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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 4: Mary Consoler of the Afflicted
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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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In keeping with Christian piety through the ages, we present to the Blessed Virgin difficult individual situations, so that she may place them before her Son, asking that He alleviate and change them. But we also present to her social situations and the international crisis itself, in their worrying aspects of poverty, unemployment, shortage of food, the arms race, contempt for human rights, and situations or dangers of conflict, partial or total. In a filial spirit we wish to place all this before her "eyes of mercy," repeating once more with faith and hope the ancient antiphon: "Holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin."
Mary most holy, our Mother and Queen, is the one who turns to her Son and says: "They have no more wine" (Jn 2:3). She is also the one who praises God the Father, because "He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away" (Lk 1:52-53). Her maternal concern extends to the personal and social aspects of people's life on earth. (Encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, December 30, 1987, n. 49)
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Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, did not live in a peaceful, sheltered world. She was not rich, nor did she have any sort of powerful influence. How can we doubt her unceasing compassion for all the complex problems that affect our personal life and society as a whole? She is not preaching resignation, but a full trust in God, the kind of active trust that is the hallmark of faith. During his long pontificate, Saint John Paul II would always spend long hours in intimate prayer with Our Lady to seek solutions and remedies for all the suffering he saw emerging from all parts of the world.
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PRAYER TO MARY, MOTHER OF THE LIVING
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Hail Mary, Woman of sorrows,
Mother of the living!
Virgin spouse beneath the Cross, the new Eve,
Be our guide along the paths of the world.
Teach us to experience and to spread the love of Christ,
to stand with you before the innumerable crosses
on which your Son is still crucified.
(Saint John Paul II, 3rd paragraph of the concluding prayer of the Rosary, Lourdes, August 14, 2004)
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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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