Our Lady of Good Success Novena and Prayer Book

by Paul Benedict

Description On January 16, 1599, the Holy Mother of God appeared to mother Mariana of Jesus Torres at the Convent of the Immaculate Conception in Quito, Ecuador, and asked her to make a statue with the child upon her appearance. Jesus in her left hand and a cross and the keys of the monastery in her right hand. The Virgin holds the cross as a sign that she rules the monastery and also requested that her statue be placed on the abbess' throne, where this statue is kept to this day. The statue was consecrated on February 2, 1611 by the Bishop of Quito with the title "Mary of Good Success of the Purification or Candlemas." During the various apparitions given to Mother Marianna until her death on January 16, 1635, Our Lady of Good Success predicted in great detail the evils of our time. She was told that her visions and her life would only be known from the 20th century onwards, and she was asked to help the souls of that time with her prayers and penances, when there would be a huge decline in faith. It was God's will to preserve these revelations and the story of Mother Mariana's life for our time, when the depravity of behavior is omnipresent and the precious light of faith is almost extinguished and the prophecies of Our Lady are fulfilled. The Mother of God also predicted that this devotion would bring grace and forgiveness to all sinners who turn to her with a contrite heart, since she is the Mother of Mercy. Likewise, he said, "The comforting title of 'Good Success...' will be the support and preservation of the faith in the face of the utter corruption of the 20th century." The novena presented here was written by Fr. José Urrate, authorized on July 31, 1941 by the Archbishop of Quito, Carlos María de la Torre.