Novena To Our Lady Of Perpetual Help Day 3

ACT OF CONTRITION

My Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true man, my father and redeemer, behold at Thy feet a poor sinner who has so grievously afflicted Thy loving Heart. O lovable Jesus, how could i have offended thee and filled with bitterness that Heart that love me so and that has spared no effort to attain my love? How great has been my in gratitude! But, O my saviour, be consoled, be consoled, I say to thee; now i find myself repentant, such grief i feel for the afflictions i have caused thee, that i would like to die of poor sorrow and contrition. O my Jesus! who could have make me weep for sin as Thou hast wept for them in Thy mortal life! My soul is oppressed for having offended Thee. Eternal father, in satisfaction for my offences I offer Thee the affliction and sorrow the Heart of Thy Divine Son has felt for them. And Thou, O Loving Jesus! give me such a horror for sin that from now on it may make me avoid even the most trifling of faults. Depart from my heart, earthly affections; I do not want to love anything now but my most bountiful Redeemer. O my Jesus, help me, strengthen me, and pardon me.

My Mother of perpetual help, intercede for me and obtain for me the pardon of my sins.

PREPARATORY PRAYER

(To be said everyday)

O Most Blessed Virgin Mary! Who to inspire us with boundless confidence has been pleased to take the sweet name of Mother of Perpetual help, I implore Thee to come to my aid always and everywhere, in my temptations, after my falls, in my difficulties, in all the miseries of life, and above all, at the hour of my death. Give me, O loving Mother, the desire, nay more, the habit always to have recourse to Thee, for i feel assured that if i am faithful in invoking Thee, Thou will be faithful in coming to my assistance. Obtain for me, then, this grace of graces, the grace to pray to Thee without ceasing, and with childlike trust, that, by means of my constant plea, I may ensure Thy Perpetual Help and final perseverance. Bless me, O tender and solicitous Mother, pray for me now and at the hour of my death. Amen

THIRD DAY MEDITATION

Our Lady of Perpetual help assists Her devotees to overcome
lukewarmness.

Yesterday we saw how great is the tenderness of Our Lady with great sinners, but it is no less great with another class of souls in need, those who are called tepid, and are in a state almost as dangerous as that of mortal sin.

Although these negligent souls, who at times frequent the sacraments, do indeed wish to avoid mortal sin, nevertheless they do not try to serve God, filling their lives with voluntary venial sins; with superficiality they recite their prayers and carry out other devotions; they hear mass, perhaps they go to confession and receive Communion; but they do it out of routine and for human considerations; without fruit, without advancing in virtue; anger, lies, murmurings, rash judgements, nasty words, envies, laziness, vanity, impurities, dangerous and useless conversations, disordered attachment to the things of the world and other similar faults easily find their place in the hearts of tepid persons. Think of the great risk of being condemned for being in this state. St. Teresa saw the place for which she was destined in Hell if she were not more fervent. In the opinion of St. Chrysostom, we must have more fear of habitual venial sins than mortal sins, because, says this great saint, mortal sin is monstrous and in itself inspires horror, while tepidity leaves us calm and unconcerned. And was it not perchance against tepidity that Our lord has proffered these tremendous words:” I would that thou wert cold,” that is, that you would be in mortal sin! Who would believe it, if God Himself had not said it?” But because thou art lukewarm, I  will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth.” Who does not have horror of vomit? That is why St. Gregory writes:” I do not despair of seeing a sinner, as yet unconverted, saved; but rather for the salvation of a soul that has fallen into tepidity.” A terrible sentence that the doctors confirm when they teach that it is almost impossible for a tepid soul to be converted. O careless soul! it is sufficient to commit a habitual sin deliberately to be tepid and to find oneself in this danger. What will become, then, of you who commit so many faults with as much ease as thirsty swallow water? But then, the soul who finds itself in the state will say to me: ” Is there then no remedy for me and must I abandon myself to despair?”

O unfortunate soul! It is difficult for you to be converted. But with all that, do not despair. Consider that what is impossible on earth is not so in Heaven. If you wish with all the earnestness of your will to throw off this dismal yoke, I will tell you a way as  efficacious as it is easy. Lift up your glance; contemplate the image of your most kind Mother of Perpetual Help. Do you not see a brilliant star on Her forehead? It is the symbol of your hope. Place your confidence in Her, begin to serve Her with fidelity and you will feel your heart transformed.

Devotion to this Mother of fair love is incompatible with culpable negligence. O, how many souls have given up their tepidity on the same day they have begun to be Her devotees. What is lacking to you is the powerful love that fears to displeases the lovable Jesus, for She is the Mother of this fervent charity that beautifies souls. She wishes to grant it to you more than you want to receive it. Do you want the miracle of Cana re-enacted for you? Invoke Her with love. She will present you to the Divine infant Who rests in Her arms, saying to Him: ” Vinum non habent.”(They have no wine) ” My son, see this poor soul who does not have true love.” And then your coldness will be converted into fervour, as the water was converted into wine. Our Lady will inspire in you a living desire to concentrate yourself without reserve to the lord; She will give you a special delight in meditating on eternal truths; She will communicate to you a singular devotion to the August Sacrament of our altar; and thus you will be able to break the chains that imprison you and again be the delight of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Meditate and ask for what you wish to obtain from Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

JOYS

AT THE END OF EACH PARAGRAPH SAY

“Come hasten to assist me, O Mother sweet and kind!”

Thou art Perpetual Help benign;
Come, therefore, I implore Thee:
Come hasten to assist me.
O Mother sweet and kind!

Hear, O Virgin pure,
Our fervent prayers of love
That fly to Thee above
On Thine exalted Throne.

Stained by guilt and sin
I bow my head and cry;
And at Thy feet I sigh
for clemency and love.

Free the careless soul
From it tepid ways,
And set the soul ablaze
with fervour in devotion

Wretched in this vale
Of pain and tribulation,
For heavenly consolation
I humbly beg of Thee.

If my virtue wanes
When tempests howl and roar,
My energies restore
Beloved Morning Star.

To Thy faithful child
Encouragement provide,
And toward virtue guide
His weak unsteady step.

Free my fickle heart
from all its lassitude,
And grant it fortitude
To lead a sinless life.

In the final clash
With death in all its fright,
How great my soul’s delight
If then i can exclaim:

In purgatory’s fire,
Dear Mother, please be sweet;
Great Lady, I entreat,
Alleviate my pains.

Grant me, Mother dear,
As fond farewell to Thee,
To sing eternally
With love and praise to Thee:

Come hasten to assist me
O Mother sweet and kind!

EJACULATORY PRAYER

O Mother of Perpetual Help! Do not let me fall into tepidity, and if by mishap I may have fallen into it, quickly Lift me from it.

EXERCISE

Before ending the novena, make a serious and fervent Confession, as if it were your last.

PRAYER

Behold me here, O my Mother. I am one of those unhappy souls who deserve to find myself abandoned by Thy Son and by Thee in the miserable state of tepidity in which I have lived so many years; but the new lights that He imparts to me today through Thy intercession, and that mysterious voice that calls me to serve Him with fervour, are signs that He has not yet abandoned me. O Mother most kind! I have no  fervour; I do not love Jesus as I should love Him, and nevertheless, I want to be all His. Help me to consider venial sin in extreme horror; make me fervent. Pray, do not cease praying for me so that I leave my tepidity and serve God with fervour until attaining Heaven, where I will be safe from all danger of losing God, sure of loving Him always, and of loving Thee, also, O Mother of Perpetual Help, for all eternity. Amen

Do you see, O man! Whoever you may be and in whatever occupation you find yourself, you have no reason to be discouraged; find in Our Lady of Perpetual Help a most kind Mother, Who helps you in your miseries if you confide in Her; She will help you continually until seeing you one day seated at Her side in Heaven.

May Thou be blessed, then, Lord, for in Thine infinite mercy Thou hast given us Thy Blessed Mother as a refuge and opportune aid in every tribulation, and blessed is She Who is the Perpetual Help of the exiled children of Eve in this valley of tears. O Mother of Perpetual Help, what consolations, what sweetness the soul feels on pronouncing Thy name! For the tongue that utters it, it is an exquisite honey; for the ear that hears it, a harmonious melody; and for the heart that savours it, the most pure and holy joy.

EXAMPLE

A figure of tepidity, consumption, that terrible illness that even today mocks human science, afflicted a young North American woman for five years, during two of which she was unable to get up from her bed. Both lungs were affected and one of them almost completely lost. Several eminent doctors had declared that there remained no hope of saving her and that no more could be done that to alleviate the poor sick girl’s suffering. But she, having heard of the extra-ordinary cures due to the invocation of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, felt herself inspired with a great confidence in Her, and she begged her mother to begin a novena in the church of the Redemptorist Fathers, where the miraculous image was venerated. On the ninth day, when the mother was preparing herself to go and make the last visit to the image, the sick one asked permission to accompany her. The poor mother, believing the girl was delirious, abstained from giving in to her. But behold at that moment the young girl arose and dressed without anyone’s help. she accompanied her joyous mother to the church and, after having prayed with fervour that is easy to imagine at the foot of the altar of her Heavenly liberator, she returned to her house perfectly cured. Great was the surprise of the doctor on making his usual visit, when he found the sick girl up; but that surprise reached it peak when he found out that in the morning she had left the house. “My daughter is cured; my daughter is cured!” the mother repeated, transported with joy. The doctor who was a complete unbeliever, did not know what to think of what he saw. He examined the lungs scrupulously and recognized that they were healthy and intact. When he had been told of all that had happened, he could do no less than exclaim: ” Well then, if there are such things on earth that can be called miracles surely this is one of them.”

May the virgin of Perpetual Help be loved, praised, invoked and eternally blessed! May she be my hope, my love, my Mother, My refuge and my life. Amen.

OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP PRAYER Day Four