Act of Contrition and Opening Prayer
Little do we realize the dangers and perils that attend us every moment! Seldom we reckon the pitfalls that beset our path! We hurry along life's way, little mindful of our perilous journey.
The physical charms that we avoid, the accidents that we escape, the threatened menaces that we evade, these are so many occasions that we ought to use to thank the good God for His loving Providence.
What is true of the physical realm is much more true of the spiritual. We are so often on the brink of eternal damnation and we suddenly find ourselves back in the grace of God. We gradually expose ourselves to danger so that the peril is much more poisonous because of its seeming harmlessness. We drift along, regardless of the warning signals that are everywhere in evidence. We have eyes to see and we see not. It is a sad commentary on human weakness and our native blindness.
The spiritual realm is the battleground wherein our eternal destiny is being shaped. It is the field of conflict where eternal stakes are being fought for. It is the war front where everlasting rewards are being won and lost.
The spiritual conflicts that we must meet, that we cannot avoid, these conflicts of the soul make it imperative that we recognize the dangers ahead. Half the battle is won by knowing the position of the enemy.
It is certain that the Blessed Mother can and will help us in the threatened dangers that are everywhere about us. It is certain that the purest Virgin will be our guide in those lurking dens of impurity, injustice and unbelief that tend to besmirch the scenes of this life of ours. It is certain that the Virgin Mother of God will show tender and powerful aid to us, if only we ask her assistance, if only we call upon her for the aid which she can procure from her Divine Son.
Reflection
Do you seek the protection and assistance of the Blessed Virgin Mother of God in our daily warfare with the powers of darkness?
Prayer
O Virgin of Carmel, Mary most holy, who has promised to be a shield to those that wear the scapular of Carmel, to defend them against all dangers of this world and the disturbances of the devil, proving this truth with so many and such powerful miracles, I beseech thee, O Mother, that thou mayest be my powerful defender in this life so that in all tribulations and afflictions, I may be found secure, from all temptations I may emerge with victory, receiving always thy special assistance to obtain this reward.
Here recite three AVES for the special intention you have in making this novena.
Concluding Prayers