"Whoever would
practice this devotion in his honour would have, when approaching the
Holy Table, an escort of nine angels chosen from each of the nine
Choirs. In addition, for the daily recital of these nine salutations,
he promised his continual assistance and that all the holy angels
during life, and after death deliverance from Purgatory for
themselves and all their relations." - Antonia d'Astonac, on
behalf of Saint Mike
The Chaplet is begun by saying the
following invocation on the medal:
"O God, come to my
assistance!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
Glory Be...
The
Nine Salutations
I
"By the
intercession of St. Michael
and the Celestial choir of
Seraphim,
may the Lord make us worthy
to burn with the fire of
perfect charity.
Amen."
1 Our Father... and 3 Hail
Mary... in honour of the 1 st Choir of Angels.
II
"By the
intercession of St. Michael
and the Celestial choir of
Cherubim,
may the Lord vouchsafe to grant us grace
to leave the
ways of wickedness
and run in the paths of Christian
perfection.
Amen."
1 Our Father... and 3 Hail
Mary... in honour of the 2 nd Choir of Angels.
III
"By the
intercession of St. Michael
and the Celestial choir of
Thrones,
may the Lord infuse into our hearts
a true and sincere
spirit of humility.
Amen."
1 Our Father... and 3
Hail Mary... in honour of the 3 rd Choir of Angels.
IV
"By the
intercession of St. Michael
and the Celestial choir of
Dominions,
may the Lord give us grace
to govern our senses
and
subdue our unruly passions.
Amen."
1 Our Father...
and 3 Hail Mary... in honour of the 4 th Choir of Angels.
V
"By the
intercession of St. Michael
and the Celestial choir of Powers,
may
the Lord vouchsafe to protect our souls
against the snares and
temptations of the devil.
Amen."
1 Our Father...
and 3 Hail Mary... in honour of the 5 th Choir of Angels.
VI
"By the
intercession of St. Michael
and the Celestial choir of
Virtues,
may the Lord preserve us from evil,
an suffer us not
to fall into temptation.
Amen."
1 Our Father... and
3 Hail Mary... in honour of the 6 th Choir of Angels.
VII
"By the
intercession of St. Michael
and the Celestial choir of
Principalities,
may God fill our souls
with a true spirit of
obedience.
Amen."
1 Our Father... and 3 Hail
Mary... in honour of the 7 th Choir of Angels.
VIII
"By the
intercession of St. Michael
and the Celestial choir of
Archangels,
may the Lord give us perseverance in faith
and in
good works,
in order that we gain the glory of Paradise.
Amen."
1
Our Father... and 3 Hail Mary... in honour of the 8 th Choir of
Angels.
IX
"By the
intercession of St. Michael
and the Celestial choir of Angels,
may
the Lord grant us to be protected by them
in this mortal life
and
conducted hereafter to eternal glory.
Amen."
1 Our
Father... and 3 Hail Mary... in honour of the 9 th Choir of
Angels.
At the end, say 1 Our Father... on each of the 4
beads in honour of each of the following leading Angels: St. Michael,
St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, our Guardian Angel.
The Chaplet is
concluded with the following prayers:
"O glorious Prince
St. Michael, chief and commander of the heavenly hosts, guardian of
souls, vanquisher of rebel spirits,
servant in the house of the
Divine King, and our admirable conductor, thou who dost shine with
excellence and superhuman virtue, vouchsafe to deliver us from all
evil, who turn to thee with confidence, and enable us by thy gracious
protection to serve God more and more faithfully every day.
Amen."
V. Pray for us, O Glorious St. Michael, Prince of
the Church of Jesus Christ.
R. That we may be made worthy of His
Promises.
"Almighty and everlasting God, who by a prodigy
of Goodness and a merciful desire for the salvation of all men, has
appointed the most glorious Archangel St. Michael, Prince of Thy
Church, make us worthy, we beseech Thee, to be delivered by his
powerful protection from all our enemies, that none of them may
harass us at the hour of our death, but that we may be conducted by
him into the august presence of Thy Divine Majesty. This we beg
through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
Novena to Our Lady of the Chain
"In the year 1392,
while Martin I reigned over Sicily, three young men were condemned to
die on the gallows. While these young men were being conducted under
heavy guard to the square of the Marina, where the execution was to
take place, the Blessed Virgin Mary came to their assistance, either
to protect their innocence, or in answer to their fervent prayers.
Suddenly, the skies
darkened and a terrific storm broke out over the square. The people
who had gathered to witness the execution fled for shelter. The
guards and the prisoners found shelter in the Church of St. Mary of
the Port. The storm raged all day, and the execution had to be
postponed.
Precautions were taken
that the prisoners might not escape. Extra chains were fastened on
them and the doors of the Church were securely locked. That night,
the guards that were on duty fell asleep and the three young
condemned men found themselves at the foot of an Image of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. They prayed fervently for deliverance. While they were
praying, the chains mysteriously fell to the ground. The doors of the
Church opened by themselves, and they heard these words coming from
the Image of the Blessed Virgin: "Go, you are free, do not fear.
The Divine Infant Whom I hold in my arms, has heard your prayers and
has granted your freedom." The young men silently walked out of
the Church.
The guards awakened
from their sleep, not seeing their prisoners, sought them and,
finally, caught up with them. The prisoners would have been chained
again, had it not been for the people who interceded for them with
the King. The King having heard what had happened, granted them their
freedom, saying: The Blessed Virgin Mary has set them free, so will
I."
- Mongitore
O Blessed Lady of the
Chain, sweet hope, eternal comfort of those who with confidence call
upon you; prostrate at your feet, I profess my misery and
nothingness. You who are the Queen of Heaven and earth; the Mother of
Our Divine Saviour;
O you who are so powerful
before the throne of God, please, obtain for me this favour which I
need so much.
May the many favours and
graces which you obtain daily from Jesus for those who invoke you
under the title of Mother of the Chain, encourage me to have recourse
to you and present to your maternal heart all my afflictions. O
powerful Virgin,
break the chains of sin
which hold me fast. Destroy the snares of my spiritual and temporal
enemies, chain me close to you
and to Jesus with a lively
faith, a firm hope, and a burning charity.
Encircle me with your
chains and thus, unite me to your heart. United in such a way to you
and to Jesus, I will fear nothing.
There will be no doubt of
my eternal salvation, no fear of not being granted all the temporal
and spiritual blessings I need to lead a devout life.
Since I am in need of help
in this present affliction, O loving Mother, I have recourse to you
with childlike faith; and thus, I hope to obtain the favor I am now
asking.
[State your intentions
here.]
I am sure that you will
grant me my request with that same love with which you did grant the
request of the three prisoners.
I am confident you will
grant this favour through your merits and the merits of your Divine
Son and allow me to return soon
to render to you the
homage of my praises and grateful thanksgivings. Amen.
"Hail Holy
Queen..."
