OPENING PRAYER
O Mary, Mother of Perpetual help, I salute thee with the filial devotion. I renew the consecration of myself, and all I have, to thee. I thank thee for thy maternal protection and for the many blessings that I have received through thy wondrous mercy and most powerful intercession. In all my necessities I have recourse to thee with unbounded confidence O Help of Christians, O Mother of Mercy. I beseech thee now to hear my prayer and to obtain for me of thy divine Son the favor that I request in this novena.
( Here mention your petition)
Obtain for me, also, dearest Mother of Perpetual Help, the grace that I may imitate thee and become more like to thee in the practice of the virtues of humility, purity, submission to the will of God, and charity. Be my protectress in life, guard and guide me in dangers, direct me in difficulties, lead me in the way of perfection, and assist me in the hour of my death, that I may come to Jesus, and with thee enjoy Him, bless Him, and love Him eternally in Heaven. AMEN.
FIRST DAY
Blessed forever be our God Who had made thee, O Mary, so powerful, so compassionate and so ready to help. What would become of us, poor sinners, without thee? With what face, after having so often deserved disgrace and punishment, could we go before our sovereign Judge, and ask of Him, not only pardon, but favors, and share in eternal glory? Blessed be thou too, O clement Queen, for having so often interposed between divine justice and me, thy most unworthy client, for having turned away God's anger from me, and for having obtained for me so many graces.
These graces are my desires for those I may and ought still to hope for from thy Perpetual Help. Hence for the time to come, whenever I feel more painfully the weight of my unworthiness, when all seems lost, and I am tempted even to despair, then especially, full of confidence, will I invoke thy blessed name. I will make my misery a claim on thy mercy. I will believe that if God lets me feel my weakness, it is to force me to cast myself into the arms of His mercy and upon thee, my sweet and only hope. Design to remember this resolution in my time of need, and grant that I may be faithful to it, till my last breath. And the Most Mother of Perpetual Help, grant that I may never cease to have recourse to thee. AMEN.
Recite 3 Hail Marys for the favor you seek to obtain.
Our Mother of Perpetual Help, pray for us.
Litany of Our Mother of Perpetual Help
(For Private Devotion) * O Mary ever help us.
LORD, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
LORD, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
GOD the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
GOD the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
GOD the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one GOD, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of GOD, pray for us.
Holy Virgin, conceived without sin, pray for us.
Our Mother of Perpetual Help, pray for us.
We sinners call to thee,
* O Mary, ever help us.
That we may love GOD with our whole hearts. *
That we may be comfortable in all things to thy Divine Son, *
That we may have a tender and; heartfelt devotion to thee,
most holy Virgin. *
That we may hate with all our strength sin; the only evil, *
That we may frequently remember our last end, *
That we may often and; worthily receive the Most Holy Sacrament, *
That we may avoid with all our strength proximate occasions of sin, *
That we may not neglect prayer a single day of our lives, *
That we may have recourse to prayer in the hour of temptation, *
That we may generously forgive our enemies, and; wish well to all men, *
That we may not defer our conversion from day to day, *
That we may zealously labor to overcome our bad habits. *
That we may live and; die in the grace of GOD, *
In all concerns of soul and; body, In sickness and; pain, *
In struggles against the inclinations of corrupt nature. *
In assaults of evil spirits, *
In temptations against the holy virtue of purity, *
In all danger of sinning, *
When we have reached the end of our earthly course. *
When lying on our death-bed, and; the thought of our approaching dissolution shall fill us with fear and; horror. *
When in the hour of final separation from all, evil spirits shall try to drive us to despair. *
When the priest of the Lord shall give us the last absolution and; blessing, *
When our relatives and; friends surround our bed, weeping and; praying for us, *
When our eyes grow dim and; our hearts cease to beat, *
When we breathe forth our spirit into the hands of our Creator, *
When our poor soul appears before our Divine Judge, *
When the terrible judgement is about to be passed, *
When suffering in the flames of purgatory, and; longing for the vision of GOD. *
Lamb of GOD, Who takes away the sins of the world: Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of GOD, Who takes away the sins of the world: Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of GOD, Who takes away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.
V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of GOD.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. *
LET US PRAY:
O GOD, Who hast willed that the Mother of Thy only-begotten Son should be the perpetual help of Christians on earth, grant us the grace to call on her with confidence in all our necessities of soul and body, so that, saved through her protection and assistance, we may be brought to the everlasting vision of Thy Glory in heaven: through JESUS CHRIST our Lord. AMEN.
Prayer for Ourselves
O Mother of Perpetual Help, with the greatest confidence I come before thy Sacred Picture in order to invoke thine aid. Thou hast seen the Wounds which JESUS hast been pleased to receive for our sake; thou hast seen the Blood of thy Son flowing for our salvation; thou knowest how much thy Son desires to apply to us the fruits of His Redemption. Behold, I cast myself at thy feet, and; pray thee to obtain for my soul the grace I stand so much in need of. O Mary most loving of all mothers, obtain for me from the heart of JESUS, the grace
( Here mention your petition)
O Mother of Perpetual Help, thou desirest our salvation far more than we ourselves; thy Son has given thee to us for our Mother, thou hast thyself chosen to be called Mother of Perpetual Help. Show then that thou art really my Mother, show that thou art justly called Mother of Perpetual Help. I trust not in my merits, but in thy powerful intercession; I trust in thy goodness, I trust in thy motherly love. Mother of Perpetual Help, for the love thou bearest of JESUS thy Son and; my Redeemer, for the love of thy great servant Alphonsus, for the love of my soul, obtain for me the grace I ask from thee.
Prayer in Temporal Wants
O Mother of Perpetual Help, numerous clients continually surround thy holy picture, all imploring thy mercy. All bless thee as the assured Help of the miserable; all feel the benefit of thy maternal protection. With confidence, then, do I present myself before thee in my misery. See, dear Mother, the many evils to which we are exposed; see how numerous are our wants. Trials and sorrows often press us; reverses of fortune and privations, often grievous, bring misery into our homes; everywhere we meet the cross. Have pity, compassionate Mother, on us and on our families; and especially in this my necessity
( Here mention your petition)
- from which I now suffer. Help me, O my Mother, in my distress; deliver me from my ills; or if it be the will of GOD that I should endure them, make me suffer with love and patience. This grace I expect of thee with confidence, because thou art our Perpetual Help.
Act of Consecration to Our Mother of Perpetual Help
MOST HOLY VIRGIN MARY who, to inspire me with the fullest confidence, hast been willing to take the sweet name of Mother of Perpetual Help, I. N. N. . . acknowledge that my sins render me unworthy to be admitted among the number of thy privileged children. Nevertheless, desirous of enjoying thy merciful favor, I cast myself at thy feet and humbly prostrate before thee, I consecrate to thee my understanding, that I may always think of consecrate to thee my heart in order that, after God, I may love thee above all things.
O my Sovereign Lady, deign to receive me among the number of thy favored children, take me under thy protection, help me in all my spiritual and temporal wants, but especially at the hour of my death.
O Mother of Perpetual Help, I know that thou lovest me more than I can love myself, I entrust all my interests to thy care: dispose of me, and all that belongs to me, according to thy good pleasure.
O Mother, bless me, and by thy powerful intercession support my weakness, so that having been faithful in serving thee during this life, I may praise thee during this life, I may praise thee, love thee and thank thee eternally in the next. AMEN.
Different Prayers to Our Mother of Perpetual Help
O Holy Virgin Mary, who in order to inspire us with boundless confidence, hast 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, loving Mother, the desire, any more, the habit always to have resource to thee for I feel assured that if I invoke thee with fidelity thou wilt be faithful and come to my assistance.
Obtain for me, then, this grace of graces, the grace to pray to thee without ceasing, and with childlike confidence, that by virtue of this faithful prayer I may ensure thy Perpetual Help and my final perseverance. Bless me, O loving and ever helpful Mother, and pray for me now and at the hour of our death. AMEN.