Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows
For the nine day
s between September 7 (the vigil of the feast of the Birth of Mary) and September 15 (the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows), we pray for the intercession of Mary, the Mother of our Life, our Faith and our Hope.
Novena
God, come to my assistance.
Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.
Daily Bible reading:
Day 1 Luke 7:11-15 Day 2 Matthew 1:18-23 Day 3 John 19:25-27
Day 4 Luke 2:33-35 Day 5 Hebrews 5:7-9 Day 6 Colossians 3: 12-17
Day 7 Psalms 31:2-3,3-4, 5-6 Day
8 Philippians 2:6-11 Day9 Psalms 31:
15-16, 20
Holy Mother of God, hear the prayers of the Church for all mothers,
especially those wearied by life and overcome by the
suffering they bear for their children.
Hail Mary...
O Mother of the Word Incarnate, intercede for them from your place in heaven,
that the mercy of your divine Son might lighten their burden
and give them strength.
Hail Mary...
Glory be to the Father....
Day 1
Pray for the Suffering Women of the World
Labor day usually brings to mind images of factory workers,
farmers or heavy equipment operators. Yet we also use labor to describe the
first work which brought each one of us to birth: those first hours of maternal
sacrifice which brought us into the world. It's too easy to forget that and all
the other sacrifices which the vocation of motherhood entails. Pray for the
mothers in labor today. Those who give birth. Those who work two jobs to
support a child. Those who go without so their child's needs are met. Those
whose patient endurance is a sign of God's love upon the cross.
Day 2
Pray for Mothers who will Give Birth Today
'At first I was scared,' Sarah told me. 'I was scared,
excited and filled with the most incredible expectation. It was like those
words we hear at Mass: we wait in joyful hope. I thought of all those women who
feel the first kick, the stirrings of life deep within them. I prayed for them,
that they would love their child, cherish their little baby and know that in
being a mother they are involved in something so much bigger than themselves.
They have been chosen by God to be custodians of the mystery of life. At first
I was scared, and then I just cried ... with joy.'
Day 3
Pray for Fathers at
the Birth of their Child
'At first I was petrified", Jon told me.
"Petrified that I would faint or get in the way or not know what to do to
help Sarah. But then I prayed to Mary. I know, praying to Mary is something
you?d think a mother would be doing. But somehow, I think Mary understood Saint
Joseph more than anyone else. She probably saw the fear in his eyes and sensed
the restlessness of his heart. She probably spent a lot of time praying for him
as well. And when I prayed to Mary for my child about to be born, I knew she
understood and heard me and prayed for me to her son. At first I was petrified,
and then I put everything into God's hands."
Day 4
Pray for All Children
The eyes of a child are an infinite well of life, hope and
goodness. If you doubt the value of life, look into the eyes of a child. If you
are worn by life's worries, look into the eyes of a child. If you want to see
tomorrow, look into the eyes of a child. And what you will see is the divine
spark which brought beauty out of chaos, the infinite beauty, which is the presence
of the Creator in his creation.
Day 5
Pray for Families
I know of a family which prays each night. Since the kids
were little they are gathered from their games and their grumbling to the couch
in the living room. There they pray for those whom they love and those they
have a hard time loving. They pray for the unborn and for little babies. They
pray for the sick and the dying. They pray for the Church and for their priest.
Many a night it was the knowledge of those prayers that gave me hope and peace
and a good night's sleep.
Day 6
Prayer for Life Begins in the Home
I know of another family which used to pray for unborn
children every Friday night. They chose Friday because that's when Christ,
innocent and without sin, was sent to the cross. There's no prayer more
powerful than that said over little folded hands asking God to take care of all
the babies who you've made.
Day 7
Secret Suffering
We look all around us at Church and see them: all the people
whose kids never seem to scream and who look like they haven't a problem in the
world! But what if we really knew them? We would see the 'secret sufferings'
that mirror our own. Mass is the gathering of those who have looked at the
their own brokenness through the lens of the cross, and live! Today is the
perfect day to pray for all God's broken children and especially those who are
tempted to break the lives of others.
Day 8
The Holy Cross
Each time I pray, I am called to join my prayer with
Christ's perfect prayer upon the cross. It is easy from the vantage of the
cross to see the world clearly. To see how easy it is to join the suffering of
the innocent to the suffering of him who is without sin. We should work for an
end to all the forms of violence which threaten life. That is a wonderful good.
But it is even more important to stand with the Virgin Mother and to beg her
son to come to our aid.
Day 9
Our Lady of Sorrows
We end as we began
nine days ago: with Mary, weeping silently beside the cross. Weeping for the
innocent child so violently taken. Weeping for the nation which has let him
die. Weeping for her child and for our, we place them both in her arms.
