Novena for the Annunciation

132.

THIRD NOVENA.

IN PREPARATION FOR THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION.

(Commencing March 16.)

Veni Sancte Spiritus, etc., p. 265.

I. With wonder I revere thee, holiest Virgin Mary; for, of all God’s creatures, thou wast humblest on the very day of thy Annunciation, when God himself exalted thee to the sublime dignity of his own mother. O mightiest Virgin, make me, wretched sinner that I am, know the depths of my own nothingness, and make me humble myself at last, with all my heart, beneath the feet of all men.

Hail Mary, etc.

II. O Mary, holiest Virgin, who, when the archangel Gabriel hailed thee in thy Annunciation, and thou wast raised by God above all choirs of the angels, didst confess thyself the handmaid of the Lord: Ecce ancilla Domini (“Behold the handmaid of the Lord”), do thou obtain for me true humility and a truly angelic purity, and so to live on earth as ever to be worthy of the blessings of God.

Hail Mary, etc.

III. With thee I rejoice, O Virgin ever blest! because, by a simple Fiat uttered by thee so humbly, thou didst draw down from the bosom of the eternal Father the divine Word into thine own pure bosom. O draw, then, ever my heart to God; and with God bring grace into my heart, that I may ever sincerely bless thy Fiat, and with devotion cry, O mighty Fiat! O Fiat efficacious! O Fiat to be venerated above all Fiats! (S. Thom. de Villan.)

Hail Mary, etc.

IV. Mary, mighty Virgin, thou who on the day of thy Annunciation wast found by the archangel Gabriel so prompt and ready to do God’s will, and to correspond with the desires of the august Trinity who wished for thy consent in order to redeem the world: obtain for me that, whatever happens, good or ill, I may turn to my God, and with resignation say: Fiat, fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum (“Be it done unto me according to thy word”).

Hail Mary, etc.

V. I see that thy obedience, Mary most holy, united thee so closely to God, that all creation never shall know again union so fair and perfect. “Magis Deo conjungi, nisi fieret Deus, non potuit: “She could not have been more united to God except by being God herself.” (B. Albert Magnus.) I am overwhelmed with confusion in seeing how my sins have separated me from God. Help me, then, gentle mother, to repent sincerely of my sins, that I may be reunited to thy loving Jesus.

Hail Mary, etc.

VI. Holiest Mary, if, through thy modesty, thou wert troubled at the appearance of the archangel Gabriel in thy dwelling, I am terrified at the sight of my monstrous pride. By thy incomparable humility, which brought forth God for men, reopened paradise, and let the captive souls go free from hell beneath (Quæ Deum hominibus peperit, paradisum aperuit et animas ab inferno liberavit (S. Augus., Serm. de Sanct.), draw me, I pray thee, out of the deep pit wherein my sins have cast me, and make me save my soul.

Hail Mary, etc.

VII. Though my tongue is unhallowed, yet, purest Virgin, I presume to hail thee every hour of the day: Ave, ave, gratia plena (“Hail, hail, Mary, full of grace”). From my heart I pray thee pour into my soul a little of that mighty grace wherewith the Holy Spirit overshadowed thee, filled thee to the full.

Hail Mary, etc.

VIII. I believe, holiest Mary, that almighty God, who was ever with thee from thy conception (Dominus tecum—“The Lord is with thee”), is, by his incarnation in thy purest womb, still more closely united to thee: make it thy care, I pray thee, that I may be with that same dear Lord Jesus ever one heart and soul by means of sanctifying grace.

Hail Mary, etc.

IX. O holiest Mary! bless me, my heart and soul, as thou thyself wast ever blessed of God among all women (benedicta tu in mulieribus); for I have this sure hope, that if, dear mother, thou bless me while I live, then, when I die, I shall be blessed of God in the everlasting glory of heaven.

Then say the Litany, and afterward:

Deus omnium fidelium pastor, etc., with the other prayers, as at p. 268.