Category: NOVENAS

Posted in NOVENAS

Novena to St Joseph – Day Two – 12 March

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Joseph

Day Two
VIRGINAL HUSBAND OF MARY

Saint Joseph, I honour you as the true husband of Mary.  Scripture says: “Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary and of her was born Jesus who is called Christ” (Matt. 1:16). Your marriage to Mary was a sacred contract by which you and Mary gave yourselves to each other.   Mary really belonged to you with all she was and had.   You had a right to her love and obedience and no other person so won her esteem, obedience and love.

You were also the protector and witness of Mary’s virginity.   By your marriage you gave to each other your virginity and also the mutual right over it — a right to safeguard the other’s virtue.   This mutual virginity also belonged to the divine plan of the Incarnation, for God sent His angel to assure you that motherhood and virginity in Mary could be united.

This union of marriage not only brought you into daily familiar association with Mary, the loveliest of God’s creatures but also enabled you to share with her a mutual exchange of spiritual goods.   And Mary found her edification in your calm, humble and deep virtue, purity and sanctity.   What a great honour comes to you from this close union with her whom the Son of God calls Mother and whom He declared the Queen of heaven and earth! Whatever Mary had belonged by right to you also and this included her Son, even though He had been given to her by God in a wonderful way. Jesus belonged to you as His legal father.   Your marriage was the way which God chose to have Jesus introduced into the world, a great divine mystery from which all benefits have come to us.

God the Son confided the guardianship and the support of His Immaculate Mother to your care.   Mary’s life was that of the Mother of the Saviour, who did not come upon earth to enjoy honours and pleasures but to redeem the world by hard work, suffering and the cross.   You were the faithful companion, support, and comforter of the Mother of Sorrows. How loyal you were to her in poverty, journeying, work and pain.   Your love for Mary was based upon your esteem for her as Mother of God. After God and the Divine Child, you loved no one as much as her.   Mary responded to this love. She submitted to your guidance with naturalness and easy grace and childlike confidence.   The Holy Spirit Himself was the bond of the great love which united your hearts.

Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being the virginal husband of Mary.   As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to love Jesus with all my heart, as you did and love Mary with some of the tenderness and loyalty with which you loved her.

*NOVENA PRAYER  *(prayer to be said at the end of each day’s devotion)

Saint Joseph, I, your unworthy child, greet you.  You are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you.   You know that I have special confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I place all my hope of salvation in you, for you are especially powerful with God and will never abandon your faithful servants.   Therefore, I humbly invoke you and commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession.   I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.

Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, obtain for me a pure, humble, charitable mind and perfect resignation to the divine Will.   Be my guide, my father and my model through life that I may merit to die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.

Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death and the special grace I now implore:

(Mention your request)

Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers on my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. Amen.

MEMORARE
Remember, most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer but graciously receive them. Amen.

DAY TWO - STJOSEPH

Posted in NOVENAS

Novena to St Joseph – Day One – 11 March

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Joseph – Day One – 11 March

FOSTER-FATHER OF JESUS

Saint Joseph, you were privileged to share in the mystery of the Incarnation as the foster-father of Jesus.   Mary alone was directly connected with the fulfillment of the mystery, in that she gave her consent to Christ’s conception and allowed the Holy Spirit to form the sacred humanity of Jesus from her blood.   You had a part in this mystery in an indirect manner, by fulfilling the condition necessary for the Incarnation — the protection of Mary’s virginity before and during your married life with her.   You made the virginal marriage possible and this was a part of God’s plan, foreseen, willed, and decreed from all eternity.

In a more direct manner you shared in the support, upbringing and protection of the Divine Child as His foster-father.   For this purpose the Heavenly Father gave you a genuine heart of a father — a heart full of love and self-sacrifice.   With the toil of your hands you were obliged to offer protection to the Divine Child, to procure for Him food, clothing and a home.   You were truly the saint of the holy childhood of Jesus — the living created providence which watched over the Christ-Child.

When Herod sought the Child to put Him to death, the Heavenly Father sent an angel but only as a messenger, giving orders for the flight;   the rest He left entirely in your hands.   It was that fatherly love which was the only refuge that received and protected the Divine Child.   Your fatherly love carried Him through the desert into Egypt until all enemies were removed.   Then on your arms the Child returned to Nazareth to be nourished and provided for during many years by the labour of your hands.   Whatever a human son owes to a human father for all the benefits of his up-bringing and support, Jesus owed to you, because you were to Him a foster-father, teacher and protector.

You served the Divine Child with a singular love.  God gave you a heart filled with heavenly, supernatural love — a love far deeper and more powerful than any natural father’s love could be.

You served the Divine Child with great unselfishness, without any regard to self-interest, but not without sacrifices.   You did not toil for yourself but you seemed to be an instrument intended for the benefit of others, to be put aside as soon as it had done its word, for you disappeared from the scene once the childhood of Jesus had passed.

You were the shadow of the Heavenly Father not only as the earthly representative of the authority of the Father but also by means of your fatherhood — which only appeared to be natural — you were to hide for a while the divinity of Jesus.   What a wonderfully sublime and divine vocation was yours — the loving Child which you carried in your arms,and loved and served so faithfully, had God in Heaven as Father and was Himself God!

Yours is a very special rank among the saints of the Kingdom of God because you were so much a part of the very life of the Word of God made Man.   In your house at Nazareth and under your care the redemption of mankind was prepared.   What you accomplished, you did for us.   You are not only a powerful and great saint in the Kingdom of God but a benefactor of the whole of Christendom and mankind.   Your rank in the Kingdom of God, surpassing far in dignity and honour of all the angels, deserves our very special veneration, love, and gratitude.

Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of having been chosen by God to be the foster-father of His Divine Son.   As a token of your own gratitude to God for this your greatest privilege, obtain for me the grace of a very devoted love for Jesus Christ, my God and my Saviour.   Help me to serve Him with some of the self-sacrificing love and devotion which you had while on this earth with Him.   Grant that through your intercession with Jesus, your foster-Son, I may reach the degree of holiness God has destined for me and save my soul.

*NOVENA PRAYER – *(prayer to be said at the end of each day’s devotion)

Saint Joseph, I, your unworthy child, greet you.  You are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you.  You know that I have special confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I place all my hope of salvation in you, for you are especially powerful with God and will never abandon your faithful servants.  Therefore, I humbly invoke you and commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession.   I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.

Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, obtain for me a pure, humble, charitable mind and perfect resignation to the divine Will.   Be my guide, my father and my model through life that I may merit to die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.

Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death and the special grace I now implore:

(Mention your request).

Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers on my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. Amen.

MEMORARE
Remember, most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer but graciously receive them. Amen.

St Josdeh Pray for us!

DAY ONE-STJOSEPH 11 MARCH

 

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, NOVENAS, SAINT of the DAY

Announcing a Novena to St Joseph

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Joseph

The primary feast of St Joseph is on 19 March, the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster father of Jesus Christ.

Indeed, the Catholic Church dedicates the entire month of March to Saint Joseph and urges us to pay special attention to his life and example.

Fathers, in particular, should cultivate devotion to Saint Joseph, whom God Himself chose to care for His Son. As we learn more about Saint Joseph, we can teach our own boys about the virtues of fatherhood through his example.

St. Teresa of Avila’s Plea

“Would that I could persuade all men to be devoted to this glorious Saint [St. Joseph], for I know by long experience what blessings he can obtain for us from God.   I have never known anyone who was truly devoted to him and honoured him by particular services who did not advance greatly in virtue: for he helps in a special way those souls who commend themselves to him.   It is now very many years since I began asking him for something on his feast and I have always received it. I  f the petition was in any way amiss, he rectified it for my greater good . . .

” I ask for the love of God that he who does not believe me will make the trial for himself—then he will find out by experience the great good that results from commending oneself to this glorious Patriarch and in being devoted to him.”

St. Alphonsus Liguori on St. Joseph,
Patron of a Happy Death

“Since we all must die, we should cherish a special devotion to St. Joseph, that he may obtain for us a happy death.   All Christians regard him as the advocate of the dying who had honoured him during their life and they do so for three reasons:

“First, because Jesus Christ loved him not only as a friend but as a father and on this account his mediation is far more efficacious than that of any other Saint.

“Second, because St. Joseph has obtained special power against the evil spirits, who tempt us with redoubled vigour at the hour of death.

“Third, the assistance given St. Joseph at his death by Jesus and Mary obtained for him the right to secure a holy and peaceful death for his servants.   Hence, if they invoke him at the hour of death he will not only help them but he will also obtain for them the assistance of Jesus and Mary.”

St Joseph we ask for your assistance in all our needs starting tomorrow, pray for us!

NOVENA TO ST JOSEPH STARTS 11 MARCH

 

 

 

Posted in LENT, NOVENAS

Lenten Preparation Novena

Posted on by AnaStpaul

REFLECTION – “Give back some of God’s gifts to God, that you may safely enjoy the rest. Fast, or watch, or abound in alms, or be instant in prayer, or deny yourselves society, or pleasant books, or easy clothing, or take on you some irksome task or employment; do one or other, or some, or all of these, unless you say that you have never sinned and may go like Esau with a light heart to take your crown”

“But, O ye sons and daughters of men, what if this fair weather but ensure the storm afterwards? what if it be, that the nearer you attain to making yourselves as gods on earth now, the greater pain lies before you in time to come, or even (if it must be said), the more certain becomes your ruin when time is at an end? Come down, then, from your high chambers at this season to avert what else may be. Sinners as ye are, act at least like the prosperous heathen, who threw his choicest trinket into the water, that he might propitiate fortune. Let not the year go round and round, without a break and interruption in its circle of pleasures. Give back some of God’s gifts to God, that you may safely enjoy the rest. Fast, or watch, or abound in alms, or be instant in prayer, or deny yourselves society, or pleasant books, or easy clothing, or take on you some irksome task or employment; do one or other, or some, or all of these, unless you say that you have never sinned and may go like Esau with a light heart to take your crown. Ever bear in mind that Day which will reveal all things and will test all things “so as by fire” and which will bring us into judgment ere it lodges us in heaven.” (Blessed John Henry Newman)

give-back-some-of-gods-gifts-to-god-bljhnewman

Lenten Preparation Novena

DAY NINE

O gracious Father,
infuse in our hearts
the spotless light of Your Divine Wisdom
and open the eyes of our mind
that we may understand the teachings of Your Gospel.
Instill in us also the fear of Your blessed commandments,
so that having curbed all carnal desires,
we may lead a spiritual life,
both thinking and doing everything to please You.
Help us to see,
in our ordinary difficulties and duties,
in the trials and temptations of every day,
the best opportunity of making up for past infidelities.
United with Your Son, who makes His way to Calvary,
I offer You my intention
(Mention your intention)
For You, our God,
are the enlightenment of our souls and bodies;
and to You we render glory,
together with Your Suffering Son,
and with Your all holy,
life-creating Spirit,
now and ever, and forever. Amen

day-nine-lentprepnovena

Posted in LENT, NOVENAS

Lenten Preparation Novena

Posted on by AnaStpaul

REFLECTION – “Easy circumstances are generally thought a special happiness; it is thought a great point to get rid of annoyance or discomfort of mind and body; it is thought allowable and suitable to make use of all means available for making life pleasant.”

“Such advice is especially suitable to an age like this, when there is an effort on all hands to multiply comforts and to get rid of the daily inconveniences and distresses of life. Alas! my brethren, how do you know, if you avail yourselves of the luxuries of this world without restraint but that you are only postponing, and increasing by postponing, an inevitable chastisement? How do you know, but that, if you will not satisfy the debt of daily sin now, it will hereafter come upon you with interest? See whether this is not a thought which would spoil that enjoyment which even religious persons are apt to take in this world’s goods, if they would but admit it. It is said that we ought to enjoy this life as the gift of God. Easy circumstances are generally thought a special happiness; it is thought a great point to get rid of annoyance or discomfort of mind and body; it is thought allowable and suitable to make use of all means available for making life pleasant. We desire and confess we desire, to make time pass agreeably and to live in the sunshine. All things harsh and austere are carefully put aside. We shrink from the rude lap of earth and the embrace of the elements and we build ourselves houses in which the flesh may enjoy its lust and the eye its pride. We aim at having all things at our will. Cold and hunger and hard lodging and ill usage and humble offices and mean appearance, are all considered serious evils. And thus year follows year, tomorrow as today, till we think that this, our artificial life, is our natural state and must and ever will be.” (Blessed John Henry Newman)

we-shrink-from-the-rude-lap-of-earth-bljohnhenrynewman

Lenten Preparation Novena

DAY EIGHT

Loving Father,
may I live this Lent as an unceasing act of love for You.
Let me grow in understanding of the riches hidden in Christ.
In my prayer, grant me a spirit to see what must be done
and the strength to do what is right.
Make me radiant in Your presence
with the strength of my yearning for You.
By my fasting, fortify my resolve to carry out Your loving commands.
Bless me with an increase in devoutness of life so that I may be found steadfast in faith.
Any by my almsgiving, renew and purify my heart so that I may hold to the
things that eternally endure.
Help me to repent of my sins now and make reparation throughout
this Lenten season and each day thereafter.
Teach me and help me Lord, my God,
to relinquish the comforts of this world,
to leave my house and follow only the
Way of the Cross,
to sell al, give to the poor, and follow Your Son.
And thus, united with Him,
who makes His way to Calvary,
I offer You my intentions
(Mention your special intention)
Amen

day-eight-lentprepnovena

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on TEMPTATION

Lenten Preparation Novena

Posted on by AnaStpaul

REFLECTION – “LET US JUDGE OURSELVES, that we be not judged.
Let us afflict ourselves, that God may not afflict us.”

“And be sure of this: that if He has any love for you,
if He sees aught of good in your soul, He will afflict you,
if you will not afflict yourselves. He will not let you escape.
He has ten thousand ways of purging those whom He has chosen,
from the dross and alloy with which the fine gold is defaced.
He can bring diseases on you, or can visit you with misfortunes,
or take away your friends, or oppress your minds with darkness,
or refuse you strength to bear up against pain when it comes upon you.
He can inflict on you a lingering and painful death.
He can make “the bitterness of death pass” not.
We, indeed, cannot decide in the case of others,
when trouble is a punishment and when not;
yet this we know – that all sin brings affliction.
We have no means of judging others
but we may judge ourselves.
LET US JUDGE OURSELVES, that we be not judged.
Let us afflict ourselves, that God may not afflict us.
Let us come before Him with our best offerings,
that He may forgive us.” (Blessed John Henry Newman)

and-be-sure-of-this-john-henry-newman

Lenten Preparation Novena

DAY SEVEN

Today Lord I choose life,
I choose Your love and the challenge to live it and share it,
I choose hope, even in moments of darkness,
I choose faith, accepting You as Lord and God,
I choose to let go of some part of my burdens, day by day handing them over to You,
I choose to take hold of Your strength and power ever more deeply in my life.
I choose to judge and afflict myself.
I choose repentance and reparation and suffering, for all my sins
and those of all the world.
Forgive me my Lord!
May this truly be for me a time of new life, of change, challenge and growth.
May I come to Easter with a heart open to dying with You
and rising to Your new life, day by day. Help me to repent of my sins now and make reparation throughout
this Lenten season and each day thereafter.
United with your Son,
who makes His way to Calvary,
I offer You my intentions
(Mention your special intention)
Amen.

day-seven-lentprepnovena

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY

Lenten Preparation Novena

Posted on by AnaStpaul

REFLECTION – “Now is the accepted time, now the day of salvation.”

“These are thoughts, I need hardly say, especially suited to this season. From the earliest times down to this day, these weeks before Easter have been set apart every year, for the particular remembrance and confession of our sins. From the first age downward, not a year has passed but Christians have been exhorted to reflect how far they have let go their birthright, as a preparation for their claiming the blessing. At Christmas we are born again with Christ; at Easter we keep the Eucharistic Feast. In Lent, by penance, we join the two great sacraments together. Are you, my brethren, prepared to say,—is there any single Christian alive who will dare to profess,—that he has not in greater or less degree sinned against God’s free mercies as bestowed on him in Baptism without, or rather against his deserts? Who will say that he has so improved his birthright that the blessing is his fit reward, without either sin to confess, or wrath to deprecate? See, then, the Church offers you this season for the purpose. “Now is the accepted time, now the day of salvation.” Now it is that, God being your helper, you are to attempt to throw off from you the heavy burden of past transgression, to reconcile yourselves to Him who has once already imparted to you His atoning merits and you have profaned them.” (Blessed John Henry Newman)

are-you-my-brethren-bl-j-h-newman

Lenten Preparation Novena

DAY SIX

O gracious Father,
infuse in our hearts
the spotless light of Your Divine Wisdom
and open the eyes of our mind
that we may understand the teachings of Your Gospel.
Instill in us also the fear of Your blessed commandments,
so that having curbed all carnal desires,
we may lead a spiritual life,
both thinking and doing everything to please You.
Help us to see,
in our ordinary difficulties and duties,
in the trials and temptations of every day,
the best opportunity of making up for past infidelities.
United with Your Son, who makes His way to Calvary,
I offer You my intention
(Mention your intention)
For You, our God,
are the enlightenment of our souls and bodies;
and to You we render glory,
together with Your Suffering Son,
and with Your all holy,
life-creating Spirit,
now and ever, and forever. Amen

day-six-lentprepnovena

Posted in CONFESSION/PENANCE, LENT, MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, Uncategorized

Lenten Preparation Novena

Posted on by AnaStpaul

REFLECTION – “The one came for a son’s privileges, the other for a servant’s drudgery. “

“Would you see how a penitent should come to God? turn to the parable of the Prodigal Son. He, too, had squandered away his birthright, as Esau did.   He, too, came for the blessing, like Esau.   Yes; but how differently he came! he came with deep confession and self-abasement.   He said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants:” but Esau said, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me.”    The one came for a son’s privileges, the other for a servant’s drudgery.   The one killed and dressed his venison with his own hand and enjoyed it not; for the other the fatted calf was prepared and the ring for his hand and shoes for his feet and the best robe and there was music and dancing.” (Blessed John Henry Newman)

would-you-see-how-a-penitent-should-come-to-god-bl-j-h-newman

Lenten Preparation Novena

DAY FIVE

Dear Lord,
we are fast approaching the holy season of Lent.
We begin to realise anew that these are the days of salvation,
these are the acceptable days.
We know that we are all sinners.
We know that in many things we have all offended Your infinite majesty.
We know that sin destroys Your life in us
as a drought withers the leaves and chokes the life from the land,
leaving an arid, dusty desert.
Help us now, Lord,
in our feeble attempts to make up for past sin.
Bless our efforts with the rich blessing of Your grace.
Make us realize ever more our need of penance and of mortification.
Help us to see,
in our ordinary difficulties and duties,
in the trials and temptations of every day,
the best opportunity of making up for past infidelities.
Every day we are so often reminded in field and wood,
in sky and stream,
of Your own boundless generosity to us.
Help us to realize that You are never outdone in generosity,
and that the least thing we do for You will be rewarded,
full measure, pressed down, shaken together and flowing over.
Then we shall see, in our own souls,
how the desert can blossom,
and the dry and wasted land can bring forth the rich,
useful fruit that was expected of it from the beginning.

United with Your Son, who makes His way to Calvary,   I offer You my intention

(Mention your intention)
Amen.

day-five-lent-prep-novena

Posted in LENT, NOVENAS, QUOTES of the SAINTS

Lenten Preparation Novena

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Reflection – “We cannot escape punishment, here or hereafter; we must take our choice, whether to suffer and mourn a little now, or much then.”

“And then, alas! the truth flashed upon him; he uttered a great and bitter cry, when it was too late. It would have been well, had he uttered it before he came for the blessing, not after it. He repented when it was too late—it had been well if he had repented in time. So I say of persons who have in any way sinned. It is good for them not to forget that they have sinned. It is good that they should lament and deplore their past sins. Depend upon it, they will wail over them in the next world, if they wail not here. Which is better, to utter a bitter cry now or then?—then, when the blessing of eternal life is refused them by the just Judge at the last day, or now, in order that they may gain it? Let us be wise enough to have our agony in this world, not in the next. If we humble ourselves now, God will pardon us then. We cannot escape punishment, here or hereafter; we must take our choice, whether to suffer and mourn a little now, or much then.”
(Blessed John Henry Newman)

lent-day-four-j-h-newman

Lenten Preparation Novena

DAY FOUR

 

Loving Father,
may I live this Lent as an unceasing act of love for You.
Let me grow in understanding of the riches hidden in Christ.
In my prayer, grant me a spirit to see what must be done
and the strength to do what is right.
Make me radiant in Your presence
with the strength of my yearning for You.
By my fasting, fortify my resolve to carry out Your loving commands.
Bless me with an increase in devoutness of life so that I may be found steadfast in faith.
Any by my almsgiving, renew and purify my heart so that I may hold to the
things that eternally endure.
Help me to repent of my sins now and make reparation throughout
this Lenten season and each day thereafter.
United with your Son,
who makes His way to Calvary,
I offer You my intentions
(Mention your special intention)
Amen

day-four-lent-prep-novena

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE

Lenten Preparation Novena

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Reflection – “He thought he was as sure of the blessing as if he had not sold the birthright.”

And then, when all is done and over and their souls sold to Satan, they never seem to understand that they have parted with their birthright.   They think that they stand just where they did, before they followed the world, the flesh, and the devil; they take for granted that when they choose to become more decent, or more religious, they have all their privileges just as before.   Like Samson, they propose to go out as at other times before, and shake themselves.   And like Esau, instead of repenting for the loss of the birthright, they come, as a matter of course, for the blessing.    Esau went out to hunt for venison gaily and promptly brought it to his father.   His spirits were high, his voice was cheerful.   It did not strike him that God was angry with him for what had past years ago. He thought he was as sure of the blessing as if he had not sold the birthright.     (Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman)

and-then-when-all-is-done-and-over-j-h-newman

Lenten Preparation Novena

DAY THREE

Today Lord I choose life,
I choose Your love and the challenge to live it and share it,
I choose hope, even in moments of darkness,
I choose faith, accepting You as Lord and God,
I choose to let go of some part of my burdens, day by day handing them over to You,
I choose to take hold of Your strength and power ever more deeply in my life.
I choose repentance and reparation and suffering, for all my sins
and those of all the world.
Forgive me my Lord!
May this truly be for me a time of new life, of change, challenge and growth.
May I come to Easter with a heart open to dying with You
and rising to Your new life, day by day.   Help me to repent of my sins now and make reparation throughout
this Lenten season and each day thereafter.
United with your Son,
who makes His way to Calvary,
I offer You my intentions
(Mention your special intention)
Amen.

day-three-novena-prep-lent

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION

Lenten Preparation Novena

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Reflection – Do I despise the great gift of God’s Love?

“Is it not, I say, quite a common case for men and for women to neglect religion in their best days? They have been baptised, they have been taught their duty, they have been taught to pray, they know their Creed, their conscience has been enlightened, they have opportunity to come to Church.   This is their birthright, the privileges of their birth of water and of the Spirit;  but they sell it, as Esau did.    They are tempted by Satan with some bribe of this world and they give up their birthright in exchange for what is sure to perish and to make them perish with it.    Esau was tempted by the mess of pottage which he saw in Jacob’s hands.    Satan arrested the eyes of his lust and he gazed on the pottage, as Eve gazed on the fruit of the tree of knowledge  of good and evil.    Adam and Eve sold their birthright for the fruit of a tree—that was their bargain.    Esau sold his for a mess of lentils—that was his.   And men now-a-days often sell theirs, not indeed for any thing so simple as fruit or herb but for some evil gain or other, which at the time they think worth purchasing at any price; perhaps for the enjoyment of some particular sin, or more commonly for the indulgence of general carelessness and spiritual sloth because they do not like a strict life and have no heart for God’s service.    And thus they are profane persons, for they despise the great gift of God.”  –    (Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman)

is-it-not-i-say-quite-a-common-case-bl-john-henry-newman

Lenten Preparation Novena

DAY TWO

Lord, during this Lenten Season,
nourish me with Your Word of life
and make me one
with You in love and prayer.

Fill my heart with Your love
and keep me faithful to the Gospel of Christ.
Give me the grace to rise above my human weakness.
Give me new life by Your Sacraments, especially the Mass.

Father, our source of life,
I reach out with joy to grasp Your hand;
let me walk more readily in Your ways.
Guide me in Your gentle mercy,
for left to myself I cannot do Your Will.

Father of love, source of all blessings,
help me to pass from my old life of sin
to the new life of grace.

Help me to repent of my sins now and make reparation throughout
this Lenten season and each day thereafter.
United with your Son,
who makes His way to Calvary,
I offer You my intentions
(Mention your special intention)

Prepare me for the glory of Your Kingdom.
I ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever.  Amen

day-two-21-feb

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE

Lenten Preparation Novena

Posted on by AnaStpaul

A Meditation for this ‘Prelude to Lent’

“Each of us must come to the evening of life.   Each of us must enter on eternity.   Each of us must come to that quiet, awful time, when we will appear before the Lord of the vineyard and answer for the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or bad.   That, my dear brethren, you will have to undergo. … It will be the dread moment of expectation when your fate for eternity is in the balance and when you are about to be sent forth as the companion of either saints or devils, without possibility of change.   There can be no change; there can be no reversal.   As that judgment decides it, so it will be for ever and ever.   Such is the particular judgment. … when we find ourselves by ourselves, one by one, in His presence and have brought before us most vividly all the thoughts, words and deeds of this past life.   Who will be able to bear the sight of himself?   And yet we shall be obliged steadily to confront ourselves and to see ourselves.   In this life we shrink from knowing our real selves.   We do not like to know how sinful we are.   We love those who prophecy smooth things to us and we are angry with those who tell us of our faults.   But on that day, not one fault only but all the secret, as well as evident, defects of our character will be clearly brought out.   We shall see what we feared to see here and much more.   And then, when the full sight of ourselves comes to us, who will not wish that he had known more of himself here, rather than leaving it for the inevitable day to reveal it all to him! …………………….We can believe what we choose.   We are answerable for what we choose to believe.”– (Blessed Card. John Henry Newman)

b716a2be8e822bdea507ff9765916990

Lenten Preparation Novena

DAY ONE

Lord, during this Lenten Season,
nourish me with Your Word of life
and make me one
with You in love and prayer.

Fill my heart with Your love
and keep me faithful to the Gospel of Christ.
Give me the grace to rise above my human weakness.
Give me new life by Your Sacraments, especially the Mass.

Father, our source of life,
I reach out with joy to grasp Your hand;
let me walk more readily in Your ways.
Guide me in Your gentle mercy,
for left to myself I cannot do Your Will.

Father of love, source of all blessings,
help me to pass from my old life of sin
to the new life of grace.

Help me to repent of my sins now and make reparation throughout
this Lenten season and each day thereafter.
United with your Son,
who makes His way to Calvary,
I offer You my intentions
(Mention your special intention)

Prepare me for the glory of Your Kingdom.
I ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever.

Amen.

day-one-20-feb

Posted in JESUIT SJ, NOVENAS

Novena to St Claude de la Colombiere -DAY NINE – 15 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

St Claude de la Colombiere S.J. (1641-1682 Memorial 15 February) was the spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and helped immensely to bring the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the world.   He is known as the faithful servant and perfect friend to the Sacred Heart.   Please join us in saying this Novena, not only for our own needs but that through the power of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the whole world and it’s many ills, may benefit.

DAY NINE

O Lord Jesus Christ,
You promised to bestow abundant blessings
on all the undertakings of those who honour your Sacred Heart.
Hear our humble, confident and incessant prayers
and grant us the grace we ask of Your infinite mercy in this novena.
We ask it through the intercession of St Claude La Colombiere,
whom You have honoured with the title ‘faithful servant and perfect friend’
and who had such filial, unbounded and unwearied confidence in You.
O St Claude, most ardent apostle of the Divine Heart of Jesus,
deign to intercede for me with this divine heart,
that I may obtain the grace I ask for in this novena.
(make your request)
Divine Lord,
You deigned to make St Claude the faithful servant and wonderful lover of your Sacred Heart.
Grant us, through his intercession,
the grace to imitate the virtues of this divine heart
and be inflamed by its love.
We ask You this,
You who lives and reigns with God the Father
and the Holy Spirit forever and ever.
Our Father…Hail Mary…Glory be…
Pray for us, St Claude, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ, amen.

day-nine-novena-st-claude

Posted in NOVENAS

NOVENA to St Claude de la Colombiere – DAY EIGHT – 14 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

APOLOGIES – I messed up somehow with my dates!   Consequently there are 2 days missing from this Novena 6 and 7.   Next year I promise to do better St Claude, please forgive me.

St Claude de la Colombiere S.J. (1641-1682 Memorial 15 February) was the spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and helped immensely to bring the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the world.   He is known as the faithful servant and perfect friend to the Sacred Heart.   Please join us in saying this Novena, not only for our own needs but that through the power of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the whole world and it’s many ills, may benefit.

DAY EIGHT

O Lord Jesus Christ,
You promised to bestow abundant blessings
on all the undertakings of those who honour your Sacred Heart.
Hear our humble, confident and incessant prayers
and grant us the grace we ask of Your infinite mercy in this novena.
We ask it through the intercession of St Claude La Colombiere,
whom You have honoured with the title ‘faithful servant and perfect friend’
and who had such filial, unbounded and unwearied confidence in You.
O St Claude, most ardent apostle of the Divine Heart of Jesus,
deign to intercede for me with this divine heart,
that I may obtain the grace I ask for in this novena.
(make your request)
Divine Lord,
You deigned to make St Claude the faithful servant and wonderful lover of your Sacred Heart.
Grant us, through his intercession,
the grace to imitate the virtues of this divine heart
and be inflamed by its love.
We ask You this,
You who lives and reigns with God the Father
and the Holy Spirit forever and ever.
Our Father…Hail Mary…Glory be…
Pray for us, St Claude, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ, amen.

day-eight-novena-stclaude

Posted in NOVENAS

Novena to St Claude de la Colombiere – Day Five – 13 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

St Claude de la Colombiere S.J. (1641-1682 Memorial 15 February) was the spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and helped immensely to bring the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the world.   He is known as the faithful servant and perfect friend to the Sacred Heart.   Please join us in saying this Novena, not only for our own needs but that through the power of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the whole world and it’s many ills, may benefit.

DAY FIVE

Novena to St Claude de la Colombiere

O divine Lord, You said,
‘Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you’.
You promised to bestow abundant blessings
on all the undertakings of those who honour your Sacred Heart.
Hear our humble, confident and incessant prayers
and grant us the grace we ask of Your infinite mercy in this novena.
We ask it through the intercession of St Claude La Colombiere,
whom You have honoured with the title ‘faithful servant and perfect friend’
and who had such filial, unbounded and unwearied confidence in You.
O St Claude, most ardent apostle of the Divine Heart of Jesus,
deign to intercede for me with this divine heart,
that I may obtain the grace I ask for in this novena.
(make your request)
Amen
Our Father…Hail Mary…Glory be…
Pray for us, St Claude, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

day-five-novenastclaude

Posted in NOVENAS

Novena to St Claude de la Colombiere – DAY FOUR – 12 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

St Claude de la Colombiere S.J. (1641-1682 Memorial 15 February) was the spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and helped immensely to bring the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the world.   He is known as the faithful servant and perfect friend to the Sacred Heart.   Please join us in saying this Novena, not only for our own needs but that through the power of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the whole world and it’s many ills, may benefit.

DAY FOUR

 

O Sacred Heart of Jesus,
for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted,
have pity on us miserable sinners
and grant us the grace which we ask of You, through the
intercession of St Claude and through the most
Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary,
your tender Mother and ours.

St Claude, you who were a faithful believer
in the divine treasures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
obtain for us, we beseech thee,
from this adorable Heart,
the graces we need so sorely.
We ask these favours of you with unbounded confidence.
May the divine Heart of Jesus be pleased
to bestow them upon us through your intercession,
so that once again He may be loved and glorified through you.
(make your request)

O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst wondrously open
the unsearchable riches of Your Sacred Heart,
grant unto us, by the merits of St Claude
and our imitation of him,
that we may love You in all things and above all things
and may be worthy to have our everlasting dwelling
in the same Sacred Heart,
who lives and reigns, world without end. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

day-four-novenastclaude

 

Posted in NOVENAS

Novena to St Claude de la Colombiere – Day Three – 11 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

St Claude de la Colombiere S.J. (1641-1682 Memorial 15 February) was the spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and helped immensely to bring the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the world.   He is known as the faithful servant and perfect friend to the Sacred Heart.   Please join us in saying this Novena, not only for our own needs but that through the power of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the whole world and it’s many ills, may benefit.

DAY THREE

St Claude, you who were a faithful believer
in the divine treasures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
obtain for us, we beseech thee,
from this adorable Heart,
the graces we need so sorely.
We ask these favours of you with unbounded confidence.
May the divine Heart of Jesus be pleased
to bestow them upon us through your intercession,
so that once again He may be loved and glorified through you.
(make your request)
O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst wondrously open
the unsearchable riches of Your Sacred Heart,
grant unto us, by the merits of St Claude
and our imitation of him,
that we may love You in all things and above all things
and may be worthy to have our everlasting dwelling
in the same Sacred Heart,
who lives and reigns, world without end. Amen.

day-three-novenastclaude

Posted in NOVENAS

Novena to St Claude de la Colombiere – DAY TWO – 10 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

St Claude de la Colombiere S.J. (1641-1682 Memorial 15 February) was the spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and helped immensely to bring the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the world.   He is known as the faithful servant and perfect friend to the Sacred Heart.   Please join us in saying this Novena, not only for our own needs but that through the power of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the whole world and it’s many ills, may benefit.

DAY TWO

O Lord Jesus Christ,
You promised to bestow abundant blessings
on all the undertakings of those who honour your Sacred Heart.
Hear our humble, confident and incessant prayers
and grant us the grace we ask of Your infinite mercy in this novena.
We ask it through the intercession of St Claude La Colombiere,
whom You have honoured with the title ‘faithful servant and perfect friend’
and who had such filial, unbounded and unwearied confidence in You.
O St Claude, most ardent apostle of the Divine Heart of Jesus,
deign to intercede for me with this divine heart,
that I may obtain the grace I ask for in this novena.
(make your request)
Divine Lord,
You deigned to make St Claude the faithful servant and wonderful lover of your Sacred Heart.
Grant us, through his intercession,
the grace to imitate the virtues of this divine heart
and be inflamed by its love.
We ask You this,
You who lives and reigns with God the Father
and the Holy Spirit forever and ever.
Our Father…Hail Mary…Glory be…
Pray for us, St Claude, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ, amen.

daytwo-novenastclaude

Posted in NOVENAS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes – DAY NINE– 10 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes – DAY NINE– 10 February (we Pray the Novena for our own intentions and for the sick, the infirm within our own communities but also for all those throughout the world who suffer, especially those who have no-one to pray for them in preparation for the Wold Day of the Sick on 11 February.)

DAY NINE
O glorious Mother of God,
to you we raise our hearts and hands to implore your powerful intercession
in obtaining from the benign Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary
for our spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly for the grace of a happy death.
O Mother of our Divine Lord, as we conclude this novena for the special favoUr we seek at this time.
(make your request)
Mary and Bernadette
We feel animated with confidence that your prayers in our behalf
will be graciously heard. O Mother of My Lord,
through the love you bear to Jesus Christ and for the glory of His Name,
hear our prayers and obtain our petitions.
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious in your assumption,
triumphant in your coronation,
show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

day9-10-february

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS

Announcing a Novena in preparation for LENT – ASH WEDNESDAY is on 1 MARCH 2017

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Each year as Lent approaches, we decide that “this one” will be our best ever but it is so easy to lose momentum halfway through the 40 days.  This year let us prepare by the most perfect method – by praying for help!   Let us ask that we may:

  • deepen our understanding of Jesus’ passion?
  • walk with Jesus through his passion and resurrection?
  • work on overcoming a temptation that keeps us from fully entering into life with Christ?
  • foster a new spiritual practice to ignite or inflame our relationship with Jesus?

In these last few days before Lent begins, let us to begin our preparatory prayer. We can turn to Jesus and ask, “What is the grace You desire to deepen within me over these next 40 days?”

announcement-of-lenten-novena

 

 

Posted in JESUIT SJ, NOVENAS

Novena to St Claude de la Colombiere – DAY ONE – 9 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

St Claude de la Colombiere S.J. (1641-1682 Memorial 15 February) was the spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and helped immensely to bring the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the world.   He is known as the faithful servant and perfect friend to the Sacred Heart.   Please join us in saying this Novena, not only for our own needs but that through the power of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the whole world and it’s many ills, may benefit.

DAY ONE

Novena to St Claude de la Colombiere

O divine Lord, You said,
‘Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you’.
You promised to bestow abundant blessings
on all the undertakings of those who honour your Sacred Heart.
Hear our humble, confident and incessant prayers
and grant us the grace we ask of Your infinite mercy in this novena.
We ask it through the intercession of St Claude La Colombiere,
whom You have honoured with the title ‘faithful servant and perfect friend’
and who had such filial, unbounded and unwearied confidence in You.
O St Claude, most ardent apostle of the Divine Heart of Jesus,
deign to intercede for me with this divine heart,
that I may obtain the grace I ask for in this novena.
(make your request)
Amen
Our Father…Hail Mary…Glory be…
Pray for us, St Claude, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

day-one-novena-to-st-claudedelacolombiere

 

Posted in NOVENAS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes – DAY EIGHT – 9 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes – DAY EIGHT– 9 February (we Pray the Novena for our own intentions and for the sick, the infirm within our own communities but also for all those throughout the world who suffer, especially those who have no-one to pray for them in preparation for the Wold Day of the Sick on 11 February.)

DAY EIGHT
O Immaculate Mother of God,
from heaven itself you came to appear to the little Bernadette
in the rough Grotto of Lourdes!
And as Bernadette knelt at your feet
and the miraculous spring burst forth
and as multitudes have knelt ever since before your shrine, O Mother of God,
we kneel before you today to ask that in your mercy
you plead with your Divine Son to grant the special favour we seek in this novena.
(make your request)
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious in your assumption,
triumphant in your coronation,
show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

day-eight-novena-our-lady-of-lourdes

Posted in NOVENAS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes – DAY SEVEN – 8 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes – DAY SEVEN– 8 February (we Pray the Novena for our own intentions and for the sick, the infirm within our own communities but also for all those throughout the world who suffer, especially those who have no-one to pray for them in preparation for the Wold Day of the Sick on 11 February.)

DAY SEVEN
O Almighty God,
who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son,
we humbly beseech You,
that as we contemplate the apparition of Our Lady in the Grotto of Lourdes,
we may be blessed with health of mind and body.
O most gracious Mother Mary, beloved Mother of Our Lord and Redeemer,
look with favour upon us as you did that day on Bernadette
and intercede with Him for us
that the favour we now so earnestly seek may be granted to us.
(make your request)
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious in your assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength and consolation. Amen

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

day-seven-novenaourladyoflourdes

Posted in NOVENAS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes – Day Six – 7 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes – DAY SIX– 7 February (we Pray the Novena for our own intentions and for the sick, the infirm within our own communities but also for all those throughout the world who suffer, especially those who have no-one to pray for them in preparation for the Wold Day of the Sick on 11 February.)

DAY SIX
O glorious Mother of God,
so powerful under your special title of Our Lady of Lourdes,
to you we raise our hearts and hands
to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining
from the gracious Heart of Jesus
all the helps and graces necessary
for our spiritual and temporal welfare
and for the special favour we so earnestly seek in this novena.
(make your request)
O Lady of Bernadette,
with the stars of heaven in your hair and the roses of earth at your feet,
look with compassion upon us today as you did so long ago on Bernadette in the Grotto of Lourdes.
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate,
Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious in your assumption,
triumphant in your coronation,
show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God,
Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

day-six-novena-ourladyoflourdes

Posted in NOVENAS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes – Day Five – 6 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes – DAY FIVE– 5 February (we Pray the Novena for our own intentions and for the sick, the infirm within our own communities but also for all those throughout the world who suffer, especially those who have no-one to pray for them in preparation for the Wold Day of the Sick on 11 February.)

DAY FIVE
O Mary Immaculate, Mother of God and our mother,
from the heights of your dignity look down mercifully upon us while we,
full of confidence in your unbounded goodness
and confident that your Divine Son
will look favourably upon any request you make of Him on our behalf,
we beseech you to come to our aid
and secure for us the favour we seek in this novena.
(make your request)
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious in your assumption,
triumphant in your coronation,
show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God,
Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

day-five-novenaourladyoflourdes

Posted in NOVENAS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

NOVENA to Our LADY OF LOURDES – Day Four – 5 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes – DAY FOUR– 5 February (we Pray the Novena for our own intentions and for the sick, the infirm within our own communities but also for all those throughout the world who suffer, especially those who have no-one to pray for them in preparation for the Wold Day of the Sick on 11 February.)

DAY FOUR

O Immaculate Queen of Heaven,
we your wayward, erring children,
join our unworthy prayers of praise and thanksgiving
to those of the angels and saints and of your own-
that the One, Holy, and Undivided Trinity may be glorified
in heaven and on earth.
Our Lady of Lourdes,
as you looked down with love and mercy upon Bernadette
as she prayed her rosary in the grotto,
look down now, we beseech you,
with love and mercy upon us.
From the abundance of graces granted you by your Divine Son,
sweet Mother of God,
give to each of us all that your motherly heart sees we need
and at this moment look with special favour
on the grace we seek in this novena.
(make your request)
O Brilliant star of purity,
Mary Immaculate,
Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious in your assumption,
triumphant in your coronation,
show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God,
Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

day-four-novena-ourladyoflourdes

Posted in NOVENAS

NOVENA to Our LADY OF LOURDES – Day Three – 4 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes – DAY THREE– 4 February (we Pray the Novena for our own intentions and for the sick, the infirm within our own communities but also for all those throughout the world who suffer, especially those who have no-one to pray for them in preparation for the Wold Day of the Sick on 11 February.)

DAY THREE
“You are all fair, O Mary
and there is in you no stain of original sin.”
O Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to thee.
O brilliant star of sanctity,
as on that lovely day, upon a rough rock in Lourdes
you spoke to the child Bernadette
and a fountain broke from the plain earth
and miracles happened
and the great shrine of Lourdes began,
so now I beseech you to hear our fervent prayer
and do, we beseech you, grant us the petition we now so earnestly seek.
(make your request)
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious in your assumption,
triumphant in your coronation,
show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God,
Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

day-three-novena-to-our-lady-of-lourdes

Posted in NOVENAS

NOVENA to Our LADY OF LOURDES – Day Two – 3 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes – DAY TWO – 3 February (we Pray the Novena for our own intentions and for the sick, the infirm within our own communities but also for all those throughout the world who suffer, especially those who have no-one to pray for them in preparation for the Wold Day of the Sick on 11 February.)

DAY TWO
Be blessed, O most pure Virgin,
for having vouchsafed to manifest yourself shining with light, sweetness and beauty,
in the Grotto of Lourdes, saying to the child Saint Bernadette:
“I am the Immaculate Conception!”
O Mary Immaculate, inflame our hearts with just one ray of the burning love of your pure heart
Let them be consumed with love for Jesus and for you,
in order that we may merit one day to enjoy your glorious eternity.
O dispenser of His graces here below,
take into your keeping and present to your Divine Son
the petition for which we are making this novena.
(make your request)
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious in your assumption,
triumphant in your coronation,
show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God.
Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

day-2-novena-our-lady-of-lourdes

Posted in NOVENAS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

NOVENA to OUR LADY of LOURDES – DAY ONE – 2 FEBRUARY

Posted on by AnaStpaul

NOVENA to OUR LADY of LOURDES – DAY ONE – 2 FEBRUARY (we Pray the Novena for our own intentions and for the sick, the infirm within our own communities but also for all those throughout the world who suffer, especially those who have no-one to pray for them in preparation for the Wold Day of the Sick on 11 February.)

O Mary Immaculate,
Our Lady of Lourdes,
virgin and mother, queen of heaven,
chosen from all eternity to be the Mother of the Eternal Word
and in virtue of this title preserved from original sin,
we kneel before you as did little Bernadette at Lourdes
and pray with childlike trust in you
that as we contemplate your glorious appearance at Lourdes,
you will look with mercy on our present petition
and secure for us a favorable answer to the request
for which we are making this novena.
(make your request)
O Brilliant star of purity,
Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious in your assumption,
triumphant in your coronation,
show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God,
Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

day-one-novena-ourladyoflourdes

Posted in NOVENAS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Announcing the NOVENA to our Lady of Lourdes

Posted on by AnaStpaul

The 11th of February  is World Day of the Sick. It is  also the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes! Join me in praying a novena through Our Lady’s intercession for the sick and suffering here.

The novena begins tomorrow (February 2).  If you sign up the prayers will come to your e-mail inbox each day for the next nine days.  The prayers are brief but powerful.   Please lift up in prayer all of your family members, friends and those unknown throughout the world who have no-one to pray for them.  God is with us and Mary our Mother stands at His side to intervene for all our needs!

Our Lady of Lourdes Pray for us all.

template-novena-our-lady-of-lourdes-and-the-world-day-of-the-sick