Today is Day 1 of our Marian Novena of Giveaways.
Be sure to enter your name in the comments for a chance to win one of today’s great prizes!
Let’s bring our vocations to God and ask for the intercession of the Blessed Mother as we celebrate her birth.
Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O sacred Virgin;
give me strength against thine enemies,
and against the enemy of the whole human race.
Give me strength humbly to pray to thee.
Give me strength to praise thee in prayer with all my powers,
through the merits of thy most sacred nativity,
which for the entire Christian world was
a birth of joy, the hope and solace of its life.
When thou wast born, O most holy Virgin,
then was the world made light.
Happy is thy stock, holy thy root,
and blessed thy fruit, for thou alone as a virgin,
filled with the Holy Spirit,
didst merit to conceive thy God,
as a virgin to bear Thy God,
as a virgin to bring Him forth,
and after His birth to remain a virgin.
Have mercy therefore upon me a sinner,
and give me aid, O Lady, so that just as thy nativity,
glorious from the seed of Abraham,
sprung from the tribe of Juda,
illustrious from the stock of David,
didst announce joy to the entire world,
so may it fill me with true joy and cleanse me from every sin.
(mention your intentions)
Pray for me, O Virgin most prudent, that the gladsome joys of thy most helpful nativity may put a cloak over all my sins.
O holy Mother of God, flowering as the lily,
pray to thy sweet Son for me, a wretched sinner. Amen.
This novena was written by St. Anselm and is usually prayed for the nine days before the Nativity of Mary. [Source: Fish Eaters Forum]
Our sponsor today is Ave Maria Press.
Founded in 1865 at Notre Dame, Indiana, Ave Maria Press, a ministry of the Congregation of Holy Cross, is a Catholic publishing company that serves the spiritual and formative needs of the Church and its schools, institutions, and ministers; Christian individuals and families; and others seeking spiritual nourishment. In the tradition of Holy Cross, we are committed, as educators in the faith, to helping people know, love, and serve God and to spreading the gospel of Jesus through books and other resources.
Leave a comment today and you will be entered to win one of these great books from Ave Maria Press:
Mary: A History of Doctrine and Devotion
Author: Hilda Graef
Author: Thomas A. Thompson, S.M.
A New Edition of a Spiritual Classic
Author: Caryll Houselander
Living the Rosary: Finding Your Life in the Mysteries
Author: John Phalen, C.S.C.
Behold Your Mother: Priests Speak About Mary
Edited by: Stephen Rossetti
Full of Grace: Miraculous Stories of Healing and Conversion through Mary’s Intercession
Author: Christine Watkins
Into the Heart of Mary: Imagining Her Scriptural Stories
Author: Rea McDonnell, S.S.N.D.
Hail Mary: A Marian Book of Hours
Author: William Storey
The Seven Sorrows of Mary: A Meditative Guide
Author: Joel Giallanza, C.S.C.
Leave a comment by MIDNIGHT PST and we’ll enter you to win one of these great Marian books! One entry per person, please.
Remember to join us tomorrow and for the rest of our Marian Novena of Giveaways!
Editor’s Note: Thank you for your support of our special Novena and for your participation in all of the contests! We had a terrific response and appreciate your visits to the donors’ websites. I would like to give a huge vote of thanks to Sarah Reinhard for organizing this colossal effort. Winners will be notified via email this week. Thanks to all who participated! LMH
39 Comments
Please enter me! My email is thiswomansplace at gmail dot com . Thanks for this great giveaway!
This is a wonderful contest! Please enter my name.
Please enter my name.
What a great giveaway! I’m excited for this week. I am convert to the church from a Protestant denomination and for many years suffered from what my friend calls “the Mary Phobia”. Over the years that phobia has gone away as I’ve learned to fully love our Mother. Thanks for sharing this beautiful novena!
A lovely collection of books to match the lovely prayer.
Thank you for such awesome giveaways! My email is [email protected]! Bless you and bless Mother Mary!
Wow! What a great selection. Count me in.
Any of these would be awesome!
What a wonderful selection. Please enter my name in the giveaway. Thank you,
Esther
lenahan @ zoomtown dot com
Please enter me! The books sound like wonderful books!
Oh! I don’t think I’ve come across this prayer from St. Anselm before. Neat! Great books, too!
What a great giveaway series! I’ll happily pray along with you 🙂 Never heard of this particular prayer but it is beautiful.
Happy Birthday Mary! Please enter me in the contest. Thank you Ave Maria Press for your generosity!
Birthday wishes from Mary to another! As the Mom of seven I find it a challenge to find “me” time, but I would love to have a great book to read.
What a special prayer.
Please enter me in the giveaway. These books look like wonderful prizes!
Enter me in the giveaway too! Would LOVE one of those great books!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mary!
What a wonderful contest! May the Blessed Mother bless us all!
Blessed art Thou among women!! Happy Birthday, dear Lady!
What a great idea for a giveaway to celebrate the birthday of the Blessed Mother!! Please enter my name 🙂
I would love to win! Happy birthday, Mama!
Happy Birthday Mary!
HBD. Mom
Happy Birthday, Blessed Mother!
So thankful for this novena! Happy Birthday to Our Lady!
Happy Birthday, O Most Beautiful Flower of the Earth!
I would love one of these books!
Happy Birthday Mother Mary! Thank you to AVP for the contest!
How marvelous a novena. Thank you for posting it so that we may pray along.
I would love one of these books!
Uniting in prayer to our Lady is a beautiful and fruitful thing to do. Thank you for the opportunity.
Happy Birthday, Mama! We love you very much!!!
Thank you for the novena and the giveaway. Happy birthday, Mary.
Thank you for having this giveaway. 🙂
Celebrating Mary with this novena. Thanks for posting it.
Please enter my name- Thanks for another chance at such great Catholic products!
Hi! I’m rebecca doolin from southern IL and a Religion/Theology major and hope to write easy to understand books on the deeper subjects of our Faith! Triune.protected @ yahoo dot com
This is a lovely give away and I hope its a huge blessing to whoever wins!
Please enter me… What a great way to celebrate Mary’s birthday!
Please enter me! God Bless!
Would love to have any of these amazing books! Thanks for the opportunity & God bless!!!
Please enter me to win any one of these fabulous books! Thank you and God bless!