Novena for the Annunciation

(Novena begins March 16th and ends March 24th.)

NINE SALUTATIONS.

Come, Holy Ghost, etc., as on page 231.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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 almighty fiat! O fiat efficacious! O fiat to be venerated above all fiats!

Hail Mary, etc.

4. 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 to me according to Thy word.”

Hail Mary, etc.

5. 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.” 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.

6. 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), 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.

7. Though my tongue is unhallowed, yet, purest Virgin, I presume to hail thee every hour of the day: “Ave, ave, Maria, 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.

8. I believe, holiest Mary, that the 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.

9. O holiest Mary! bless me, my heart and soul, as thou thyself was 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:

V. The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.

R. And she conceived of the Holy Ghost.

Let us Pray.

O God, who, by the message of an angel, didst will that Thy divine Word should take flesh from the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary! grant unto us, Thy suppliants, that we, who believe her to be truly the Mother of God, may be helped by her intercession with Thee. Amen.

For making the above novena an indulgence of three hundred days every day, and a plenary indulgence on the feast itself or on any day in its octave.—Pius VII., Aug. 4, Nov. 24, 1808; Jan. 11, 1809.