The Flying Novena That Gets You Places

Allison Auth recounts how a 'flying novena' of Memorares helped her reach her pilgrimage destination. 

On a recent car ride, I discovered that I hadn’t taught my children the Memorare. I explained to the kids how Mother Teresa used this prayer to Mary as a “flying novena.” This meant that instead of nine days of prayer, Mother Teresa prayed nine Memorares in a row for emergency situations that couldn’t wait nine days. 

Skeptical, they asked me, “Does it really work?”

“Oh yes it does!” I replied. Then I shared with them the following story. 

The Train Dilemma 

During my sophomore year of college at Franciscan University of Steubenville, I spent a semester studying abroad in Austria. One weekend, two of my friends and I decided to travel to Paray-le-Monial, France, where Jesus revealed His Sacred Heart to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. 

To get there from our small town in Austria, we had to walk to the nearest train station, take a local train to a bigger station, and then take that train to a larger station in Cologne, Germany, where we would switch to an overnight train to take us to France. The train system in Europe is a well-oiled machine, with trains running very reliably and leaving the station on time. 

While on the train headed to Cologne, we were at a stop for longer than usual when an announcement came over the loudspeaker in German. Immediately, everyone on the train gasped and screamed, grabbed their belongings, and ran off the train. 

Unsure of what to do because we hadn’t understood the message — was the train about to blow up? — a kind passenger stopped to tell us in broken English that there were mechanical issues, and if we wanted to make it to the next station, there was another train about to leave a few platforms down. So we rushed out and followed everyone else to catch that train to Cologne. 

The only problem was that our night train was scheduled to leave Cologne for France very soon, and our current train was scheduled to arrive a few minutes after that one left. As I said, the trains are very punctual and wait for no one. Not only that, but the station would be large, and we didn’t know which platform our night train would be taking off from. And without that train, our plans to retreat and pray in that small, holy town would not come to pass. 

As we sat on the train, I began to pray that we would make our connection and be able to go on this mini pilgrimage. I asked Mary to help us with our request, and began a flying novena, praying the Memorare over and over again (well over the usual nine times). I had no control over the situation. I could do nothing but sit there, pray, and beg for Mary’s help. 

Pilgrimage to the Sacred Heart 

When we arrived in Cologne, we immediately jumped off the train, ready to search the platforms for our connection, and directly across from us was our overnight train to France. It was a few minutes late, and in four steps we were there. The second we stepped in, the doors closed, and off we went. 

We praised God and thanked Mary before falling asleep. When we arrived in Paray-le-Monial, we met a French priest who found us a place to stay and invited us for dinner. The memories from that quick weekend are hazy — I remember it was Lent because we prayed the Stations of the Cross in a small chapel one evening, and we spent a lot of time in prayer in the chapel where Jesus revealed His Sacred Heart to Saint Margaret Mary. 

To this day, the Sacred Heart is still my strongest devotion, and I have Mama Mary to thank for helping us catch that train. Never in my whole semester of traveling was a train delayed a few minutes like that one.  

The Flying Novena is now one I recommend that gets you places. You fly unto Mary, who takes our requests straight to her Son. She never leaves her children unaided in the quest for holiness. 

Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

Copyright 2025 Allison Auth
Images: Canva