hymn is to be said.
Eighth Day.
Come, O Holy Spirit, etc.
O most pure Virgin, etc.
O Virgin Mary, sun without spot, I congratulate thee, and rejoice that in thy conception a greater and more abundant grace was bestowed upon thee than all the angels and saints possessed in the fulness of their merits. I thank and admire the sovereign goodness of the most Holy Trinity in having enriched thee with this privilege. Ah, enable me to correspond to divine grace, and nevermore abuse it! Change my heart, and let me from this moment begin to amend my life.
Here the Litany or the Hymn is to be said.
Ninth Day.
Come, O Holy Spirit, etc.
O most pure Virgin, etc.
O immaculate Virgin and Mother Mary, living light of holiness and model of purity, thou, when scarcely yet conceived, didst profoundly adore God and thank Him, because by thy means, the ancient curse being taken away, the fulness of blessing was coming upon the children of Adam. Ah, let this blessing enkindle in my heart a love of God! Do thou inflame it, that I may love Him constantly, and then enjoy Him eternally in paradise, where I may be able to thank Him more ardently for the [pg 548] singular privileges granted to thee, and behold thee also crowned as thou art with such exceeding glory.
Here the Litany or the Hymn is to be said.
Novena In Preparation For Christmas.[3]
1. Eternal Father, I offer to Thy honor and glory, and for my own salvation, and for the salvation of all the world, the mystery of the birth of our divine Saviour.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
2. Eternal Father, I offer to Thy honor and glory, and for my eternal salvation, the sufferings of the most holy Virgin and of St. Joseph in that long and weary journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem; I offer Thee their anxiety of heart when they found no place wherein to shelter themselves, when the Saviour of the world was to be born.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
3. Eternal Father, I offer to Thy honor and glory, and for my eternal salvation, the stable where Jesus was born, the hard straw which served Him for a bed, the cold He suffered, the swaddling-clothes which bound Him, the tears He shed, and His tender infant cries.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
4. Eternal Father, I offer to Thy honor and glory, and for my eternal salvation, the pain which the holy Child Jesus felt in His tender infant body when He submitted it to the keen knife of circumcision; [pg 549] I offer Thee that precious blood which then first He shed for the salvation of the whole race of man.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
5. Eternal Father, I offer to Thy honor and glory, and for my eternal salvation, the humility, mortification, patience, charity, all the virtues of the Child Jesus; and I thank Thee, and I love Thee, and I bless Thee without end, for this ineffable mystery of the incarnation of the divine Word.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
V. The Word was made flesh.
R. And dwelt among us.
Let Us Pray.
O God, Whose only-begotten Son was made manifest to us in the substance of our flesh; grant, we beseech Thee, that through Him our souls may be inwardly renewed, Whom our eyes have seen externally like unto ourselves; Who livest and reignest with Thee forever and ever. Amen.
An indulgence of one year, to be gained each day of this novena, which may be made either in public or private, nine days previous to the twenty-fifth day of any month; provided that the faithful assist at it with a contrite heart (Pius IX.).