Nine Days of Prayer
The Memorare Novena
Each day of this novena rests inside one phrase of the Memorare, the prayer that dares to remind Our Lady that no one who sought her help was ever left unaided.
Day 1: Remember
The prayer begins with holy boldness: we ask the Mother of God to remember. She has never once forgotten.
Mother Mary, remember me today. Remember my intention, my family, and every hope I am afraid to say aloud. I place them all in your remembering heart.
Conclude with the closing prayer below, then mark this day as prayed.
Day 2: Never Was It Known
Twenty centuries of the faithful stand behind this phrase. Not one who fled to her was left unaided.
Mother Mary, I take my place in the long line of those who have run to you. Let my story become one more proof that no one seeks your help in vain.
Conclude with the closing prayer below, then mark this day as prayed.
Day 3: Fled to Thy Protection
We do not stroll to Mary. We flee to her, the way a child runs home in a storm.
Mother Mary, I run to you today with everything I carry. Wrap your mantle around my intention and around everyone I love.
Conclude with the closing prayer below, then mark this day as prayed.
Day 4: Implored Thy Help
To implore is to ask with the whole heart, holding nothing in reserve.
Mother Mary, I implore your help without pretending to be stronger than I am. You see my need exactly as it is. Help me, Mother.
Conclude with the closing prayer below, then mark this day as prayed.
Day 5: Sought Thy Intercession
At Cana she noticed the need before anyone asked, and her Son changed water into wine at her word.
Mother Mary, speak to Jesus about my intention the way you spoke to Him at Cana. Whatever He says to me, I will do.
Conclude with the closing prayer below, then mark this day as prayed.
Day 6: Inspired by This Confidence
Confidence is the atmosphere of this whole prayer. We come not wondering whether she will help, but certain that she will.
Mother Mary, grow my confidence until it matches your goodness. Let me pray these last days not as a beggar at a stranger's door, but as a child in my mother's house.
Conclude with the closing prayer below, then mark this day as prayed.
Day 7: To Thee Do I Come
Before thee I stand: prayer is not only words but presence, simply standing before her, sinful and sorrowful, and staying.
Mother Mary, today I simply come and stand before you. Look at me with the eyes that looked at Jesus, and let that look be my healing.
Conclude with the closing prayer below, then mark this day as prayed.
Day 8: Despise Not My Petitions
No intention is too small, too tangled, or too late for her. She despises nothing brought to her in love.
Mother Mary, receive even the petitions I am embarrassed to pray, the old ones, the repeated ones, the ones that seem too ordinary for heaven. Despise none of them.
Conclude with the closing prayer below, then mark this day as prayed.
Day 9: Hear and Answer Me
The Memorare does not end with maybe. In thy mercy, hear and answer me: the confidence of a child who knows she is loved.
Mother Mary, I finish these nine days in your arms. In your mercy, hear and answer me, and let my thanksgiving, offered now in advance, be the first word of my testimony.
Conclude with the closing prayer below, then mark this day as prayed.
Your progress is remembered on this device. If you miss a day, simply continue: heaven counts the heart, not the calendar.
Nine days completed
You have finished this novena. Whether the answer has arrived or is still on its way, your devotion has gone before the miracle. When the favor comes, keep the tradition: tell of it, so that others in need will know where to turn.
The Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.