NOVENA TO THE OUR LADY OF

MIRACULOUS MEDAL

Institutional Identity and Values Formation

Office

2023

INTRODUCTION
Since it was struck on the command of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Saint
Catherine Laboure, the Miraculous Medal has touched the lives of
millions of Catholics for centuries. Thousands of testimonies of good
fortune, healings and even spiritual conversions were recorded and
shared by those who have worn this medallion. In the Philippine
Women’s College of Davao, praying the efficacious novena to the Our
Lady of Miraculous Medal has been a tradition for 70 years, and it has
become an integral part in forming and imparting to the students and
alumni the love for God, country and family.

As the school is celebrating to the 70 th anniversary of its foundation, it is

fitting for the Office to revise the Novena in order to adapt to the present
needs and to the inclusive, multicultural environment of the students
while at the same time remain true and loyal to the tradition upheld by
our forefathers and alumni and to the prayers recited by the devotees at
the Chapel of the Apparitions at Rue du Bac, Paris, France. We hope
that this revised form of the Novena would help us deepen our intimate
relationship with the Risen Lord and help us overcome all the challenges
we face.

The Office of Institutional Identity and Values Formation

27 September 2023
Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, Priest

COMMUNITY NOVENA IN HONOR OF OUR LADY OF

MIRACULOUS MEDAL

Opening Hymn
Commentator: Please stand as we sing the opening hymn.

Immaculate Mother
(Traditional)

Immaculate Mother, to you do we plead,

To ask God, our Father, for help in our need.

Ref:
Ave, Ave, Ave Maria! Ave, Ave, Ave Maria!

We pray for our country, the land of our birth,

We pray for all nations that peace be on earth.

In grief and temptation, in joy and in pain,

We'll seek thee, our Mother, nor seek thee in vain.

We pray for our Mother, the Church upon earth,

And bless, sweetest lady, the land of our birth.

Leader: (+) In the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

(To be prayed in all days of the novena)

Leader: Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful, and kindle in
them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit, and they shall be
created.
People: And You shall renew the face of the earth.

Leader: Let us pray. O God, who did instruct the hearts of the faithful by
the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise
and ever to rejoice in His consolation, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord.

People: Amen.

NOVENA PRAYER TO THE OUR LADY OF MIRACULOUS

MEDAL
(To be prayed in all days of the novena)

All: O Immaculate Virgin Mary, * Mother of God and our Mother *with
the greatest confidence in your powerful intercession* so many times
manifested by means of your Medal* we humbly beg you to kindly
obtain for us* the graces that we ask of you with this novena.*

O Virgin of the Miraculous Medal* who appeared to Saint Catherine

Labouré* embracing with love the needs of the whole world* and of
each soul in particular* we put in your hands and we entrust our needs
and that of the Church and the world to your maternal Heart.

Deign to present them to your Divine Son* and grant them if it is in

accordance to the Divine Will* and are useful to our souls.*And, having
lifted up your suppliant hands to God* lower them upon us* and cover
us with rays of your graces* illuminating our minds and purifying our
hearts* so that, under your guidance,* one day we would arrive at
blessed eternity.* Amen.

READINGS

First Day (Mary, the Handmaid of the Lord)

Leader:
Our reading is taken from the Gospel according to Saint Luke:

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of
Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was
Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he
came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” But she
was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort
of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,
Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will
conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name
Jesus.

He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High;
and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

And Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I have no
husband?”

And the angel said to her,

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
therefore the child to be born* will be called holy,
the Son of God.

And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also
conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called
barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” And Mary said,
“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to
your word.” And the angel departed from her.

SUPPLICATIONS TO OUR LADY

Leader: Holy Mary,
All: Pray for us.
Leader: Holy Mary, conceived without sin.
All: Pray for us who have recourse to you.
Leader: Your little children call upon you.
All: Immaculate Mother, help us!

That we may remain faithful to the teachings (of) your Son, Jesus,
(Respond.)
That we will steadfastly hold on to Your Son’s promises of eternal life,
(R:)
That we will sanctify our lives every day and offer our labors to Him,
(R:)
That we may respond generously to God’s call in our daily life, (R:)
That we may grow in grace through constant prayer and frequent
participation in the Sacraments, (R:)
That we may respect our bodies as living temples of the Holy Spirit, (R:)
That we will be able to recognize Your Son, Jesus in others, (R:)
That we will be docile and loving to our parents and our elders, (R:)
That we will be attentive to our classes, and do diligently in our
academics, (R:)
That we will provide quality education that benefits all regardless of
their differences, (R:)
That we will become good examples to our children as parents, (R:)
That we will become obedient and patriotic as citizens of this country,
(R:)
That we will become responsible in taking care of the environment, our
common home, (R:)
That we will be able to work hand-in-hand with humanity for peace and
harmony in the world, (R:)
Leader: We offer our personal and communal intentions in the silence of
our hearts.
(a minute of silence)
All: We fly to your protection, O Holy Mother of God.
Do not despise our petitions in our necessities,
but deliver us always from all dangers,
O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE OUR LADY OF

MIRACULOUS MEDAL

All: O Mary conceived without sin, Mother of God and Mother of

humankind,
first disciple of Christ Jesus,
blessed are you among all women
and all generations proclaim you blessed.

Standing at the foot of the Cross, your Immaculate Heart

was pierced with pain like a sword,
because your heart is so closely united to the Heart of your Son.
There, Jesus gave you to us as our Mother,
and from that moment continues to guide the Church
from the time of the Apostles to the present.

Since an abundance of graces for the world springs from the Sacred
Heart of Jesus,
and passes through your hands, O Mary,
accept my entire being, use my body and soul,
and guide me in walking in the footsteps of Christ,
and make me receive the light and strength of the Holy Spirit each day.

Model of consecration to God, who Saint Catherine Labouré,

who had lost her mother in her childhood, chose as her Mother,
I also choose you as my Mother,
in order to consecrate myself to God our Father
according to the plan set forth by Jesus Christ.

Help me to be a true and faithful child of yours,

faithful to my baptismal commitment and fulfilling my Christian
vocation in my current state of life
so that the God of Love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
reigns in my heart and in all hearts.
To the Triune God be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Leader: O Mary, conceived without sin.

People: Pray for us who have recourse to you
(repeat 3 times)
Leader: St. Catherine Laboure
People: Pray for us.

Leader: You may now offer flowers at the feet of the Blessed Virgin.

(The closing song is sung)

MARY (Woman of Faith, Hope and Love)

(Sis. Narcisa Fernandez, fma)

Mary, woman of faith! Mary, help me believe! No one

so faithful as you, none yet my whole through, my
whole life through.

Mary, woman of hope! Mary, hope of the world! Oh,

Make my heart pure and free, hopeful as one can be, as
one can be.

Mary, woman of love! Mary, Mother of God! Beautiful

Lady are you. My loving mother, too, my mother, too.

Mary, gentle and true, my best counselor, too!

My inspiration in life, mystic of rare delight, of rare delight.

Mary, o Morning star! Mary, how great you are! No heart so

grateful as you, Lady, I’d follow you, I’d follow you!
 Mary, o full of grace! Mary, God’s masterpiece! Lead us to Jesus your
Son, lead us, o lead us to God alone.

Leader: In the name of the Father ( + ), and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit.
All: Amen.

SECOND DAY (Mary: Blessed Among Women)

Our reading is taken from the gospel according to Saint Luke:

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a
city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted
Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe
leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and
she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and
blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the
mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of
your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.
And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of
what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

THIRD DAY (Mary: Do Whatever He tells you)

Our reading is taken from the gospel according Saint John:

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother
of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the
wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him,
“They have no wine.” [And] Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your
concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the
servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars
there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty
gallons. Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them
to the brim. Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the
headwaiter.” So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water
that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although
the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the
bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then
when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the
good wine until now.” Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in
Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to
believe in him.

FOURTH DAY (Mary, Mother of the Church)

Our reading is taken from the gospel according to Saint John:

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister,
Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. 26 When Jesus saw his
mother[k] and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother,
“Woman, behold, your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold,
your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
FIFTH DAY (Mary, the Lady of the Pentecost)

Our reading is taken from the Acts of the Apostles:

When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were
staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas,
Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot,
and Judas son of James. All these devoted themselves with one accord to
prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and
his brothers.

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place
together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong
driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then
there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest
on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and
began to speak in different tongues as the Spirit enabled them to
proclaim.

SIXTH DAY (Mary: a new life in Christ)

Our reading is taken from the letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians:

In the same way we also, when we were not of age, were enslaved to the
elemental powers of the world. But when the fullness of time had come,
God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those
under the law, so that we might receive adoption. As proof that you are
children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out,
“Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child
then also an heir, through God.

SEVENTH DAY: (Mary, the Woman of the Apocalypse)

Our reading is taken from the Book of Revelation

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the
moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was
with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. Then
another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven
heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. Its tail swept
away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth.
Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour
her child when she gave birth. She gave birth to a son, a male child,
destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.[e] Her child was caught
up to God and his throne. The woman herself fled into the desert where
she had a place prepared by God, that there she might be taken care of
for twelve hundred and sixty days.

Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the
dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail
and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The huge dragon,
the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the
whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown
down with it.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have salvation and power come,

and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed.
For the accuser[j] of our brothers is cast out,
who accuses them before our God day and night.
They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
love for life did not deter them from death.
Therefore, rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them.
But woe to you, earth and sea,
for the Devil has come down to you in great fury,
for he knows he has but a short time.”

When the dragon saw that it had been thrown down to the earth, it
pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the
woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly
to her place in the desert, where, far from the serpent, she was taken care
of for a year, two years, and a half-year. The serpent however, spewed a
torrent of water out of his mouth after the woman to sweep her away
with the current. But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth
and swallowed the flood that the dragon spewed out of its mouth. Then
the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war
against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God’s commandments
and bear witness to Jesus. It took its position on the sand of the sea.

EIGHTH DAY (Mary: Gentle Woman)

Our reading is taken from Pope St. John Paul II’s encyclical
Redemptoris Mater:
This Marian dimension of Christian life takes on special importance in
relation to women and their status. In fact, femininity has a unique
relationship with the Mother of the Redeemer, a subject which can be
studied in greater depth elsewhere. Here I simply wish to note that the
figure of Mary of Nazareth sheds light on womanhood as such by the
very fact that God, in the sublime event of the Incarnation of his Son,
entrusted himself to the ministry, the free and active ministry of a
woman. It can thus be said that women, by looking to Mary, find in her
the secret of living their femininity with dignity and of achieving their
own true advancement. In the light of Mary, the Church sees in the face
of women the reflection of a beauty which mirrors the loftiest sentiments
of which the human heart is capable: the self-offering totality of love;
the strength that is capable of bearing the greatest sorrows; limitless
fidelity and tireless devotion to work; the ability to combine penetrating
intuition with words of support and encouragement.

NINTH DAY: (Mary, Star of Evangelization)

Our reading is taken from the encyclical Evangelli Gaudium by Pope

Francis:

There is a Marian “style” to the Church’s work of evangelization.

Whenever we look to Mary, we come to believe once again in the
revolutionary nature of love and tenderness. In her we see that humility
and tenderness are not virtues of the weak but of the strong who need
not treat others poorly in order to feel important themselves.
Contemplating Mary, we realize that she who praised God for “bringing
down the mighty from their thrones” and “sending the rich away empty”
(Lk 1:52-53) is also the one who brings a homely warmth to our pursuit
of justice. She is also the one who carefully keeps “all these things,
pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2:19). Mary is able to recognize the
traces of God’s Spirit in events great and small. She constantly
contemplates the mystery of God in our world, in human history and in
our daily lives. She is the woman of prayer and work in Nazareth, and
she is also Our Lady of Help, who sets out from her town “with haste”
(Lk 1:39) to be of service to others. This interplay of justice and
tenderness, of contemplation and concern for others, is what makes the
ecclesial community look to Mary as a model of evangelization. We
implore her maternal intercession that the Church may become a home
for many peoples, a mother for all peoples, and that the way may be
opened to the birth of a new world. It is the Risen Christ who tells us,
with a power that fills us with confidence and unshakeable hope:
“Behold, I make all things new” (Rev 21:5).