Prayers and Mariana Novenas

El Ángelus

V. The Angel of the Lord announced Mary.
R. And he conceived by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Ave María…

V. Behold, the slave of the Lord.
A. Be in me according to your word.
Ave María…

V. And the Word became flesh.
R. And he dwelt among us.
Ave María…

V. Pray for us, Holy Mother of God.
R. So that we may be worthy of Christ's promises.

Let us pray: We beseech you, Lord, that your grace will inundate our souls; that, by the proclamation of the Angel, we may come to the glory of the Resurrection by his Passion and Cross. By Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

It is prayed three times a day: at dawn, at noon and at sunset. The custom dates back to the 13th century. Pope John Paul II prayed to him every Sunday from the Vatican window.

Salve Regina

In Latin:
Hello, Queen, Mother of Mercy;
life, dulcedo et spes nostra, hi.
Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Hevae.
Ad you suspiramus, gments and flents
in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia ergo, advocate nostra,
The misericordes of you are an eye to turn us.
Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
Nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
The clemens, the sink, the dulcis Virgo María.

In Spanish:
God save you, Queen and Mother of mercy,
life, sweetness and hope of us; God save you.
We call you the banished children of Eve;
to you we sigh, groaning and crying
in this valley of tears.
So, Madam, our lawyer,
return to us those your merciful eyes;
and after this exile show us Jesus,
You're welcome to go.
O gracious, O pious, O sweet Virgin Mary!

Attributed to the monk Hermann of Reichenau (11th century). It is the Marian antiphon with which the Church closes the Liturgy of the Hours every day. The sailors sang it at the port.

Lethania of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Lethania Lauretana)

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us. Christ, listen to us.
God, heavenly Father, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Most Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Saint Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of the virgins,
Mother of Christ,
Mother of the Church,
Mother of mercy,
Mother of divine grace,
Mother of hope,
Most pure Mother,
Most chaste Mother,
Injured mother,
Mother intact,
Most loving mother,
Admirable mother,
Mother of good counsel,
Mother of the Creator,
Mother of the Savior,
Most prudent Virgin,
Virgin worthy of veneration,
Virgin worthy of praise,
Powerful Virgin,
Clement Virgin,
Faithful Virgin,
Mirror of justice,
See of wisdom,
Cause of our joy,
Spiritual vessel,
A vessel worthy of honor,
Insignia of devotion,
Mystic rose,
Strong as the Tower of David,
White as the Ivory Tower,
House of gold,
Ark of the covenant,
Gate of Heaven,
Morning star,
Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
Help of Christians,
Queen of Angels,
Queen of the Patriarchs,
Queen of the Prophets,
Queen of the Apostles,
Queen of Martyrs,
Queen of Confessors,
Queen of Virgins,
Queen of all Saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen to the sky,
Queen of the Most Holy Rosary,
Queen of the family,
Queen of Peace.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, forgive us Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, hear us Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

V. Pray for us, Holy Mother of God.
R. So that we may be worthy to achieve the promises of Jesus Christ.

Let us pray: We pray to you, Lord God, to grant us your servants, to enjoy continuous health of soul and body, and by the glorious intercession of the always blessed Virgin Mary, to free us from the sorrows present and to achieve eternal joys. By Christ our Lord. Amen.

Medieval origin. Its current form was approved at the Sanctuary of Loreto (Italy) in the 16th century. It is the official litany of the Church for the Virgin.

Total Consecration to Jesus by Mary

I, (name), unfaithful sinner, renew and ratify today in your hands, O Mary Immaculate, the vows of my Baptism. I give up for ever Satan, his pomps and his works, and I give up entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry his cross after Him all the days of my life, and to be more faithful to him than I have been to this day.

Today, in the presence of the whole heavenly court, I choose you, O Mary, by Mother and Queen of mine. I give myself and consecrate to you, as a slave, my body and soul, my inner and outer goods, and the very value of my good past, present and future works, leaving you the whole and full right to dispose of me and of all that belongs to me, without exception, as you please, for the greatest glory of God, in time and in eternity. Amen.

Formula of Saint Louis Mary Grignion of Montfort (1673-1716), of the "Treaty of the True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin." John Paul II made it his own with the motto "Totus Tuus."

Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Relief

It is prayed for nine consecutive days. Each day the proper prayer of the given day is added.

Prayer of every day:
O Mother of Perpetual Relief, I stand before your sacred image to ask for your protection. Your title as Mother of Perpetual Help fills me with confidence: I ask you to be my Mother, my guide, my strength at every moment of my life.
Deliver me, O Most Holy Virgin, from the tyranny of the devil; preserve my soul from sin; purify my heart; sanctify my soul; rule my whole life that I may always do good, flee from evil, and come to the end to the homeland of heaven.
I beg you, Madam, to reach me from your divine Son the grace I ask of you in this novena... (mention the request).
And at the time of my death, show me that you are truly my Mother of Perpetual Help. Amen.

Day 1 - Meditation: Mary, the refuge of sinners. Recite a Hail Mary.
Day 2 - Meditation: Mary, help the sick. Recite a Hail Mary.
Day 3 - Meditation: Mary, comfort of the afflicted. Recite a Hail Mary.
Day 4 - Meditation: Mary, queen of peace. Recite a Hail Mary.
Day 5 - Meditation: Mary, mother of the Church. Recite a Hail Mary.
Day 6 - Meditation: Mary, star of the new evangelization. Recite a Hail Mary.
Day 7 - Meditation: Mary, partner in suffering. Recite a Hail Mary.
Day 8 - Meditation: Mary, mediator of all graces. Recite a Hail Mary.
Day 9 - Meditation: Mary, our hope at the time of death. Recite a Hail Mary and a Glory.

The devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Relief was spread from the Byzantine icon preserved in the church of San Alfonso de Ligorio in Rome, entrusted to the Redemptorists by Pius IX in 1866.

Sub Tuum Praesidium - the oldest known Marian prayer

En latín (s. III d.C.):
Sub nucleus praesidium confugimus,
Sancta Dei Genetrix.
Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus nostras,
thirst for periculis cunctis liberates us semper,
Virgo gloriosa et benedicta.

In Spanish:
Bajo you shelter us,
Holy Mother of God.
Do not cast away the pleas we address to you in our needs,
but deliver us always from all danger,
O glorious and blessed Virgin.

Discovered in 1917 in an Egyptian papyrus (Papyrus Rylands 470), it dates to 250 AD It is the oldest known prayer to Mary in Christian history. In Latin it was included in the Liturgy of the Hours.