The Catholic Prayer Book and Manual of Meditations/The Thirty Days' Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Thirty Days' Prayer
TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, IN HONOUR OF THE SACRED PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.
[By the devout recital of this prayer for the above space of time, we may hope to obtain our lawful request. It is particularly recommended as a proper devotion for the time of Lent, and on the Fridays throughout the year.]
EVER glorious and blessed Mary, Queen of virgins, Mother of mercy, hope and comfort of all dejected and desolate souls through that sword of sorrow which pierced thy tender heart, whilst thine only Son, Christ Jesus, our Lord, suffered death and ignominy on the cross; through that filial tenderness and pure love he had for thee, grieving in thy grief, whilst from his cross he recommended thee to the care and protection of his beloved disciple, St. John — take pity, I beseech thee, on my, poverty and necessities; have compassion on my anxieties and cares; assist and comfort me in all my infirmities and miseries. Thou art the mother of mercies, the sweet consolatrix and refuge of the needy and the orphan, of the desolate and the afflicted. Look, therefore, with pity on a miserable, forlorn child of Eve, and hear my prayer; for since, in just punishment of my sins, I am encompassed with evils, and oppressed with anguish of spirit, whither can I fly for more secure shelter, O amiable mother of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, than to thy maternal protection? Attend, therefore, I beseech thee, with pity and compassion, to my humble and earnest request. I ask it through the infinite merits of thy dear Son; through that love and condescension wherewith he assumed our nature, when, in compliance with the divine will, thou gavest thy consent; and whom, after the expiration of nine months, thou didst bring forth from the chaste enclosure of thy womb, to redeem the world and to bless it with his presence. I ask it through that anguish of mind wherewith thy beloved Son, my dear Saviour, was overwhelmed on Mount Olivet, when he besought his eternal Father to remove from him, if possible, the bitter chalice of his future passion. I ask it through the threefold repetition of his prayer in the garden, from whence afterwards, with dolorous steps and mournful tears, thou didst accompany him to the doleful theatre of his sufferings. I ask it through the stripes and wounds of his virginal flesh, occasioned by the cords and whips wherewith he was bound and scourged, when stripped of his seamless garment, for which his executioners afterwards cast lots. I ask it through the scoffs and ignominies by which he was insulted; the false accusation and unjust sentence by which he was condemned to death, and which he bore with heavenly patience. I ask it through his bitter tears and bloody sweat: his silence and resignation; his sadness and grief of heart. I ask it through the blood which trickled from his royal and sacred head, when struck with the sceptre of a reed, and pierced with the crown of thorns. I ask it through the excruciating torments he suffered when his hands and feet were fastened with large nails to the tree of the cross. I ask it through his vehement thirst and bitter drink of vinegar and gall. I ask it through his dereliction on the cross, when he exclaimed “ My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” I ask it through the mercy extended to the good thief, and through his recommending his precious soul and spirit into the hands of his eternal Father before he expired, saying, “ All is finished.” I ask it through the blood mixed with water, which issued from his sacred side, when pierced with a lance, and whence a flood of grace and mercy hath flowed to us. I ask it through his immaculate life, bitter passion, and ignominious death on the cross, at which nature itself was thrown into convulsions by the bursting of rocks, the rending of the veil of the Temple, the earthquake, and darkness of the sun and moon. I ask it through his descent into hell, where he comforted the saints of the Old Law with his presence, and led captivity captive. I ask it through his glorious victory over death, when he arose again into life on the third day; and through the joy which his appearance, for forty days after, gave thee, his blessed mother, his apostles, and the rest of his disciples; and when, in thy presence and in theirs, he miraculously ascended into heaven. I ask it through the grace of the Holy Ghost, infused into the hearts of his disciples when he descended upon them in the form of fiery tongues, and by which they were inspired with zeal in the conversion of the world when they went to preach the Gospel. I ask it through the awful appearance of thy Son at the last dreadful day, when he shall come to judge the living and the dead, and the world by fire. I ask it through the compassion he bore thee in this life, and the ineffable joy thou didst feel at thy assumption into heaven, where thou art eternally absorbed in the sweet contemplation of his divine perfections. O glorious and ever blessed Virgin, comfort the heart of thy supplicant, by obtaining for me:
[Here mention or reflect on your lawful request, under the reservation of its being agreeable to the will of God. who sees whether it will contribute towards your spiritual good.]
And as I am persuaded my divine Saviour honours thee as his beloved Mother, to whom he can refuse nothing, let me speedily experience the efficacy of thy powerful intercession, according to the tenderness of thy maternal affection, and his filial, loving hearty who mercifully grantest the requests and compliest with the desires of those who love and fear him. O most blessed Virgin, besides the object of my present petition, and whatever else I may stand in need of, obtain for me of thy divine Son, our Lord and our God, lively faith, firm hope, perfect charity, true contrition, a horror of sin, love of God and my neighbour, contempt of the world, and patience and resignation under the trials and afflictions of this life. Obtain likewise for me, O sacred Mother of God, the great gift of final perseverance, and grace to receive the last Sacraments worthily at the hour of my death. Lastly, obtain, I beseech thee, for the souls of my parents, brethren, relations, and benefactors, both living and dead, life everlasting. Amen.
Short Exercise in honour of the Sacred Heart of Mary.
I COMPASSIONATE thee, sorrowing Mother, in the grief thy tender heart underwent when the holy Simeon prophesied to thee. Dear Mother, by the griefs of thy heart then so wounded, obtain for me the virtue of humility and the gift of holy fear of God. Ave Maria.
II. I compassionate thee, sorrowing Mother, for the anxiety which thy heart so sensitive underwent in the flight and sojourn in Egypt. Dear Mother, by thy heart then so sorrowful, obtain for me the virtue of liberality, especially towards the poor, and the gift of piety. Ave Maria.
III. I compassionate thee, sorrowing Mary, for the terrors felt by thy anxious heart when thou didst lose thy dear Son Jesus. Dear Mother, by thy heart then so agitated, obtain for me the virtue of holy chastity, and with it the gift of knowledge. Ave Maria.
IV. I compassionate thee, sorrowing Mary, for the shock thy Mother’s heart experienced when Jesus met thee as he carried his cross. Dear Mother, by that loving heart of thine, then so afflicted, obtain for me the virtue of patience and the gift of fortitude. Ave Maria.
V. I compassionate thee, sorrowing Mary, for the martyrdom thy generous heart bore so nobly whilst thou didst stand by Jesus agonizing. Dear Mother, by thy heart then so martyred, obtain for me the virtue of temperance and the gift of counsel. Ave Maria.
VI. I compassionate thee, sorrowing Mary, for the wound with which thy tender heart was riven when Jesus’ sacred side was cleft with the lance. Dear Mother, by thy heart then pierced through, obtain for me the virtue of fraternal charity and the gift of understanding. Ave Maria.
VII. I compassionate thee, sorrowing Mary, for the anguish felt by thy loving heart when Jesus’ body was buried in the grave. Dear Mother, by all the bitterness of desolation thou didst then know, obtain for me the virtue of diligence and the gift of wisdom. Ave Maria.
V. Pray for us, Virgin most sorrowful.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
LET US PRAY.
GRANT, we beseech thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, thy Mother, may intercede for us before the throne of thy mercy, now and at the hour of our death, through whose most holy soul in the hour of thine own Passion the sword of sorrow passed. Through thee, Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost for ever and ever. Amen.