Novena to the Immaculate Conception Nov. 29 - Dec 7

Mary, Mother of Jesus as the Immaculate Conception.
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.
c. 1660-1665
Museo del Prado

Let us celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary! Let us adore her Son, Christ our Lord! Glory be...

You are all fair, Mary, and the stain of original sin is not in you. Your garments are white as snow, and your face is like the sun. Hail Mary...

You are the Glory of Jerusalem; you are the Joy of Israel; you are the Honor of our people (Judith 15:10). You are the brightness of eternal light, the unspotted mirror of God's majesty, and the image of His goodness (Wis 7:26). Hail Mary...

More than all other women upon earth, you, Virgin Mary, have been blessed by the Lord God most high. Draw us, Immaculate Virgin; we shall come after you, breathing the sweet fragrance of your virtues (Ecclus 1:3). Hail Mary... Mary speaks: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; and with the robe of justice He has covered me. . .as a bride adorned with her jewels" (Is 61:20).

PRAYER

Accept, O Lord, the prayers we offer on the solemn feast day of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and grant that as we proclaim her to have been preserved by Your grace from all stain of sin, so through her intercession we may be freed from all our faults.Through Christ, our Lord.

Hail Mary, full of grace! You are holier than the Saints, more exalted than the heavens, more glorious than the angels, more worthy of honor than all creatures. Hail, spotless Palace of God, adorned with the splendor of the King most high! You receive us all with kindness and refresh us with heavenly delights.

Your prayers to your Son, our Lord and God, the Creator of all, are most powerful because they are a mother's prayers. May they steer the course of that ship which is the Church, and direct it to the quiet harbor of heaven. Clothe priests with the fair garment of sanctity; covert unbelieving people who ignore you and the God born of you. Strengthen the faithful that they may persevere in the sweet service of God according to His holy law.

Shield from danger and fear the hearts of those who praise you. Be a consoling Mother to wayfarers on earth who are in need of a home and shelter. Extend your helping hand to the whole world. And may we, in the spirit of joy, bring your glorious feast day to a brilliant close in Christ Jesus, to Whom, with the Father, the sacred Source of life, and the Holy Spirit, reigning together with Him eternally, be glory and majesty now and through endless ages. Amen.

~St. Germane

Today a branch grew out of the root of Jesse; today Mary was conceived without stain of sin; today she crushed the head of the ancient serpent. Grace abounds in her Conception, and she has appeared as the fairest of the daughter of men.

Hymn

O Stainless Mother of the Lord,
While we your glory chant,
A gracious ear to us accord
And heavenly favor grant.

A sad inheritance we own
In guilt our lives begin;
Exempt from Adam's fall alone,
You never knew a sin.
Prone on the earth beneath your heel
The serpent's head remained;
Alone you do to heaven reveal
An origin unstained.
Your matchless glory takes away
The shame of Mother Eve;
Accept the tribute that we pay,
And all our wants relieve.
From Satan's every dart and snare
Our weakened souls defend,
That so your glory we may share,
In joys that never end. To You,
O Jesus, glory meet,
The Virgin Mary's Son;
To Father and to Paraclete
Be equal honor done. Amen.

V. Pray for us, Immaculate Virgin.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: O God, Who by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary have prepared a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we humbly beg of You, that as through the death of Your Son, which You foreknew, You have kept her free from all sin, so by her intercession enable us also to come to You with pure hearts. Through the same Christ our Lord.



H/T: Esther
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