Novena Prayers

Lord Jesus Christ, You have destroyed the power of death and

given the hope of eternal life in body and soul.

You granted your Mother a special place in your glory, and did not

allow decay to touch her body.

As we rejoice in the Assumption of Mary, give to us a renewed

confidence in the victory of

life over death.

You live and reign forever and ever.

Amen.

Day 1

The Intercessory Role of Mary - The Marriage Feast at Canaan

Reading: John 2: 1-11

REFLECTION

ROSARY

LITANY OF OUR LADY

Let us Pray:

Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, we believe in your

triumphant assumption into heaven where the angels and saints acclaim you as Queen of Heaven and earth.

We join them in praising you and bless the Lord who raised you above all creatures. With them we honor you. We are confident that you watch

over our daily lives and we ask that you intercede for us now. (mention

your request) We are comforted by our faith in the coming Resurrection and we look

to you for prayers and comfort. After this earthly life, show us Jesus,

the blest fruit of your womb, O kind, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary. O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us.

Amen.

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Day 2

Mary - Health of the sick and Refuge of sinner

Reading: Luke 2: 22 - 38

REFLECTION

ROSARY

LITANY OF OUR LADY

Let us Pray: Mary, Assumed into Heaven, we venerate you as the Queen of Heaven

and earth. As you tasted the bitterness of pain and sorrow with your Son

on earth, you now enjoy eternal bliss with Him in Heaven. There you ask Jesus to heal our wounded hearts, restore our health and forgive our

many sins. Loving Queen, intercede for us in our needs.

(mention your request) We praise Jesus for giving us such a loving mother.

O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us.

Amen.

Day 3

Mary - Co-Mediatrix (Sharing in the Mystery of our Redemption)

Reading: Luke 1: 39- 56

REFLECTION

ROSARY

LITANY OF OUR LADY

Let us Pray:

O Mother, Assumed into Heaven, because you shared in all the

mysteries of our Redemption here below, Jesus has crowned you with

glory. With your most glorious and powerful intercession, help us O loving Mother and present to Jesus our request.

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(mention your request) O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us.

Amen.

Day 4

Mary - Mother of God, of the Church and of the Saints

Reading: John 19: 23 - 27

REFLECTION

ROSARY

LITANY OF OUR LADY

Let us Pray:

O Dearest Mother Mary, Assumed into Heaven, God placed you at His right hand that you may intercede for his little ones as the Mother of

God. In the midst of all the Saints you stand as their Queen and ours -

dearer to the Heart of God than any creation. You pray for your children and give to us every grace won by our loving Savior on the Cross.

Please intercede for us in our needs and ask Jesus to grant our request if

it be for the good of our souls. (mention your request) O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us.

Amen.

Day 5

Mary - Immaculate Mother of Mercy

Reading: Luke 1 26– 38

REFLECTION

ROSARY

LITANY OF OUR LADY

Let us Pray:

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O merciful and loving Mother, may your glorious beauty fill our hearts with a distaste for earthly things and an ardent longing for the joys of

Heaven. May your merciful eyes glance down upon our struggles and

our weakness in this vale of tears. Hear then loving Mother, our request and plead to Jesus for us. (mention your request)

Crown us with the pure robe of innocence and grace here, and with

immortality and glory in Heaven. O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us.

Amen.

Day 6

MARY - MOTHER HELP OF CHRISTIANS

Reading: Luke 2: 8 - 20

REFLECTION

ROSARY

LITANY OF OUR LADY

Let us Pray:

Mary, our dear Mother and mighty Queen, take and receive our poor

hearts with all their freedom and desires, all the love and all the virtues and graces with which they may be adorned. All we are and all we

might be, all we have and hold in the order of nature as well as of grace,

we have received from God through your loving intercession. Help us dear Mother to surrender to God all that we have including our

petitions. (mention your request) Our Lady and Queen, into your gentle hands, we entrust all, that it may

be returned to its noble origin. O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for

us. Amen.

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Day 7

MARY - CHANNEL OF OUR ADOPTIONS AS SONS OF GOD

Reading: Galatians 4:1-6 or Luke 1:57-80

REFLECTION

ROSARY

LITANY OF OUR LADY

Let us Pray:

Mary, Queen of every heart, accept all that we are and bind us to Jesus

with the bonds of love, that we may be yours forever and may be able to say in all truth: “I belong to Jesus through Mary”.

Our Mother, Assumed into Heaven and Queen of the Universe, ever-

Virgin Mother of God, obtain for us what we ask for if it be for the glory of God and the good of our souls. (mention your request)

Our Mother, assumed into Heaven, we love you. Give us a greater love

for Jesus and for you. O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us.

Amen.

Day 8

MARY - MODEL OF FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE

Reading: Hebrews 10:19-39

REFLECTION

ROSARY

LITANY OF OUR LADY

Let us Pray:

Mary, Queen Assumed into Heaven, we rejoice that you are the Queen

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of Heaven and Earth. You have given your holy fiat to God and became the Mother of our Savior. Obtain peace and salvation for us through

your prayers, for you have given birth to Christ our Lord, the Savior of

all mankind. Intercede for us and bring our petitions before the Throne of God. (mention your request)

Through your prayers, may our souls be filled with an intense desire to

be like you, a humble vessel of the Holy Spirit and a servant of the Almighty God.

Pray for us O Queen Assumed into Heaven, that we may be made

worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.

Day 9

MOTHER MOST PURE

Reading: Revelation 12:1-6

REFLECTION

ROSARY

LITANY OF OUR LADY

Let us Pray:

O Blessed Mother Assumed into Heaven, after years of heroic

martyrdom on earth, we rejoice that you have at last been taken to the

throne prepared for you in Heaven by the Holy Trinity. Lift our hearts with you in the glory of your Assumption above the

dreadful touch of sin and impurity. Teach us how small earth becomes when viewed from heaven. Make us realize that death is the triumphant

gate through which we shall pass to your Son and that someday our

bodies shall rejoin our souls in the unending bliss of heaven. From this earth, over which we tread as pilgrims, we look to you for help.

In honor of your Assumption into Heaven we ask for this favor.

(mention your request) When our hour of death has come, lead us safely to the presence of

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Jesus to enjoy the vision of God for all eternity together with you. Pray for us O Queen Assumed into Heaven, that we may be made

worthy of the promises of Christ.

Amen.

SOLEMNITY OF THE ASSUMPTION OF OUR BLESSED VERGIN MARY

A,B,C.

REFLECTION ONE

Rev. 11:19a. 12:1-6a 1 Cor. 15:20-26 Lk. 1:39-56

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, the moon beneath

her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head.

REFLECTION II

We are very familiar with the scenes in Holy places, Sanctuaries, shrines,

pilgrimage centres and especially when these places are tied to Saints. Usually, there is a

great spirit of veneration and piety that surround particular places where a given saint

might have either spent part of his life: a table on which he ate, a bed on which he slept,

the garment St. Francis of Assisi wore, the Church in which Padre Pio usually said

Mass, and so on. This is not a practice common only to our century.

Even before the fifth century, there was a Feast celebrated in Jerusalem called the

Koimesis, a Greek for resting. The early Church commemorated the place where Mary is

said to have rested before entering Bethlehem. By the sixth century, the idea of Mary

resting was celebrated as the Dormition of Mary. This was a celebration that took place

in Gethsemane, near the supposed tomb of Mary, and it commemorated the death and

entrance into heaven of Mary. It was widely believed in the early Church that between

three and fifteen years after Jesus ascended, Mary was assumed.

In the writings of the Fathers of the Church like St. Andrew of Crete and St. John

Damascene, St. Modestus, St. Gregory of Tours, St. Augustine and St. Jerome, we meet

references to this belief. Even in the early Councils of the Church, just as we have the

Vatican II Council, the Council of Chalcedon especially, the inability to find the body of

Mary where it was laid, led to the conclusion that the body was assumed to heaven

(thanks to the Son, accompanied by angels and in the presence of the apostles).

Indeed, reading John of Damascus’ writings we get a feel of his spiritual insights

into the reality that builds up to the Assumption. Among many things He argues from

the sayings of Solomon and the Psalms regarding the just and faithful nature of Mary.

The memory of the Just takes place with rejoicing. He is certainly thinking of Mary not

only as the just, but a just channel and mirror of Justice. The death of a Faithful person

is precious in the Sight of God. Mary’s dormition must then be a precious event in the

Heavens. It is a heavenly feast to say the least.

But with Mary, we are not rejoicing for her own good, we rejoice because we too

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mean to take part in the glory she has already attained: for where she has gone, we too

hope to follow.

As one who nurtured Jesus in the womb for several months, he body became the

dwelling place of God, ‘City of God’. If the Jerusalem that is above: ‘the City of God’ is

our mother, we learn of this mother that glorious things are told of her. Now, the

invisible and uncircumcised God, in whose hands are all that is created found in Mary a

motherhood: As ‘Shelter of the Most High’, ‘Ark of the Covenant, she stands out as one

about whom God Himself has spoken glorious things. What we are doing today is

merely echoing the glorious praises bestowed on her from above.

To praise Mary, St. John Damascene thinks no human being is qualified. This

notwithstanding, we must not fear to sing her praises as we are doing today. Instead, we

need to develop within us a desire to praise her. When we allow this desire to be

mingled with fear, and if we do so with a reverent hand and a longing soul, then we shall

produce one crown for the Queen and Mother.

By the way, Mary does not need our crowns, but the good will we manifest when

contemplating her is itself her own gift to us. Since the need is on our side.

Today, countless angels acclaim the death of the life-giving Mother! The eloquence

of apostles blesses the departure of this body which was the receptacle of God.

The history of Christian worship reveals that it is not only the Latin Church that

took over this Feast. It was celebrated by the Eastern Churches, the Byzantine Rite, the

Egyptian Church, by the Gallican Liturgy, and so on. Later on almost 50 years ago,

Pope Pius XII of the Latin Church, infallibly declared the Assumption of the Blessed

Virgin Mary as a Dogma of Faith. The Vatican II Council, in Lumen Gentium also

stated as follows: The Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin,

was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, when her earthly life was over, and

exalted by the Lord over all things. (n,59)

What is the sense in celebrating such a feast that does not have any explicit

Scriptural backing, and which is said to be more of a product of theological

speculations, and a product of Christian piety?

When we consider the prayer formulary for this Mass, it becomes clear that the

Church celebrates this day as a solemnity to highlight the great privilege, which being a

Mother of God did bring to Mary. The Church celebrates her understanding of what

fullness of grace implies in its eschatological dimension. Mary becomes the beginning

and the pattern of the Church in its perfection, a sign of hope and comfort for the

Pilgrim people of God. Assumed into Heaven, she becomes not only the Mother of all

would-be heirs to the throne of the Lamb, but she enkindles in us the spark of hope,

making us long to become what she now already has attained. Hence, we are celebrating

the solemnity of the model of and the anticipator of our Christian Hope, Hope of what

the resurrection experience would eventually become for all humanity when the Son

shall come again in glory.

We are celebrating the meaning of Divine privileges and prerogatives and how

these eventually shine out in the one whom God has chosen. Mary, from now on,

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becomes the Heavenly Mother who does not only intercede for us, but who will effect

our adoption, when the appropriate hour will come for us too to become sons and

daughters, true heirs of the kingdom, just as she effected Christ’s adoption into the

family of David.

The Assumption is consequent upon Mary’s Virginity, her Immaculate

Conception and her Fiat. The Preface prays as follows: You would not allow decay to

touch her [Mary’s] body, for she had given birth to your Son the Lord of all Life, in the

glory of the incarnation. God had, prepared her to be the sanctuary of Christ. Just as in

and through Mary, earth rejoiced because she bore Christ, Elizabeth became Spirit-

filled, John the Baptist in the womb leaped for joy, and God brought to time the

fulfillment of the promised Covenant, through this same woman, man will find the cause

for greater rejoicing as he beholds God face to face.

This is the reward a woman pays not just because of the privileges, but much also

because of her cooperation with the graces she received. In this light, Mary stands out as

that face, radiant as the sun. who took on the face of her Son in wondering

contemplation: at times with a questioning look, with a penetrating gaze, or a look of

sorrow, or again, a gaze radiant with joy, (especially after the Resurrection, one can

imagine), a gaze afire with the outpouring of the Spirit as she experienced the Pentecost

event. She kept all these things, pondering them in her heart, wishing only to be mother,

spouse of Christ, mistress and disciple, qualities that could hardly be hidden, for

Elizabeth recognizes them immediately, and cried out Blessed are thou amongst women.

In the first reading the Book of the Apocalypse present a vision John has of the

Church, Holy Mother Church: a Church that is pregnant with the risen and glorious

Christ, a woman that has to flight, resist with constancy and faith, a woman that will be

persecuted, marginalized, excluded and suffer martyrdom. If Mary represents the

Church, then all these things that happened to her must set the Church, you and I, on the

same Pilgrimage path towards the victorious celebration of the marriage Feast of the

Lamb.

Our human experiences must never quench our thirst for the beatific vision. Our

fidelity to the Church’s maternal role must even be stronger, freed from unnecessary and

excessive questioning. Our esteem for the Mother of God must continuously be

manifested in and through a firm spirit of contemplation and prayer. Let our desire for

filial adoption be even stronger and make us live a life of constant vigilance as we look

forward to the moment of final victory over death. Let us find in Mary an ultimate

paradigm of disciple: listening to Christ always, responding in obedience and zealously

too, giving thanks and praise to God world without end.

Reflection II

The reflection attached above, is centered on the theological implications for the

faithful who truly take Mary as their mother and model in their experience of Christ.

Today, as we celebrate with joy, this Christian truth of faith, permit me go back to my

African background to show how and why it is so easier for the African to stand by the

dogma of the Assumption. Indeed, in the Traditional African systems, the prominence of

a lady set apart in the royal courts, a lady who bears the title of the queen mother, is a

lived reality. Her influence over the chief is certainly beyond imagination.

The Church, with similar sentiments and divine inspiration has established this

truth of faith bearing in mind the role of Mary in the life of Christ and in the history of

our salvation. Mary is assumed into heaven body and soul. This celebration brings to

light the Lady who has lived in perfect harmony with her supreme Love: Mary, the

purest of creatures, whose sweetness and readiness at every single moment of her

existence, from the moment of her conception moved her to offer her life in an eternal

act of love of Him who sustains the whole universe in His hands, Christ, who found

Mary’s womb a worthy home.

Assumption in the history of Judeo-Christianity is not a new idea. Elijah the

Tishbite is taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire, and he lets drop his mantle which

became the insignia of prophetic office for Elisha. Mary, having been taken up to

heaven now leaves with humanity her spirit. Indeed, with her is inaugurated a new era

for humanity. Her Assumption finds its true roots in her immaculate conception, her

being freed from sin, by the grace of God, both before during and after her entire earthly

existence.

Today we are filled with joy for her, and our hearts are thankful to the Holy

Spirit, who now assures us of a Divine mother, one who will adopt us into the Kingdom

of her Son, as she adopted her Son into the Dynasty of David. Indeed, she herself

foresaw this continuous praise of her name as she burst out into songs of joy in the

Magnificat: From now on, all generations will call me blessed… to the praise of Him

who looked with favour on the lowliest of creatures.

This woman is now a symbol of hope for all generations, because the authentic

values associated with our bodily nature are not to be despised. Rather, they are to be

exploited in view of our complete experience of the transformation of our own bodies,

when we shall put on immortality: the joy of our eternal longing. She Mary will

certainly assist us in reaching this end by her maternal assistance and her illuminating

example of life.

Indeed, today’s Liturgy stand out as the root of these thoughts. In the Collect, or

the Opening Prayer of the Mass of Assumption, the Church invites us to celebrate the

fact that God is omnipotent and eternal. The Latin version begins with: Almighty and

Eternal God. This is deliberate to underline the fact that nothing is impossible for God,

who is all-powerful. His eternal vision and existence will equally render the gift of Mary

an eternal gift to humanity. The content of this graciousness of God is the fact that He

has made of Mary a great sign of the fullness of time, time when his Son is revealed,

time when she will equally lead the Church into this full adoption of sonship. We are

talking about a gift which is that Divine initiative to raise to His glory in Heaven, a

daughter of Jerusalem, daughter of Joachim and Anna, body and soul.

Celebrating this feast, therefore, implies we must always look forward to things

eternal. This is our feast of hope. The Gospel presents Mary during her visit to

Elizabeth, as a lady blessed among women…she who believed that everything said her

by the Lord will be fulfilled. This certainly justifies her being crowned Queen. She so

fully gave herself to the Word of God that God in turn entrusted to her the highest of all

duties humanity has ever known before her. In the face of such honor, Mary sincerely

acknowledges her nothingness before the greatness of God. Her admiration settles on

how the Good Lord could so lift up the poor and the humble of heart, sanctifying the

house of Jacob, fulfilling the promise he made from of old.

The First Reading talks about this apocalyptic revelation of John, about the

Lord’s intervention in the history of the early Christian community, to strengthen them

in their effort to bring the Gospel to the ends of the world. The use of the image of a

woman is associated in a typological manner to Mary, woman of the fullness of time.

St. Paul’s second Letter to the Corinthians offers us some tips by which we can

live an authentic life of faith. They are concerned with the fundamental principles of the

Christian way of life associated with union of souls, customary morality (marriage,

virginity and so on), prophetic charism, healing, and particularly the final hope of the

faithful: Eternal life in Christ – the resurrection at the end of time.

One of the teachings of St. Augustine is: If we love, let us imitate. Hence who

ever loves Christ, must imitate the disciple John is taking Mary as the mother. Whoever

loves Christ, is invited to imitate the mother too.

May the Virgin Mary intercede for us.