NOVENA

     I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope.  In me is all grace of the way and of the truth; in me is all hope of life and of virtue.  Come to me all that desire me and be filled with my fruits (Sirach 24:24-26).
     O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Grace, Hope of the world.
     Hear us, your children, who cry to you

                                    Let Us Pray
     O God, who by the marvelous protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary has strengthened us firmly in hope, grant we beseech You, that by persevering in prayer at her admonition, we may obtain the favors we devoutly implore.  Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer to Our Lady of Hope
    O Mary, my Mother, I kneel before you with heavy heart. The burden of my sins oppresses me.  The knowledge of my weakness discourages me.  I am beset by fears and temptations of every sort.  Yet I am so attached to the things of this world that instead of longing for Heaven I am filled with dread at the thought of death.
     O Mother of Mercy, have pity on me in my distress.  You are all-powerful with your Divine Son.  He can refuse no request of your Immaculate Heart.  Show yourself a true Mother to me by being my advocate before His throne.   O Refuge of Sinners and Hope of the Hopeless, to whom shall I turn if not you?
     Obtain for me, then, O Mother of Hope, the grace of true sorrow for my sins, the gift of perfect resignation to God's Holy Will, and the courage to take up my cross and follow Jesus.  Beg of His Sacred Heart the special favor that I ask in this novena.

(Make your request.)

     But above all I pray, O dearest Mother, that through your most powerful intercession my heart may be filled with Holy Hope, so that in life's darkest hour I may never fail to trust in God my Savior, but by walking in the way of His commandments I may merit to be united with Him, and with you in the eternal joys of Heaven. Amen.
     Mary, our Hope, have pity on us.
     Hope of the Hopeless, pray for us.

On January 17, 1871, Our Lady of Hope appeared in the French village of Pontmain.  There she reveales herself as the "Madonna of the Crucifix" and gave the world her message of "Hope through Prayer and the Cross."  The basilica built at Pontmain by the Oblates fo Mary Immaculate is one of the great French pilgrimage places, noted for its miracles of grace.