The Catholic Prayer Book and Manual of Meditations/Novena for the Feast of the Annunciation
Novean
IN PREPARATION FOR THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION
(Commencing March 16)
WITH wonder I revere thee, holiest Virgin Mary, for of all God’s creatures thou wast humblest on the very day of the Annunciation, when God himself exalted thee to the sublimest dignity of his own Mother. O mightiest Virgin, make me, wretched sinner that I am, know the depths of my own nothingness, and at once, with all my heart, humble myself beneath the feet of all. Ave Maria.
2. When, Mary, holiest Virgin, Gabriel the archangel hailed thee in thy Annunciation, thou wast raised by God above all angel choirs; yet didst thou then confess thyself the handmaid of the Lord ( Ecce ancilla Domini.) O Mary, obtain for me true humility and angelic purity, that I may so live on earth as ever to be worthy of the blessings of my God. Ave Maria.
3. With thee I rejoice, O Virgin ever blest, because by the sole fiat uttered by thee so lowly, thou didst draw down from the bosom of the Eternal Father the Divine Word into thine own pure bosom. O draw, then, my heart to God; and with God draw grace into my heart, that I may ever bless thy Fiat, and with devotion cry, O mighty Fiat! O Fiat efficacious!
O Fiat to be venerated above all Fiats! Ave Maria.
4. Mary, mighty Virgin, thou, on thy Annunciation, wast found by Gabriel the archangel on thy watch, quick to do God’s will and correspond with the desires of the august Trinity for man’s redemption, giving thy consent in order to redeem the world. Let me, whatever happens, good or ill, turn ever to my God, and with resignation say, Fiat, fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum (Be it unto me according to thy word.) Ave Maria.
5. I see that thy obedience, holiest Mary, wrought so close a bond between thy God and thee, that all creation never shall know again union so fair and perfect. (Magis Deo conjungi nisi fieret Deus, non votuit: “ She could not have been more united to God except by being God herself.” — B. Albert Magnus.) My soul within me faints to see how sin hath severed me from God. Help me, then, gentle Mother, with true heart to do fit penance for my sins, that thy own loving Jesus may yet once more live in me and I in him. Ave Maria.
6. Beholding, holiest Mary, how by reason of thy modesty thou wast troubled when Gabriel the archangel stood before thee in thy house, I also when I come before thee am troubled for my monstrous pride; wherefore do thou, in thy incomparable humility, “which brought forth God for men, reopened paradise, and let the captive souls go free from hell beneath” (Qute Deum hominibus peperil, paradisum aperuit, et animas ab inferno liberavit — St. Aligns., Serm. de Sanct.), draw me, I pray thee’ out of the deep pit wherein my sins have cast me, enabling me to save my soul. Ave Maria.
7. Though my tongue is unhallowed, yet, purest Virgin, I am bold to hail thee each hour of the day: “ Hail, hail, Mary, full of grace ” (Ave, ave, gratia plena.) From my heart I pray thee, replenish my soul with some little of that mighty grace wherewith the Holy Spirit overshadowed thee, and filled thee to overflowing. Ave Maria .
8. I believe, holiest Mary, that that mighty God, who was ever with thee, from thy conception (Dominus tecum), is, by his Incarnation in thy purest womb, made still more closely one with 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. Ave Maria.
9. O holiest Mary, shed over my heart and soul all heavenly benedictions, as thou thyself wast ever blest of God among all women (benedicta tu in mulieribus ); for I have this sure hope, that if, dear Mother, thou shalt bless me while I live, then when I die I shall be blessed of God in the everlasting glory of heaven. Ave Maria.
Then the Litanies, &c.
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 shouldst take flesh of the Blessed Virgin Mary; grant unto us thy suppliants, that we, who believe her to be verily the Mother of God, may be helped by her intercession with thee. Through, &c.