‘The novena is all about our being children, which is much more complicated than we think. Our Lady knows how to be a mother to us, how to wait for us, how to choose us. It is up to us to have the ability to be children, always, at any age,’ explained the novena's curators.
‘In history, Mary appears to the little ones because, without superstructures, they trust what they see and entrust themselves to her. But not only that: Mary speaks to the little ones because she entrusts her message of love to them from the very beginning. She makes them feel her presence, her closeness. As every mother does. And it will be this love, this continuous accompaniment, this discreet presence that will make children into loved adults, aware and capable of living and cultivating hope,' they added.
That is why, starting from this idea, the emphasis in this novena is on the children of the greatest of mothers; and through them it is possible to see the characteristics of Mary, mother of these children, mother of all humanity.
During the days from 15 to 23 May, therefore, in preparation for the great feast on the 24th, the novena will propose nine Marian experiences through its videos, in which Our Lady manifested herself. Each day will feature a visionary, the high place of faith that arose from the encounter with Mary, and the proposal of a theme.
There are several common points in each experience:
- All the young people chosen by Mary are ‘pure in heart’ (and for this reason, as per the Beatitude, they will see God);
- All receive a message to pass on to the Church and the people;
- All must overcome scepticism and calumny;
- All are given a ‘high place’ of faith and conversion, for as Jesus says, ‘I say to you, if these keep silent, the stones will cry out’;
- The great shrines today are ‘stones’ that cry out the presence of God to humanity;
Each day the novena will develop a different theme, presenting a different aspect of how we are children:
- Being Children - Humility and Faith;
- Being Children - Simplicity and Hope;
- Being Children - Obedience and dedication;
- Being Children - Awe and Reflection;
- Being Children - Confidence and prayer;
- Being Children - Suffering and Healing;
- Being Children - Justice and dignity;
- Being Children - gentleness and everyday life;
- Being Children - Construction and Dreaming;
And each of these themes is accompanied by the figure of Mary as Mother.
In the few minutes of the novena videos, the structure for each day offers:
- Being children spelt out according to the theme of the day.
- The historical event shown, preceded by a title focusing on the ‘son’ to whom Mary showed herself.
- The historical event of Marian manifestation, consisting of two parts: a piece of first-person narrative and a brief text, prose or n essay explaining the facts.
- A closing sentence of advice for those watching the novena and that ties in with the theme.
- Words from the Rector Major The voice of the children which updates the message and the dimension of being children in today's concrete reality.
- The concluding prayer, consisting of a specific title in relation to the theme of the day, a short summary again in relation to the theme, the prayer itself and a final Hail Mary.
The videos will be accessible in Italian, English, Spanish, French and Portuguese on the different language channels of ANSChannel and on TELEGRAM SDB.ORG. Each video will be made visible one day in advance - so the first videos will be public on 14 May.
In the days leading up to the start of the novena, the booklet with all the texts will also be circulated.
