Introduction to Meditation

St. Augustine says, that in order to obtain more certainly and abundantly the favors of the saints, it is necessary to imitate them, for when they see us practising the virtues which they practised, then they are more moved to pray for us. The queen of saints, and our first advocate, Mary, after she has rescued a soul from the grasp of lucifer, and has united her to God, wishes her to begin to imitate her example, otherwise she will not be able to enrich her, as she would wish, with her graces, seeing her so opposed to her in conduct. Therefore Mary calls those blessed who diligently imitate her life; "Now, therefore, children, hear me ; blessed are they that keep my ways." 
(The Glories of Mary, St. Alphonsus Liguori)

Throughout this great novena to the Immaculate Conception, You will be guided by the words of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church. No writer, besides St. Bernard, extolled the virtues of the Virgin Mary as much as him, or proclaimed the value of his universal meditation to the same degree.

The meditations of the novena are taken from his book The Glories of Mary. We picked nine "Virtues of Mary", nine qualities to discover and apply to your life. With Mary, everything becomes simple if you want to be truthful. You also will be given a word of perspective each day to help you apply the virtues concretely on your daily life. 

May you explore them often, beyond the days of this great novena, to share and to proclaim the joy of the Virgin Mary.

(Translated from the words of Father F. Scheffer)

1st Virtue: Of the Humility of Mary

Humility, says St. Bernard, is the foundation and guardian of the virtues ; and with reason, for without humility a soul can possess no other virtue. Let her possess all the virtues, they will all depart when humility departs. [...] The first act of humility of heart is to have an humble opinion of ourselves; and Mary always thought so lowly of herself,  [...]  that although she saw so many more graces bestowed upon her than upon others, she preferred all others before herself. [...]  Mary, the more she saw herself enriched, the more humble she became, remembering that all was the gift of God   [...]  It is not to be doubted that for our nature, corrupted by sin, there is perhaps no virtue more difficult to practise than humility [...] It is a part of humility to save others. 

A Word of Perspective: Apply the Humility of Mary to Your Life

I am a creature of God, whom He loves endlessly. 

By acknowledging this love for me, I become more attentive to those who are close to me, I make myself available to them and share this love through charitable services. 

Prayer

"O Mary, most pure Virgin, Your Immaculate Heart must triumph. Watch over the innocent children, may they remain pure; assist young people, may they fight for their chastity and leave their hearts open to offer You their burning love. 

Guide the spouses called to live the holiness of conjugal love; let the priests and holy people stay  faithful to the celibacy they offered to Jesus for the Salvation of our Souls. 

Defend us against the prince of this world and his influence. Help us combat that which defaces the Humanity made in God's image, may we do so with the Rosary. 

Be the guardian of our inner lives, teach us to be mindful of our brothers and sisters, to always respect them and look at them through the light of Christ.

Amen."

(Translated from the French Children's Rosary prayer.)

Pray a decade, and repeat three times the following invocation: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you".