Novena To Our Lady Of Perpetual Help Day 4

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NOVENA PRAYER DAY 4

ACT OF CONTRITION

My Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true man, my father and redeemer, behold at Thy feet a poor sinner who has so grievously afflicted Thy loving Heart. O lovable Jesus, how could i have offended thee and filled with bitterness that Heart that love me so and that has spared no effort to attain my love? How great has been my in gratitude! But, O my saviour, be consoled, be consoled, I say to thee; now i find myself repentant, such grief i feel for the afflictions i have caused thee, that i would like to die of poor sorrow and contrition. O my Jesus! who could have make me weep for sin as Thou hast wept for them in Thy mortal life! My soul is oppressed for having offended Thee. Eternal father, in satisfaction for my offences I offer Thee the affliction and sorrow the Heart of Thy Divine Son has felt for them. And Thou, O Loving Jesus! give me such a horror for sin that from now on it may make me avoid even the most trifling of faults. Depart from my heart, earthly affections; I do not want to love anything now but my most bountiful Redeemer. O my Jesus, help me, strengthen me, and pardon me.

My Mother of perpetual help, intercede for me and obtain for me the pardon of my sins.

PREPARATORY PRAYER

O Most Blessed Virgin Mary! Who to inspire us with boundless confidence has been pleased to take the sweet name of Mother of Perpetual help, I implore Thee to come to my aid always and everywhere, in my temptations, after my falls, in my difficulties, in all the miseries of life, and above all, at the hour of my death. Give me, O loving Mother, the desire, nay more, the habit always to have recourse to Thee, for i feel assured that if i am faithful in invoking Thee, Thou will be faithful in coming to my assistance. Obtain for me, then, this grace of graces, the grace to pray to Thee without ceasing, and with childlike trust, that, by means of my constant plea, I may ensure Thy Perpetual Help and final perseverance. Bless me, O tender and solicitous Mother, pray for me now and at the hour of my death. Amen

FOURTH DAY MEDITATION

Consider that one of the major difficulties in which man needs the perpetual help of Mary in a special way, is in temptation, that perpetual and provoking struggle in which we are engaged against the enemies of our salvation. All of us, the just and the sinners, feel ourselves inclined to evil. St. Paul himself, after having been carried up to the third heaven, exclaimed saying: "Unhappy man that I am. I see another Law in my members, fighting against the laws of my mind and captivating me in the law of sin. There was given a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me." Perhaps, my friend, you could use the same language; you too, feel this dismal law of sin that wants to dominate the spirit, those vehement impulses of passions hungering for pleasure; Satan and a deceiving world hold out chains to you too, and at times you find yourself in great danger of succumbing to the very violence of temptation. O then, what constraints, what straits are those to the soul who wants to be saved; it finds itself surrounded by so many and such powerful enemies; it feels its own weakness and frailty, and with all that, it has to defeat all its enemies together, under pain of being lost, perhaps for eternity! How critical a position!

Christians, what will you do in this struggles so terrible with the world, the flesh and the devil? Will you surrender your arms declaring yourself defeated? No; that would be great and criminal cowardice. Ah! let that not be your conduct! Rather, let us have recourse to Our Lady and Her Perpetual Help will attain victory for us. It is related that the Emperor Constantine, having to face a decisive battle against Maxentius, an enemy of the Christians, lifted his eyes to Heaven and saw in the sky a brilliant cross with this inscription: " In this sign shalt thou conquer." And it was verified by the complete routing of Maxentius. Christian soul, you who are continually at war with so many enemies, Heaven presents you with the same banner in the image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Look at the veil that covers the virginal forehead of the Heavenly Queen; on it you will also see a cross that promises you the most powerful help of the merciful Mother of God.

Mary is terrible against the power of Hell, Like an army in battle array. She is the tower of David, constructed with ramparts from which hang a thousand shields. Against this tower the sharp arrows of the enemy will break. She is the one Who crushes the head of the infernal serpent, and the powers of hell flee, simply on hearing Her most holy Name pronounced.

Christian, have you looked for some time with reflection upon the image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help? Does not Her sight remind you of the prodigies worked in other times by the ark of the lord? Truly, the ark of the Covenant was coved with pure gold, it contained the manna that feel from Heaven; and two angels covered it with their white wings. By means of the ark of the lord, the people of God attained their victories; the walls of Jericho crumbled; the philistines were defeated; because the holy ark was with Israel. Well then, do you not see the gold of divine charity glow in the same way in the loving Heart of that kindest of mother? Do you not see Jesus, the sweet manna of our souls, in Her maternal arms? Do you not see the angels in the background of that picture with their wings extended? is it not by means of Her most powerful help that so many Christians have attained victory over their enemies? How many souls adorned with the grace of the lord would be sunk in sin if they had not invoked Our Lady of Perpetual Help at the moment of temptation!

Thus, O Christian soul, make a firm resolution never to enter into combat with the enemies of your salvation alone, but rather accompanied by Most Holy Mary; Her Perpetual Help will serve as your shield and thus you will attain innumerable other victories in as many battles as you must endure. O Mother of Perpetual Help! for us Thou art the holy Ark of the Lord; with Thee we will win victories; before Thee the enemies of our salvation will flee terrified; in every temptation we will invoke Thy Perpetual Help and Thou will help us perpetually.

Meditate and ask for what you wish to obtain from Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

JOYS

"Come hasten to assist me, O Mother sweet and kind!"

Thou art Perpetual Help benign;
Come, therefore, I implore Thee:
Come hasten to assist me.
O Mother sweet and kind!

Hear, O Virgin pure,
Our fervent prayers of love
That fly to Thee above
On Thine exalted Throne.

Stained by guilt and sin
I bow my head and cry;
And at Thy feet I sigh
for clemency and love.

Free the careless soul
From it tepid ways,
And set the soul ablaze
with fervour in devotion

Wretched in this vale
Of pain and tribulation,
For heavenly consolation
I humbly beg of Thee.

If my virtue wanes
When tempests howl and roar,
My energies restore
Beloved Morning Star.

To Thy faithful child
Encouragement provide,
And toward virtue guide
His weak unsteady step.

Free my fickle heart
from all its lassitude,
And grant it fortitude
To lead a sinless life.

In the final clash
With death in all its fright,
How great my soul's delight
If then i can exclaim:

In purgatory's fire,
Dear Mother, please be sweet;
Great Lady, I entreat,
Alleviate my pains.

Grant me, Mother dear,
As fond farewell to Thee,
To sing eternally
With love and praise to Thee:

Come hasten to assist me
O Mother sweet and kind!

EJACULATORY PRAYER

O Mother of Perpetual Help! Do not let me fall into temptation, but deliver us from all evil. Amen

EXERCISE

Accustom yourself not to argue with temptation and to crying immediately to Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

PRAYER

O my Mother of Perpetual Help! I bless and thank my God for having inspired me with such confidence in Thee, because I know this confidence is for me a pledge of salvation. Oh! how unfortunate for me! If in the past I have fallen into sin, it is for not having recourse to Thee. I hope that I have been pardoned through the merits of Jesus and through Thy powerful intercession. But I can again lose the grace of God; the danger has not ceased; the enemy does not sleep. O, how many new temptations remain for me to overcome. O most sweet sovereign! Protect me, receive me under Thy mantle, do not let me fall. Grant me Thy Perpetual Help, and obtain for me the grace that, in all the assault of Hell, I will not forget to invoke Thee, repeating without ceasing: "Mother of  Perpetual Help, do not let me lose my God." Amen.

EXAMPLE

In Rome, two brothers, sons of good parents, on a certain day had a dispute, in which they became inflamed to such a degree that one of them took a stiletto (a type of short three-edged sword) to wound the other. A sister of the unfortunate youths who witnessed the scene, gave a cry of fear and exclaimed in a tone of unspeakable sorrow: "My Mother of Perpetual Help, have mercy on us!" Scarcely had the young men heard this invocation, and in spite of the fury that carried him away, he threw down the fratricidal weapon and with the meekness of a lamb embraced his brother, saying to him calmly: "Let us make peace! I beg you!" The pious sister picked up the stiletto and took it to the altar of Our Lady, as a trophy of the victory that powerful Queen had just won over one of the most terrible passion of the human heart.

May the virgin of Perpetual Help be loved, praised, invoked and eternally blessed! May she be my hope, my love, my Mother, My refuge and my life. Amen.

CONSECRATION TO OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP

My Queen and my Mother, before Your throne of mercy, I come for help and intercession. I beg for mercy and healing touch upon me and those that are sick, especially those that are terminally ill. Mother of mercy present all those that are sick before your Son; our lord Jesus Christ, who is the greatest physician; for miraculous cure and wholeness. Uproot every infirmity in our lives and grant us divine healing.

Mother of perpetual help, intercede for me now and always, be my constant and sure aid in times of need, trouble or affliction. Help me to always serve, love and obey your Son; my lord Jesus Christ. lead me by the hand in this life that I live, that I may not stray from the path of life, but live according to the will of God, in order to have a blessed life here on Earth and to rejoice also in the afterlife.

I commit to You today my life. I pray that You sustain and increase all sources of my joy and happiness and remove every form of discomfort and pain which is not of God in my life. Give me the grace to serve and please God that He may bless, favour and guard me in all that I do.

I pray for the grace to always be your devotee and to always call on you in my daily life. I consecrate my family to you, asking you to always intercede on our behalf in every moment and at all time and I ask you to preserve our soul and lead us to your son; our Lord Jesus Christ. I give you my whole life and my entire being asking you to take strict possession of me from now hence forth as your property. I also consecrate today, all members of my family wherever they are, asking you to take over their entire lives.

Mother of perpetual help, I give you my heart and my soul. Preserve them in love and for the love of Your Son my lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Make my heart fear God and desist from displeasing and hurting God as long as I live. Give me the grace to love Him truly with all my heart, my mind and my strength and my neighbour as myself. Mother, preserve me in my earthly journey so that I can attain salvation at the end of my life, there to rejoice forever with you and the heavenly host. Amen

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP FOR A SPIRITUAL NEED

Oh mother of perpetual help, with a great confidence, i come before you today, in order to invoke your unfailing aid. You have seen the wounds which my lord and master has taken upon Himself to receive for my soul. You have seen the precious blood of your adorable son flowing for my salvation, you oh Mother know how much your Son; our lord Jesus Christ desire so much to save me. Behold, i cast myself at your feet, and ask you to obtain for me the grace I stand so much in need of. O mary my queen and mother, o most loving of all mothers, obtain from me from Jesus, the source of all good things, these grace here (mention your intention). My mother of perpetual help, you desire my salvation far more than i myself: our lord has given you to me for my mother; you yourself has chosen to be called mother of perpetual help. I trust not in my merit, but in your powerful intercession; i trust in your goodness and mercy; I trust in your powerful motherly love. Mother of perpetual help, for the love of your son Jesus, our Redeemer, for the love of my soul, grant me what I humbly ask of you.

CONSECRATION OF FAMILY TO OUR MOTHER OF PERPETUAL HELP

Most Holy Virgin Mother of Perpetual Help with great respect and love I thank you. Most humble and precious mother, I kneel  before you to consecrate to you in a special manner my home and everybody and everything in it. I take you most loving, as the mother of my family. Queen of heaven, make us worthy to become your favours children. Hold us under your protection. Protect us from sin and sinful occasions, and teach us to love Jesus your most holy child. I thank you most holy mother for your maternal protection, and numerous graces we have received through your powerful intercession. Grant that all who live may always invoke your good name for your name o mother is help in life and salvation in death. O Mother of Perpetual Help, bless  and my household, pour your blessings on us, bless all those who think about you. So that we may contribute to you are family, may imitate you in love, humility, chastity and resignation to the will of God, so that if we serve you worthily in this world, we may praise you and thank you forever in the world to come. amen