NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE
FIFTH DAY
“We are all guilty! Penance is not done, and sin increases daily. Those who should come forward to do good are retained by fear. Evil is great. A moderate punishment serves only to irritate the spirits, because they view all things with human eyes. God could work a miracle to convert and change the aspect of the earth without chastisement. God will work a miracle; it will be a stroke of His mercy; but after the wicked shall have inebriated themselves with blood, the scourge shall arrive.
“What countries shall be preserved from such calamities? Where shall we go for refuge? I, in my turn, shall ask, What is the country that observes the commandments of God? What country is not influenced by human fear where the interest of the Church and the glory of God are at stake? (Ah, indeed! What country, what nation upon earth?) In behalf of my Superior and myself, I have often asked myself where we could go for refuge, had we the means for the journey and for our subsistence, on condition that no person were to know it? But I renounce these useless thoughts. We are very guilty! In consequence of this, it is necessary that a very great and terrible scourge should come to revive our faith, and to restore to us our very reason, which we have almost entirely lost.
“The Vicar of my Son will suffer a great deal, because for a while the Church will yield to large persecution, a time of darkness and the Church will witness a frightful crisis.
MEDITATION
The flood of thy tears at La Salette, O sorrowful Mother, ceased only with thy words, as the little shepherdess said. And it was noticed that thou didst weep more abundantly, while speaking of our greatest sins, i. e., blasphemy, profanation of the Lord's Day, violation of the laws of fast and abstinence, rebellion against God and His Church, indifference in regard to thy supernatural warnings, and ingratitude for thy gifts and thy love. Let thy tear-bedewed face always be before my eyes, that it may soften my heart, and impart to it the grace of a true repentance! And to prove that I am heartily sorry for my sins, I will, from this day, spare no effort to combat the great crimes with which thou didst reproach us in thy Apparition.
NOVENA PRAYER
In casting myself at thy feet, O loving Mother, to ask thee:
(here mention your request)
I cannot help remembering that thou earnest on the mountain of La Salette, first of all, to remind me of my Christian duties. Therefore, there is no surer way for me to have my petition granted, than to return to the friendship of Jesus, by a sincere confession, and to endeavor with my whole strength to overcome my besetting sin. O Virgin Reconciler of sinners, obtain for me this most precious of all graces, for, with it all the rest shall be added unto me. The numberless miracles obtained by those who invoke thee under the title of Our Lady of La Salette, fill my heart with hope that my petition shall prove as fortunate as those addressed to thee, by so many other suppliants. Vouchsafe, O Mother, during each day of my novena, to instill into my heart some of the teaching of thy merciful Apparition. Amen.
Prayer of reparation for insults and blasphemies
O Jesus, my Savior and Redeemer, Son of the living God, behold, we kneel before Thee and offer Thee our reparation; we would make amends for all the blasphemies uttered against Thy holy name, for all the injuries done to Thee in the Blessed Sacrament, for all the irreverence shown toward Thine immaculate Virgin Mother, for all the calumnies and slanders spoken against Thy spouse, the holy Catholic and Roman Church. O Jesus, who hast said: "If you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it to you", we pray and beseech Thee for all our brethren who are in danger of sin; shield them from every temptation to fall away from the true faith; save those who are even now standing on the brink of the abyss; to all of them give light and knowledge of the truth, courage and strength for the conflict with evil, perseverance in faith and active charity! For this do we pray, most merciful Jesus, in Thy name, unto God the Father, with whom Thou livest and reignest in the unity of the Holy Spirit world without end. Amen.
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