Novena for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Nov. 29th-Dec.7th)
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception – December 8th
Day 2 – November 30 – Feast of
Saint Andrew the Apostle
Prayers-
O Virgin Immaculate, Mother of
God and my Mother, from thy sublime height turn upon me thine eyes of pity.
Filled with confidence in thy goodness and knowing full well thy power, I
beseech thee to extend to me thine assistance in the journey of life, which is
so full of dangers for my soul. And in order that I may never be the slave of
the devil through sin, but may ever live with my heart humble and pure, I
entrust myself wholly to thee. I consecrate my heart to thee for ever, my only
desire being to love thy Divine Son Jesus. Mary, none of thy devout servants
has ever perished; may I too be saved. Amen.
O Mary, thou didst enter the
world without stain; do thou obtain for me from God, that I may leave it without
sin. Ave Maria…
O Lord, we humbly beseech thy
Majesty, that even as Thou didst give thy blessed Apostle Andrew to thy Church
to be a teacher and a ruler on earth, so, now that he is with thee, he may
continually make intercession for us. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord,
Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one
God, world without end. Amen.
Reading-
“A woman came to a house of our
little Congregation in this kingdom to let one of the Fathers know that her
husband had not been to confession for many years, and the poor creature could
no longer tell by what means to bring him to his duty; for if she named
confession to him, he beat her. The
Father told her to give him a picture of Mary Immaculate. In the evening the woman once more begged her
husband to go to confession; but he as usual turned a deaf ear to her
entreaties. She gave him the
picture. Behold! he had scarcely
received it, when he said, "Well, when will you take me to confession, for
I am willing to go?" The wife, on
seeing this instantaneous change, began to weep for joy. In the morning he really came to our church,
and when the Father asked him how long it was since he had been to confession,
he answered, "Twenty-eight years."
The Father again asked him what had induced him to come that morning. "Father," he said, "I was
obstinate; but last night my wife gave me a picture of our Blessed Lady, and in
the same moment I felt my heart changed, so much so, that during the whole
night every moment seemed a thousand years, so great was my desire to go to
confession." He then confessed his
sins with great contrition, changed his life, and continued for a long time to
go frequently to confession to the same Father.
“In another place, in the diocese
of Salerno, in which we were giving a mission, there was a man who bore a great
hatred to another who had offended him.
One of our Fathers spoke to him that he might be reconciled; but he
answered: "Father, did you ever see me at the sermon? No, and for this very reason, I do not
go. I know that I am damned; but nothing
else will satisfy me, I must have revenge." The Father did all that he could to convert
him; but seeing that he lost his time, he said, "Here, take this picture
of our Blessed Lady." The man at
first replied, "But what is the use of this picture?" But no sooner had he taken it, than, as if he
had never refused to be reconciled, he said to the missionary, "Father, is
anything else required besides reconciliation?—I am willing." The following morning was fixed for it. When, however, the time came, he had again
changed, and would do nothing. The
Father offered him another picture, but he refused it; but at length, with
great reluctance, took it, when, behold! he scarcely had possession of it than
he immediately said. Now let us be quick;
where is Mastrodati?" and he was instantly reconciled with him, and then
went to confession.”
-Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop
and Doctor of the Church, The Glories of Mary, Discourse for the Feast of the
Immaculate Conception, Example
No comments:
Post a Comment