7SORROWS
NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF SORROWS
O most blessed and afflicted Virgin, Queen of Martyrs! thou who didst stand unshrinking beneath the Cross beholding the agony of thy dying Son; through the sword of grief which pierced thee then, through the continual sufferings of thy life of sorrow, through the unutterable joy which now far more than repays thee for them, look down with a mother's pity and tenderness on me kneeling before thee to venerate thy sacred Sorrows and to lay my petition with child-like trust in the shrine of thy wounded heart. I beg of thee, O Mother, continually to plead for me with thy Son, and through the merits of His most sacred Passion and Death, together with thy own sufferings at the foot of the Cross, to touch His Sacred Heart who can refuse thee nothing, that I may surely obtain my request. To whom shall I fly in my wants and miseries, if not to thee, O Mother of Mercy, who having so deeply drunk of the chalice of thy Son, canst most pity and feel for us poor exiles, still doomed to sigh in this valley of tears. Offer to Jesus but one drop of His Precious Blood, but one pang of His Adorable Heart; remind Him that thou art our life, our sweetness, and our hope, and obtain what I ask through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
ACT OF REPARATION
O Most Blessed Virgin, Immaculate Mother of God, how deeply I grieve to think of the countless injuries and the ingratitude thou daily receivest from men. Among thine own children how many are there who are cold and indifferent to thee; who never honour or invoke thee, or seek thy care and intercession. And, for myself, I have numberless times forgotten thy benefits, and added to those sorrows and bitter pangs endured by thee at the foot of the Cross; causing the sword of agony again to pierce thy Immaculate Heart. O Most Merciful Mother, I should never dare to lift up my eyes to thee again, wert thou not the advocate and refuge of sinners. I come now to ask forgiveness at thy feet, and though I am the chief of sinners and most unworthy of the many graces I have received, I beseech thee O Virgin, more than martyr, obtain pardon for all my offences, negligences, and omissions. Grant me by thy powerful intercession steadily to amend my life, never to crucify my loving Saviour afresh, and to live henceforward in thy love and favour, bearing witness by my words and actions that I am thy devoted child. Vouchsafe, O Most Blessed Mother, to hear my prayer, and to accept this act of humble reparation to thy Sorrowful Heart; through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.