On December 8, 1942, Pope Pius XII announced that he had consecrated the Church and the human race to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Then in 1944 he established a feast in honour of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the universal Church. Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary had developed after the Virgin appeared to Saint John Eudes in 1644; he then began composing special prayers to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, following the example of the prayers and devotions offered at that time to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
On each of the nine days, do the following:
Mention your intention.
Pray the Magnificat (“My soul magnifies the Lord”).
Pray the Litany of Loreto (Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary).
Novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Immaculate Heart of Mary, full of goodness,
show us your love.
May the flame of your heart, O Mary, descend upon all people.
We love you so much.
Impress true love upon our hearts, so that we may always long for you.
Mary, gentle and humble of heart, remember us when we sin.
You know that all people are sinners.
Grant us, through your Immaculate Heart, health of soul. Grant that we may always see the goodness of your motherly heart, and may the flame of your heart guide us. Amen.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, filled with love for God and for mankind, and with compassion for sinners,
I consecrate myself to you.
I entrust the salvation of my soul into your hands.
May my heart always be united with yours, so that I may hate sin, love God and my neighbour,
and reach eternal life together with those I love.
Let me experience the kindness of your motherly heart and the power of your intercession with Jesus
during my life and at the hour of my death. Amen.
Kneeling at your sacred feet, O venerable Queen of Heaven,
I honour you with the deepest reverence.
I believe that you are the Daughter of the Eternal Father, the Mother of the Eternal Son, and the Spouse of the Holy Spirit,
full of grace, virtues and heavenly gifts.
You are the purest temple of the Most Holy Trinity.
You are the keeper and dispenser of divine mercy.
Your Immaculate Heart, overflowing with love, gentleness and tenderness, has earned you the name of Mother of Divine Mercy.
Therefore, in the midst of my sorrows and sufferings, I come before you with confidence, O loving Mother,
and I pray that you let me experience the love you have for us; obtain for me (mention your request),
if it is God’s will and for the good of my soul. Amen.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, Refuge of Sinners, I implore you, through the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the graces He poured out upon you from the moment of your conception,
obtain for me the grace never to go astray again.
O my Mother, keep me, a sinner, always clothed in the light of your Immaculate Heart. Amen.
Consecration of Families to the Immaculate Heart of Mary:
O Virgin Mary, today we consecrate to your Immaculate Heart this home and all who live in it. Make it, like the house of Nazareth, a dwelling of peace and quiet happiness, through fulfilling God’s holy will, practising charity and complete abandonment to divine Providence. Watch over all who live here and help them to live a truly Christian life. Surround them all with your motherly protection, and in your tenderness deign to renew in heaven this earthly home of ours, consecrated forever to your Immaculate Heart. Amen.
Another Prayer of Consecration of Families to the Immaculate Heart of Mary:
Holy Virgin Mary, of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart, we choose you as Queen and Lady of this home.
We beseech you to be pleased to show your powerful protection over this home. Keep it from every misfortune, whether fire, flood, destruction, storm, earthquake, thieves, evildoers, war or evil spirits, and protect it from every disaster that might befall it.
Bless, protect, defend and keep as your own treasure all the people who live and will live in this home. Protect them from all dangers and curses, but above all grant them the grace to avoid sin, and may not a single mortal sin ever be committed in this home. May all who live here work for the glory of the Lord and the spreading of the reign of your divine Son, the reign you are to help spread and in which you let us share, O good Mother.
May this home be consecrated to you forever, Jesus and Mary, and may it and all who live in it be blessed.
Amen.
