Novena to Our Lady of Siluva
History of Our Lady of Siluva, Lithuania
Our Lady of Siluva is invoked for fallen-away and
lukewarm Catholics and for the conversion of non-Catholics. Siluva was originally a deeply
Catholic village in Lithuania, but the Catholic Faith was ruthlessly crushed out by the
fury of persecution at the time of the Protestant Reformation. The Catholic priest heard
at that time of the plans to raze the church, and buried its treasures beside a nearby
rock where Our Lady of Siluva would appear some eighty years later. Among these treasures
was the miraculous picture of Our Lady of Siluva. This apparition was officially
authenticated by Pope Pius VI.  The Immaculate Conception Church was built around the
rock Our Lady of Siluva stood on in 1608.
One summer day, in the year 1608, while a group of boys and girls played near the rock,
they were startled when they heard weeping. When they turned around to see who was crying,
they saw a beautiful woman holding a baby. She cried bitterly, but said nothing, and after
a few moments suddenly disappeared. The children's report brought the whole village to the
scene. The ruling Calvinist pastor was among the 100,000 villagers who flocked to the site
to see if the children were telling the truth. He rebuked the children for their
superstitions, but as he was speaking, the weeping woman suddenly appeared again as
everyone stood transfixed by the sight. The pastor demanded to know who she was and why
she wept. She replied, "I am the Immaculate Conception,
and I am weeping because my beloved Son is no longer worshipped as He has once been." The people, moved by her words, returned to the Catholic Faith in a
mass conversion, and Siluva became once more fervently Catholic. The 1608 apparition of
Our Lady of Siluva was approved by the Catholic Church and is the first Eastern European
apparition of Our Blessed Mother who came in an effort to bring her children back to the
True Faith.
(Researched by Dr. Barbara Babka)
Novena Prayers
Prayer for Graces of Conversion and Restoration
of Faith for Fallen-Away Catholics
Remember, dear Mother Mary, merciful Refuge of
Sinners, most loving and ever-vigilant Guardian of the Faith of your children on earth,
how you once appeared in the fields of Siluva to re-enkindle the dying embers of Faith in
the hearts of the people by revealing to them the anguish of your maternal Heart over
their long forgetfulness of their ancestral Catholic heritage. Look down, O dearest Mother
Mary, in pity upon ..........
(mention name)
and intercede with your Divine Son for
him/her/them, for he has wandered away from the fold of the True Faith. Too long now has
he neglected his duties to God and to his own immortal soul. All our efforts, pleadings,
and prayers for his return have been in vain. O Dearest Mother, if you will not take pity
on him and come to his assistance, his soul may be eternally lost.
Miraculous Virgin of Siluva, let but one of your sorrowing mother's tears fall upon this
grace-starved soul and nourish it back to spiritual life. Rekindle the weak spark of Faith
in this heart into a brightly-burning flame of renewed love and allegiance to your Divine
Son.
O merciful Mother, who brought back the people of Siluva to the True Faith be moved by
these prayers, and bring ..........
(mention name)
to a true conversion of heart, that he may return
to his Father's house and again partake of the Bread of Life, for God's greater honor and
glory and his own eternal salvation. Miraculous Virgin of Siluva, pray for us and for our
wandering loved ones.
Amen
Prayer for the Conversion of Non-Catholics
O dear Mother Mary, merciful Refuge of Sinners,
Most Loving and Ever-Vigilant Protectress of the Faith of Thy children on earth, remember
that Thou didst once appear in the fields of Siluva to rekindle the dying embers of Faith
in the hearts of the people of Thy Own Land by manifesting to them the sorrow of Thy
maternal heart over their forgetfulness of their ancestral Catholic heritage. O Most Dear
Mother Mary direct Thy eyes upon me as I kneel before Thy Miraculous Image and as I humbly
beseech Thee to take pity upon and intercede with Thy Divine Son for ...........
(mention name)
who has drifted away from the fold of the True
Faith. For too long a time now has he/she neglected his/her duties to God and his/her own
immortal soul. In vain have been all our efforts, entreaties and petitions for his/her
return to the Church. O dearest Mother, if Thou wilt not take compassion upon him/her and
come to him/her aid, he/she will most certainly go from bad to worse and thus most likely
lose his/her soul for all eternity.
Miraculous Lady of Siluva, deign to permit but one drop of Thy sorrowing maternal tears to
fall upon his/her grace-starved soul and to restore it once again to supernatural life.
Rekindle the feeble spark of Faith in his/her heart into a glorious flame of renewed Love
and Fidelity to Thy Divine Son and to Thee. O most Merciful Mother, Thou didst bring back
the people of Siluva to the True Faith. Let Thou, then, be moved by my supplication and
bring ........
(mention name)
to a true conversion of heart that he/she may
return to his/her Father's home and once again receive the Bread of Life for the greater
honor and glory of God and for his/her own eternal salvation. Miraculous Lady of Siluva,
pray for our drifting loved ones and for us!
Amen
Prayer to Our Lady of Siluva for Our Country 
O Most Holy Virgin Mary, Thou who didst appear to the shepherds
in the fields at Siluva, Thou whose tears did bathe the rock where once an altar stood,
Thou who didst with plaintive voice say: "You plow and
seed here where formerly my Son was honored," grant that
we, moved by Thy tears, may, once as our fore-fathers did, revive the spirit of adoration
of Thy Son in our fallow hearts, strengthen the tottering structure of the shrine which is
the family, and seek forgiveness for the negligences and sins of our nation.
O Mother of God, we desire to raise up the glory of your
revelation from forgotten ruins, that we may all the more honor Thee, the patroness of
these United States, as we now invoke your intercession for our country, and with Thy help
obtain for our nation the spirit of a living Faith.
Amen
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