Novena for the Assumption

O GLORIOUS Queen of all the heavenly host! whose sacred body, the immaculate temple of the divinity, is now assumed into heaven, we unite our voices to the choirs of angels who celebrate thy triumph. Winter is now past for thee, O fervent follower of thy crucified Son. In this world, like Him, thou hadst not any parts in its perishable possessions; but now all the treasures of heaven are thine; they are thine to enjoy, and thine to distribute; for thy intercession is now an infinite treasure to man, by which they that use it become the friends of God. Thou wert buried in obscurity in this valley of tears, but now thou art elevated, O Mother of God, to the highest pinnacle of glory! Should not thy triumphant exaltation encourage us to despise this world, and aspire after the next? For, O amiable Virgin! How short were thy sufferings on earth, yet for all eternity thou shalt be admired in the holy assembly; among the elect thou shalt have praise, and among the blessed thou shalt be blessed. Look down then with compassion on us poor banished children of Eve; draw our hearts after thee, by filial confidence and vigorous exertions, to imitate thy virtues: above all, obtain for us true humility, which neither seeks nor values any earthly distinction; poverty of spirit—purity of heart—that thirst after the strong and living God, which can never be satisfied until His glory appears—and such ardent love of our Divine Spouse, as may cause us to despise the whole world, and incessantly sigh after those eternal joys, of which it is written: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them That love Him." (Cor. II, 9.)