Novena Mary, Mirror of righteousness

Original nova of rezaelrosario.org.
The meditations and prayers of this page have been expressly prepared to accompany this devotion for nine days. They are not transcription or covert adaptation of other issues.

Mary, Mirror of Justice

"Mirror of justice" (Speculum iustitiae) is one of the invocation of the Letany of the Virgin. In the biblical language, "justice" means holiness, righteousness, life according to the will of God. A clean mirror faithfully reflects the image that it receives; so Mary, the most limpid soul and full of grace, reflected as no other the holiness of God, to the extent that whoever looks at it sees it reflected to Christ, "our righteousness" (1 Corinthians 1: 30). It is not the source of light, but the mirror that reflects it without shadow. In calling upon it the Mirror of righteousness we went to his intercession to learn to reflect also us, in our life, the holiness of his Son. This novena is a confident prayer to live with righteousness and truth before God.

At the beginning of this novena, it should be remembered, with truth and simplicity, that we do not worship the Virgin Mary: worship is due only to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We venerate Mary as the Mother of the Lord and our Mother, and we come to her intercession, which never stops in her, but leads us to Christ, our justice and our holiness. How much we ask in these nine days to love Jesus more: "do what He tells you" (John 2.5).

Essential data of the advocation

• Invocation: Mary, Mirror of Justice (Speculum iustitiae), of the Letany of the Virgin.
• Origin: ancient Marian invocation gathered in the Lauretana Letany; "justice" means holiness and righteousness, and Mary is the mirror that faithfully reflects the holiness of God.
• Feeling: Mary, full of grace, reflected as no one the holiness of Christ; to contemplate it is to see her Son reflected, and her intercession leads us to Him.
• Evangelical foundation: "Christ has made himself for us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1: 30); "we reflect the glory of the Lord as in a mirror" (2 Corinthians 3: 18).
• For whom: for those who wish to live with righteousness and truth, to examine their consciousness and to reflect in their life the holiness of Christ.

How to prepare to pray the novena

The novena is a serene nine-day road. Before Mary, the Mirror of righteousness, we seek not a magic rite, but to prepare the heart to reflect the holiness of God. Choose a fixed place and one hour, turn off the noise and get ready with recollection. If possible, he accompanies prayer with an image of the Virgin, a candle on and the Holy Scripture open.

Pray without haste, letting the words burn deep. Each day it brings a concrete intention: for those who seek truth and justice, for your family, for the sick and for the whole Church. Remember that asking for Mary's intercession is asking her, the first believer, to pray for us before her Son; therefore every plea ends in Christ. The devotion of the Mirror of Justice invites us to look with truth to look more and more like Christ.

If you can, join the novena in confession and communion. Thus devotion is not left in feeling, but is fruitful in Christian life: faith, hope and charity. Mary, the Mirror of righteousness, seeks not fans, but disciples of her Son.

Proposed order for each day

1. Sign of the cross and a brief silence to be put in the presence of God.
2. Initial prayer for every day.
3. Invocation to the Holy Spirit.
4. Reading of the historical memory of the day.
5. Meditation of the day.
6. A paused reading of the suggested Word of God.
7. Formulation of the specific purpose of the day.
8. Prayer of the day to Mary, Mirror of justice.
9. A Godfather, an Avemaría and a Glory, and the final Hail.

Opening prayer for every day

Our God and Father, holy and source of all holiness, which you made the Virgin Mary the limpid mirror of your righteousness, look with goodness to those who welcome us to this vocation. Grant us, through your intercession, to reflect in our life the holiness of your Son and to grow in faith, hope and charity. May these nine days prepare us to live with righteousness and truth before you. By Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Invocation to the Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, and fill the heart of your faithful; light in us the fire of your love. You who covered the Virgin Mary with your shadow so that the Word would become flesh, alcanzans docility to hear the Word and strength to fulfill it. Teach us to pray as it is appropriate, guide our novena, and make that, with Mary, let us always say "be done in me according to your word" (Luke 1: 38). Amen.

Day One - Mirror of Justice

Historical report

The Christian tradition, seeking to express the holiness of Mary, called it "Mirror of righteousness," a blemish mirror that reflects the holiness of God; and the invocation passed to the Letany of the Virgin.

Meditation

A mirror has no light of its own: it reflects the one that receives, and the cleaner it is, the more faithfully it returns it. To call Mary "Mirror of righteousness" does not raise her on the side of Christ, but she confesses that her soul, the most limpid and full of grace, reflected the holiness of God as no other. He who looks at her sees her reflected in her Son. His whole dignity is a reflection of that of Christ, "our righteousness." To ask for his intercession is to ask for a clean soul that also reflects the holiness of God.

Suggested word of God

"Christ has made himself for us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1: 30).

Purpose

Today I will examine whether my life reflects Christ, and I will correct a trait that will unfold him.

Prayer of the day

Mary, the Mirror of righteousness, which you have reflected as no one the holiness of God, bring us a clean soul that reflects your Son. Pray for us. Amen.

Second Day - Christ, our righteousness

Historical report

St. Paul teaches that we are not justified by our own strength, but by grace: "Christ has been made righteousness for us." He is the righteous one who makes us righteous.

Meditation

The Church calls Mary "The Mirror of Justice" without forgetting that justice and holiness have its source in Christ. No one becomes good by his own effort without grace; it is God who, forgiving and transforming, makes us righteous. The holiness of Mary is also entirely the gift of God. To recognize this frees us from the pride of the one who thinks he is good for himself and opens us to mercy. To ask for the intercession of Mary is to ask that he take us to Christ, the only one who can make us just.

Suggested word of God

"The righteous shall live by faith" (Romans 1: 17).

Purpose

I will recognize today with humility that all good in me comes from God, and I will give him thanks.

Prayer of the day

Mary, the Mirror of righteousness, take us to Christ, our righteousness. Let us not glorify ourselves, but the grace that makes us righteous. Pray for us. Amen.

Third day - Clean mirror, no stain

Historical report

The book of Wisdom says that wisdom is "a spotless mirror of God's activity and the image of his goodness" (Wisdom 7,26). The tradition applied this image of a pure mirror to Mary.

Meditation

A foggy or dirty mirror returns a deformed image. Sin soaks the soul and prevents it from reflecting God. Mary, preserved from every stain and filled with grace, was the cleanest mirror of creation, and therefore she reflected God without distortion. Our soul is also called to be a mirror of God, and for this it needs the cleansing that gives grace and conversion. The cleaner the heart, the better it reflects Christ. To ask for Mary's intercession is to ask for the purity that allows us to reflect God.

Suggested word of God

"Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God" (Matthew 5: 8).

Purpose

Today I will clean a "stain" of my soul that deforms in me the image of God, coming if I can to confession.

Prayer of the day

Mary, Mirror of righteousness without blemish, raise us a clean heart that reflects God without shadow. Pray for us. Amen.

Fourth day - Look in the mirror

Historical report

James compares the one who hears the Word without fulfilling it with the one who looks in a mirror and, as he leaves, forgets what he was like (James 1,23-24). The Word of God and the example of the saints are a mirror of the soul.

Meditation

Mary, the Mirror of Justice, is also a mirror in which we can look at ourselves to see how we are to be. Contemplating his faith, humility and charity shows us the model of the disciple and discovers our own faults, not to discourage us, but to convert us. The daily consciousness test is to look in that mirror with truth, allowing itself to be corrected and driven towards good. Whoever never looks, doesn't fix. To ask for Mary's intercession is to ask for the humility of looking at us with truth and amending us.

Suggested word of God

"Do the Word and do not be content to hear it, deceiving yourselves" (James 1: 22).

Purpose

Today I will take a calm examination of my conscience, looking at me in the mirror of Christ and Mary.

Prayer of the day

Mary, the Mirror of righteousness, help us to look at us with truth and to correct what in us does not reflect your Son. Pray for us. Amen.

Fifth Day - Mary with the sick

Historical report

In disease, many souls in an admirable way reflect the patience and faith of Christ. To Mary, the Mirror of Justice, come the sick seeking strength and comfort.

Meditation

At the wedding of Cana, Mary warns the need and goes to her Son: "they have no wine." Thus he intercedes for the sick: he presents to Christ our shortcomings and refers us to Him, "do as He tells you." It is not she who heals, but her Son; but her intercession of Mother reaches out to the sick the strength to carry the cross and the grace to reflect, in the test, the patience and the trust of Christ, even when health does not come as we wish.

Suggested word of God

"Jesus' mother said to him," They have no wine "(John 2,3).

Purpose

I will pray today for a specific patient and, if I may, I will make a visit, a call or a gesture of closeness.

Prayer of the day

Mary, the Mirror of righteousness and comfort of the afflicted, brings to your Son the cry of the sick and of those who care for them. Alcanzal relief, patience and peace. May on the cross we recognize the love of Christ, true health. Amen.

Sixth Day - Justice, Christian virtue

Historical report

Justice is also one of the virtues: to give each one what is due to him, and first to God the worship and love he deserves. The prophets cried unabated for justice with the poor and the weak.

Meditation

Reflecting God's "justice" is not just an inner thing: it translates into acting straight, performing duties, being honored, respecting the rights of others and defending the one who cannot defend himself. Faith without justice would be empty; it cannot honor God who is unjust to his neighbor. Mary, in the Magnificat, sings to God that "exalts the humble" and does justice to the poor. To ask for the intercession of the Mirror of righteousness is to ask a right heart to give to God and to others what is due to them.

Suggested word of God

"Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" (Matthew 6: 33).

Purpose

I will be just today in something concrete: doing a duty, being honest or defending the one who needs it.

Prayer of the day

Mary, the Mirror of righteousness, give us a right heart to give to God the worship due and to the neighbor what is just to him. Pray for us. Amen.

Day 7 - Coronade Queen and Mother

Historical report

The Church will venerate Mary as Queen, crowned in heaven with her Son. A pure mirror on earth, now reigns in glory, where it reflects forever the holiness of God and intercedes for his children.

Meditation

Mary is Queen because she is Mother of the King, and her royalty is service, like that of her Son, who "did not come to be served, but to serve." His reflected holiness is not a reason for distance, but for hope: what God did in it, he wants to do, in his measure, in all his children. To contemplate the Queen from heaven is to wish to resemble her by reflecting Christ. To honor Mary Queen is to ask for the grace to reflect in our life, even if it is imperfectly, the holiness that shines in her.

Suggested word of God

"We will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is" (1 John 3.2).

Purpose

Today I will practice an act of humble service, wishing to reflect in it the charity of Christ.

Prayer of the day

Mary, the Mirror of righteousness and the crowned Queen, who forever reflects the holiness of God, intercede for us before Christ, King of the universe, that one day we may see and be similar to him. Amen.

Eighth Day - Reflecting Christ at home

Historical report

In Nazareth, the simple life of the Holy Family reflected the holiness of God. There "Jesus grew in wisdom, in height and in grace before God and men" (Luke 2: 52).

Meditation

Parents are the first mirror in which children see faith reflected: they learn to pray, to forgive and to love by seeing how they live at home. A Christian home reflects Christ when truth, justice, forgiveness and charity reign in him. When, on the other hand, lies or injustice are lived, the mirror is soaked and the children receive a deformed image. Mary, the Mirror of Justice and Mother of the Home, helps families reflect Christ. To command the family is to ask for truthful and just homes, where you learn to look at God.

Suggested word of God

"He went down with them to Nazareth and continued under his authority... and Jesus grew in wisdom" (Luke 2,51-52).

Purpose

Today I will reflect Christ in my home with a gesture of truth, of justice or of forgiveness.

Prayer of the day

Mary, the Mirror of Justice and Mother of the Holy Family, make our homes reflect Christ. Alcanzus truth, justice and forgiveness; comfort those who live alone and bless our elders. May Christ be reflected in every family. Amen.

Day 9 - Sent to life

Historical report

After the novena, the faithful return to their daily life in order to reflect in it the holiness of Christ. St. Paul says that, considering the Lord, "we are transforming into his image" (2 Corinthians 3: 18).

Meditation

The novena is not the end, but the sending. Having considered Mary, the Mirror of righteousness, we are sent to be, in our turn, mirrors that reflect Christ in the world: with the truth, the righteousness and the charity of our life. Not with an apparent holiness, but with the cleansing of the heart that allows God to be transparent. Contemplating Christ we look like Him. Like Mary, the most pure mirror, we too, after the novena, return to life to reflect the Lord where he has put us.

Suggested word of God

"Reflecting the glory of the Lord, we are becoming his image" (2 Corinthians 3: 18).

Purpose

Today I will reflect Christ with a concrete gesture of truth or charity, and I will come, if I can, to the Eucharist.

Prayer of the day

Mary, the Mirror of Justice, send us renewed into the life of every day. That, looking at your Son, we become his image and reflect it in the world, until we see it face to face. Pray for us now and always. Amen.

Closing prayer

Mary, the Mirror of Justice, at the end of this novena we thank you for having accompanied us these nine days. You, who reflected the holiness of God as no one, always entrust us to your Son Jesus Christ, the only Savior and Lord, our righteousness and our holiness. Do not allow our devotion to remain in a passing feeling; make life of faith, hope and charity. Give us a clean heart that reflects Christ, the righteousness that gives each one his own, and the zeal for truth and justice; comfort the sick and keep our families. And when our way on earth is finished, show us, after this exile, Jesus, the blessed fruit of your womb. By Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Community requests

• For the Church and for the Pope, that they may reflect before the world the holiness of Christ. Let us pray to the Lord.
• For those who work for justice and truth, that the world may be ordered according to the right of God and of others. Let us pray to the Lord.
• For those who suffer injustice, for the poor and the helpless, that they may find defense and protection. Let us pray to the Lord.
• For the sick, that in the test they may reflect the patience and faith of Christ. Let us pray to the Lord.
• For families, so that their homes reflect truth, justice and forgiveness. Let us pray to the Lord.
• For our dead, that the Mirror of righteousness may present them before his Son and contemplate his glory. Let us pray to the Lord.

Novena prepared by the rezaelrosario.org team as original devotional material. The historical data are offered in accordance with the tradition and the Magisterium of the Church; devotion is addressed to God, and Mary is asked to intercession.