Novena To Our Lady Of Walsingham (September 15 – September 23)

Day 1: The Annunciation

Opening prayer:

We fly to thy protection,
O holy Mother of God.
Despise not our petitions in our necessities,
but deliver us from all dangers O glorious and blessed Virgin.

Amen.

Intention of the day:

For the grace to do the will of God.

Reflection:

Our Lady heard the Word of God and put it into practice.
She listened with a disciple’s ear and did the will of God.
With Mary, and taught by her, we too pray,
“Let it be done to me, according to your Word” [Lk 1:38].

Prayer:

Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Word,
intercede for us with your Son,
that we may have the grace to seek nothing
other than to do his will,
and the courage to live our lives in the faith of him
who became incarnate in your womb,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Intentions:

Let us offer with Mary every instant of our life
and especially those important decisions which we need to make.
Let us during our time of Pilgrimage
and Novena with Our Lady of Walsingham,
search out the silence so necessary
to enter into deep prayer and relationship with Jesus
to discern our way forward as individuals and as families.
We pray for the Pope’s intentions
and for those of the Universal Church.

Pray 1 Our Father…

Pray 1 Hail Mary… and

Pray 1 Glory Be…

Our Lady of Walsingham,
pray for us.

Day 2: Our Lady’s Visitation to Elizabeth.

Opening prayer:

We fly to thy protection,
O holy Mother of God.
Despise not our petitions in our necessities,
but deliver us from all dangers O glorious and blessed Virgin.

Amen.

Intention of the day:

To carry and proclaim the Word of God.

Reflection:

Bearing in her womb the Saviour of mankind,
the Word of God incarnate,
Mary went as quickly as she could to greet Elizabeth, her cousin.
John leaped in Elizabeth’s womb
and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Mary’s soul proclaimed the greatness of the Lord.
With Elizabeth, and taught by her, we say,
“Of all women you are the most blessed,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb” [Lk 1:42].

Prayer:

Holy Mary, God-bearer,
you went in haste to share
the good news of salvation with your cousin, Elizabeth.
May we who bear your Son in our hearts
possess the same eagerness to share with others
the joy that he has given us,
so that being filled with the Holy Spirit,
we may all rejoice in God, our Saviour.

Amen.

Intention:

Let us pray for the grace to be joyful witnesses
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
and that in joy and faith we may be prepared
to travel to the ends of the earth
to proclaim the “Good News of Salvation” to all whom we meet.
We pray for the mission of the Church in England & Wales
and for all our Dioceses.

Pray 1 Our Father…

Pray 1 Hail Mary… and

Pray 1 Glory Be…

Our Lady of Walsingham,
pray for us.

Day 3: The Birth of Our Lord.

Opening prayer:

We fly to thy protection, O holy Mother of God.
Despise not our petitions in our necessities,
but deliver us from all dangers O glorious and blessed Virgin.

Amen.

Intention of the day:

For the protection and sanctity of life, and for families.

Reflection:

“The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us” [Jn 1:14].
For our sake and for our salvation he came down from Heaven,
Emmanuel, God-with-us.
His presence blessed and sanctified the life of an earthly home,
and made of it his Heaven,
so that the family becomes a place of security, love and peace.
He humbled himself to share our humanity
that we might share his divinity.

Prayer:

Father in heaven, creator of all,
in history’s moment when all was ready,
you sent your Son to dwell among us,
the Word made flesh, Emmanuel.
Teach us to respect the dignity of marriage,
and to uphold the sanctity of human life
from the moment of conception to natural death,
and that our homes may reflect the love of the Holy Family.

Intention:

We pray for the protection of all life
from the moment of conception to natural death
and pray that a culture respecting the sanctity of life,
marriage and family
may once again prevail in our country and communities.

Pray 1 Our Father…

Pray 1 Hail Mary… and

Pray 1 Glory Be…

Our Lady of Walsingham,
pray for us.

Day 4: The Ministry of Our Lord.

Opening prayer:

We fly to thy protection, O holy Mother of God.
Despise not our petitions in our necessities,
but deliver us always from all dangers
O glorious and blessed Virgin.
Amen.

Intention of the day:

For justice, peace, and all who are sick and in need.

Reflection:

Our Lady, like the Old Testament prophets,
spoke of God doing great things for her,
routing the proud and exalting the humble,
feeding the hungry and sending the rich empty away [Lk 1:46].
Our Lord fulfilled the prophecies,
proclaiming that he had come to bring Good News to the poor,
liberty to captives,
sight to the blind
and to set the downtrodden free [Lk 4:18].
Let us pray for justice and peace in the world,
particularly for those most in need,
as well as healing for those who are sick and in trouble.

Prayer:

Father, may the peace that is the Kingdom of God,
flow to us from the truth and life,
the holiness and grace,
the justice and love of your Son Jesus Christ.
Queen of Peace,
obtain for us and for the nations of the world
the peace for which all people long.

Amen.

Intention:

We pray for our sick loved ones,
for those in our families in greatest need,
for the homeless,
for refugees and migrants with no country to call home.
We lift up all the young people
that they may yearn to see the face of God.

Pray 1 Our Father…

Pray 1 Hail Mary… and

Pray 1 Glory Be…

Our Lady of Walsingham,
pray for us.

Day 5: The Crucifixion of Our Lord.

Opening prayer:

We fly to thy protection, O holy Mother of God.
Despise not our petitions in our necessities,
but deliver us always from all dangers
O glorious and blessed Virgin.
Amen.

Intention of the day:

In reparation for the destruction of Our Lady of Walsingham’s Shrine
during the English Reformation,
and for the sins of disunity in Christ’s Church.

Reflection:

Jesus said, “When I am lifted up from the earth,
I shall draw everyone to myself” [Jn 12:32].
On the eve of his passion he prayed,
“Father may they be one in us” [Jn 17:21].
“He made peace by his death on the cross” [Col 1:20].
St John Paul II as preparation for the Great Jubilee of year 2000,
asked pardon of God for the sins of the sons and daughters of the Church,
for a “Purification of Memories”
of all that caused scandal,
destruction and betrayal within the Church and without.
We in England, Mary’s Dowry & Wales
pray in Reparation for the destruction of the Church
and Our Lady’s Shrines throughout our lands
which sadly led to the divisions among Christians
which remain prevalent to this day.

Prayer:

Father most merciful,
grant us the grace of true sorrow
for the many sins which offend the Sacred Heart of your dear Son,
and the Immaculate Heart of his Holy Mother,
and grant pardon and rest to the souls of those who,
for whatever motive,
destroyed the holy Shrine of Walsingham,
and brought about divisions which have lasted to our day.

Amen.

Intention:

We pray for the grace of Christian Unity
and for the healing of the wounds of sins and division
because by the Holy Cross,
Jesus has redeemed the World.
We pray for all the faithful departed
and for those near death at this time.
May they rest in peace and rise in glory.

Amen.

Pray 1 Our Father…

Pray 1 Hail Mary… and

Pray 1 Glory Be…

Our Lady of Walsingham,
pray for us.

Day 6: The Resurrection of Our Lord.

Opening prayer:

We fly to thy protection, O holy Mother of God.
Despise not our petitions in our necessities,
but deliver us always from all dangers
O glorious and blessed Virgin.
Amen.

Intention of the day:

In thanksgiving for Salvation.

Reflection:

“The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” [Ps 118:22].
“We believe that having died with Christ
we shall be raised to life with him” [Rom 6:8].
“All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Acts 2:21].
Just as individuals are forgiven
and raised up by the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection,
we pray with Jesus that “all be given eternal life…
and that they will know the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent” [Jn 17].

Prayer:

Ever-living God,
help us to celebrate with joy and thanksgiving
the resurrection of your Son,
that as he has been raised from the dead,
so our mortal lives also may be crowned by the ultimate joy
of rising from sin and death with him for ever,
who has made all things new.

Amen.

Intention:

We thank God for our Catholic heritage
and for the heroic witness of faith of our Catholic Martyrs.
May they inspire us in our times of difficulty and trial
to remain firm in faith, prayer
and to be faithful to Christ
and the teaching of the Church.
We pray for a spirit of renewal
and increase of evangelical zeal
and missionary outreach for the Church in England & Wales.
We pray for the Conversion of England and Wales
and of the whole world to Christ and his Church.

Pray 1 Our Father…

Pray 1 Hail Mary… and

Pray 1 Glory Be…

Our Lady of Walsingham,
pray for us.

Day 7: The Coming of the Holy Spirit.

Opening prayer:

We fly to thy protection, O holy Mother of God.
Despise not our petitions in our necessities,
but deliver us always from all dangers
O glorious and blessed Virgin.
Amen.

Intention of the day:

Come O Holy Spirit and renew the face of the Earth.

Reflection:

The apostles all “joined in continuous prayer,
together with several women, including Mary,
the Mother of Jesus” [Acts 1:14].
“On the Day of Pentecost they were all together in one place” [Acts 2:1].
“And suddenly a sound came from heaven
like the rush of a mighty wind,
and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And these appeared to them tongues of fire,
distributed and resting on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in other tongues,
as the Spirit gave them utterance” [Acts 2:2].

Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ,
you gathered your apostles together in prayer with Mary,
the Mother of Jesus,
and you filled them with the Holy Spirit.
Send forth your Spirit upon us
and renew in us the graces of the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
Ignite us, Lord, with an ever greater passion and love
for the Gospel which will enliven our Christian witness
and bring about the fulfilment of the “second spring”
of the Catholic Faith in England and Wales
as heralded by Blessed Dominic Barberi CP
and Blessed John Henry Newman.
May we be once again an Isle of saints.

Amen.

Intention:

We pray for the intentions of Bishops, Priests,
Religious men and women, Consecrated men and women,
and Hermits that the power of the Holy Spirit
will continually renew them
and empower them for ever greater works in the vineyard of the Lord.

Pray 1 Our Father…

Pray 1 Hail Mary… and

Pray 1 Glory Be…

Our Lady of Walsingham,
pray for us.

Day 8: The Assumption of Our Lady

Opening prayer:

We fly to thy protection, O holy Mother of God.
Despise not our petitions in our necessities,
but deliver us always from all dangers
O glorious and blessed Virgin.
Amen.

Intention of the day:

For vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and the religious life.

Reflection:

“A great sign appeared in Heaven:
a woman adorned with the sun,
standing on the moon,
and with twelve stars on her head as a crown” [Rev 12:1].
The stars represent the twelve tribes of Israel,
God’s chosen people, and the holy apostles.
Our Lady is the Queen of priests and their Mother.
We pray that the Pope, the bishops, priests, deacons,
religious, and consecrated men and women of the Church
may set themselves close to Our Lady as her crown,
and that women, men and children everywhere
may offer themselves totally to God.

Prayer:

Father, you raised the Mother of your Son to the glory of Heaven,
grant through her intercession
that the hearts and minds of all may be open to your call,
so that loving you above all things
we may be signs of your presence,
and ardent but gentle servants of the Gospel.

Amen.

Intention:

We pray for the intentions of all our Dioceses in England and Wales
and for our Bishops.
We pray for vocations to the Priesthood
and for a flourishing of seminary life.
We pray for all seminarians
and for those in the process of discernment.
We pray in thanksgiving for our Religious Orders
both active and enclosed, and for Deacons.

Pray 1 Our Father…

Pray 1 Hail Mary… and

Pray 1 Glory Be…

Our Lady of Walsingham,
pray for us.

Day 9: The Coronation of Our Lady

Opening prayer:

We fly to thy protection, O holy Mother of God.
Despise not our petitions in our necessities,
but deliver us always from all dangers
O glorious and blessed Virgin.
Amen.

Intention of the day:

For the conversion of England, the Dowry of Mary, and Wales.

Reflection:

“I confer a kingdom on you,
just as my Father conferred one on me:
you will eat and drink at my table in my kingdom,
and you will sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel” [Lk 22:30].
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Let us pray for the conversion of our country,
that through the reconciling prayers of Our Lady of Walsingham
it may once again be worthy of the title “The Dowry of Mary”.

The Prayer of the Feast: Lord God,
in the mystery of the Incarnation,
Mary conceived your Son in her heart
before she conceived him in her womb.
As we, your pilgrim people,
rejoice in her patronage,
grant that we also may welcome him into our hearts,
and so, like her, be made a holy house
fit for his eternal dwelling.
We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.

Amen.

Intention:

We pray for the intentions of Her Majesty the Queen, the Royal Family,
the Prime Minster and for those in both national and local government.
We pray for a renewal of marriage and family life in England and Wales
and for a return of our Nation’s peoples to Christ
and our Christian roots.
In our prayer we take Our Lady of Walsingham’s hand…
“For when England goes back to Walsingham,
Our Lady will come back to England.”

Pray 1 Our Father…

Pray 1 Hail Mary… and

Pray 1 Glory Be…

Our Lady of Walsingham,
pray for us.

Feast Day: 24th September

The Angelus:

a prayer of devotion and belief in the Incarnation, in memory of the very first of Our Lady’s joys – “The Annunciation”.

V/. The Angel of the Lord, declared unto Mary
R/. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit Hail Mary…

V/. Behold the handmaid of the Lord
R/. Be it done unto me according to thy Word. Hail Mary…

V/. And the Word was made flesh (genuflect)
R/. And dwelt amongst us Hail Mary…

V/. Pray for us O Holy Mother of God
R/. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech thee O Lord,
thy grace into our hearts,
that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ thy Son,
was made known by the message of an angel,
may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection.
Through the same Christ our Lord.

Amen.