Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help

The Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help is a booklet containing a set of prayers including the

The present booklet was mainly co-authored by the

In the United States, a 9-day televised novena is hosted at the Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help hosted by CatholicTV. The icon featured on the show does not bear its canonical crown.

History

The earliest existing novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help was a booklet already in its third edition, and was published by the

In the United States, the first novena prayers were compiled by Reverend Joseph Chapoton, the Vice-provincial of Portland, Oregon.^[4] After his death in 1925, the laity added more prayers and hymns into the booklet.^[5]

This perhaps was the main reason why for many years, there was no set of novena prayers designated for Perpetual Help. By research within the United States, numerous texts vary from the Perpetual Help novena used in Redemptorist centers in Portland,

The novena was originally designed for exclusive recitation by the presiding priest. After the

The specific acts of Benediction and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament during the novena service, however, remain the exclusive domain of the presiding priest.

Revision

During the pontificate of Pope Paul VI, a foreword on the indulgences for the novena was attached, including instructions citing the Sacrosanctum Concilium (#13) to:

• Assist during Mass for collections, lector and laity recitation of the Novena within parishes.
• Permission to recite the novena in private, in cases of dire sickness or illness before the image.
• Writing a letter of thanksgiving in honour of Our Mother of Perpetual Help
• Dropping the letter of thanksgiving or petition in its designated box provided by the parish.
• Attaching the Benediction and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, per citation of the Mediator Dei, part II, chapter IV^[6]

From the original 1927 Portland version, several common Marian hymns were included. After

• "That we may never grow so proud as to think we can do without God or religion"
• "That we may practise self-denial and penance this Lent"
• The Magnificat prayer

Imprimatur

On 17 May 1866,

The Bishop of Madrid, José María Cos y Macho, granted his Imprimatur on the earliest compiled novena booklets in 1899,[8] followed by a re-print in 1902, 1917, 1927, 1935 etc.

An ordinary local permission to print the text was obtained via the vice-provincial of Portland, Oregon, Reverend Joseph Chapoton. To date, various texts were re-printed for private devotional use.

The

• Immaculate Mother (hymn tune: the Pyrenean Immaculate Mary)
• Introductory prayers (optional recitation of letters of petition and thanksgiving)
• Mary Immaculate, Star of the Morning (hymn)
• Novena prayers
• Prayer for the Home
• Petitions to Our Mother of Perpetual Help
• Consecration to Our Mother of Perpetual Help (every First Wednesday of the month)
• Mother of Christ (hymn) followed by Benediction or Holy Mass
• O Saving Victim (hymn tune:
  O Salutaris Hostia
  )†
• Thanksgiving Prayer
• Prayer for the Sick
• Tantum Ergo
  )†
• Divine Praises
• O Sacrament Most Holy (sung or recited)
• Ave Maria
  )

† In some communities, Salutaris Hostia and Tantum Ergo are sung in the original Latin.

Ejaculatory prayers for courtship, against temptations, financial help, and the Memorare are also often added to the set of prayers.

See also

• Our Mother of Perpetual Help
• Novena
• Baclaran Church

References