Novena to the Immaculate Conception
Begins on November 29
“We must pray often to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Immaculate Conception, who has the mission to crush the head of the serpent. Satan is frightened at the mere word of the Immaculate Conception. As soon as things are not going well, as soon as you feel a bad mood, a revolt within you, say: O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee. We must also invoke the Blessed Virgin under the title of Queen of the heavenly armies: O Mary, Commander of the heavenly armies, protect us.”
Father John Gregory of the Trinity
First day
Here I am at Your sacred feet, O Immaculate Virgin; I rejoice greatly with You that You have been chosen from all eternity to be the Mother of the eternal Word, and preserved from the original sin. I thank and bless the Most Holy Trinity, who enriched You with these glorious privileges on the day of Your Conception; and I humbly beg You to obtain for me the grace to triumph over the dreadful effects that original sin has produced in me. May I, through Your intercession, be granted this grace and never cease to love my God!
3 Ave Maria…
Blessed be the Holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary!
Second day
O Mary, immaculate lily shining with purity, I rejoice with You that, from the first moment of Your Conception, You were filled with graces, and moreover endowed with the perfect use of reason. I thank and adore the Most Holy Trinity, who has embellished You with such sublime gifts; and I am confounded before You, seeing myself so lacking in graces. O You, who have been so fully filled with heavenly favors, deign to communicate something of them to my soul, and make me share in the treasures of Your Immaculate Conception.
3 Ave Maria…
Blessed be the Holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary!
Third day
O Mary, mystical rose from whom a perfume of purity exhales, I rejoice with You in the glorious triumph You won over the serpent of hell in Your Immaculate Conception and in the fact that You were conceived without the stain of original sin. I thank and praise, with all my heart, the Most Holy Trinity for having granted You such a beautiful privilege; and I beg You to obtain for me the strength to triumph over all the snares of the adversary spirit, and not to defile my soul with sin. Ah, always be my helper, and make me, by Your protection, always victorious over the common enemies of our salvation.
3 Ave Maria…
Blessed be the Holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary!
Fourth day
O Virgin Mary, mirror of spotless purity, I am filled with joy at seeing that from the first moment of Your Conception the most sublime and perfect virtues were infused in You with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I thank and praise the Most Holy Trinity for having adorned You with all these privileges; and I beg You, O Mother of goodness, to obtain for me the grace to practice the virtues after Your example, and to make me worthy of receiving the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit.
3 Ave Maria…
Blessed be the Holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary!
Fifth day
O Mary, Star shining with purity like the moon in the middle of the night, I rejoice with You that the mystery of Your Immaculate Conception has shown mankind the first glimmers of its salvation and given joy to the world. I thank and bless the Most Holy Trinity for having so magnificently glorified You; and I beg You to obtain for me the grace to know how to profit from the fruits of the Passion and death of Jesus, Your Son, so that, far from making useless the blood He shed for me on the cross, I may draw from it a holy life and eternal salvation.
3 Ave Maria…
Blessed be the Holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary!
Sixth day
O Mary, shining Star of purity untainted and without blemish, I rejoice with You that Your Immaculate Conception has delighted all the Angels in heaven. I thank and bless the Most Holy Trinity for having honored You with such a favor, and I beseech You to make me one day partake of this heavenly joy, so that I may praise and bless You, in the company of the Angels, throughout eternity.
3 Ave Maria…
Blessed be the Holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary!
Seventh day
O Mary, the rising dawn of all purity, I am with You enraptured with joy and admiration at the sight of this first moment of Your Immaculate Conception, in which Divine Goodness has confirmed You in grace, and made You impeccable; I thank and exalt the most holy Trinity for having distinguished You, alone, among all creatures by this singular privilege: O holy Virgin, obtain for me the grace to abhor sin, to hate it more than all other evils, and to prefer rather to die than to offend God.
3 Ave Maria…
Blessed be the Holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary!
Eighth day
O Virgin Mary, Sun without stain, I congratulate You and rejoice with You that, in Your Immaculate Conception, God has given You a grace superior and more abundant than those of all the Angels and Saints, at the highest point of their perfection. I thank the Most Holy Trinity, and I admire His infinite goodness, for having granted You this distinguished prerogative. Ah, do so also, Holy Virgin, that I always correspond to the divine grace, and that I never abuse it: change my heart, so that I begin, from this moment, to correct myself.
3 Ave Maria…
Blessed be the Holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary!
Ninth day
O Mary, Mother and Immaculate Virgin, living light of holiness and model of purity, as soon as You were conceived, You adored God profoundly, and You thanked Him for having deigned to employ You, to lift the ancient curse and to spread henceforth the most ample blessing on the children of Adam: ah! Let this blessing kindle in my heart the fire of divine love; set it ablaze with the flames that consume You, so that I may love God constantly here below, possess Him eternally in Heaven, render to Him in that blessed abode the most ardent thanksgiving for the outstanding privileges He has granted You; and finally give myself over to the sweet joy of seeing You crowned with so much glory and honor, in the highest Heaven.
3 Ave Maria…
Blessed be the Holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary!
