OUR LADY OF LOURDES NOVENA

DAILY NOVENA PRAYER

O Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, inspired by the knowledge that no one who ever sought your help was left unanswered, I come to you now fully confident that you will hear my plea. So I humbly ask you to grant my petition. (Here please mention your intentions.) Grant me, too, the grace to imitate your virtues and persevere in a good christian life. Amen.

Dear Blessed Mother, your appearances at Lourdes were part of God's plan for you. At Lourdes as at Nazareth, you were His hand-maid, ready to do whatever pleased Him.

Teach me your loving acceptance of the divine will. May I be a true servant of the Lord, generous in doing all that pleases Him.

Graciously intercede for me before His throne. Obtain for me, if it be His holy Will, the favors and blessings I recommend to your motherly heart. (Here mention your special intentions.)

Dear Blessed Mother, you open your hands at Lourdes to bestow God's gift upon His children and yours. Through you He shows His kindness from generation to generation. He fills the hungry with good things. He helps His servants, mindful of His mercy.

Teach me, O Mary, to imitate His loving kindness by sharing my blessings with others.

Pray for me in the presence of Christ your Son. Open your heart to secure for me the graces I need. (Here mention your special intentions.)

Dear Blessed Mother, Christian pilgrims love to visit Lourdes, where you appeared eighteen times to St. Bernadette. They know that at Cana you reminded Jesus of the wedding guests' lack of wine. You are always motherly, always attentive to your children's needs.

Speak to your dear Son for me as you do for all who kneel in your sanctuary at Lourdes.

Tell Jesus about my needs, my faults, my difficulties. (Here mention your special intentions.) May your gracious intercession win these blessings for me. Amen.

Dear Blessed Mother, your last recorded words in Scripture were spoken to the attendants at Cana's marriage feast: "Do whatever He tells you." Their obedience won for them the miracle needed.

Help me, dear Mother, to do whatever Christ wills for me through His law, His church, and daily events of life. Show me how to set His will above mine at all times.

Again I place my petitions before you. (Name them one by one.) May your divine Son grant my requests for your sake.

Dear Blessed Mother, at the grotto of Lourdes you said to the little French peasant saint, "I am the Immaculate Conception." through the Lord's goodness and mercy you were entirely free from all stain of sin from the first moment of your existence.

Blessed be God for this great marvel He has done for you!

I know He will do great things for me, too, although my sins make me unworthy of His favors. Please pray to Him for me. (Here mention your special intentions).

Dear Blessed Mother, you told St. Bernadette at Lourdes: "I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the next." You taught her that the sorrowful mysteries of earth must precede the glorious mysteries of heaven.

May I always remember this lesson, dear Mother. May I carry my cross with patience and love, after your example and with your help.

You know all the sorrowful mysteries of my life. Please speak to Jesus about them. (Here mention your prayer intentions.)

Dear Blessed Mother, your motherly care will continue until all the elect are safely home in our heavenly fatherland. At Lourdes you always show yourself a compassionate Mother, easing human burdens and comforting human distress.

I know your kindness is not limited to that hallowed spot. The whole earth is full of your mercy and love.

With confidence, then, I lay my special intentions before you. (Mention them.) I know you will also show yourself a kind and compassionate Mother to me.

Dear Blessed Mother, it was St. Bernadette's privilege to see you during her earthly life. On her deathbed she remembered those times: "1 saw her--oh, how beautiful she was! How anxious I am to see her again!"

Dear Mother, when shall I see God face to face and hear Him, O glorious Queen of heaven and earth?

Pray for me when that blessed moment comes. Pray for me now, in my present hour of need. (Here mention your special intentions.)

Dear Blessed Mother, on this last day of my novena I consecrate myself to you under your title of Our Lady of Lourdes. Into your hands I entrust myself for time and eternity.

Come into my life that Christ may reign fully in me. Come into my heart that He may be my supreme love. Come into my soul that I may constantly rejoice in God my Savior.

Dear Mother, keep me always in your prayers. (Here mention your special needs.) Make me faithful and loving in life and in death. Amen.