Novena To Our Lady Of Pompeii # 2 (This is the original Novena) (April 29 - May 8)

V. O God, come unto my assistance;
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.

V. Glory be to the Father, etc.
R. As it was in the beginning, etc.

1. Behold me at thy knees,
Immaculate Mother of Jesus,
who dost rejoice at being invoked
as Queen of the Rosary in the Vale of Pompeii.
With joy in my heart,
and my mind filled with the most lively gratitude,
I return to thee who art my most generous benefactor,
my dearest Lady,
the Queen of my heart,
to thee who hast shown thyself my true Mother,
the Mother who loves me exceedingly.
I was filled with groanings and thou didst hear my cry;
I was in affliction and thou didst comfort me;
I was in the valley of the shadow of death
and thou didst bring me peace.
The sorrows and pains of death laid siege to my soul,
and thou, dear Mother,
from thy throne in Pompeii
with one look of pity didst make me serene.
Who bath ever turned to thee with confidence
and hath not been heard?
If only the whole world knew thy great goodness,
thy tender compassion for those who suffer,
how all creation would have recourse to thee!
Mayest thou be ever blessed,
O Virgin and Queen of Pompeii,
by me and by all others,
both men and Angels,
on earth and in Heaven.

Glory Be to the Father;

Hail, Holy Queen.

2. I return thanks to God and to thee, O Mother of God,
for the fresh blessings that have been showered upon me
through thy pity and loving-kindness.
What a fate would mine have been,
hadst thou rejected my sighs and tears!
Let the Angels in Paradise,
the glorious choir of the Apostles,
the noble army of the Martyrs,
the holy bands of Virgins and Confessors
give thee thanks on my behalf.
Let the many souls of sinners,
saved by thine intercession,
who now enjoy in Heaven the vision of thine unfading loveliness,
give thanks to thee in my behalf.
I wish that all creatures might love thee in union with me,
and that the whole world might repeat
the refrain of my hymns of thanksgiving.
What can I render to thee, O Queen,
rich in mercy and magnificence?
What remains of life I dedicate to thee
and to the spreading of thy devotion,
O Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii,
through whose invocation the grace of the Lord hath visited me.
I will spread abroad devotion to thy Rosary,
I will tell all men of the mercies thou hast obtained for me;
I will ever more proclaim thy great goodness toward me,
so that other sinners, as unworthy as I,
may turn to thee in all confidence.

Glory Be to the Father;

Hail, Holy Queen.
 

3. By what name shall I invoke thee,
thou white dove of peace?
Under what title shall I call upon thee
whom the holy Doctors have named the Mistress of creation,
the gate of life,
the temple of God,
the palace of light,
the glory of the heavens,
the Saint of saints,
the wonder of wonders,
the paradise of the Most High God?
Thou art the treasurer of Divine graces,
the omnipotent answer to prayer,
nay, the very mercy of God,
which is shown toward the unfortunate.
But I know, too,
that it is pleasing to thy heart
to be invoked as Queen of the Rosary
in the Vale of Pompeii.
And as I hail thee by this title,
I perceive the sweetness of thy mystic name,
O rose of paradise,
transplanted into this valley of tears,
to sweeten our miseries,
we, who are banished children of Eve;
red rose of charity,
more fragrant than all the spices of Libanus,
who by the perfume of thy heavenly sweetness
dost draw the hearts of sinners
to the Heart of God in this thy valley of Pompeii.
Thou art the rose of eternal freshness,
watered by the streams of water from Heaven;
thou hast set thy roots in a land parched by a rain of fire;
thou art a rose of spotless beauty,
who in a place of desolation
hast planted a garden of the delights of the Lord.
May God be praised,
who hath made thy name so wonderful!
Bless, O ye peoples,
bless the name of the Virgin of Pompeii,
for all the earth is full of her loving-kindness.

Glory Be to the Father;

Hail, Holy Queen.

4. In the midst of the tempests
which have overwhelmed me,
I have lifted up mine eyes to thee,
thou new star of hope
that hath risen in these latter days
above the valley of ruin.
From the depths of my bitterness
I have lifted up my voice to thee,
O Queen of the Rosary of Pompeii,
and I have felt the power of that title so dear to thee.
Hail, I shall ever cry,
hail to thee, thou Mother of pity,
fathomless ocean of grace,
sea of goodness and compassion!
Who shall be worthy to sing the new glories of thy Rosary,
the fresh victories of thy chaplet?
In this valley, where Satan devoured souls in olden times,
thou hast prepared salvation for a world,
that is tearing itself from the loving arms of Jesus
in order to cast itself into the deadly embrace of Satan.
Triumphantly dost thou trample underfoot
the fragments of pagan temples,
and upon the ruins of ancient idolatry
thou hast established the throne of thine imperial sway.
Thou hast changed the valley of death
into a valley of resurrection and life;
and in a land once dominated by thine enemy,
thou hast built a city of refuge,
where thou dost receive thy people in safety.
Behold, thy children, scattered throughout the world,
have erected thy throne there,
as a witness to thy miracles,
as a memorial of thy mercies.
From that throne thou hast called me
to be among the sons of thy predilection;
upon poor me thy merciful glance hath rested.
May thy works be praised for ever, O Blessed Lady,
and praised be the marvels wrought by thee
in this valley of desolation and death.

Glory Be to the Father;

Hail, Holy Queen.

5. Let every tongue speak of thy glory, dear Lady,
and let the harmonious accord of our praises
sound from evening even to the morning.
May all generations call thee blessed
and may all the coasts of earth
and all the mansions of Heaven
re-echo the hymn of praise.
Nay, I will call thee thrice blessed,
in union with the Angels and Principalities;
thrice blessed, with the angelical Powers,
with the Virtues of heaven,
with the supernal Dominations;
most blessed will I proclaim thee with the Thrones,
with the Cherubim and Seraphim.
O Queen of salvation,
cease not to turn thine eyes in pity upon this thy family,
upon this nation,
upon the Church universal.
Above all, deny me not the greatest of graces;
that is, let not my frailty ever separate me from thee.
Grant that I may persevere even to the end in the love and faith
wherewith my soul is on fire at this moment.
Grant, also, that all of us,
who come together in the beauty of thy sanctuary in Pompeii,
may be of the number of the elect.
O chaplet of the Rosary of my Mother,
I press thee to my breast
and I kiss thee in a spirit of profound reverence.
Thou art the way that leads to the attainment of every virtue,
the treasure of merits for paradise,
the pledge of my predestination,
the mighty chain that binds fast the enemy of our salvation,
a source of peace to all who give thee due honor in this life,
and a foretaste of victory to those who kiss thee at the hour of death.
In that last hour,
I shall look to thee, O Mother;
thy coming will be the sign of my salvation,
thy Rosary will open to me the gates of paradise.

Amen.

Glory Be to the Father;

Hail, Holy Queen.

V. Pray for us, O Queen of the most holy Rosary;
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who hast taught us to come to Thee with confidence and to call Thee:
Our Father, Who art in Heaven,
ah! good Lord,
to whom it belongeth to have mercy and to pardon,
graciously hear us through the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary,
for we glory in the title of children of the Rosary;
accept our humble thanks for the gifts we have received from Thee;
and do Thou make the shrine which Thou hast set up in the sanctuary of Pompeii,
every day more glorious and more lasting,
through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

[Partial Indulgence. From THE RACCOLTA]