Novena to Our Lady Help of Christians
Day 1. O most holy Mary, Help of Christians and Patroness of Australia, we have recourse to Thee in these troubled times, when forces hostile to Thy Son threaten our beloved land. Mother of God, hear our prayers and come to our assistance.
Hail Mary (3 times)
Glory be to the Father etc. (once)
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.
Day 2. O most holy Mary, Help of Christians and Patroness of Australia, who by thy Patronage, hast so often delivered Christians from the fierce assault of their enemies, defend us now, we beseech Thee, from the modern enemies of Thy Son, so that the Truth which makes me free may continue to live in a free Australia.
Hail Mary (3 times)
Glory be to the Father etc. (once)
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.
Day 3. O most holy Mary, Help of Christians and Patroness of Australia, who, by Thy powerful aid, hast vanquished so many heresies, help us we beseech Thee, to cling to our Faith against the modern attacks upon it. Mary Queen of Peace, restore the peace of Christ to the troubled world.
Hail Mary (3 times)
Glory be to the Father etc. (once)
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.
Day 4. O most holy Mary, Help of Christians and Patroness of Australia, by Thine own courage and fortitude, inspire to perseverance all those who, in our day, most suffer for their Faith. And through their sufferings, secure this grace so that we may also faithfully and fearlessly profess our Catholic Faith. Mary, Help of Christians, make us really Christians and preserve our land for Christianity.
Hail Mary (3 times)
Glory be to the Father etc. (once)
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.
Day 5. O Dear Mother Mary, Help of Christians and Patroness of Australia who, in the triumph of Pope Pius VII, showed thy powerful Patronage, take under thy protection the whole Church, and especially her supreme Head on earth, the Holy Father. Defend her evermore from the assaults of so many of her enemies, deliver her from temporal sufferings, and ever assist her so that the barque of St. Peter may triumph over the proud billows striving to submerge it. And, Mother of God, we beseech Thee, from those same enemies, secure our beloved Australia.
Hail Mary (3 times)
Glory be to the Father etc. (once)
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.
Day 6. O most holy Mary, Help of Christians and Patroness of Australia, take under Thy powerful protection the Bishops, priests and faithful of the Church. Where they must suffer, sustain their sufferings, and grant them perseverance. Intensify their spirit of perfect obedience to the Fatih and their fervent zeal for souls. Bless their labours and keep Australia for the Fatih.
Hail Mary (3 times)
Glory be to the Father etc. (once)
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.
Day 7. O Mary, Help of Christians and Patroness of Australia gracious and bountiful Mother, who with thy efficacious intercession has saved Christian people from plagues and other corporal scourges, help us and deliver us now from the pest of impiety and irreligion, which in many ways seeks to find entrance into our souls to turn us away from the Church and the practices of religion. We beseech Thee, watch over the good that they may persevere, strengthen the weak, and call to repentance poor sinners, that truth and the kingdom of Jesus Christ may triumph here in Australia, so that They glory and the number of the elect may be increased in Heaven.
Hail Mary (3 times)
Glory be to the Father etc. (once)
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.
Day 8. O Mary, Help of Christians and Patroness of Australia and pillar of the Church, we ask of thee to keep us firm in our holy Fatih and to preserve in us the liberty of the children of God. With the help of grace, we promised neither to soil nor to fetter our souls with sin. We promise to live and die in the bosom of the Catholic Fatih and beg thee to stem the Godless heresy that threatens our Fatih and our country’s freedom.
Hail Mary (3 times)
Glory be to the Father etc. (once)
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.
Day 9. Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians
O most holy Mary, immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and Patroness of Australia, Queen of all the world and Help of Christians graciously have regard we pray Thee, for the safety of our Nation. Once in a world at peace, we choose Thee as Patron. Now, when there is no peace, we beseech Thy powerful protection.
Mother of God, save us from the Godless.
Queen of all the world, reign in our land.
Help of Christians, help us now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Hail Mary (3 times)
Glory be to the Father etc. (once)
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.
Prayer for the Safety of Australia as a Christian Nation
Almighty God, we Thy people cry out in our affliction. Do not scorn us but for the glory of Thy name come to our rescue. Look mercifully upon us in our tribulation, and, though we have justly deserved punishment, turn away Thy wrath. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Mary, Help of Christians, bring succour and peace to Australia.
Prayer by Pope John Paul II at the closing of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia In Oceania
O Mary, Help of Christians, in our need, we turn to you with eyes of love, empty hands and longing hearts.
We look to you that we may see your Son, our Lord.
We lift our heads so that we may have the bread of life.
We open our hearts wide to receive the Prince of Peace.
Mother of the Church, your sons and daughters, thank you for your trusting word that echoes through the ages, rising from an empty soul made full of grace, prepared by God to welcome the Word to the world, that the world itself might be reborn.
The reign of God has dawned in you, a reign of grace and peace, love and justice, born from the depths of the Word made flesh.
The Church throughout the world joins you in praising Him, whose mercy is from age to age.
O Stella Maris, the light of every ocean and the mistress of the deep, guide the peoples of Oceania across all the dark and stormy seas so that they may reach the haven of peace and light prepared in Him who calmed the sea.
Keep all your children safe from harm, for the waves are high, and we are far from home.
As we set forth upon the oceans of the world, and cross the deserts of our time, show us, O Mary, the fruit of your womb, for without your Son, we are lost.
Pray that we will never fail on our life journey, that in heart and mind in word and deed, in days of turmoil and in days of calm, we will always look to Christ and say: “ Who is this that even the wind obey Him?”
Our Lady of Peace, in whom all storms grow still, pray at the dawn of the new millennium that the Church in Oceania will not cease to show forth the glorious face of your Son, full of grace and truth, so that God will reign in the hearts of the Pacific peoples, and they will find peace in the world’s true Saviour.
Plead for the Church in Oceania that she may have the strength to follow the way of Jesus Christ faithfully, to live fully the way of Jesus Christ, to tell courageously the truth of Jesus Christ.
O Help of Christians, protect us!
Bright Star of the sea, guide us!
Our Lady of Peace, pray for us!
Given in Rome at St. Peter’s, 22 November 2001
Twenty-fourth of my pontificate
John Paul II
Consecration of the Home to Mary Help of Christians
Most holy Virgin Mary, appointed by God to be the Help of Christians, we choose you as the Mother and protectress of our home.
We ask you to favour us with your powerful protection. Preserve our home from every danger, fire, flood, lightning, storm, earthquake, thieves, vandals, and every other danger.
Bless us, protect us, defend us, keep us as your own all the people who dwell in our homes: protect them from all accidents and misfortunes, but above all, obtain the most important grace of avoiding sin.
Mary Help of Christians pray for all those who live in this home which is consecrated to you for all time. Amen.
Act of Consecration to Mary Help of Christians
O Mary Help of Christians, Patroness of Australia, Mother of Mercy, Queen of Heaven and earth, refuge of sinners, we consecrate ourselves to your Immaculate Heart.
To you, we consecrate our country, our families, our hearts and souls, and all we have.
And so that this consecration may be truly effective and lasting, we renew today the promises of our Baptism and Confirmation; and we undertake to live as good Christians – faithful to God, the Church and the Holy Father. We desire to pray the Rosary, partake in the Holy Eucharist, attach special importance to the first Saturday of the month and to work for the conversion of sinners.
Furthermore, we promise, O most holy Virgin, that we will zealously spread devotion to you so that through our consecration to your Immaculate Heart and through your own intercession, the coming of the Kingdom of Christ in the world may be hastened. Amen.
Prayer to Mary, Help of Christians: Australia’s Patroness
Lord, you place deep in our hearts the love of Mary, Help of Christians. Through her prayers grant wisdom to our leaders and integrity to our Citizens. Under her protection, may Australia be granted harmony, justice and peace. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Help of Christians
Refrain
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Help of Christians, guard this land
From assault or inward stain:
Let it be what Christ has planned,
His new Eden where you reign.
Refrain
Teach us that in Christ your Son
Lies the wisdom to be free;
For the cross which we would shun
Is our tree of liberty.
Refrain
Should the pow’rs of hell arise
And our peace be trampled down
In that night of blood and lies
Show us still your twelve-starred crown.
Refrain
Take from us the coward heart,
Fleeting will, divided mind;
Give us sight to play our part
Though the world around is blind.
Refrain
Image of the risen life
Shining in eternity,
Glimmer through our earthly strife,
Draw us to your victory.
Refrain
Prayer Entrusting Australia to Mary Help of Christians
Woman, behold your Son! (Jn 19:26)
Leader:
We have celebrated the great jubilee of the birth of Christ.
we rejoice that the Virgin Mary has offered us, Jesus, anew,
the blessed fruit of her womb most pure,’
the Word made flesh, the world’s Redeemer.
We now hear his words on the cross more clearly, entrusting the apostle John and all of us to Mary, making her the Mother and help of all Christians.
All:
Mary, our Mother and our Help, through you, there shines the fullness of grace; you are the splendour which does not dim the light of Christ, for you exist in him and through him. Christ, our Saviour, entrusted the apostle John to you and, with him, the family of the Church and all people. Here, your children are gathered before you at the dawn of the new millennium. The Church today seeks refuge in your motherly help and trustingly begs your intercession as we face the challenges which lie hidden in the future.
Leader:
In this centenary year of Australian federation, we recall the dedication of our Nation to Mary Help of Christians by the first Australian provincial synod in 1844. Now we entrust to Mary the future that awaits us.
Today’s Australia is exhilarating yet full of contradictions. Humanity has instruments of unprecedented power: we can turn our country into a garden or reduce it to a pile of rubble. Humanity has the astounding capacity to intervene in the very well-springs of life: we can use this power with respect for every human being or succumb to the pride of science without limits. As never before, Australia stands at a crossroads.
All:
Therefore, O Mother, like the apostle John, we wish to take you into our home so that we may learn from you to become like your Son. We stand before you to entrust ourselves, the Church, and the Australian Nation to your maternal care. Plead for us with Jesus your dear Son that he may give us in abundance the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth which is the fountain of life. May the Spirit open our hearts to justice and love and guide the people of Australia to mutual understanding and a firm desire for peace and reconciliation.
Leader:
The Virgin Mary knows the sufferings and hopes of the Church and the world:
She comes to the aid of all her children in the daily trials which life brings to each one, interceding on their behalf that the darkness will not prevail over the light. All:
Mary, Help of Christians, we entrust to you all people, beginning with the weakest: the babies yet unborn, and those born into poverty and suffering, the young in search of meaning, the unemployed, and those suffering hunger and disease. We entrust to you all troubled families, the elderly with no one to help them, and all who are alone and without hope. To you, Dawn of Salvation, we commit our journey through the new millennium and the new century of our history in Australia so that, with your help, all people may know Christ, the light of the world and its only Saviour, who reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Leader: Mary, Help of Christians,
All: Pray for us.