DAY 18 (September 25) MARY, OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP
33 DAYS PREPARATORY PRAYER FOR THE RE-CONSECRATION OF NIGERIA TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY.
DAY 18
(September 25)
MARY, OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP
V. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
V. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful.
R. And enkindle in them the fire of your love.
V. Send forth your spirit and they shall be created.
R. And you shall renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray: Oh God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation, through Chris our Lord. Amen.
HYMN TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.
1. O come to the throne of grace,
O come to the heart most pure!
To Mary, our hope of life,
In whom salvation is sure.
O Lady of Fatima, hail!
Immaculate Mother of grace;
O, pray for us, help us today,
Thou hope of the human race!
2. Immaculate Heart! we kneel
To consecrate all to thee:
The present, its pain and joy—–
The future, all it may be.
O Lady of Fatima, hail!
Immaculate Mother of grace;
O, pray for us, help us today,
Thou hope of the human race!
OPENING PRAYER.
Almighty and merciful God, who has given us a picture of your Most Blessed Mother to venerate under the special title of Perpetual Succor, mercifully grant us to be so fortified, among all the vicissitudes of this wayfaring life, by the protection of the same immaculate, ever Virgin Mary, that we may deserve to attain the rewards of your everlasting redemption. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
ROSARY
SCRIPTURE READING: Sirach 24:23-31
As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odour; and my flowers are the fruit of honour and riches. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits. For my spirit is above honey, and my inheritance above honey and honeycomb. My memory is unto everlasting generations. They that eat me, shall yet hunger: and they that drink me shall yet thirst. He that hearkens to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting.
The word of the Lord.
REFLECTION
Our Lady of Perpetual Help is a title of Mary which shows her ability to calm the fearful and help those in great difficulty. In her picture, which is believed to have been originally painted by St. Luke, she is seen carrying her son who is likely frightened by an impending danger and then trying to calm his fears. That is why it is considered a miraculous image invoked in difficult and fearful situations. She is able to help because, as we noted yesterday, she brought forth Jesus into the world and takes him to any place difficulty exists in order to resolve it. Remember her role at the wedding feast at Fatima! Notice even that in that situation, nobody asked for help but it is already in her nature to seek out and help the needy, she begged Jesus to help the couple avoid the shame. She is also ready to help you out in your difficult situations if only you would invite and give her chance.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER:
a. For our families.
b. For the Church.
c. For Nigeria.
PRE-CONSECRATION PRAYER OF NIGERIA TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
Lord God, we thank you for the gift of our country Nigeria. You made it a fertile ground for the work of missionaries, guided by the power of the Holy Spirit. Your Word is now firmly established in our land such that we have not only become missionaries to ourselves but also to other nations.
As your Son Jesus Christ reposed in the arms of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so have we reposed Nigeria in her arms by making her our Patron Saint. As a nation, we are going through turbulent moments, with hunger, pain, killing, kidnapping and many other atrocities being committed against each other. We believe that never was it known that anyone who fled to her protection, implored her help or sought her intercession was left unaided. And so we come before her again, sinful and sorrowful, and desiring to re-consecrate Nigeria to her Immaculate Heart. May she intercede on our behalf to stabilize our ship of state.
We present ourselves as a nation, renouncing our past faults and offences. We resolve to imitate the exemplary life of our Mother Mary. Help us to renew and rectify the vows of our Baptism; rejecting Satan and all his works and empty promises. Obtain for us the grace for a perfect consecration of our nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We seek her continual intercession and maternal protection.
May this this re-consecration bring forth peace, unity and tranquility to the nation and foster communion and service so as to radiate the joy of the Gospel for the common good of our country.
We make our prayer through your son, our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen
Our Lady Queen of Nigeria, Pray for us.
Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for us.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Almighty and merciful God, who, in order to succor the human race, has willed the Blessed Virgin Mary to become the Mother of your only begotten Son, grant, we beseech you, that by her intercession, we may avoid the contagion of sin and serve you with a pure heart. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
