Prayer of St Alphonsus
No. 190. The Raccolta (1910).
MOTHER of GOD, most holy Mary, how often by my sins have I merited hell! Long ago, perhaps, judgment would have gone forth against my first mortal sin, hadst not thou in thy tender pity delayed the justice of GOD, and afterwards attracled me by thy sweetness to have confidence in thy prayers. And oh, how very often should I have fallen in the dangers which beset my steps hadst not thou, loving Mother that thou art, preserved me by the graces thou, by thy prayers, didst obtain for me. But oh, my Queen, what will thy pity and thy favours avail me, if after all I perish in the flames of hell? If there was once a time when I loved thee not, yet now, next to GOD, I love thee before all. Wherefore, henceforth and for ever, suffer me not to turn my back upon thee and upon my GOD, who through thee has granted me so many mercies. O Lady, most worthy of all love, let it not be that I, thy child, should be doomed to hate and to curse thee for ever in hell. Thou wilt surely never endure to see thy servant lost who loves thee. O Mary, say not that I evercan be lost! Yet lost I shall assuredly be if I abandon thee. But who could ever have the heart to leave thee? Who can ever forget thy love? No, it is impossible for that man to perish who faithfully recommends himself to thee, and has recourse to thee. Only leave me not, my Mother, in my own hands, or I am lost! Let me but cling to thee! Save me, my hope! save me from hell; or, rather, save me from sin, which alone can condemn me to hell. Ave Maria thrice.
Then the Salve Regina thrice
| SALVE Regina, Mater misericordiæ, vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus, exules filii Hevæ; at te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrymarum valle. Eia ergo, Advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte; et JESUM, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis ad hoc exilium ostende, O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria. | HAIL, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, Hail our Life, our Sweetness, and our Hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed Fruit of thy womb, JESUS, O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. |
Indulgences
i. 300 Days, once a day.
ii. Plenary, once a month. (Special Conditions: Confession, Communion, Prayer according to the Pope’s intention.)
Decrees of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences:
Pius VII. May 15, 1821.