Marian Devotions Through the Year: November

November enters with pomp and glory by celebrating the feast of All Saints of whom Mary is the august Queen. The next day, however, quickly turns to another group of the departed—those still suffering in Purgatory. Specific indulgences are granted for praying a nine day novena for the Holy Souls, but there is also a directive to pray all month long for the Holy Souls. My husband likes to point out that—after doing the math—if there are on billion Catholics in the world today and if every Catholic today and for the past two millennia was actually praying daily in November for the Holy Souls, there should be no souls still stuck in Purgatory. It is a good reminder to bring back this often forgotten liturgical theme for November, especially when we are tempted to rush on to all things Christmas too early. And who more better to invoke than our Lady who is the Mother of all souls living and deceased? 

Marian Virtue: Lively Faith

This month we focus on the second of the traditional Ten Virtues of Our Lady.

Marian Theme

Mary’s Intercession for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Marian Antiphon: Salve Regina and the Alma Redemptoris Mater

This month, because the Antiphon changes once we enter Advent, there are normally two different Antiphons—the Salve Regina and the Alma Redemptoris Mater. (Note: every once in a while, Advent does not start until the beginning of December.)

Salve Regina

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;
vita, dulcedo et spes nostra, salve.

Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevae.
Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia ergo, advocata nostra, 
illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte. 
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, 
nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.

V. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genitrix. 
R. Ut digni efficamur promissionibus Christi.

Oremus. Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui gloriosae Virginis Matris Mariae corpus et animam, ut dignum Filii tui habitaculum effici mereretur, Spiritu Sancto cooperante, praeparasti, da, ut cuius commemoratione laetamur; eius pia intercessione, ab instantibus malis et a morte perpetua liberemur. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

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Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
Hail our life, our sweetness and our hope.

To thee do we cry,
Poor banished children of Eve;
To thee do we send up our sighs,
Mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Turn then, most gracious advocate,
Thine eyes of mercy toward us;
And after this our exile,
Show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, Who by the working of the Holy Spirit didst prepare both body and soul of the glorious Virgin Mother, Mary, that she might deserve to be made a worthy dwelling for Thy Son, grant that we who rejoice in her memory, may, by her loving intercession, be delivered from present evils and from lasting death, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Alma Redemptoris Mater

Alma Redemptoris Mater, quae pervia caeli
Porta manes, et stella maris, sucurre cadenti, 
Surgere qui curat populo: tu quae genuisti, 
Natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem, 
Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore
Sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.

Usque ad diem 23 decembris:

V. Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae. 
R. Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto.

Oremus. Gratiam tuam, quaesumus, Domine, mentibus nostris infunde; ut, qui, angelo nuntiante, Christi Filii tui incarnationem cognovimus, per passionem ejus et crucem, ad resurrectionis gloriam perducamur. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

A die 24 decembris:

V. Post partum, Virgo, inviolata permansisti.
R. Dei Genitrix, intercede pro nobis.

Let us pray. Deus, qui salutis aeternae, beatae Mariae virginitate fecudna, humano generi praemia praestitisti: tribue, quaesumus, ut ipsam pro nobis intercedere sentiamus, per quam meruimus auctorem vitae suscipere, Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum, Filium tuum. Amen.

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O loving Mother of our Redeemer, gate of heaven, star of the sea,
Hasten to aid thy fallen people who strive to rise once more.
Thou who brought forth thy holy Creator, all creation wond'ring, 
Yet remainest ever Virgin, taking from Gabriel's lips
that joyful "Hail!": be merciful to us sinners.

Up through the day before Christmas Eve:

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary. 
R. And she conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray. Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His passion and cross be brought to the glory of His resurrection, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

From Christmas Eve on:

V. Thou gavest birth without loss of thy virginity:
R. Intercede for us, O holy Mother of God.

Let us pray. O God, Who by the fruitful virginity of blessed Mary hast offered unto the human race the rewards of eternal salvation, grant, we beseech thee, that we may know the effects of her intercession, through whom we have deserved to receive the author of life, our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son. Amen.

The liturgical year cycles through four Marian Antiphons, each having a Simple Tone and Solemn Tone in Gregorian chant. Since November falls at the tail end of the period after Pentecost and often houses the beginning of Advent, the Salve Regina is the proper Antiphon for the month up until the first day of Advent when we switch to the Alma Redemptoris Mater. Marian antiphons are typically chanted after night prayer and immediately before going to bed.

• Sheet music for the Salve Regina Simple Tone may be printed from here (page 232 of the Parish Book of Chant pdf). 
• Sheet music for the Solemn Tone may be found on page 233 of the same pdf. 
• Sheet music for the Alma Redemptoris Mater Simple Tone may be printed from here (page 234 of the Parish Book of Chant pdf). 
• Sheet music for the Solemn Tone may be found on page 235 of the same pdf.

Marian Feasts

• November 21 - The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• November 27 - Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
• November 28 - Our Lady of Walsingham, England
• November 29 - Apparition of Our Lady of Beauraing, Belgium

Marian Devotion

This very beautiful prayer old prayer to Our Lady may be prayed during the month of November for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. It is titled “Our Lady of Intercession.”

MOST holy Mary, Our Lady of Intercession, whose maternal tenderness gathers in one
embrace all the Souls redeemed by the Precious Blood of thy Son Jesus, we come before
thy royal throne with sadness in our hearts as we remember those who have gone
before us, but also with unlimited confidence in thine intercession. Death, which burst
asunder the bonds of earth, has not destroyed the affection which binds us to those who lived in the same Faith as we do. O Mary, countless souls await with unutterable anxiety the assistance of our prayers, and the merits of our good works in that place of expiation.
Urged by the charity of Jesus Christ, we raise our countenance and heart in supplication
to thee, the compassionate Mother of all believers, in favor of those suffering Souls.

Make our prayers of good effect, O Mary; obtain for them the power to move the
Heart of Jesus our Redeemer through thy motherly intercession. Let thine
incomparable holiness supply the defects of our misery, thy love make good our
languid affection, thy power strengthen our weakness. grant, O Queen of Heaven,
that the ardent desire of the Souls of the departed to be admitted to the
Beatific Vision may soon be satisfied. We pray to thee, O Mother, especially
for the Souls of our relations, of priests, of those who were zealous in honoring
thee, of those who did good to the Souls of others, of those who wept with them
and for them and finally, for the Souls of those who are forgotten.

Grant that one day, when we are all reunited in Heaven, we may be able to rejoice
in the possession of God, in the happiness of thy dear presence, in the fellowship
of Saints, thanking thee forever for all the blessings thou hast obtained for us,
O Mother, who art our unfailing comfort. Amen.

Pray the Ave Maria three times, and once:

Eternal rest give unto them. O Lord, and let perpetual light
shine upon them; may they rest in peace. Amen.

Marian Customs Highlight

One beautiful custom that a number of families in our area have is to take candles after dark on any of the days during the first nine days of November (during the traditional novena for the souls in Purgatory) to the local cemetery. There they pray the Rosary as they place lighted candles on the graves. Another option would be to go during the day to clean up the graves and pray the Rosary while working in a combined “Ora et labora” undertaking. While the indulgences for the Holy Souls are specifically granted during the nine day novena, all prayers for the departed souls are efficacious, so this event could be done at any time in November.