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 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 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 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. 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 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.