NV - Guadalupe - Devotion to Our Lady

NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
Starts December 3rd and ends on December 11th, the eve of the feast

What is a Novena?
A novena is a traditional devotion consisting of specific prayers recited on nine successive days. Besides being a form of praise, a novena is frequently offered for a particular intention. The first novena took place in the Cenacle, during the nine days preceding Pentecost, or the coming of the Holy Ghost. As a regular popular custom, this practice began in 12th century Christianity and continues to be beneficial today as a way of praying for healing, protection or other blessings for ourselves or others.

This particular novena is prayed to God in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In praying this Novena, as in the case of all prayer, it is good to begin by opening ourselves wholeheartedly to God's will, offering a simple act of trust in God's wisdom and in His providential love for us all, that disposes all things for the ultimate benefit of our souls and their salvation.

How to Pray This Novena
This novena is based on the history of the apparitions of Our Lady to St. Juan Diego. Each day of the novena is divided into the following parts: (1) a quote from Our Lady of Guadalupe for reflection; (2) words from Saints or Popes on Our Lady; (3) a Meditation; (4) a Prayer; (5) after mentioning your intention, pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary; (6) a Closing Prayer.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the
ACT OF CONSECRATION TO OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

"My dear little son, I love you.”

Love is a reciprocal thing: it is not only about taking, but also about giving.

FIRST DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Theme: Our Lady Loves Us

Our Lady Says:
"My dear little son, I love you.” (Our Lady to St. Juan Diego, December 9, 1531).

The Saints Say:
"'She always loves those who love her' (Proverbs 8:17)–not only with an affective love, but with an effectual and efficacious love, by hindering them, through a great abundance of graces, from drawing back in the pursuit of virtue, from falling in the road, and from losing the grace of her Son." (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).

Meditation:
Who does not seek and treasure a mother's love? A mother's love is one of the most powerful moving forces in nature. The same is true, not only in the natural world, but also the supernatural world. Our Lady's love does not remain solely in the domain of feelings, but it launches out into the field of action. Her love is not just on her lips, but it is in her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. It seeks to make us Immaculate; it sorrows at the sight of our sins, negligence, lukewarmness and even coldness. Love is a reciprocal thing: it is not only about taking, but also about giving. Our Lady knows that and Our Lady does that. Do I do that? Or am I merely "on the make" and only take, but rarely return that love. Justice requires that the more one receives, the more one should return. Am I unjust towards the Mother of God?

[Quiet Reflection]

Our Prayer:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mystical Rose, make intercession for the holy Church, protect the Sovereign Pontiff, help all those who invoke thee in their necessities, and since thou art the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God, obtain for us, from thy most holy Son, the grace of keeping our Faith; a sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life; a burning charity and the precious gift of final perseverance. Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, according to thy message in Mexico, I venerate you as "the Virgin Mother of the true God, for Whom we live, the Creator of all the world, Maker of Heaven and earth."

In spirit I kneel before thy most holy Image, which thou didst miraculously imprint upon the cloak of the Indian, Juan Diego, and, with the faith of the countless numbers of pilgrims, who visit thy shrine, I beg thee for this favor:

[Mention Intention]

Remember, O Immaculate Virgin, the words thou didst speak to thy devout client, "I am a merciful Mother to you and to all your people, who love me and trust in me and invoke my help. I listen to their lamentations and give solace in all their sorrows and their sufferings." I beg thee to be a merciful Mother to me, because I sincerely love thee and trust in thee and invoke thy help. I entreat thee, Our Lady of Guadalupe, to grant my request, if this should be the Will of God, in order that I may "bear witness to thy love, thy compassion, thy help and protection." Please do not forsake me in my needs. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

"I desire you to know who I am.”

We cannot give what we haven't got." If we have little knowledge of Mary, we will only have a little love of Mary, and what we will communicate to others, if anything at all, will be little and unworthy.

Our Lady giving roses to Juan Diego to take to the bishop. But do we give the "Mystical Rose" any spiritual roses of our own? Or do we neglect our heavenly Mother?

SECOND DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Theme: Our Lady Wants us to Know Her

Our Lady Says:
"I desire you to know who I am.” (Our Lady to St. Juan Diego, December 9, 1531).

The Saints Say:
"'Oh, if Mary were but known, there would be no coldness to Jesus then! Oh, if Mary were but known, how much more wonderful would be our faith, and how different would our Communions be! Oh, if Mary were but known, how much happier, how much holier, how much less worldly should we be, and how much more should we be living images of our sole Lord and Savior, her dearest and most blessed Son!" (Venerable Fr. Faber, Preface, True Devotion to Mary).

Meditation:
St Therese of the Child Jesus said that “Jesus is so little loved, because He is so little known." This is true not only of Jesus, but Mary also, and everything else in the world. We love what what we perceive as good and we hate what we think is evil. Hence the philosophical axiom of "we cannot love what we do not know."

As St. Paul writes: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. How then shall they call on him, in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear, without a preacher? … Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:13-17). We can well parallel this with knowledge and love, and rephrase the above quote thus:

"Whosoever loves Our Lady, with all their heart, shall be saved. How shall they love her or call on her, of whom they have not known? Or how shall they love her, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear and know her without a preacher? Love comes through knowledge and knowledge by the word of mouth."

This is why the Venerable Fr. Faber says that he cannot think of a better vocation for anyone than simply spreading around us a knowledge and love of the True Devotion to Mary. Am I spreading knowledge of Mary to others? Do I even have enough knowledge to give to others? This leads us to another philosophical axiom, which says: "We cannot give what we haven't got." If we have little knowledge of Mary, we will only have a little love of Mary, and what we will communicate to others, if anything at all, will be little and unworthy. That is why the Venerable Fr. Faber writes:

"Here in England, Mary is not half enough preached. Devotion to her is low and thin and poor. It is frightened out of its wits by the sneers of heresy. It is always invoking human respect and carnal prudence, wishing to make Mary so little of a Mary that Protestants may feel at ease about her. Its ignorance of theology makes it unsubstantial and unworthy. It is not the prominent characteristic of our religion which it ought to be. It has no faith in itself."

Let us put aside some of our vain and futile worldly activities and, instead, let us grow in our knowledge of our heavenly Mother. The more we know her, the more we will love and serve her. Let us be neither ashamed nor ignorant of our Mother. For we risk her being ashamed of us and ignoring us when we appear before the Judgment Seat of her Son. As Scripture says: “Every one therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But he that shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father Who is in Heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33). If this is true of Jesus, it is true of Mary. Let us not be guilty of the sin of presumption with regard to Mary's intercession, for as we sow, so shall we reap. To know her is to love her; but few really know her, and so few lover her.

[Quiet Reflection]

Our Prayer:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mystical Rose, make intercession for the holy Church, protect the Sovereign Pontiff, help all those who invoke thee in their necessities, and since thou art the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God, obtain for us, from thy most holy Son, the grace of keeping our Faith; a sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life; a burning charity and the precious gift of final perseverance. Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, according to thy message in Mexico, I venerate you as "the Virgin Mother of the true God, for Whom we live, the Creator of all the world, Maker of Heaven and earth."

In spirit I kneel before thy most holy Image, which thou didst miraculously imprint upon the cloak of the Indian, Juan Diego, and, with the faith of the countless numbers of pilgrims, who visit thy shrine, I beg thee for this favor:

[Mention Intention]

Remember, O Immaculate Virgin, the words thou didst speak to thy devout client, "I am a merciful Mother to you and to all your people, who love me and trust in me and invoke my help. I listen to their lamentations and give solace in all their sorrows and their sufferings." I beg thee to be a merciful Mother to me, because I sincerely love thee and trust in thee and invoke thy help. I entreat thee, Our Lady of Guadalupe, to grant my request, if this should be the Will of God, in order that I may "bear witness to thy love, thy compassion, thy help and protection." Please do not forsake me in my needs. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

"I am the ever-virgin Mary, Mother of the true God, Who gives life and maintains its existence. He created all things. He is in all places. He is Lord of Heaven and Earth.”

Do I follow the modern-day tendency to independence, or do I follow the saints' tendency of dependence?

Let us humble ourselves and turn to God, His Grace and His Providence and listen to His voice; rather than dictating to God how things should be.

THIRD DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Theme: Dependence upon the Creator God

Our Lady Says:
"I am the ever-virgin Mary, Mother of the true God, Who gives life and maintains its existence. He created all things. He is in all places. He is Lord of Heaven and Earth.” (Our Lady to St. Juan Diego, December 9, 1531).

Holy Scripture Says:
“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘I am the Lord, that appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And I made a covenant with them, to give them the land of Chanaan. I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, wherewith the Egyptians have oppressed them: and I have remembered my covenant. Therefore say to the children of Israel: I am the Lord who will bring you out from the work prison of the Egyptians, and will deliver you from bondage: and redeem you with a high arm, and great judgments. And I will take you to myself for my people, I will be your God: and you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the work prison of the Egyptians.’ ... And Moses told all this to the children of Israel: but they did not hearken to him” (Exodus 1:2-9).

Meditation:
We all remember that at sometime, during our childhood, we got into the "My dad...your dad" argument. We would be proud of our father and would rate him above all other fathers, and so we would come out with a phrase similar to "My dad is better than your dad!" This would be calculated to gain respect both for our father and ourselves, as being the offspring of our father.

Here, Our Lady is saying the same thing. She wants respect for God the Father, the first and greatest of all fathers, the most powerful and most perfect of all fathers, and she, being the masterpiece of the Father and the Mother of His Only-Begotten Son, shares in the justified claim for respect and honor.

Our Lord, her Son and God, would essentially say what Our Lady said above, "Without Me you can do nothing!" (John 15:5). It was echoed by the Archangel Gabriel at the Annunciation: “No word shall be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37) and confirmed by Our Lord: “The things that are impossible with men, are possible with God” (Luke 18:27).

The consequences of this are our total dependence upon God, His Grace and His Providence; which is in contrast to modern-man's desire for independence and an increasing dependence upon himself, his friends, his wealth and his technology. Dependence on God leads to holiness and Heaven; independence from God leads to sin and Hell.

Do I follow the modern-day tendency to independence, or do I follow the saints' tendency of dependence? On the path you choose will depend you eternity. Let us humble ourselves and turn to God, His Grace and His Providence and listen to His voice; rather than dictating to God how things should be. It is impossible to change the will of God, but it is possible to change our will.

[Quiet Reflection]

Our Prayer:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mystical Rose, make intercession for the holy Church, protect the Sovereign Pontiff, help all those who invoke thee in their necessities, and since thou art the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God, obtain for us, from thy most holy Son, the grace of keeping our Faith; a sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life; a burning charity and the precious gift of final perseverance. Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, according to thy message in Mexico, I venerate you as "the Virgin Mother of the true God, for Whom we live, the Creator of all the world, Maker of Heaven and earth."

In spirit I kneel before thy most holy Image, which thou didst miraculously imprint upon the cloak of the Indian, Juan Diego, and, with the faith of the countless numbers of pilgrims, who visit thy shrine, I beg thee for this favor:

[Mention Intention]

Remember, O Immaculate Virgin, the words thou didst speak to thy devout client, "I am a merciful Mother to you and to all your people, who love me and trust in me and invoke my help. I listen to their lamentations and give solace in all their sorrows and their sufferings." I beg thee to be a merciful Mother to me, because I sincerely love thee and trust in thee and invoke thy help. I entreat thee, Our Lady of Guadalupe, to grant my request, if this should be the Will of God, in order that I may "bear witness to thy love, thy compassion, thy help and protection." Please do not forsake me in my needs. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

"I desire a church in this place where your people may experience my compassion”

Catholics receive compassion and mercy in abundance in Confession, but rarely give what they have received outside the confessional. Let us admit and confess our lack of compassion and start building, as Our Lady of Guadalupe asked, "a church in this place where your people may experience my compassion.”

We all want mercy, but are reluctant to show it. We love compassion, but hate to give it.

FOURTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Theme: Building Churches of Compassion

Our Lady Says:
"I desire a church in this place where your people may experience my compassion” (Our Lady to St. Juan Diego, December 9, 1531).

Holy Scripture Says:
“Know you not, that your members are the temple of the Holy Ghost, Who is in you, Whom you have from God; and you are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19).

"O the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, patient and of much compassion" (Exodus 34:6).

"And they would not hear, and they remembered not thy wonders which Thou hadst done for them. And they hardened their necks, and gave the head to return to their bondage, as it were by contention. But Thou, a forgiving God, gracious, and merciful, long-suffering, and full of compassion, didst not forsake them" (2 Esdras 9:17).

"As a father hath compassion on his children, so hath the Lord compassion on them that fear Him" (Psalm 102:13) ... "The compassion of man is toward his neighbor: but the mercy of God is upon all flesh" (Ecclesiasticus 18:12).

"Thus saith the Lord of hosts, saying: Judge ye true judgment, and shew ye mercy and compassion every man to his brother" (Zacharias 7:9) ... "Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee?" (Matthew 18:33). ... "But a certain Samaritan being on his journey, came near him; and seeing him, was moved with compassion" (Luke 10:33) ... "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7).

Meditation:
We all want mercy, but are reluctant to show it. We love compassion, but hate to give it. We become like the steward in the parable of the servant, who had not enough to pay his master the debt of 10,000 talents, that he owed him and begged for mercy and compassion; but after receiving that mercy and compassion, he refused to show it to his neighbor who owed him a paltry 100 pence. How human! How unlike God!

We are all supposed to be temples of the Holy Ghost. If the Holy Ghost dwells in our souls, then mercy and compassion should also dwell in our souls. We should be 'temples of compassion' or 'churches of compassion' ! Yet most souls are far, far behind in the building schedule of their 'churches'. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the poor robbed, beaten, half-naked Jew was shown no compassion by his two fellow Jews, who disdainfully and callously walked by. It was an enemy of the Jews, a Samaritan, who stopped and helped him. Sadly, sometimes we see more compassion coming from non-Catholics rather than from Catholics themselves. Catholics receive compassion and mercy in abundance in Confession, but rarely give what they have received outside the confessional. Let us admit and confess our lack of compassion and start building, as Our Lady of Guadalupe asked, "a church in this place where your people may experience my compassion.”

[Quiet Reflection]

Our Prayer:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mystical Rose, make intercession for the holy Church, protect the Sovereign Pontiff, help all those who invoke thee in their necessities, and since thou art the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God, obtain for us, from thy most holy Son, the grace of keeping our Faith; a sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life; a burning charity and the precious gift of final perseverance. Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, according to thy message in Mexico, I venerate you as "the Virgin Mother of the true God, for Whom we live, the Creator of all the world, Maker of Heaven and earth."

In spirit I kneel before thy most holy Image, which thou didst miraculously imprint upon the cloak of the Indian, Juan Diego, and, with the faith of the countless numbers of pilgrims, who visit thy shrine, I beg thee for this favor:

[Mention Intention]

Remember, O Immaculate Virgin, the words thou didst speak to thy devout client, "I am a merciful Mother to you and to all your people, who love me and trust in me and invoke my help. I listen to their lamentations and give solace in all their sorrows and their sufferings." I beg thee to be a merciful Mother to me, because I sincerely love thee and trust in thee and invoke thy help. I entreat thee, Our Lady of Guadalupe, to grant my request, if this should be the Will of God, in order that I may "bear witness to thy love, thy compassion, thy help and protection." Please do not forsake me in my needs. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

"All those who sincerely ask my help, in their work and in their sorrows, will know my Mother's Heart in this place.”

So let us stop trying to be independent of God, whereby we try to do things by ourselves first, and only turn to God when things don't go too well or when we end up in a pickle or we fail. "Seek first...God, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).

When we truly and sincerely seek Our Lady's help and intercession in our work and in our sorrows, then we can be absolutely sure that she will in some way help us in our troubles.

FIFTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Theme: Seeking Our Lady's Help in Our Works and Sorrows

Our Lady Says:
"All those who sincerely ask my help, in their work and in their sorrows, will know my Mother's Heart in this place” (Our Lady to St. Juan Diego, December 9, 1531).

Holy Scripture Says:
“Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you" (Matthew 11:28).

“Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7; Luke 11:9).

“You shall seek me, and shall find me: when you shall seek me with all your heart” (Jeremias 29:13)

Meditation:
Mary is both the Mediatrix of all Grace and she is also the Mother of Mercy and Compassion. If we cannot do without the grace of God, as Jesus so rightly said: "Without Me, you can do nothing!" (John 15:5), then neither can we do without the Mediatrix or Channel of all Grace through which Jesus sends His graces to us.

Sadly, in this modern world of independence, we want to be independent rather than dependent. The child cannot wait to get its independence from its parents; children want more independence at school; workers want more independence at work and all this spills over into our supernatural and spiritual life, whereby, explicitly or implicitly, we become independent from God. Just like Adam and Eve, without perhaps realizing it or acknowledging it, we seek and become like gods unto ourselves.

The worst thing or punishment that God can inflict upon anyone is to leave themselves to themselves. In fact, this is what Hell is; it is the soul being abandoned by God because the soul chose to abandon God and independently chose to go into mortal sin and remain there. We need God, His grace and His help like we need the air we breathe--every second of the day and night. So true are the words: "Without Me, you can do nothing!" Being without Him is Hell!

So let us stop trying to be independent of God, whereby we try to do things by ourselves first, and only turn to God when things don't go too well or when we end up in a pickle or we fail. "Seek first...God, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33) and, when we seek out Our Lady, we are in reality seeking God, but in a humble, roundabout way. "Jesus Christ our Savior, true God and true Man, ought to be the last end of all our other devotions, or else they are false and delusive" (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).

But we have to seek her and ask her sincerely. This makes us think of the true and false devotees of Our Lady, that St. Louis de Montfort speaks about in his book True Devotion to Mary.“Today, more than ever, we must take pains in choosing true devotion to our Blessed Lady, because, more than ever before, there are false devotions to our Blessed Lady, which are easily mistaken for true ones. The devil has already deceived and destroyed so many souls by a false devotion to the Blessed Virgin, that he makes a daily use of his diabolical experience, to plunge many others, by this same way, into everlasting perdition; amusing them, lulling them to sleep in sin, under the pretext of some prayers badly said, or of some outward practices which he inspires” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).

When we truly and sincerely seek Our Lady's help and intercession in our work and in our sorrows, then we can be absolutely sure that she will in some way help us in our troubles.

[Quiet Reflection]

Our Prayer:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mystical Rose, make intercession for the holy Church, protect the Sovereign Pontiff, help all those who invoke thee in their necessities, and since thou art the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God, obtain for us, from thy most holy Son, the grace of keeping our Faith; a sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life; a burning charity and the precious gift of final perseverance. Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, according to thy message in Mexico, I venerate you as "the Virgin Mother of the true God, for Whom we live, the Creator of all the world, Maker of Heaven and earth."

In spirit I kneel before thy most holy Image, which thou didst miraculously imprint upon the cloak of the Indian, Juan Diego, and, with the faith of the countless numbers of pilgrims, who visit thy shrine, I beg thee for this favor:

[Mention Intention]

Remember, O Immaculate Virgin, the words thou didst speak to thy devout client, "I am a merciful Mother to you and to all your people, who love me and trust in me and invoke my help. I listen to their lamentations and give solace in all their sorrows and their sufferings." I beg thee to be a merciful Mother to me, because I sincerely love thee and trust in thee and invoke thy help. I entreat thee, Our Lady of Guadalupe, to grant my request, if this should be the Will of God, in order that I may "bear witness to thy love, thy compassion, thy help and protection." Please do not forsake me in my needs. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

"Here I will see their tears; I will console them and they will be at peace.”

When God sees that we are drifting away from Him, or have even unashamedly abandoned Him, He will use His Providence to impart to us some suffering that is calculated to bring us tears and bring us to our knees.

So let us not be downcast when the good Lord kindly chastises us, but let us go back to Him with tears and of repentance and thank Him for breaking our hearts for the sake of our salvation.

SIXTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Theme: The Shedding of Healing Tears

Our Lady Says:
"Here I will see their tears; I will console them and they will be at peace” (Our Lady to St. Juan Diego, December 9, 1531).

Holy Scripture Says:
“And the name of that place was called, The Place of Weepers, or The Place of Tears: and there they offered sacrifices to the Lord” (Judges 2:5).

“I have heard thy prayer, and I have seen thy tears: and behold I have healed thee” (4 Kings 20:5).

Meditation:
When faced with great suffering or distress, our emotions break down and we begin to weep and shed tears. God has made us such a way that those tears are therapeutic and after a good cry we often feel better.

Bloodletting (or blood-letting) is the withdrawal of often small quantities of blood from a patient to cure or prevent illness and disease. Similarly, we could say that 'tear-letting' or weeping is also a form of tension release for both body and soul, that helps to cure or prevent disease of the soul. We see many instances in Scripture of the power of tears.

“Tobias sighed, and began to pray with tears” (Tobias 3:1). “I doubt not but God hath regarded my prayers and tears in his sight” (Tobias 7:13). “When thou didst pray with tears…I offered thy prayer to the Lord” (Tobias 12:12).

“Let us ask the Lord with tears” (Judith 8:17). “And Judith stood before the bed praying with tears” (Judith 13:6).

“And standing behind at Jesus’ feet, she began to wash His feet, with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment … And turning to the woman, Jesus said unto Simon: ‘Dost thou see this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she with tears hath washed my feet, and with her hairs hath wiped them! … Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much!’” (Luke 7:38, 7:44).

“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy” (Psalm 125:5).

When God sees that we are drifting away from Him, or have even unashamedly abandoned Him, He will use His Providence to impart to us some suffering that is calculated to bring us tears and bring us to our knees. A parent will often do the same thing with a wayward child. The Old Testament is full of examples where the Chosen People were brought back to the senses and God through the tears brought about by God's chastisements. As Scripture says: "For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth" (Proverbs 3:12) and "He that loveth his son, frequently chastiseth him" (Ecclesiasticus 30:1). So let us not be downcast when the good Lord kindly chastises us, but let us go back to Him with tears and of repentance and thank Him for breaking our hearts for the sake of our salvation.

[Quiet Reflection]

Our Prayer:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mystical Rose, make intercession for the holy Church, protect the Sovereign Pontiff, help all those who invoke thee in their necessities, and since thou art the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God, obtain for us, from thy most holy Son, the grace of keeping our faith; a sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life; a burning charity and the precious gift of final perseverance. Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, according to thy message in Mexico, I venerate you as "the Virgin Mother of the true God, for Whom we live, the Creator of all the world, Maker of Heaven and earth."

In spirit I kneel before thy most holy Image, which thou didst miraculously imprint upon the cloak of the Indian, Juan Diego, and, with the faith of the countless numbers of pilgrims, who visit thy shrine, I beg thee for this favor:

[Mention Intention]

Remember, O Immaculate Virgin, the words thou didst speak to thy devout client, "I am a merciful Mother to you and to all your people, who love me and trust in me and invoke my help. I listen to their lamentations and give solace in all their sorrows and their sufferings." I beg thee to be a merciful Mother to me, because I sincerely love thee and trust in thee and invoke thy help. I entreat thee, Our Lady of Guadalupe, to grant my request, if this should be the Will of God, in order that I may "bear witness to thy love, thy compassion, thy help and protection." Please do not forsake me in my needs. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

"So run now to Tenochtitlan and tell the Bishop all that you have seen and heard”

When you look at all the persons to whom Our Lady has appeared in this "Age of Mary", you will see that most of them underwent some kind of suffering or persecution because of the message they tried to spread. The same will be true for us, the disciple cannot be above his masters. Let us rely upon the graces Our Lady, the Mediatrix of all Grace, will obtain for us to offset this difficulty.

"Going therefore, teach ye all nations ... Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20).

"I cannot think of a higher work or a broader vocation for anyone than the simple spreading of this peculiar devotion of the Venerable Grignion De Montfort. Let a man but try it for himself, and his surprise at the graces it brings with it, and the transformations it causes in his soul, will soon convince him of its otherwise almost incredible efficacy as a means for the salvation of men, and for the coming of the kingdom of Christ." (Venerable Fr. Faber, Preface to True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort).

SEVENTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Theme: Telling Everyone of Our Lady and Her Message

Our Lady Says:
"So run now to Tenochtitlan and tell the Bishop all that you have seen and heard”  (Our Lady to St. Juan Diego, December 9, 1531).

Holy Scripture Says:
"And Jesus making answer said to them: 'Go and relate ... what you have heard and seen'" (Matthew 11:4).

“What he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth” (John 3:32).
“For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).
"That which we have seen and have heard, we declare unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us" (1 John 1:3).

Meditation:
Gospel is a a word-for-word translation of the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον, euangelion (eu- "good", -angelion "message"). The Greek word euangelion became evangelium in Latin.Thus we speak of the Four Evangelists or Gospel Writeres. The word "gospel" comes from the Old English "gōd-spell" meaning "good news" or "glad tidings". The gospel is the "good news" of the coming Kingdom of the Messias and of redemption through the life and death of Jesus.

This "good news" is not meant to be a secret, but is intended for all mankind, as Jesus commanded before ascending into Heaven: "Going therefore, teach ye all nations ... Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20). Similarly, Our Lady made known another command of God's at Fatima, when she said: "Jesus wants to use you to make me known and loved. He wishes to establish the devotion to my Immaculate Heart throughout the world" (Our Lady at Fatima, June 13, 1917).

St. Thomas Aquinas says that one of the characteristics or properties of good, is to diffuse itself—that is to say, good spreads itself around, shares itself, gives of itself. God is the greatest good and He gives, of tries to give, Himself to all of mankind. Sadly, in the words of St. John the Evangelist: "The Light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it ... He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not ... He came unto His own, and His own received him not. But as many as received Him, he gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in His Name."

Today, God wants the Light of Mary to shine forth in the world. It is for us to carry that light to all the corners of the world, at least our own little world in which we live. The Secret of Mary is that God no longer wants her to be a secret! He wants everyone to know, honor, love and serve His Mother, the Queen of Heaven and earth. This is exactly what the Venerable Fr. Faber says:

"But what is the remedy that is wanted? What is the remedy indicated by God Himself? If we may rely on the disclosures of the saints, it is an immense increase of devotion to our Blessed Lady; but, remember, nothing short of an immense one. Here in England, Mary is not half enough preached. Devotion to her is low and thin and poor. It is frightened out of its wits by the sneers of heresy. It is always invoking human respect and carnal prudence, wishing to make Mary so little of a Mary that Protestants may feel at ease about her. Its ignorance of theology makes it unsubstantial and unworthy. It is not the prominent characteristic of our religion which it ought to be. It has no faith in itself. Hence it is that Jesus is not loved, that heretics are not converted, that the Church is not exalted; that souls which might be saints wither and dwindle; that the Sacraments are not rightly frequented, or souls enthusiastically evangelized.

"Jesus is obscured because Mary is kept in the background. Thousands of souls perish because Mary is withheld from them. It is the miserable, unworthy shadow which we call our devotion to the Blessed Virgin that is the cause of all these wants and blights, these evils and omissions and declines. Yet, if we are to believe the revelations of the saints, God is pressing for a greater, a wider, a stronger, quite another devotion to His Blessed Mother. I cannot think of a higher work or a broader vocation for anyone than the simple spreading of this peculiar devotion of the Venerable Grignon de Montfort. Let a man but try it for himself, and his surprise at the graces it brings with it, and the transformations it causes in his soul, will soon convince him of its otherwise almost incredible efficacy as a means for the salvation of men, and for the coming of the kingdom of Christ." (Venerable Fr. Faber, Preface to True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort).

God wants everyone who knows Mary to spread that knowledge and love Mary in the world around them.

Jesus knew in advance that most would ignore or reject Him, and thereby lose their souls, but that did not stop Him from coming upon earth to spread the good news. As in the parable of the Sower of the Seed, the sower still spreads the seed all around him. Some seed fell on good ground, but other seed fell on hard rocky ground, or was choked by weeds, or carried away by the birds of the air. The disciple cannot be greater than his master (Luke 6:40), "It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord" (Matthew 10:25). They may hate us for spreading the message, but, as Our Lord said: "If the world hate you, know ye, that it hath hated Me before you" (John 15:8).

When you look at all the persons to whom Our Lady has appeared in this "Age of Mary", you will see that most of them underwent some kind of suffering or persecution because of the message they tried to spread. The same will be true for us, the disciple cannot be above his masters. Let us rely upon the graces Our Lady, the Mediatrix of all Grace, will obtain for us to offset this difficulty, and follow the instructions she gave to Juan Diego: "So run now to Tenochtitlan and tell the Bishop all that you have seen and heard.”  Let us run and tell everyone around us about the messages Our Lady has brought to us at her apparitions: Guadalupe, Rue du Bac, La Salette, Lourdes, Pontmain, Fatima, etc.

[Quiet Reflection]

Our Prayer:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mystical Rose, make intercession for the holy Church, protect the Sovereign Pontiff, help all those who invoke thee in their necessities, and since thou art the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God, obtain for us, from thy most holy Son, the grace of keeping our faith; a sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life; a burning charity and the precious gift of final perseverance. Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, according to thy message in Mexico, I venerate you as "the Virgin Mother of the true God, for Whom we live, the Creator of all the world, Maker of Heaven and earth."

In spirit I kneel before thy most holy Image, which thou didst miraculously imprint upon the cloak of the Indian, Juan Diego, and, with the faith of the countless numbers of pilgrims, who visit thy shrine, I beg thee for this favor:

[Mention Intention]

Remember, O Immaculate Virgin, the words thou didst speak to thy devout client, "I am a merciful Mother to you and to all your people, who love me and trust in me and invoke my help. I listen to their lamentations and give solace in all their sorrows and their sufferings." I beg thee to be a merciful Mother to me, because I sincerely love thee and trust in thee and invoke thy help. I entreat thee, Our Lady of Guadalupe, to grant my request, if this should be the Will of God, in order that I may "bear witness to thy love, thy compassion, thy help and protection." Please do not forsake me in my needs. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

"Listen, my most humble son, you must understand that I have many servants and messengers, to whom I entrust the delivery of my messages, and the carrying out of my wishes, but it is great importance that you yourself make efforts and show yourself helpful, so that, through you, my wishes are complied with.”

Often, Our Lady's messages are ignored, not so much because of their content, but because of the practical implications that they would entail upon those to whom she wishes them communicated. Do you think prayer and penance are a very popular recommendation to the worldly people of modern times? No, of course not. Is the thought of an unprecedented worldwide chastisement a comforting and pleasurable feeling? No, far from it. Therefore, far from us be cast the message! We simply do not want to hear or deal with it.

The fact is that she knows best; she fully sees the problems, she fully grasps all the solutions; she has all the answers. She is not going to listen to our childish earthly comfort-seeking solutions, but she will given us powerful heavenly solutions. What we have to do is to take her very seriously; listen to her carefully; and put into practice what she recommends or commands assiduously.

EIGHTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Theme: Listen to Our Lady and Do as She Says

Our Lady Says:
"Listen, my most humble son, you must understand that I have many servants and messengers, to whom I entrust the delivery of my messages, and the carrying out of my wishes, but it is great importance that you yourself make efforts and show yourself helpful, so that, through you, my wishes are complied with. I earnestly implore you, my most humble son, and, with sternness, I command you that you again go tomorrow and see the bishop.” (Our Lady to St. Juan Diego, at her second apparition in 1531).

Holy Scripture Says:
“Now therefore, ye children, hear me: Blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors. He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord. But he that shall sin against me, shall hurt his own soul. All that hate me love death.” (Proverbs 8:32-36, from the Mass of the Immaculate Conception).

Meditation:
We all know the clichés “Listen to you mother!” and “Mother knows best!” This is all the more true of Our Lady. Yet how often do people—even priests, bishops and popes—ignore the messages of Our Lady? It seems that the first reaction is a negative one. After Fatima, Our Lady would complain that even the good do not listen to her message, but simply go on doing their own thing.

Some say that all these messages are merely private revelation, and that they are not going to follow risky private revelations, adding that you cannot go to Hell for ignoring private revelation. Such blindness, stubbornness and imprudence must be very painful to Our Blessed Mother.

Of course it is true that private revelation is not on the same footing as Divine Public Revelation, which ceased with the death of the last of the Apostles, St. John. Nevertheless, the purpose of private revelation is not to add anything new to the deposit of Faith, or Divine Public Revelation, but its goal is to highlight or remind a person, or even the world at large of some aspects of Divine Public Revelation that have been neglected and need to be practiced. Hence, at Fatima and many other modern-day apparitions, Our Lady's message say nothing new in relation to Divine Public Revelation, but reminds us what has perhaps been increasingly neglected over the years, namely Prayer and Penance. Both of those things are clearly found in Holy Scripture and are nothing new.

Often, Our Lady's messages are ignored, not so much because of their content, but because of the practical implications that they would entail upon those to whom she wishes them communicated. Do you think prayer and penance are a very popular recommendation to the worldly people of modern times? No, of course not. Is the thought of an unprecedented worldwide chastisement a comforting and pleasurable feeling? No, far from it. Therefore, far from us be cast the message! We simply do not want to hear or deal with it. Let God send something more palatable and acceptable!

Modern-day children might well be able to override their modern-day mothers' wishes and commands, but Our Lady is not a modern-day mother who easily wilts in the face of pressure from her children. She may be sweet, compassionate, understanding and merciful, but she is not a pushover nor is she susceptible to manipulation. The fact is that she knows best; she fully sees the problems, she fully grasps all the solutions; she has all the answers. She is not going to listen to our childish earthly comfort-seeking solutions, but she will given us powerful heavenly solutions. What we have to do is to take her very seriously; listen to her carefully; and put into practice what she recommends or commands assiduously. As she said to Juan Diego: "Listen, my most humble son, you must understand that I have many servants and messengers, to whom I entrust the delivery of my messages, and the carrying out of my wishes, but it is great importance that you yourself make efforts and show yourself helpful, so that, through you, my wishes are complied with."

Let us carefully study her Church-approved apparitions and seriously make efforts to comply with the recommendations and commands contained therein, for they teach nothing new, but simply and wisely bring our attention back to the essential things, things that could mean the difference between saving or losing our souls and the souls of those that surround us.

“Now therefore, ye children, hear me: Blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me ...He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord. But he that shall sin against me, shall hurt his own soul” (Proverbs 8:32-36, from the Mass of the Immaculate Conception).

[Quiet Reflection]

Our Prayer:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mystical Rose, make intercession for the holy Church, protect the Sovereign Pontiff, help all those who invoke thee in their necessities, and since thou art the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God, obtain for us, from thy most holy Son, the grace of keeping our faith; a sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life; a burning charity and the precious gift of final perseverance. Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, according to thy message in Mexico, I venerate you as "the Virgin Mother of the true God, for Whom we live, the Creator of all the world, Maker of Heaven and earth."

In spirit I kneel before thy most holy Image, which thou didst miraculously imprint upon the cloak of the Indian, Juan Diego, and, with the faith of the countless numbers of pilgrims, who visit thy shrine, I beg thee for this favor:

[Mention Intention]

Remember, O Immaculate Virgin, the words thou didst speak to thy devout client, "I am a merciful Mother to you and to all your people, who love me and trust in me and invoke my help. I listen to their lamentations and give solace in all their sorrows and their sufferings." I beg thee to be a merciful Mother to me, because I sincerely love thee and trust in thee and invoke thy help. I entreat thee, Our Lady of Guadalupe, to grant my request, if this should be the Will of God, in order that I may "bear witness to thy love, thy compassion, thy help and protection." Please do not forsake me in my needs. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

"Listen, put it into your heart, my youngest and dearest son, that the thing that disturbs you, the thing that afflicts you, is nothing. Do not let your countenance, your heart be disturbed. Do not fear this sickness of your uncle, or any other sickness, nor anything that is sharp or hurtful. Am I not here, I, who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection?"

At the end of the world and indeed presently, the Most High with His holy Mother, has to form for Himself great saints, who shall surpass most of the other saints in sanctity ... These great souls, full of grace and zeal, shall be chosen to match themselves against the enemies of God, who shall rage on all sides; and they shall be singularly devout to our Blessed Lady, illuminated by her light, strengthened with her nourishment, led by her spirit, supported by her arm and sheltered under her protection

Most of the messengers of God and Our Lady have had to suffer as a result of being chosen. That was the case many prophets of the Old Testament times, and it is true still today. St. Catherine Labouré was told by Our Lady she would have to suffer; Melanie and Maximin at La Salette had much to suffer; St. Bernadette had much to suffer; the children at Fatima were told they would have much to suffer. Yet, despite these sufferings and throughout these sufferings, Our Lady was there to strengthen them, support them, encourage them and grant them perseverance. For suffering is only language that Heaven speaks and the only currency that Heaven accepts. If we don't want to suffer, then we simply won't be able to talk or buy our way into Heaven.

NINTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Theme: Under the Protection of Our Lady

Our Lady Says:
"Listen, put it into your heart, my youngest and dearest son, that the thing that disturbs you, the thing that afflicts you, is nothing. Do not let your countenance, your heart be disturbed. Do not fear this sickness of your uncle, or any other sickness, nor anything that is sharp or hurtful. Am I not here, I, who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need anything more? Let nothing else worry you, disturb you” (Our Lady to St. Juan Diego, at her second apparition in 1531).

Holy Scripture Says:
“Blessed art thou, O daughter, by the Lord the most high God, above all women upon the earth ... ”for thou hast not spared thy life, by reason of the distress and tribulation of thy people, but hast prevented our ruin in the presence of our God" (Judith 13:23-25, from the Epistle of the Mass of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady).

The Saints Say:
"She is taken as the protectress of many kingdoms, provinces, dioceses and cities ... How many religious orders have been founded in her name and under her protection? ... At the end of the world and indeed presently, the Most High with His holy Mother, has to form for Himself great saints, who shall surpass most of the other saints in sanctity ... These great souls, full of grace and zeal, shall be chosen to match themselves against the enemies of God, who shall rage on all sides; and they shall be singularly devout to our Blessed Lady, illuminated by her light, strengthened with her nourishment, led by her spirit, supported by her arm and sheltered under her protection, so that they shall fight with one hand and build with the other." (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).

St. Bernard says: “When Mary holds you up, you do not fall; when she protects you, you need not fear; when she leads you, you do not tire; when she is favorable to you, you arrive at the harbor of safety.” Lest we be tempted to think that Mary will only help the good people of this world, St. Bernard elsewhere adds: "Why does the Church name Mary Queen of Mercy"; and answers, "Because we believe that she opens the depths of the mercy of God, to whom she will, when she will, and as she will; so that not even the vilest sinner is lost, if Mary protects him."

Meditation:
St. Juan Diego was at times discouraged, just like any other human being. He was not yet a saint, but merely a saint in the making, just like any other human being! When you look at what was happening, admittedly it is a bit puzzling. He is chosen by Our Lady to be a messenger for her in order to get the local bishop to build a church in her honor. Here is the Mother of God, the most powerful creature that God has made, second in power only to God alone, having power to command even the devils themselves, giving instructions to Juan Diego to do something for her, and seemingly letting him fail, when she could quite easily dispose everything to the contrary and have everything go smoothly without a hitch or a problem. Just think! She herself could have appeared to bishop! That way all his doubts are destroyed in one easy move!

It seems that God and Heaven prefer to do it hard way! Instead of picking the way 'common sense' would go, Heaven picks the way that no one in their right might mind would follow, given all the power that Heaven possesses. Jesus could have been born to King Herod, or, even better, a Jewish king (for Herod was not a Jew) rather than poor carpenter; He could have been born in a palace, not a cave; He could have been the High Priest, raised with an education in the Temple, rather than a wandering preacher with no real qualifications; He could have chosen the best Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducee priests as His Apostles and disciples, rather than a bunch of fisherman and public sinners; being God, He could have lived on century after century (Adam was a mere mortal and yet he lived to the age of nine-hundred and thirty years) and still be living among us, teaching and performing miracles, rather than let Himself be killed as a young man. Where was God's protection and Our Lady's protection in all that?

What about the thousands of martyrs that have been killed by the enemies of the Faith and Church? Where was God's and Our Lady's protection? What about the thousands of babies butchered for the sake of economics, convenience or pleasure? Where is the protection?

Heaven does not seem to want to follow our wisdom or our 'common sense'. Heaven has its own way of doing things, which is not our way of doing things: "As the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts" (Isaias 55:9). That is why most of the messengers of God and Our Lady have had to suffer as a result of being chosen. That was the case many prophets of the Old Testament times, and it is true still today. St. Catherine Labouré was told by Our Lady she would have to suffer; Melanie and Maximin at La Salette had much to suffer; St. Bernadette had much to suffer; the children at Fatima were told they would have much to suffer. Yet, despite these sufferings and throughout these sufferings, Our Lady was there to strengthen them, support them, encourage them and grant them perseverance. For suffering is only language that Heaven speaks and the only currency that Heaven accepts. If we don't want to suffer, then we simply won't be able to talk or buy our way into Heaven.

[Quiet Reflection]

Our Prayer:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mystical Rose, make intercession for the holy Church, protect the Sovereign Pontiff, help all those who invoke thee in their necessities, and since thou art the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God, obtain for us, from thy most holy Son, the grace of keeping our faith; a sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life; a burning charity and the precious gift of final perseverance. Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, according to thy message in Mexico, I venerate you as "the Virgin Mother of the true God, for Whom we live, the Creator of all the world, Maker of Heaven and earth."

In spirit I kneel before thy most holy Image, which thou didst miraculously imprint upon the cloak of the Indian, Juan Diego, and, with the faith of the countless numbers of pilgrims, who visit thy shrine, I beg thee for this favor:

[Mention Intention]

Remember, O Immaculate Virgin, the words thou didst speak to thy devout client, "I am a merciful Mother to you and to all your people, who love me and trust in me and invoke my help. I listen to their lamentations and give solace in all their sorrows and their sufferings." I beg thee to be a merciful Mother to me, because I sincerely love thee and trust in thee and invoke thy help. I entreat thee, Our Lady of Guadalupe, to grant my request, if this should be the Will of God, in order that I may "bear witness to thy love, thy compassion, thy help and protection." Please do not forsake me in my needs. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

O Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, most perfect, holy and ever Virgin Mother of the God, please listen to the prayers of thy humble, worthless children. O Mother of the God of Truth, through Whom everything was made and through Whom everything is kept in existence, thou didst ask that a church be built for thee. Grant us the joy and grace to be living churches, dedicated to thy service and thy honor, so that through thee, with thee and in thee, we may exalt our God and maker; make Him manifest in our daily lives and bring Him and give Him to all those around us.

Thou didst patiently bear with Juan Diego and all his faults and failings. Therefore, filled with this confidence in thy mercy and compassion, we consecrate to thee all that we are, with all our personal faults and failings; we consecrate to thee all whom we love, with all their faults and failings; and we consecrate to thee our imperfect works, with all their faults and failings. For we know that “the foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that He may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world hath God chosen, that He may confound the strong” (1 Cor. 1:37).

Help and guide us—who love thee, seek thee and trust thee—in our efforts to serve thee, so that we may be for thee the eyes through which you seek out the wretched and the sinful; that we may be for thee ears, which listen with compassion and mercy to the plight and needs of thy people; that we may be for thee a mouth, which consoles and counsels the countless suffering souls weighed down by sin, sorrow, sadness or even persecution; that may we be for thee hands, which bring relief to the poor and tend to the sick, the aged and the dying; that may we be for thee feet, to bring thy merciful motherly presence and protection to the most abandoned souls. For thou didst promise to hear their weeping, their complaints and heal all their sorrows, hardships and sufferings.

Let us not fear to do thy work; nor fear the fatigue and trouble that this mission will cause us. We will, out of love for thee, put forth our best effort. We promise to make thee more known and more loved; we will instill a devotion and confidence towards thee in hearts of all whom we shall meet, even the greatest of sinners and we will lead souls into thy service and place them under thy protection.

Keep from our minds and hearts all discouragement, disturbance, sadness and sorrow, and remind us often that thou art our Mother, and that we are safe in the hollow of thy mantle, under thy shadow and protection. Be thou the source of our strength, our joy, our zeal and our confidence; guide us safely through the snares of the devil and wicked people; obtain for us the courage and wisdom needed to fight for the Faith in these evil times; purge, purify and sanctify our souls; help us make worthy reparation for our sins and grant us the grace of final perseverance and a holy death, so that we may see and bless thee for all eternity in Heaven. Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, we confidently turn to thee.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, we fervently pray to thee.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, we consecrate ourselves to thee.