Day 9 — Pentecost: Mary and the Holy Spirit
Act of Contrition (for all days)
My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against You whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with Your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Amen.
Opening Prayer (for all days)
Most Holy Virgin Mary, "the Undoer of Knots," I offer you this novena asking for the following intentions: (here the favors desired are mentioned and remembered).
Biblical Reading
"All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus... And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:14 and 2:1-4).
Brief Reflection
The Father sends us the Holy Spirit at Pentecost so that we may obtain the strength needed to transmit his message. That strength is given to us especially in the sacrament of Confirmation together with its seven gifts, and also every time we ask for it humbly and confidently in prayer.
Prayer to Our Lady, the Undoer of Knots
Holy Mary, full of the presence of God, during the days of your life you accepted with all humility the will of the Father, and the Evil One was never able to entangle you with his confusions. Beside your Son, you interceded for our difficulties, and with all simplicity and patience, you gave us an example of how to untangle the threads of our lives. And by remaining forever as our Mother, you set in order and make clearer the bonds that unite us to the Lord.
Holy Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, you who with a maternal heart untie the knots that entangle our life, we ask you to free us from the bonds and confusions with which our enemy harasses us. By your grace, by your intercession, by your example, deliver us from every evil, our Lady, and untie the knots that prevent us from being united to God, so that, free from all confusion and error, we may find Him in all things, set our hearts on Him, and serve Him always in our brothers and sisters. Amen.
(One decade of the Holy Rosary is prayed: Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and Gloria).
Prayer of Consecration to Mary
My Lady and my Mother, Virgin Saint Mary, the Undoer of Knots; I find myself at your feet to consecrate myself to you. With filial affection I offer you today all that I am and all that I have: my eyes, to look at you; my ears, to listen to you; my voice, to sing your praises; my life, to serve you; my heart, to love you. Accept, my Mother, the offering I make and place me close to your Immaculate Heart. Since I am all yours, Mother of Mercy, the one who unties the knots that bind our poor heart, keep and protect me as your possession. Do not allow me to be seduced by the evil one, nor my heart to become entangled in his deceits. Teach me to accept the limits of my human condition, without forgetting that I can better myself with the help of grace, and to always thank God for my existence. Enlighten me so that I may not reject the Creator for the sake of creatures, nor stray from the path He has planned for me. Amen.