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Dear friend,
We are very happy to pray this novena to Saint John Paul II together with you.
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DAY 1: Mother of the Redeemer
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In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Hail Mary, Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of death.
Amen.
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WORDS OF SAINT JOHN PAUL II
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One of four seasonal liturgical Marian antiphons sung at the end of the daily Liturgy of the Hours, the Church invokes Mary thus:
Loving Mother of the Redeemer,
Gate of Heaven,
Star of the Sea,
assist your people who have fallen
yet strive to rise again.
To the wonderment of nature
you bore your Creator!
"To the wonderment of nature"! These words of the antiphon express that wonderment of faith which accompanies the mystery of Mary's divine motherhood. In a sense, it does so in the heart of the whole of creation, and, directly, in the heart of the whole People of God, in the heart of the Church. How wonderfully far God has gone, the Creator and Lord of all things, in the "revelation of Himself" to man! How clearly He has bridged all the spaces of that infinite "distance" which separates the Creator from the creature! If in Himself He remains ineffable and unsearchable, still more ineffable and unsearchable is He in the reality of the Incarnation of the Word, who became man through the Virgin of Nazareth. (Encyclical Redemptoris Mater, March 25, 1987, n. 51)
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Mother of the Redeemer: This seldom-used title had a great significance for Karol Wojtyla. From the very beginning of his pontificate, Pope John Paul II evoked Christ as the "Redeemer of man", the One who comes to save and redeem us. Mary is not only concerned with the Incarnation of the Son of God, she is also associated with His mission as Redeemer. We can even say that these two realities are one: the Word became flesh to save us, therefore, by receiving Jesus, the Virgin received the Redeemer. But at the same time she entered, with her whole being, into the mission of her Son. Mary leads us to a loving contemplation of the mystery of God made man. All aspects of those two lives are intertwined.
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PRAYER TO MARY, MOTHER OF THE REDEEMER
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Our Most Holy Mother,
in this hour of new evangelization,
pray to the Redeemer of man on our behalf;
that He may save us from the sin that enslaves us all;
and that He may unite us to the Church and to the shepherds who guide her,
by a bond of faithfulness.
Show your motherly love to the poor,
to those who suffer, and to those who seek the reign of your Son.
Support our efforts to build the continent of hope through solidarity.
in truth, justice and love.
(Saint John Paul II, Chile, April 4, 1987)
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Saint John Paul II, pray for us!
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To leave a prayer intention, please click here. A participant of the Rosary for the World will intercede specially for your intention to the Virgin Mary.
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If you have received this email from a friend and are not yet registered for the Novena, you can join by clicking here.
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