Novena to the Queenship of Mary - Day 5

Day 5 – May 26^th – Feast of Saint Philip Neri

~Prayers~

O my sovereign Queen and worthy Mother of my God, most holy Mary; I seeing myself, as I do, so despicable and loaded with so many sins, ought not to presume to call thee Mother, or even to approach thee; yet I will not allow my miseries to deprive me of the consolation and confidence that I feel in calling thee mother; I know well that I deserve that thou shouldst reject me; but I beseech thee to remember all that thy Son Jesus has endured for me, and then reject me if thou canst.  I am a wretched sinner, who, more than all others, have despised the infinite majesty of God: but the evil is done.  To thee have I recourse; thou canst help me; my Mother, help me.  Say not that thou canst not do so; for I know that thou art all-powerful, and that thou obtainest whatever thou desirest of God; and if thou sayest that thou wilt not help me, tell me at least to whom I can apply in this my so great misfortune.  "Either pity me," will I say with the devout St. Anselm, "O my Jesus, and forgive me, and do thou pity me, my Mother Mary, by interceding for me, or at least tell me to whom I can have recourse, who is more compassionate, or in whom I can have greater confidence than in thee.” (Prayer of Saint Alphonsus Ligouri, The Glories of Mary)

O God, who hast exalted thy blessed Confessor Philip to the glory of thy saints be appeased and grant that as we rejoice in his feast we may profit by the example of his virtutes. 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.   (Missale Romanum)

Look forgivingly on thy flock, Eternal Shepherd, and keep it in thy constant protection, by the intercession of blessed Eleutherius thy Martyr and Sovereign Pontiff, whom thou didst constitute Shepherd of the whole Church. 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.   (Missale Romanum)

~Reading for Meditation~

Taken from Part I of Chapter I of The Glories of Mary by Saint Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Suetonius (Tit. c. 8.) relates of the Emperor Titus that he could never refuse a favor, so much so that he sometimes promised more than he could grant, and when admonished of this he replied, that a prince should never send away any person whom he admitted to his audience dissatisfied.  Titus spoke thus, but in reality he must often have deceived or failed in his promises.  Our Queen cannot deceive, and can obtain all that she wills for her clients.  Moreover, "our Lord has given her so benign and compassionate a heart," says Lanspergius, "that she cannot send away any one dissatisfied who prays to her" (Alloq. l. 1, p. 4. can. 12).  But how, to use the words of St. Bonaventure, canst thou, O Mary, who art the Queen of Mercy, refuse to succor the miserable?  And "who," asks the saint, "are the subjects for mercy, if not the miserable?  And since thou art the Queen of Mercy," he continues, "and I am the most miserable of sinners, it follows that I am the first of thy subjects.  How, then, O Lady, canst thou do otherwise than exercise thy mercy on me?" (Paciucch. In Salve Reg. exc. 2.)  Have pity on us, then, O Queen of Mercy, and take charge of our salvation.

"Say not, O holy Virgin," exclaims St. George of Nicomedia, "that thou canst not assist us on account of the number of our sins, for thy power and thy compassion are such, that no number of sins, however great, can outweigh them.  Nothing resists thy power, for our common Creator, honoring thee as his Mother, considering thy glory as his own:" and the Son, "exulting in it, fulfils thy petitions as if he were paying a debt" (Or. de Ingr. B.V.); meaning thereby, that although Mary is under an infinite obligation to her for having given him his humanity; and therefore Jesus, to pay as it were what he owes to Mary, and glorying in her glory, honors her in a special manner by listening to and granting all her petitions.

Prayers for each day.