NOVENA IN HONOR OF THE

OUR LADY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

(IMAGE)

Roman Catholic Diocese of Urdaneta

OUR LADY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CATHEDRAL PARISH
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
Leader: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.

I. ACT OF CONTRITION

L: Let us all pray the Act of Contrition

A: My Lord Jesus, true God and true man, my Creator and Redeemer, whom
I believe, trust and love above all things. I am very sorry for all the sins I have
committed because You are all good and deserving of all my heart not to sin again.
Pardon me, my Lord and Savior, and strengthen my love for You. Grant me the
grace to make a worthy novena for Your greater glory and the exaltation of Mary
ever Virgin who, in her title of the Immaculate Conception, was made through the
voice of the Holy Father, patroness of the whole Philippines. And may her loving
intercession keep me away from sin so that I may be worthy to receive the favor I
wish to obtain during this novena. Amen.
L: Prayer To The Most Blessed Trinity
A: Most Blessed Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three Persons is one
God, eternal praise and thanksgiving be offered to You on earth as it is in heaven for
the singular privilege You have granted to Your child, Mother and Spouse. You
have kept her free from sin from the very moment of her conception and confirmed
her in grace, for she was never afterwards contaminated with the blackness of sin.
We declare, a Holy and Triune God, that we will praise all her glories and, through
her, love and serve You all the days of our life. Amen.

II. INVOCATION
L: You are all fair, O Mary,
A: The Original Stain is not in you.
L: You are the glory of Jerusalem,
A: You are the joy of Israel.
L: You are the great honor of our people,
A: You are the advocate of sinners.
L: O Mary, Virgin most prudent,
A: O Mary, Mother most merciful.
L: Pray for us, intercede for us,
A: With our Lord Jesus Christ.
A: We greet you, ever-blessed Virgin, Mother of God, throne of grace,
miracle of almighty power! We greet you, sanctuary of the most Holy Trinity and
Queen of the universe, Mother of mercy and refuge of sinners! Most loving mother,
attracted by your beauty and sweetness and by your tender compassion, we
confidently turn to you, and beg of you to obtain for us of your dear Son the favor
we request in this novena (here mention your request).
Obtain for us also, Queen of Heaven, the most lively contrition for our many
sins and the grace to imitate closely those virtues which you practiced so faithfully
especially humility, purity, and obedience. Above all we beg You to be our mother
and protectress, to receive us into the number of your devoted children, and to guide
us from your high throne of glory. Do not reject our petitions, Mother of mercy!
Have pity on us, and do not abandon us during this life or at the moment of our
death.
Daughter of the Eternal Father, Mother of the Eternal Son, Spouse of the Holy
Spirit, temple of the adorable Trinity, pray for us. Immaculate and tender Heart of
Mary, refuge of the needy and hope of sinners, filled the most lively respect love,
and gratitude, we devote ourselves forever to your service, and we offer you our
hearts with all that we are and all that belongs to us. Accept this offering, sweet
Queen of Heaven and earth, and obtain for us of your dear Son, Jesus Christ, the
favors we ask through your intercession in this novena. Obtain for us a tender,
generous, constant love of God, perfect submission to his adorable will, the true
spirit of a Christian, and the grace of final perseverance. Amen.

III. ROSARY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

THE MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY

I. The Joyful Mysteries (Monday & Saturday)
1. The Annunciation
2. The Visitation
3. The Nativity
4. The Presentation
5. The Finding in the Temple

II. The Luminous Mysteries (Thursday)

1. The Baptism of Christ
2. The Wedding Feast at Cana
3. The Proclamation of the Coming of the Kingdom of God
4. The Transfiguration
5, The Institution of the Eucharist
 IlI. The Sorrowful Mysteries (Tuesday & Friday)
1. The Agony in the Garden
2. The Scourging at the Pillar
3. The Crowning with Thorns
4. The Carrying of the Cross
5. The Crucifixion

IV. The Glorious Mysteries (Wednesday & Sunday)

1. The Ressurection
2. The Ascencion
3. Descent of the Holy Spirit
4. The Assumption
5. The Coronation of Mary

LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Lord, have mercy on us. Lord have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Lord have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of Virgins, pray for us.
Mother of Christ, pray for us.
Mother of the Church, pray for us.
Mother of mercy, pray for us.
Mother of Divine Grace, pray for us.
Mother Most Pure, pray for us.
Mother Most Chaste, pray for us.
Mother Inviolate, pray for us.
Mother Undefiled, pray for us.
Mother Immaculate, pray for us.
Mother Most Amiable, pray for us.
Mother Most Admirable, pray for us.
Mother of Good Counsel, pray for us.
Mother of Our Creator, pray for us.
Mother of Our Savior, pray for us.
Virgin Most Prudent, pray for us.
Virgin Most Venerable, pray for us.
Virgin Most Renowned, pray for us.
Virgin Most Powerful, pray for us.
Virgin Most Merciful, pray for us.
Virgin Most Faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of Justice, pray for us.
Seat of Wisdom, pray for us.
Cause of Our Joy, pray for us.
Spiritual Vessel, pray for us.
Vessel of Honor, pray for us.
Singular Vessel of Devotion, pray for us.
Mystical Rose, pray for us.
Tower of David, pray for us.
Tower of lvory, pray for us.
House of Gold, pray for us.
Ark of the Covenant, pray for us.
Gate of Heaven, pray for us.
Morning Star, pray for us.
Health of the Sick, pray for us.
Refuge of Sinners, pray for us.
Solace of migrants, pray for us.
Comforter of the Afflicted, pray for us.
Help of Christians, pray for us.
Queen of Angels, pray for us.
Queen of Patriarchs, pray for us.
Queen of Prophets, pray for us.
Queen of Apostles, pray for us.
Queen of Martyrs, pray for us.
Queen of Confessors, pray for us.
Queen of Virgins, pray for us.
Queen of All Saints, pray for us.
Queen Conceived without Original Sin, pray for us.
Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us.
Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us.
Queen of Peace, pray for us.
Queen of families, pray for us.
Lamb of God, who takes aways the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes aways the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes aways the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.

L: Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.

A: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
L: Let us pray; Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our
hearts, that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, your Son, was made known by
the message of an angel, may by his passion and cross be brought to the glory of the
resurrection, through the same Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.

IV. READING- MEDITATION AND SPECIAL PRAYER

V. MEMORARE AND CLOSING PRAYER

 THE MEMORARE
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who
fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence we fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, our Mother. To
thee do we come, before thee we stand sinful and sorrowful, O Mother of the Word
Incarnate, despite not our words, but graciously hear and answer me. Amen.
L: O Mary, conceived without original sin,
A: Pray for us who have recourse to thee.
L: O Mary, conceived without original sin
A: Pray for us who have recourse to thee.
L: O Mary, conceived without original sin
A: Pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Recite three HAIL MARY for the favor which you ask in the novena, and also one
HAIL MARY for the preservation of the Faith in the Philippines.

Lord Jesus, through the intercession of the immaculate heart of Mary, we beg you to
grant the grace to enter the reign of peace.

CLOSING PRAYER
A: O Immaculate Conception, Mary, my Mother, live in me, act in me,
speak in and through me. Think your thoughts in my mind, love through my heart.
Give me your own dispositions and feelings. Teach, lead and guide me to Jesus.
Correct, enlighten and expand my entire personality and life. Replace me with
yourself. Incline me to constant adoration and thanksgiving; pray in and through me.
Let me live in you and keep me in this union always. Amen.

DAY 1
Reading and Meditation:

THE IMMACULATA'S RELATIONSHIP TO THE TRINITY

From all eternity the Father begets the Son, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from
the Father and Son. This life of the most Holy Trinity is re-echoed in numberless
and various ways by the creatures that issue from God's hands. Every act of love in
God comes forth from the Father through the Son and the Holy Spirit. God creates,
maintains in existence, gives life and growth in the natural as well as in the
supernatural order. In his love God supports in existence all his innumerable limited
created resemblances; and the love- reaction that is provoked in the creature can
return to the Father only through the Holy Spirit and the Son. Among creatures, the
summit of this love that goes back to God is the Immaculata, the one being totally
without any stain of sin, all beautiful, all divine. At no time did her will ever deviate
from God's will. With all its strength, her was always at one with His. In her there
came about the marvelous union of God with creation.
Cultivating a personal relationship with each member of the Holy Trinity is an
obligation for every individual. May the Immaculata's love-response to each of the
Three Divine Persons serve as a model and stimulus for each of us.

SPECIAL PRAYER TO OUR MOTHER MARY

L: Most worthy child of the eternal Father, Mother of God the Son and the
Spouse of the Holy Spirit, loving and merciful patroness of the whole Philippines
under the title of the Immaculate Conception: in you we put all our trust and
confidence. To the best of our ability, we will praise praise all your glories in this
sacred mystery.
A: Have mercy on us, poor sinners, who are loaded down with debts to the
Divine Justice. With what ingratitude have we acknowledged the infinite goodness
of our heavenly Father. Enlighten our mind O Mother ever Virgin, and show us how
grateful we are to God for the sins we have committed. Do not abandon us, our
Mother, because without your patronage we will be lost. We promise to serve and
love you all the moments of our sojourn here on earth. Pray that we may always feel
the abhorrence for our sins, that we may always strive to fulfill the duties required
by our state of life and that we may always hope for salvation in the name of Jesus,
your Son, and in your name, O Mary, especially at the hour of death.

(THE MEMORARE - CLOSING PRAYER)

DAY 2
Reading and Meditation:

THE IMMACULATA AS SPOUSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

United to the Holy Spirit as his Spouse, the Immaculata is one with God in an
incomparably more perfect way than can be predicted of any other creature. What
sort of union is this? It is above all an interior union of her essence with the
"essence" of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in her, lives in her. This was
true from the first instant of her existence. It was always true; it will always be true.
In what does this life of the Spirit in Mary consist? He himself is uncreated Love in
her; the Love of the Father and of the Son, the Love by which God loves himself, the
very love of the most Holy Trinity. He is a fruitful love, a "Conception". Among
creatures made in God's image the union brought about by married love is the most
intimate of all (cf. Mt 19:6). In a much more precise, more interior, more essential
manner, the Holy Spirit lives in the soul of Immaculata, in the depths of her very
being. He makes her fruitful, from the very first instant of her existence, all during
her life, and for all eternity.
To grow in daily awareness of the Holy Spirit's presence within us is a constant
challenge that God gives to each and all of us. May the Immaculata's perfect life in
the Holy Spirit cause a sharpening of our own attentiveness to his presence at the
core of our inner selves.

SPECIAL PRAYER TO OUR MOTHER MARY

L: Most worthy child of the eternal Father, Mother of God the Son and the
Spouse of the Holy Spirit, loving and merciful patroness of the whole Philippines
under the title of the Immaculate Conception: in you We put all our trust and
confidence. To the best of our ability, we will praise all your glories in this sacred
mystery.
A: How terrible must be punishment of those who die in mortal sin. Help us
realize that we have often condemned ourselves to such a painful prison, just for a
few moments of pleasure. Make known to us, Mother Mary, what a grave offense
we commit against the infinitely good God. Do not abandon us, our Mother, because
without your patronage we will be lost. We promise to serve and love you all the
moments of our sojourn here on earth. Pray that we may always feel the abhorrence
of our sins, that we may always strive to fulfill the duties required by our state of life
and that we may always hope for salvation in the name of Jesus, your Son, and in
your name, O Mary, especially at the hour of death.

(THE MEMORARE - CLOSING PRAYER)

DAY 3
Reading and Meditation:

THE IMMACULATA'S PLACE IN GOD'S PLAN

OF CREATION AND SALVATION
The Immaculata appears in this world, without the least stain of sin, he
masterpiece of God's hands, full of grace. God, the most Holy Trinity, beholds the
lowliness (i.e., the humility, the root of all her other virtues) of his handmaid, and
"does great things" for her (cf. Lk 1:49). God the Father gives her his own Son to be
her Son; God the Son descends into her womb; and God the Holy Spirit forms the
body of Christ in the womb of his most pure virgin. "And the world was made flesh"
(Jn 1:14). The Immaculata becomes the Mother of God. The fruit of the love of God
in his Trinitarian life and of Mary the Immaculata, is Christ, the God-man. Hence
forth all the other sons of God must be modeled after his first Son of God, the God-
man, the infinite One. They must be reproduce his traits; by imitating Christ souls
reach sanctity. This is the union brought about by the spousal love of the soul of
Christ, through its resemblace to him, and by God's action. But if anyone does not
wish to have Mary Immaculate for his Mother, he will not have Christ for his
Brother….. Since the firstborn Son, the God-man was conceived only with the
specific consent of the most Blessed Virgin, the same must hold true for all men,
who must be conformed to their first model in all things.
From all eternity, God has designed a unique plan for each one of us, no two
being identical. His ultimate aim is that we all be fully united to the Lord. May be
Immaculata, from her unique position in God's.
L: Most worthy child of the eternal Father, Mother of God the Son and the
Spouse of the Holy Spirit, loving and merciful patroness of the whole Philippines
under the title of the Immaculate Conception: in you we put all our trust and
confidence. To the best of our ability, we will praise all your glories in this sacred
mystery.
A: We pray thee, O Mother of Jesus, to grant us to appreciate the great price
of our redemption in order that we may never depart from the way of love and
salvation. Make us bum with the love of God and our neighbor that we may
consumed as victims of Divine Love. Do not abandon us our Mother, because
without your patronage we will be lost. We promise to serve and love you all the
moments of our sojourn here on earth. Pray that we may always feel the abhorrence
for our sins, that we may always strive to fulfill the duties required by our state of
life and that we may always hope for salvation in the name of Jesus, your Son, and
in your name, O Mary, especially at the hour of death.

(THE MEMORARE - CLOSING PRAYER)

DAY 4
Reading and Meditation:

THE IMMACULATA'S SELF-UNDERSTANDING

When our Blessed Mother was asked by Bernadette to tell her name she
answered, I am the Immaculate Conception"; this is the Immaculata's definition of
herself (Conference, 26 July 1931). By these luminous words (at Lourdes) she tells
us not only that she was immaculate in her conception, but beyond this that she is
the Immaculate Conception as such. Something white is one thing; the whiteness of
a thing is something else. Something perfect is one thing: the perfection of a thing is
something else. When God said to Moses "I am the one who is," God was telling
him: "What is proper to my essence is that I should always be, by my very nature, of
myself, with no other principle of being." The Immaculate Virgin, of course, was
created by God; she is a creature; she is a conception; still, she is the Immaculate
Conception! What depths of mystery lie hidden in those words!
In our contemporary world, great emphasis is placed on the importance of
getting to "know oneself." May the Immaculata's example of authentic self-
understanding lead each of us to find our own true meaning as participants in the
very being.

SPECIAL PRAYER TO OUR MOTHER MARY

L: Most worthy child of the eternal Father, Mother of God the Son and the
Spouse of the Holy Spirit, loving and merciful patroness of the whole Philippines
under the title of the Immaculate Conception: In you we put all our trust and
confidence. To the best of our ability, we will praise all your glories in this sacred
mystery.
A: O Mary Immaculate, mirror of purity, by thy joys and sorrows, we ask
thee to grant us the grace to study henceforth to learn more and more about the
doctrine and personality of our Savior. Write on the l walls of ou heart His
commandments of love so that we may never offend his Holy will. Help us to
become daily more like to Him. Do not abandon us, our Mother, because without
your patronage we will be lost. We promise to serve and love you all the moments of
our sojourn here on earth. Pray that we may always feel the abhorrence for our sins
that we may always strive to fulfill the duties required by our state of life and that
we may always hope for salvation in the name of Jesus, your Son, and in your name,
O Mary, especially at the hour of death.

(THE MEMORARE - CLOSING PRAYER)

DAY 5
Reading and Meditation:

THE IMMACULATA'S DIGNITY AS A HUMAN PERSON

The Mother of God is a creature. It follows that all she is, she has from God.
But she is God's most perfect creature. For this season, the homage paid to her is, by
the very nature of the case, paid to God- himself. If we admire a statue, we honor the
artist who created this masterpiece. If we honor Mary Most Holy we honor God. The
more we pay homage to the divine perfections found in Mary, the more perfect is
our homage to God; this is perfectly in order, since God created her in the highest
state of perfection.
The greatness of every work of art is directly proportionate to the mastery of
the artist who forms it. Accordingly, the dignity of every human person derives from
God who has created each of us in his image. May the Immaculata teach us always
to mirror, as she did, the dignity and perfection of our God.

SPECIAL PRAYER TO OUR MOTHER MARY

L: Most worthy child of the eternal Father, Mother of God the Son and the
Spouse of the Holy Spirit, loving and merciful patroness of the whole Philippines
under the title of the Immaculate Conception: in you we put all our trust and
confidence. To tho the best of our ability, ability, we will praise all your glories in
this sacred mystery.
A: Mother Mary, bless the Church with the dew of grace, and let those
graces that flow from your outstreched hands descend upon the Holy Father, the
Pope, upon the Bishops and the Priests, that they may govern their flocks in good
pastures.
May they ever work zealously for the salvation of souls and be true light
to all by the example of their virtues. And to us, members of this Mystical Body of
Christ grant us true spirit of brotherly love so that we may edify those around us
who are not hue fold. Do not abandon us, our Mother, because without your
patronage we will be lost. We promise to serve and love you all the moments of our
sojourn here on earth. Pray that we may always feel the abhorrence for our sins, that
we may always strive to fulfill the duties required by our state of life and that we
may always hope for salvation in the name of Jesus, your Son, and in your name, O
Mary, especially at the hour of death.

(THE MEMORARE - CLOSING PRAYER)

DAY 6
Reading and Meditation:

THE IMMACULATA'S SINLESSNESS

Who then are you, O Immaculate l Conception? Not God, of course, because
he has no beginning. Not an angel, created directly out of nothing Not Adam,
formed out of the dust of the earth (Gn 2:7). Not Eve, molded from Adam's rib (Gn
2:21). Not the Incarnate Word, who exists before all ages, and of whom we should
use the word "conceived" rather than "conception." Humans do not exist before their
conception, we might call them created "conceptions." But you, O Mary, are
different from all other children of Eve. They are conceptions stained by original
sin; whereas you are the unique Immaculate Conception.
Confronting the reality of sin is one of the l fundamental struggles that we face
in daily life. May the Immaculata, the sinless New Eve, confirm our hope in the
victorious liberation from sin which Christ, the New Adam, won for each of us.

SPECIAL PRAYER TO OUR MOTHER MARY

L: Most worthy child of the eternal Father, Mother of God the Son and the
Spouse of the Holy Spirit, loving and merciful patroness of the whole Philippines
under the title of the Immaculate Conception: in you we put all our trust and
confidence. To the best of our ability, we will praise all your glories in this sacred
mystery.
A: O Mother dispenser of the graces of God, by thy Immaculate Conception
which makes thee so dear to Jesus, obtain for us the grace to know and love the
infinite treasure of the Holy Eucharist. Teach us that the Holy Mass is not mere
means to bring Jesus to our altars, but that it is a sacrifice most pleasuring to God.
Make us realize that at Holy Communion we eat of the life-giving Body of the Lamb
of God, Who takes away the sins of the world. Pray that our love for Jesus in the
Holy Eucharist increase for my own salvation. Do not abandon us, our Mother,
because without your patronage we will be lost. We promise to serve and love you
all the moments of our sojourn here on earth. Pray that we may always feel the
abhorrence for our sins, that we may always strive to fulfill the duties required by
our state of life and that we may always hope for salvation in the name of Jesus,
your Son, and in your name, O Mary, especially at the hour of death.

(THE MEMORARE - CLOSING PRAYER)

DAY 7
Reading and Meditation:

THE IMMACULATA'S DISCIPLESHIP

The Immaculata is God's instrument. With full consciousness and total
willingness she allows God to govern her; she consents to his will, desires only what
he desires, and acts according to his will in the most perfect manner, without failing,
without ever turning aside from his will.
She makes perfect use the powers and privileges God has given her, so as to
fulfill always and in everything whatever God wants of her, purely for love of God,
One and Three. This love of God reaches such a peak that it bears the divine fruits
proper to God's own love. Her love for God brings her to such a level of union with
him that she becomes the Mother of God. The Father confides to her his Son; the
Son descends into her womb; and the Holy Spirit fashions out of perfectly pure body
the very body of Jesus.
The only way to guarantee that we are on the "right track" in our everyday
activities is to listen to God's Word and live it out. That's discipleship! May the
Immaculata's dicipleship of total conformity to God's Word inspire us to be similar
instruments of his will.

SPECIAL PRAYER TO OUR MOTHER MARY

L: Most worthy child of the eternal Father, Mother of God the Son and the
Spouse of the Holy Spirit, loving and merciful patroness of the whole Philippines
under the title of the Immaculate Conception: in you we put all our trust and
confidence. To the best of our ability, we will praise all your glories in this sacred
mystery.
A: O Mary, we know that there is no love like a mother's love. We therefore
desire greater knowledge and more tender love toward thee and we wish to venerate
thee as the spotless Mother of a spotless Son. And do not abandon me, my Mother
because without thy patronage I will be lost. I promise to serve and love thee and the
moments of my sojourn here on earth.
Pray that I may always feel the abhorrence of sin that I may always
strive to fulfill the duties required by my state in life, and that I may always hope for
salvation in the name of Jesus and Mary, especially at the hour of death. Do not
abandon us, our Mother, because without your patronage we will be lost. We
promise to serve and love you all the moments of our sojourn here on earth. Pray
that we may always feel the abhorrence for our sins, that we may always strive to
fulfill the duties required by our state of life and that we may always hope for
salvation in the name of Jesus, your Son, and in your name, O Mary, especially at
the hour of death.

(THE MEMORARE - CLOSING PRAYER)

DAY 8
Reading and Meditation:

THE IMMACULATA'S FRUITFULNESS

God sends to us the one who personifies his love: Mary the spouse of the Spirit
- a spirit of maternal love-immaculate, all beautiful, spotless, even though she is our
sister, a true daughter of the human race. God confides to her the communication of
his mercy to souls. He makes of her the Mediatrix of the graces merited for us by her
divine Son, for she is full of grace, the Mother of all souls born of grace, reborn, and
always being reborn, becoming ever more godlike.
Productivity is one of the chief "virtues" upheld by modern society as measure
of wordly success. May the Immaculate give witness to each of us that her (and our)
ongoing spiritual fruitfulness in bearing Christ to others is a far greater achievement
than material productivity.

SPECIAL PRAYER TO OUR MOTHER MARY

L: Most worthy child of the eternal Father, Mother of God the Son and the
Spouse of the Holy Spirit, loving and merciful patroness of the whole Philippines
under the title of the Immaculate Conception: in you we put all our trust and
confidence. To the best of our ability, we will praise all your glories in this sacred
mystery.
A: O Mother of love and mercy, obtain for us a perfect sorrow and sincere
contrition for our sins. Remember us in the hour of death so that we may present
ourselves with security before the throne of the just, but likewise merciful judge, our
God and Redeemer. Thou knowest well that our life is a warfare against the
wickedness of the world, the flesh and the devil. Come to our aid, and do not
abandon us, our Mother, because without your patronage we will be lost. We
promise to serve and love you all the moments of our sojourn here on earth. Pray
that we may always feel the abhorrence for our sins, that we may always strive to
fulfill the duties required by our state of life and that we may always hope for
salvation in the name of Jesus, your Son, and in your name, O Mary, especially at
the hour of death.

(THE MEMORARE - CLOSING PRAYER)

DAY 9
Reading and Meditation:

THE IMMACULATA'S FULLNESS OF LOVE

The Immaculata never knew the slightest stain; in other words, her love was
always full, without flow. She loved God with all her being, and from the first
instant of her existence her love united her with God so perfectly that on the day of
the Annunciation the Angel could say to her, "Full of grace! The Lord is with you!"
(cf Lk 1:28). She is, then, God's creature, God's image, God's child, and in all these
respects she is all this in the most perfect manner possible among the ranks of mere
creatures ("Sketches for a book." 1940). Intelligent creatures love God in a
conscious manner; through this love they unite themselves more and more closely
with him, and so find their way back to him.
The creature most completely filled with this love, filled with God himself,
was the Immaculata.. In the Holy Spirit's union with Mary we observe more than the
love of two beings; in one there is all the love of the Blessed Trinity; in the other, all
of creation's love. So it is that in this union heaven and earth are joined; all of
heaven with all the earth, the totally of eternal love with the totality of created love.
It is truly the summit of love
To channel all our spiritual, physical, and psychological energies into their
fullest human expression means simply to love God as totally as possible. May the
Immaculata's flawless love of God prod each of us to channel our love in that same
ultimate direction.

SPECIAL PRAYER TO OUR MOTHER MARY

L: Most worthy child of the eternal Father, Mother of God the Son and the
Spouse of the Holy Spirit, loving and merciful patroness of the whole Philippines
under the title of the Immaculate Conception: in you we put all our trust and
confidence. To the best of our ability, we will praise all your glories in this sacred
mystery.
A: Most Privileged Mother, we come to beg thee to add thy sweet voice to
our prayer. You have done wonderful things for the salvation of souls; please obatin
for us all the graces necessary for a good Christian life. Moreover, since we cannot
reach heaven without a special gift of final perseverance, we petition thee ask this
favor for us. May we then hope that the merits of Jesus and the powerful
intercession will help us quit this life in the perfect friendship of God. Do not
abandon us, our Mother, because without your patronage we will be lost. We
promise to serve and love you all the moments of our sojourn here on earth. Pray
that we may alway feel the abhorrence for our sins that we may always strive to
fulfill theduties required by our state of life and that we may always hope for
salvation in the name of Jesus, your Son, and in your name, 0 Mary, especially at the
hour of death.

(THE MEMORARE - CLOSING PRAYER)

 ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
O Mary, Virgin most powerful and Mother of mercy, Queen of Heaven and
Refuge of sinners, we consecrate ourselves to thine Immaculate Heart.
We consecrate to thee our very being and our whole life; all that we have; all
that we love, all that we are. To thee we give our bodies, our hearts and our souls; to
thee we give our homes, our families, our country. We desire that all that is in us and
around us may belong to thee, and may share in the benefits of thy motherly
benediction. And that this act of consecration may be truly efficacious and lasting,
we renew this day at thy feet the promises of our Baptisn and our first Holy
Communion. We pledge ourselves to profess courageously and at all times the truths
of our holy Faith, and to live as befits Catholics who are duly submissive to all the
directions of the Pope and the Bishops in communion with him. We pledge
ourselves to keep the commandments of God and His Church, in particular to keep
holy the Lord’s Day. We likewise pledge ourselves to make the consoling practices
of the Christian religion, and above all, Holy Communion, an integral part of our
lives, in so far as we shall be able to do so.
Finally, we promise thee, O glorious Mother of God and loving Mother of
men, to devote ourselves whole-heartedly to the service of thy blessed cult, in order
to hasten and assure, through the sovereignty of thine Immaculate Heart, the coming
of the kingdom of the Sacred Heart of thine adorable Son, in our own hearts and in
those of all men, in our country and in all the world.
As in heaven, so on earth. Amen.
 PRAYER TO MARY IMMACULATE
Mary, Mother of God, your greatness began at the first instant of your
existence with the privilege of your Immaculate Conception. After Almighty God
and the Sacred Humanity of Jesus, there is no being so great as you. It is true, you
are a creature, and, therefore, far beneth the Supreme Being. But you are a creature
so holy and so perfect that you are superior to all the other creatures. God alone
could make you so holy and so beautiful, and He did so to make you worthy of the
dignity of being the Mother of Jesus, the Son of God, the Divine Word.
It was fitting that you, a virgin Mother, should conceive the Man who was also
the Son of God. It was fitting that you should be adorned with the greatest purity
ever possible to a creature. You are the Virgin to whom God the Father decreed to
give His only Son – the Divine Word, equal to Himself in all things – that entering
the natural order He might become your Son as well as His. You are the immaculate
Virgin whom the Son Himself chose to make His mother. You are the immaculate
Virgin whom the Holy Spirit willed to make his bride and in whom He would work
the tremendous miracle of the Incarnation. The privilege of the Immaculate
Conception was suitable to your dignity.
Mary, our Immaculate Mother, help us to imitate your sinlessness by keeping
our souls free from every willful sin by the faithful observance of God’s
commandments. Help us to imitate your fullness of grace by receiving Holy
Communion frequently, where we shall obtain the sanctifying grace that will make
our souls holy and pleasing to God, and the actual graces we need to practice virtue.
Through prayer may grace fill our souls with the life of God and transform us into a
living image of Jesus, just as you were. Amen.