NOVENA IN HONOR OF OUR LADY OF THE VISITATION OF PIAT
OPENING PRAYER FOR EVERYDAY
Oh Mary, Mother of mercy, Virgin of the Visitation of Piat, thou art blest amongst all women and the most compassionate of mothers. Thou takest pity upon all those who call upon thee.
Miraculous image of Our Lady of Piat.
Everyday thy children invoke thy name and sing thy praises of love, mercy and humility for when the angel announced to thee thy divine motherhood and the happy lot of thy cousin Elizabeth, who was to be the mother of the precursor of thy divine Son, thou didst hasten to pay her a visit of love and respect, praising God's mercy towards her. Thou, in thy charity and humility, didst not think of the distance and difficulties of the Journey over the hill country to the house of thy cousin. Thou didst think only of accomplishing the will of God and of bringing joy to Elizabeth. At thy arrival, the infant leaped with joy in the womb of his mother, signifying thy greatness and the fortune of those whom thou deignest to visit with thy motherly love and mercy.
Do thou also, oh great Mother, visit our homes so that we maybe delivered from all dangers of body and soul. Bring peace to our families. Preseve us in health and concord. Deliver us from all temptations that may lead us away from the path of virtue. Take special care of us particularly at these perilous times in which we live. Strenghten us in our hours of trials, comfort us in sorrow, succour us in all our necessities. Oh Sweet Mother, since thou knowest how much we stand in need of thy motherly care, assist us at every moment of our lives, but especially at the moment of our death. At that instant, do thou come with Jesus to lead us from this life to the enjoyment of eternal bliss in Heaven. Amen.
PRAYER FOR THE FIRST DAY
Oh our Lady of the Visitation of Piat, merciful mother and sure refuge of sinners, we have recourse to thee today. We know that thou art the well spring of mercy and therefore we have great confidence that thou wilt listen to our prayers which we offer this day in praise and thanksgiving for past benefits and in the hope of receiving new blessings which thou knowest we stand in need of in life. We beseech thee, oh exalted Virgin, through the example of thy glorious life, through the mysteries which we have meditated upon with the holy Rosary; help us in all our necessities spiritual and material. Deliver us from all dangers to our salvation, and obtain for us the grace to fulfill the will of God most perfectly. Oh Mother, permit us not to fall into any grievous sin whereby we lose the grace of God and incur thy displeasure; rather support us with thy powerful intercession so that we may walk through life, pleasing in the eyes of thy divine Son and confident of thy patronage till we come to join thee and Jesus in the realms of the blessed. Amen.
(Here, pause and ask the grace you want to obtain in this novena. Then pray three Hail Marys and Glorys, etc. after each Glory, say: "Our Lady of Piat, pray for us." Then pray the FINAL PRAYER FOR EVERYDAY)
FINAL PRAYER FOR EVERYDAY
Oh Virgin Mary, our Lady of the Visitation of Piat, thou art the asylum of the poor and the hope of sinners among whom we count ourselves the most abject. For this reason, we come to thee and implore thee to look upon us with eyes of pity so that we may obtain forgiveness of our sins from thy divine Son whom we have grievously offended so often times in our lives. May the humble prayer we send up to thy throne today, in union with all the faithful on earth who invoke thy name, serve for the increase of God's glory, and thy praise; for the exaltation of Holy Mother the Church, the deliverance of the poor souls in purgatory and for our own salvation. Oh compassionate of mothers, we offer thee our humble works in union with those of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Mother of Mercy, by the pain that pierced thy Immaculate Heart as thou didst stand at the foot of the Cross, do thou strengthen the souls now in their last agony, so that they may depart from this life peacefully and with thy blessing. We also implore thee for the grace to die a happy death. Deign, oh Mother to shower upon us all, the blessings which thou knowest we need most for our body and soul. Enlighten our minds, fortify our wills so that we may have the confidence of meeting Him happily in the next. Amen.
PRAYER FOR THE SECOND DAY
Oh Immaculate Virgin and Mother of God and our Mother, thou art the deliverer who hast so often save us from the snares of the devil and from the danger of pulling into eternal punishment. Thou art the Queen under whose sway we have conquered sin and death. Thou art the hope of our fallen race, the bright Star in a sea of innumerable dangers. We come to take refuge under the powerful mantle of thy motherly love today and everyday of our lives. We praise thee, exalted Lady, and we thank thee for the grace of having been delivered from the pains of hell which we have deserved so often on account of our sins. We love thee, oh blessed Mother, we pledge thee our service, we promise to do everything that we know will be pleasing to thee. Thou knowest, oh Mary that after Jesus, we have no one to fly to and entrust our lives and our salvation save in thy maternal care. Take us under thy loving protection, count us as thy slaves, interced for us with Almighty God, shield us from dangers and temptation, and by the great love which thou bearest to God obtain for us a constant love for Jesus Thy divine Son, and true charity for all men. Above all, give us an abiding devotion to thee so that we may have the hope of living and dying in thy embrace and that of thy Son, Jesus. Amen.
FINAL PRAYER FOR EVERYDAY
PRAYER FOR THE THIRD DAY
Oh Queen of heaven and earth, mirror of true charity, when we consider the love in which thou didst undertake the journey from Nazareth to the abode of thy cousin Elizabeth, we cannot but feel ashamed at the lack of charity we have towards our neighbor. In that visit of thine, thou didst forget thyself, thou didst disregard the dangers of the way, the fatigue and the difficulties thou hadst to meet. Oh Heavenly Mother of Love, would that we had a little of thy selflessness, thy humility, thy generosity, thy burning charity for God and thy neighbor. But we are so selfish, so conscious of our dignity, real or imaginary. We are so cold in love towards God and therefore so lacking in charity towards our neighbor. Would that we had a little spark of that love that ever burnest in thy Immaculate Heart. Would that we could serve our divine Master and our fellowmen as unselfishly and as humbly as thou didst. Do thou, oh Mother of fair love, take away from our poor hearts all the dross of inordinate affection so that we may love God with the pure and undivided heart. Purge from our sinful hearts every affection to sin and feel them with a burning love of Christ and our neighbor. Purge your intentions so that we may think, speak, and act only in and for the love of God and the good of our fellowmen. Take from us the desire to think or speak ill of others and instill into our hearts the grace to forgive and forget whatever injury we have received from others. Finally, do thou ever preserve us in the grace of God so that we may grow daily in the love of Christ and increase in charity towards our neighbor, for then we shall have the assurance to come one day and sing forever the glory in Heaven in company with all the Angels and Saints. Amen.
FINAL PRAYER FOR EVERYDAY
PRAYER FOR THE FOURTH DAY
Oh Mary, singular Vessel of God's grace, thou art blest amongst all women because the Son of God chose thee His own Mother, and the channel of His mercies towards us, poor sinners. Great is thy dignity as Mother of God, greater still thy power as Mother of the Redeemer, for, as St. Bernard assures us, all graces come from God to ask through thee. For this reason, we come to thee today to implore thy mercy in our present need. Do thou obtain for us, above all things, a greater love and appreciation for things in spiritual and supernatural. Give us a deeper insight into what is divine and relish the things of the spirit more than that of the body. Dispel the darkness of our understanding in order that we may see the hand of God in all the events of our lives, and give us the grace to be humble and resigned in all adversities that God may be pleased to send us. Make us instant in prayer, faithful in the discharge of all our duties, particularly our religious duties; make us zealous in preserving and increasing the grace of God in our souls by the worthy reception of the Sacraments and make us strong against the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil. Above all, make us walk steadfastly in the commandments of God so that we may hope one day to see Him face to face with thee. Amen.
FINAL PRAYER FOR EVERYDAY
PRAYER FOR THE FIFTH DAY
Most holy Virgin Mother of God and our Mother. At thy visit, God deigned to sanctify St. John, the forerunner of thy son, even in the womb of his mother Elizabeth. By this wonderful grace God would have us know that thou art the Dispenser of His blessings upon us poor sinners. At thy words of greeting, the whole house of Zachary was blessed and filled with joy. Oh Mother of Divine Grace, at our times, we need thee most. We need the ineffable grace of thy purity to purify our hearts, our minds, our homes, our cities and our world stained by so many sins. We need thy enlivening grace of joy far more than ever, we have become poor banished children of Eve, weeping in this valley of tears because we have left the house of our Father and wandered into the forbidden ways of sin and iniquity. We need thee most, Mother of heavenly grace because we often lose the grace of God in our souls for the glitter of silver or material gain and the momentary thrill of illicit pleasure. We need thy strength to fortify us in our weakness. We need thy motherly care to shield us from temptations. We need thy maternal love to preserve us in the grace of God. Oh Mother, take us under thy mantle and we shall be safe. Under thy protection we shall walk through life in joy for then we know that we shall have the fortune to come and bless God forever for having given us such a good Mother, such a great Mother as thou, oh Mary, the Vessel of Mercy. Amen.
FINAL PRAYER FOR EVERYDAY
PRAYER FOR THE SIXTH DAY
Most holy Virgin Mother of divine grace, when thou didst set out to visit thy cousin Elizabeth, thou didst recognize in that journey the will of God and thetefore didst suffer no delay to accomplish it. Do thou obtain for us a similar grace to fulfill most willlingly, promptly and perfectly, the will of God which we recognize as such in our lives. In that visit of thine, Oh Mary, thou didst also manifest thy deep humility and lowliness of spirit for thou Mother of God, thou didst deign to go and pay a visit to one who has lower than thee in dignity. Make us too, lowly in spirit and humble of hearts. Teach us the invaluable lesson of humility which thou didst practice all thy life. Obtain for us from the Holy Spirit the grace to overcome our innate pride and vanity. Fill us with a deep sense of our nothingness and sinfulness so that we may serve God and obey His commandments promptly and faithfully till death. Drive away from us all presumption and stubbornness especially to sin and make us docile to all the promptings of divine grace. It is thus we hope to be assured of thy motherly protection and the grace of God to enable us to reach the haven of eternal peace where we shall praise thy name forever. Amen.
FINAL PRAYER FOR EVERYDAY
PRAYER FOR THE SEVENTH DAY
Oh Mary, Mother of God and hope of christians, at thy visit to Elizabeth, she was filled with the holy Spirit, Zachary received abundant heavenly blessings; and their whole household was filled with happiness. Do thou also visit our homes so that the spirit of piety may fill us and that peace and concord reign over our families and that we may experience that joy which comes from thy presence. In ourtimes when discord holds sway over whole nations and over many families, do thou, oh Mary, come with Jesus, the Prince of Peace and bring to our family hearts the unity and peace that are born from submission to God's laws and the laws of His church. Bring to us all the peace that comes from the perfect fulfillment of the precepts of Christ, especially that of charity. Oh Queen of Peace, obtain for our divided world a unity of mind and heart, a unity that is rooted in mutual love and understanding. Above all, obtain for our individual hearts that peace which comes from a clean conscience, the peace that gives pledge of eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.FINAL PRAYER FOR EVERYDAY
PRAYER FOR THE EIGHTH DAY
Oh most blessed Virgin Mary, thou art blest amongst all creatures for in thy greatness we all behold the infinite greatness of Almighty God. Even at the words of thy greeting, Elizabeth recognized the infinite bounty of God and thou didst sing thy canticle of praise that He who had done great things in thee is all-powerful. How marvelously didst thou become the herald of God's power and goodness at thy visit to Elizaoeth. Thy own whole life became one wondrous canticle of praise, extolling the greatness of God through thy powerful intercession, we readily realize that He who hath done these things to us through thee is indeed all-powerful and all-good. Oh Mary, thou art our glory and the honor of our people. Thou art the treasury of God's graces and the fount of divine blessings. Do thou, oh Mother, by the power which the Almighty hath given thee, obtain for our holy Mother the Church immunity from harm especially from that which comes from the common danger of our times. Give to our pastors of souls the zeal which will withstand all wiles of the evil one. Obtain for them the grace to be priests according to the heart of thy divine Son, for then they will truly be instruments of God to proclaim His name among the people and nations over whom they minister. In fine, obtain for all of us thy children the grace to live in such a practical, Catholic way so that all those with whom we may come in contact may recoghize the mercy and goodness of God and thus we too may one day share in the happiness which thou enjoyest in Heaven. Amen.
FINAL PRAYER FOR EVERYDAY
PRAYER FOR THE NINTH DAY
Oh Mother of mercy, Oh Virgin most holy, do thou make us feel how great is thy mercy upon all those who call upon thee. We know thy goodness, but on account of our manifold sins and our great ingratitude, we feel afraid to approach thee and invoke thy aid. We know so well how grievously we have offended thy divine Son; we see only too clearly the depth to which we have plunged ourselves in sin and we realize the great sorrow we have caused thy motherly heart. But we also know that though our sins may be numberless, the mercy of God is infinite and thy love for us is unspeakable. We may have fallen very deeply into the mire of sin, but God is almighty and He can draw us out of any depth to which we may have sunk. We may have wounded thy maternal heart by ingratitude, but we also realize that very wound has become our refuge and the source of our strength Even hell and all the devils are powerless before thee. The only thing we fear is that we may fail to call upon thee and implore thy help. Give us the grace therefore to confide in thee and to invoke thy aid in all temptations and in all dangers of our salvation. Make us strong against the attacks of the devil, enlighten our mind so that we may see his wiles. Oh Mother, do thou make us thy faithful servants forever. We know that our salvation will always be in danger as long as thou wilt be a Mother to us. We are ending our nine days of special devotion to thee. We know how unworthily it has been done. Do thou nevertheless, accept it as a homage of love and filial affection. May this novena give us a greater devotion to thee and a more ardent love for Jesus. May it obtain for us from thy goodness all the graces and blessing we intend to ask for. May it help us to live with fervour and die happily so that we may come to see God to face with thee in Heaven. Amen.
FINAL PRAYER FOR EVERYDAY
