Latvia · admirable mother
Nine days of prayer with Mary, an admirable Mother, in whom God did wonders, to praise her works and to imitate her virtues.
Lethania de la Virgen · Mater admirabilis
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, Mother admirable
"Mother admirable" (Mater admirabilis) is one of the invocation of the Letany of the Virgin. The Church calls Mary admirable because in her God did wonders: she chose her Mother of her Son, filled her with grace and associated her with the work of salvation in a unique way. She herself recognized that "the Mighty has done wonders for me" (Luke 1: 49). To contemplate the admirable Mother is not to remain in admiration, but to be taken from her to the praise of God, who does great things in the humble, and to the desire to imitate his virtues. We do not worship her: we worship in her the admirable work of God and we come to her intercession, which leads us to Christ. This novena is a confident prayer to admire and praise the wonders of God, and to allow us to be transformed by His grace.
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. 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, admirable Mother (Mater admirabilis), of the Letany of the Virgin.
- Origin: The invocation of the Lauretana Letany that praises the wonders of God in Mary; tradition has also joined it with the venerated Roman fresco of the "Mater Admirabilis."
- Feeling: Mary is admirable by the work of God in her: Mother of the Word, full of grace; admiration leads to praising God and imitating his virtues.
- Evangelical foundation: "The Mighty has done wonders for me: His name is holy" (Luke 1: 49); "I will be congratulated by all generations" (Luke 1: 48).
- For whom: for those who wish to praise the wonders of God, to be transformed by his grace and to imitate the virtues of Mary.
How to prepare to pray the novena
The novena is a serene nine-day road. Before Mary, an admirable Mother, we are not looking for a magic rite, but willing the heart to admire and praise the wonders 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 have lost the ability to admire and thank, 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 admirable Mother teaches us that true admiration is not left in Mary, but that it rises to God and translates into imitation.
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, an admirable Mother, does not seek idle fans, but disciples of her Son.
Proposed order for each day
- Sign of the cross and a brief silence to be put in the presence of God.
- Initial prayer for every day.
- Invocation to the Holy Spirit.
- Reading of the historical memory of the day.
- Meditation of the day.
- A paused reading of the suggested Word of God.
- Formulation of the specific purpose of the day.
- Prayer of the day to Mary, admirable Mother.
- A Godfather, an Avemaría and a Glory, and the final Hail.
Opening prayer for every day
God and our Father, who did wonders in the Virgin Mary, making her the Mother of your Son, look with goodness to those who welcome us to this advocation. Grant us, by their intercession, to admire and praise your works, to allow us to transform by your grace and to imitate the virtues of Mary, and to grow in faith, hope and charity. May these nine days prepare us to recognize your wonders in our lives. 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 and worked in it your wonder, alcanzus eyes to recognize your works and heart to praise you and imitate the admirable Mother. Guide our novena and make it, with Mary, always say "be done in me according to your word" (Luke 1: 38). Amen.
First day - admirable mother
Historical report
The Church calls Mary "an admirable mother" because in her God did wonders: she chose her Mother of her Son and filled her with grace. The invocation passed to the Letany of the Virgin as a song of grateful admiration.
Meditation
To admire is to recognize, with astonishment, something great and beautiful. Mary is admirable, but not by herself, but by what God did in her: a humble girl of Nazareth turned into the Mother of God. She was the first to admire: "He has done wonders for me the Mighty." To call her admirable is not to allude her, but to praise God who did so. And true admiration does not remain in contemplation, but leads to imitating and giving thanks. To ask for his intercession is to ask for a heart that can admire and praise the works of God.
Suggested word of God
"The Mighty has done wonders for me: His name is holy" (Luke 1: 49).
Purpose
Hoy stops me admiring and thanking a work by Dios en mi vida o a mi alredidore.
Prayer of the day
Mary, an admirable Mother, in whom God did wonders, teach us to admire and praise her works. Pray for us. Amen.
Second Day - Christ, the greatest wonder of God
Historical report
The greatest work of God is the incarnation of his Son: "God so loved the world, that he gave to his only Son" (John 3: 16). In Mary, that wonder became flesh.
Meditation
The Church calls Mary "admirable Mother" without forgetting that the greatest wonder is Christ, and that all the greatness of Mary comes from being her Mother. To admire Mary is to admire the work of God that culminates in her: the Word made flesh for our salvation. If the works of creation marvel us, how much more the love of God who becomes man and dies for us. Christian admiration always flows into Christ. To ask for Mary's intercession is to ask that she take us to admire and love her Son, the wonder of God.
Suggested word of God
"God loved the world so much, that he gave up his only Son" (John 3: 16).
Purpose
Today I will look at Christ's love for me in a time of prayer before Him.
Prayer of the day
Mary, admirable Mother, take us to admire and love Christ, the greatest wonder of God's love. Pray for us. Amen.
Third Day - "He has done wonders in me"
Historical report
In the Magnificat, Mary recognizes the origin of her greatness: "she has done wonders for me the Mighty One; her name is holy." Nothing is attributed to itself: everything refers to God.
Meditation
Mary's admiration for herself is actually praise to God. He does not become the Mother of the Lord, but recognizes that everything is grace and gives glory to God. It teaches us true humility: to truly recognize the good that is in us, knowing that it is a gift of God, without pride or false modesty. Each one can say, in his measure, "he has done wonders in me": life, faith, love received. To ask for Mary's intercession is to ask for a humble and grateful heart that assigns good to God.
Suggested word of God
"The Mighty One has done wonders for me; his name is holy" (Luke 1: 49).
Purpose
I will recognize today with humility a gift that God has put in me and I will thank him, putting him at his service.
Prayer of the day
Mary, an admirable Mother, who attributed all your wonders to God, teach us the grateful humility that gives glory to God. Pray for us. Amen.
Fourth day - Divine motherhood, admirable mystery
Historical report
The Council of Ephesus (year 431) confessed to Mary "Mother of God" (Theotokos), for he who was born of her is true God and true man. It is the foundation of all his titles.
Meditation
Divine motherhood is the wonder that makes Mary admirable: a creature becomes the Mother of its Creator. Not because he gave Christ his divinity - which he has had of the Father from eternity - but because of it he took humanity. This mystery, which reason is not enough to exhaust, full of astonishment: God wanted to need a mother. Contemplating it increases the veneration of Mary and, above all, the worship of Christ, God made man. To ask for the intercession of the Mother of God is to benefit her who brought the Saviour into her womb.
Suggested word of God
"Who am I to visit my Lord's mother?" (Luke 1: 43).
Purpose
I will worship Christ today, God made man, and I will honor Mary as the Mother of God with a slowly praying Avemaria.
Prayer of the day
Mary, Mother admirable and Mother of God, who you brought into your womb to the Saviour, bring us closer to the admirable mystery of your Son. Pray for us. Amen.
Fifth Day - Mary with the sick
Historical report
Also in weakness and disease works God wonders of grace, strength and peace. To Mary, Mother admirable, the sick come seeking comfort and hope.
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 the sick the strength to carry the cross. Sometimes the greatest wonder is not healing, but the peace and faith that God gives in the midst of pain, 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, an admirable Mother 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 — Admiring to Imitate
Historical report
Saint Augustine taught that we must admire the saints, but above all imitate them. The admiration of Mary, an admirable Mother, must not remain in feeling, but lead to imitating her virtues.
Meditation
It is easy to admire without imitating: to applaud holiness from afar without changing one's own life. But true devotion to the admirable Mother asks to take one more step: to imitate her faith, her humility, her charity, her obedience to God. God also works wonders in us, if we leave him: the greatest is to make a sinner a saint. To admire Mary is to be moved to be better, knowing that the same grace that made her admirable is offered to us. To ask for his intercession is to ask for a real imitation of his virtues.
Suggested word of God
"Be my imitators, as I am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11: 1).
Purpose
Today I will imitate a concrete virtue of Mary - humility, faith or charity - in a real situation.
Prayer of the day
Mary, admirable Mother, who seeks not idle fans but imitators of your Son, alcanzus imitate your virtues. 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. The coronation of the admirable Mother is the highest of the wonders that God worked in her, the first of the promised glory to the humble.
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 glorification is the culmination of God's wonders in it: the humble of Nazareth, crowned Queen of heaven. And that wonder is a promise to us: God wants to do great things in his children and to bring them to glory. Behold the admirable Queen full of hope. To honor Mary Queen is to praise God who exalts the humble and to trust that he will do wonders in us as well.
Suggested word of God
"Take down from the throne the powerful and raise the humble" (Luke 1: 52).
Purpose
I will praise God today for the wonders he works in the humble and will practice an act of humility.
Prayer of the day
Mary, admirable Mother and crowned Queen, in whom God worked his greatest wonder, increases our hope. Intercede for us before Christ, King of the universe. Amen.
8th Day - The wonders of God in the daily and at home
Historical report
In the hidden home of Nazareth, with no striking facts in the eyes of the world, the greatest wonder was done: God grew up as a child. There "Jesus grew in wisdom, in height and in grace" (Luke 2: 52).
Meditation
The greatest wonders of God are often silent and hidden, as in Nazareth. Also in our families and in everyday life God works wonders that only faith recognizes: a love that forgives, a fidelity that persevers, a faith that is transmitted, a life that is born. Today's culture admires the spectacular and despises the small; the admirable Mother teaches to discover God in the simple of the home. To entrust the family is to ask for eyes of faith to recognize and thank the wonders that God works every day at home.
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
I will discover and thank today a "little wonder" of God in my family or on my ordinary day.
Prayer of the day
Mary, admirable Mother and Mother of the Holy Family, give us eyes of faith to recognize the wonders of God in everyday life. Alcanzus gratitude and love; comfort those who live alone and bless our elders. May Christ grow up in every family. Amen.
Day 9 - Sent to life
Historical report
After the novena, the faithful return to their daily lives with a heart full of grateful admiration and the purpose of praising God and imitating the admirable Mother. All Christian life is praise for the wonders of God.
Meditation
The novena is not the end, but the sending. Having considered Mary, an admirable Mother, nine days, we are sent to live by admiring and praising the works of God, and to let Him also work in us his wonder: to make us saints. Not with a vain admiration that remains in words, but with a transformed life that imitates Mary's virtues. Like her, who proclaimed the wonders of God and lived them, we also, after the novena, return to life to praise God with voice and works.
Suggested word of God
"Count your wonders among the peoples" (Psalm 96,3).
Purpose
Today I will praise the wonders of God with a concrete work of imitation of Mary, and I will come, if I can, to the Eucharist.
Prayer of the day
Mary, admirable Mother, send us renewed into the life of every day. May we, admiring and praising the works of God, let Him do his wonder in us and imitate your virtues, until we see it in glory. Pray for us now and always. Amen.
Closing prayer
Mary, admirable Mother, at the end of this novena we thank you for having accompanied us these nine days. You, in whom God did his wonders, always entrust us to your Son Jesus Christ, the only Savior and Lord, the greatest wonder of God's love. Do not allow our devotion to remain in empty admiration; make the life of faith, hope and charity. Give us eyes to recognize the works of God, the heart to praise them and the will to imitate your virtues; comfort the sick and make our families a place of their daily wonders. 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 proclaim to the world the wonders of God's love. Let us pray to the Lord.
- For those who have lost the ability to admire and thank, to rediscover God's works in creation and in life. Let us pray to the Lord.
- Because we know how to imitate, and not just admire, the virtues of Mary and the saints. Let us pray to the Lord.
- For the sick, that they may recognize the wonder of God's grace and peace in the midst of pain. Let us pray to the Lord.
- For families, that they may discover the wonders of God in the daily life of their home. Let us pray to the Lord.
- For our dead, that the admirable Mother may present them before her Son and contemplate the wonders of God forever. 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.