The Memorare prayer is one of the most popular Marian prayers and has been proven to work miracles over the last 500 years. The actual author of the Memorare is unknown. It has been traditionally attributed to the abbot St. Bernard of Clairvaux from the 12th century.
Church teaching holds that Mary is the Mother of the Church and our mother as well “in the order of grace” as we read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 969). When we pray to Mary we also pray through her to her Divine Son, Jesus! And she is happy to pray for us and to intercede with Him on our behalf.
Here’s the Memorare prayer.
Memorare Prayer To The Blessed Virgin Mary
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.
Original Memorare Prayer in Latin
Memorare, O piissima Virgo Maria, a saeculo non esse auditum, quemquam ad tua currentem praesidia, tua implorantem auxilia, tua petentem suffragia, esse derelictum. Ego tali animatus confidentia, ad te, Virgo Virginum, Mater, curro, ad te venio, coram te gemens peccator assisto. Noli, Mater Verbi, verba mea despicere; sed audi propitia et exaudi. Amen.
The Meaning Of The Memorare Prayer
Memorare prayer (“Remember, O Most Gracious Virgin Mary”) is a Roman Catholic prayer seeking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The original prayer was written in Latin and gets its name from the first word of the prayer, memorare, meaning “remember.”
The “Memorare” played a part in the conversion of Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne when upon the dare of a Catholic acquaintance he agreed to wear the Miraculous Medal and recite the prayer for a month.
Memorare prayer became popular in England by way of France, and appeared in the 1856 edition of Bishop Richard Challoner’s The Garden of the Soul.
The Memorare prayer to The Blessed Virgin Mary asks for her intercession or help in addition to the guidance we receive from God. It is a prayer that reminds you that you have a wonderful advocate and protector in the mother of your Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, pictured at right.
When you pray to Mary you honor and worship her Son, who is more than happy to listen to His mother’s pleas on your behalf.
Not only this, but Memorare prayer also invites you to ask the Blessed Mother for her assistance and her grace, especially when you are on the verge of a breakdown and tend to feel most troubled in your daily life.
The Memorare is often described as a “powerful” prayer, meaning that those who pray it to have their prayers answered. Sometimes, people misunderstand the text and think of the prayer as essentially miraculous.
The words “never was it known that any one… was left unaided” do not mean that the requests that we make while praying the Memorare will be automatically granted or granted in the way we desire them to be.
As with any prayer, when we humbly seek the aid of the Blessed Virgin Mary through the Memorare, we will receive that aid, but it may take a very different form from what we desire.
You must not forget that asking Mary to intercede as Advocate does not guarantee that a specific request will be granted, only that divine assistance will be.
Read more: Check out other powerful prayers like Padre Pio Prayer for Healing & Prayer For Protection and Safety
Definitions Some Of The Words Used In The Memorare To The Blessed Virgin Mary
Gracious
-Filled with grace, the supernatural life of God within our souls
Fled
-Normally, to run from something; in this case, though, it means to run to the Blessed Virgin for safety
Implored
-Asked or begged sincerely or desperately
Intercession
-Intervening on behalf of someone else
Unaided
-Without help
Virgin of virgins
-The most saintly of all virgins; the virgin who is the example for all others
The Word Incarnate
-Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh
Despise
-Look down on, spurn
Petitions
-Requests; prayers
Download Memorare Prayer To The Blessed Virgin Mary
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