The Catholic's pocket prayer-book/The thirty days' prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary
THE THIRTY DAYS' PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.
IN HONOR OF THE SACRED PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.
By the devout recital of this prayer, for the above space of time, we may mercifully hope to obtain our lawful request. It is particularly recommended as a proper devotion for everyday in Lent, and all the Fridays throughout the year.
EVER glorious and blessed Mary, Queen of Virgins, Mother of Mercy, hope and comfort of dejected and desolate souls, through that sword of sorrow which pierced thy tender heart whilst thine only Son, Christ Jesus, our Lord, suffered death and ignominy on the cross; through that filial tenderness and pure love He had for thee, grieving in thy grief, whilst from His cross He recommended thee to the care and protection of His beloved disciple, St. John, take pity, I beseech thee, on my poverty and necessities; have compassion on my anxieties and cares; assist and comfort me in all my infirmities and miseries, of what kind soever. Thou art the Mother of Mercies, the sweet Consolatrix and only refuge of the needy and the orphan, of the desolate and afflicted. Cast, therefore, an eye of pity on a miserable, forlorn child of Eve, and hear my prayer; for since, in just punishment of my sins, I find myself encompassed by a multitude of evils, and oppressed with much anguish of spirit, whither can I fly for more secure shelter, O amiable Mother of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, than under the wings of thy maternal protection? Attend, therefore, I beseech thee, with an ear of pity and compassion, to my humble and earnest request. I ask it, through the bowels of mercy of thy dear Son; through that love and condescension wherewith He embraced our nature, when, in compliance with the divine Will, thou gavest thy consent, and Whom, after the expiration of nine months, thou didst bring forth from the chaste enclosure of thy womb, to visit this world, and bless it with His presence. I ask it, through that anguish of mind wherewith thy beloved Son, our dear Saviour, was overwhelmed on Mount Olivet, when He besought His eternal Father to remove from Him, if possible, the bitter chalice of His future passion. I ask it, through the threefold repetition of His prayers in the Garden, from whence afterwards, with dolorous steps and mournful tears, thou didst accompany Him to the doleful theatre of His death and sufferings. I ask it, through the welts and sores of His virginal flesh, occasioned by the cords and whips wherewith He was bound and scourged, when stripped of His seamless garment, for which His executioners afterwards cast lots. I ask it, through the scoffs and ignominies by which He was insulted; the false accusations and unjust sentence by which He was condemned to death, and which He bore with heavenly patience. I ask it, through His bitter tears and bloody sweat; His silence and resignation; His sadness and grief of heart. I ask it, through the blood which trickled from His royal and sacred head, when struck with the sceptre of a reed, and pierced with His crown of thorns. I ask it, through the excruciating torments He suffered, when His hands and feet were fastened with gross nails to the tree of the cross. I ask it, through His vehement thirst, and bitter potion of vinegar and gall. I ask it, through His dereliction on the cross, when He exclaimed, « My God! my God! why hast Thou forsaken me? » I ask it, through His mercy extended to the good thief, and through His recommending His precious soul and spirit into the hands of His eternal Father before He expired, saying, «All is consummated.» I ask it, through the blood mixed with water, which issued from His sacred side when pierced with a lance, and whence a flood of grace and mercy has flowed to us. I ask it, through His immaculate life, bitter passion, and ignominious death on the cross, at which nature itself was thrown into convulsions, by the bursting of rocks, rending of the veil of the Temple, the earthquake, and darkness of the sun and moon. I ask it, through His descent into hell, where He comforted the Saints of the old law with His presence, and led captivity captive. I ask it, through His glorious victory over death, when He arose again to life on the third day, and through the joy which His appearance for forty days after gave thee, His blessed Mother, His Apostles, and the rest of His Disciples; when in thine and their presence He miraculously ascended into heaven. I ask it, through the grace of the Holy Ghost, infused into the hearts of His Disciples, when He descended upon them in the form of fiery tongues, and by which they were inspired with zeal in the conversion of the world, when they went to preach the gospel. I ask it, through the awful appearance of thy Son, at the last dreadful day, when He shall come to judge the living and the dead, and the world by fire. I ask it, through the compassion He bore thee in this life, and the ineffable joy thou didst feel at thine assumption into heaven, where thou art eternally absorbed in the sweet contemplation of His divine perfections. O glorious and ever blessed Virgin! comfort the heart of thy supplicant, by obtaining for me,—
(Here mention or reflect on your lawful request, under the reservation of its being agreeable to the will of God, Who sees whether it will contribute towards your spiritual good.)
And as I am persuaded my Divine Saviour doth honor thee as His beloved Mother, to whom He refuses nothing, because thou askest nothing contrary to His honor, so let me speedily experience the efficacy of thy powerful intercession, according to the tenderness of thy maternal affection, and His filial loving heart, who mercifully granteth the requests and complieth with the desires of those that love and fear Him. Wherefore, O most blessed Virgin, beside the object of my present petition, and whatever else I may stand in need of, obtain for me also of thy dear Son, our Lord and our God, a lively faith, firm hope, perfect charity, true contrition of heart, unfeigned tears of compunction, sincere confession, condign satisfaction, abstinence from sin, love of God and my neighbor, contempt of the world, patience to suffer affronts and ignominies, nay, even, if necessary, an opprobrious death itself, for love of thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Obtain likewise for me, O sacred Mother of God, perseverance in good works, performance of good resolutions, mortification of self-will, a pious conversation through life, and, at my last moments, strong and sincere repentance, accompanied by such a lively and attentive presence of mind, as may enable me to receive the last Sacrament of the Church worthily, and die in thy friendship and favor. Lastly, obtain through thy Son, I beseech thee, for the souls of my parents, brethren, relatives and benefactors, both living and dead, life everlasting, from the only Giver of every good and perfect gift, the Lord God Almighty: to Whom be all power, now and for ever. Amen.
A MOST DEVOUT ACT OF CONTRITION.
O MY God! the God of my heart! my soul! my life! and all that is within me! Whom I have so much offended, that neither the sands on the sea shore, the stars in the heavens, the flowers of the fields, nor the leaves of the trees, can equal the infinite number and unspeakable variety of my sins. I have sinned, I have offended Thee, and done evil before the face of heaven and earth! I have departed from Thy law; turned my back on Thy grace; adored what offended Thee; made an idol of my guilt, and run on without fear or shame in the ways of deceit, vanity, and perdition. Ah! my God, how much am I grieved for having offended Thee! I am more troubled at the greatness of the torments which I have deserved for my sins. I would have my sorrow for my sins to be as great as the sins themselves: I would have my regret for having displeased Thee proportioned to the injuries committed against Thee: I would have a grief equal to Thy mercy: I would willingly bewail the enormity of my sins with tears of blood: more for the offence and insult offered Thy divine Majesty than for the injury and perdition they bring upon myself. But where shall I find so deep a sense of sorrow, save only in the fountain of Thy grace? Where shall I find such a grief, save only in the contemplation of Thy immense goodness and infinite Majesty! Whence are those tears to flow, save only from the ocean of Thy mercy? Here I cast myself at Thy feet: consider not in what manner, at what time, or how late: consider only that I come. But ah! Lord, in how miserable a condition! how filthy, how abominable! Clad with the deformity of my sins, covered with the filthiness of my offences, and defiled with the abominations of a vicious life! But, in approaching Thee, O my God, I come with the confidence of finding in Thy mercy a secure haven; in Thy compassion, protection; in Thy clemency, a refuge; and in Thy goodness, a remedy. Wherefore, O Lord, under the dread of Thy justice, I seek no other remedy, save that of Thy mercy, nor fly to any other shelter, but that of Thy clemency. In Thee I place my trust, O my God; for though by sin I have lost the nature and privilege of a son, yet Thou, O Lord, infinitely good, dost not lose the nature and condition Thou hast of a Father. Let then, O Lord, Thy infinite grace complete that work in me which Thy infinite mercy has begun. Let Thy clemency come to the succor of Thy miserable creature: take pity and compassion on my poor soul. I am firmly resolved, with the aid of Thy grace, to amend my life, confess my sins, and persevere in Thy service; to pardon injuries, avoid the occasions of evil, and abhor my vices: to make such restitution as I am able, and to observe, as in duty bound, all Thy commandments. I trust, O Lord, in Thy infinite goodness, that Thou wilt pardon all my sins, through the death and passion of my Lord Jesus Christ; for though in His wounds there is justice to punish me, yet in the same wounds there is likewise mercy to forgive me. Mercy! mercy! mercy! Jesus, have mercy upon me.
DEVOUT PRAYERS.
A PRAYER PROPER TO BE DAILY REPEATED IN TIME OF SICKNESS.
O LORD Jesus Christ, behold I receive this sickness, with which Thou art pleased to visit me, as coming from Thy fatherly hand. It is Thy will it should be thus with me, and therefore I submit: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. May this sickness be to the honor of Thy holy name, and for the good of my soul. For this end, I here offer myself with an entire submission to all Thine appointments, to suffer whatever Thou pleasest, and in what manner Thou pleasest; for I am Thy creature, O Lord, who have most ungratefully offended Thee; and since my sins have a long time cried aloud to heaven for justice, why should I now complain if I feel Thy hand upon me?
But rebuke me not, O Lord, in Thy fury, nor chastise me in Thy wrath; but have regard to my weakness. Thou knowest how frail I am; that I am nothing but dust and ashes. Deal not with me, therefore, according to my sins, neither punish me according to my iniquities; but, according to the multitude of Thy most tender mercies, have compassion on me. Oh, let Thy justice be tempered with mercy, and let Thy heavenly grace come to my assistance, to support me under this my illness. Confirm my soul with strength from above, that I may bear with a true Christian patience all the uneasiness, pains, disquiets and difficulties of my sickness, and that I may cheerfully accept them as the just punishment of my offences. Preserve me from all temptations, and be Thou my defence against all the assaults of the enemy, that in this illness I may in no way offend Thee; and if this is to be my last, I beseech Thee so to direct me by Thy grace, that I may not neglect nor be deprived of those helps which, in Thy mercy, Thou hast ordained for the good of my soul, to prepare it for its passage into eternity; that, being perfectly cleansed from all my sins, I may believe in Thee, put my whole trust in Thee, love Thee above all things, and, through the merits of Thy death and passion, be admitted into the company of the blessed, where I may praise Thee for ever and ever. Amen.
A PRAYER FOR THE DEAD.
O ALMIGHTY and eternal God, Who hast dominion over the living and the dead, and art merciful to all whom Thou foreknowest shall be Thine by faith and good works; we humbly beseech Thee, that they for whom we have determined to offer up our prayers, whether this present world still detain them in the flesh, or the world to come hath already received them out of their bodies, may, by the clemency of Thy goodness (all Thy saints interceding for them), obtain pardon and full remission of their sins; through our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, Who, with Thee and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth one God, world without end. Amen.
O GOD, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant unto the souls of thy servants departed the remission of all their sins; that, by pious supplications, they may obtain the pardon which they have always desired. Grant this, O God, Who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen.
O eternal God, Who, besides the general precept of charity, hast commanded a particular respect to parents, kindred, and benefactors; grant, we beseech Thee, that, as they were the instruments by which Thy Providence bestowed on us our birth, education, and innumerable other blessings, so our prayers may be the means to obtain for them a speedy release from their excessive sufferings, and free admittance to Thine infinite joys. Through Jesus, etc.
V. Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord.
R. And let perpetual light shine upon them.
V. May they rest in peace.
R. Amen.
MADE IN BELGIUM.