St. Germanus of Constantinople: Prayer to the Virgin Mary

Hail, O You who, touched with compassion at the sight of the frightful nakedness to which we were reduced in the Garden of Eden, by the pernicious fruit which dealt death to our souls, you have covered us with a magnificent garment; not woven by the hands of man, but which has been imposed on us by God Himself; You who, when we were sunk in the mire of iniquity, were given to us as the remission of sins, O sacred Bride of the Almighty!

Hail, O You who, under your well-regulated steps, have trodden on this tyrant who dragged me, to harm me, into transgression, this perfidious counselor, this enemy of all good, this deceitful serpent who is called the Devil, and have taken, as by the hand, our corruptible and always ready to fall nature, to lead it, in your company, to the spiritual Sanctuary and to the divine Tabernacle which never grows old!

Hail, O You who have brought forth the light of a day of joy and gladness on the heads of those who were, as it were, chained in the darkness of death, in the abyss of infirmity, and to whom You have promised to dissipate, by the Power of God, this fatal obscurity, O Mary, more sublime than all miracles.

Hail, O You who distill upon us the divine dew of intelligence, O brilliant Cloud which has arisen on our horizon, enveloped in the shadows of death, the brightest of all suns! O Source who, taking your origin in heaven, form these rapid rivers of the knowledge of God, which carry away, by the clear and pure waters of the orthodox faith, the silt of heresy!

Hail, O divine Paradise, O Sojourn of Wisdom, O Garden full of charms, planted by the Hand of the Almighty, where the Wood of Life blossoms to communicate the knowledge of truth and to give immortality to those who taste it!

Hail, O Sacred Building, O immaculate and spotless Palace of the great King, of God Himself, O You who have been clothed in His Majesty and have called all men to receive in You a holy hospitality, where they may enjoy the mysteries of the faith from their first origin!

Hail, O New Zion, O Holy Jerusalem, O august City of the great King, in whose towers God is clearly known, and through whose midst He passes without shaking or harming it, while He moves the nations and makes kings fall at your feet to pay homage to your Glory!

Hail, O fruitful and shady Mountain, where was nourished the reasonable Lamb who blotted out our sins and healed our diseases, and from which was detached, without the aid of a human hand, this little stone which overturned the altars of idols, and, by a marvelous wonder in our eyes, became the cornerstone!

Hail, O Holy Throne of God, O Sacred Treasure, O shining and glorious House, O Venerable Tabernacle, O Chosen Vessel who God has reserved for His use, O Mercy Seat of all the universe, O Heaven which recounts the glory of the Most High, O miraculous East from which rises a star which knows no setting, from which the summit of heaven is the point of departure, and whose warmth no one can avoid, that is, the providential conduit!

Hail Mary, full of grace, holier than the saints, higher than the heavens, more glorious than the cherubim, more worthy of honor than the seraphim, and more venerable than any creature!