Novena to Our Lady of Hope
  
| At Pontmain, France on the cold
winter morning of January 17, 1871, the Virgin Mary appeared to four children above a barn
of the farm of the Barbadette family. They described a beautiful lady in a dark blue dress
covered with stars. She wore a black veil with a golden crown on her head.
It was war time and the invading Prussians were near. The village people,
strong in their faith, had been praying for a miracle to save them from the enemy. A
written message appeared on a large white banner which unrolled beneath the feet of Our
Lady.
Pray, my
children. God will answer before long. My Son lets Himself be moved.
A message was given to the people that God had heard their
prayers and that He would answer their needs shortly. This single apparition lasted three
hours. Within eleven days, Prussia had mysteriously withdrawn its troops. An Armistice was
signed and the war was over. It was hardly a victory for France, but Pontmain and France
had been spared.
The Oblate Fathers introduced the devotion to
America in 1952. Novena devotions are maintained at the Shrine of Our Lady of Hope, Oblate
Fathers' Novitiate and Infirmary, Tewksbury, Massachusetts. |
"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 to me all that desire me and be filled with my fruits" (Sirach
24:24-26).
Begin Novena(Say for nine consecutive days)
O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Grace, Hope of the
world.
Hear us, your children, who cry to you
Let Us Pray
O God, Who by the marvelous protection of the Blessed Virgin
Mary has strengthened us firmly in hope, grant we beseech You, that by persevering in
prayer at her admonition, we may obtain the favors we devoutly implore. Through
Christ Our Lord.
Amen
Prayer to Our Lady of Hope
O Mary, my Mother, I kneel before you with heavy heart. The
burden of my sins oppresses me. The knowledge of my weakness discourages me. I
am beset by fears and temptations of every sort. Yet I am so attached to the things
of this world that instead of longing for Heaven I am filled with dread at the thought of
death. O Mother of Mercy, have pity on me in my distress.
You are all-powerful with your Divine Son. He can refuse no request of your
Immaculate Heart. Show yourself a true Mother to me by being my advocate before His
throne.
O Refuge of Sinners and Hope of the Hopeless, to whom shall I
turn if not you?
Obtain for me, then, O Mother of Hope, the grace of true sorrow
for my sins, the gift of perfect resignation to God's Holy Will, and the courage to take
up my cross and follow Jesus. Beg of His Sacred Heart the special favor that I ask
in this novena.
(Make your request.)
But above all I pray, O dearest Mother,
that through your most powerful intercession my heart may be filled with Holy Hope, so
that in life's darkest hour I may never fail to trust in God my Savior, but by walking in
the way of His commandments I may merit to be united with Him, and with you in the eternal
joys of Heaven. Amen.
Mary, our Hope, have pity on us.
Hope of the Hopeless, pray for us.
Say three (3) Hail Marys
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