Novena Prayers

A novena is a devotion consisting of prayer said (most typically) on nine successive days, asking to obtain special graces. These may consist of prayer booklets, recitation of the Rosary, or small prayers through the day. There are four recognized categories of Novenae, those of mourning, preparation, prayer, and those which are indulgenced, however, a given novena can belong to more than one of these categories.
The practice of saying novenas is derived from Scripture. After Jesus's Ascension into heaven, He told his disciples to pray together in the upper room and devote themselves to constant prayer (Acts 1:14). Doctrine proposes that the Apostles, Blessed Virgin Mary, and other followers of Jesus prayed together for nine consecutive days, concluding in the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
Novena’s are most commonly addressed to:

Jesus
The Blessed Trinity or any Individual Person
The Blessed Virgin Mary
Saints
Angels

Novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

O Most Blessed Mother,
Heart of Love, Heart of Mercy,
ever listening, caring, consoling,
hear our prayer. As your children,
we implore your intercession with Jesus, your Son.
Receive with understanding and compassion the petitions we place before you today, especially ...(special intention).
We are comforted in knowing your heart is ever open to those who ask for your prayer. We trust to your gentle care and intercession,
those whom we love and who are sick or lonely or hurting.
Help all of us, Holy Mother,
to bear our burdens in this life until we may share eternal life and peace with God forever.
Amen.

Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

O, Most Holy Heart of Jesus, Fountain of Every Blessing,
I adore Thee, I love Thee and with a lively sorrow for my sins,
I offer Thee this poor heart of mine.
Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Thy Will.
Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in Thee and for Thee.
Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions;
give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs,
Thy blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death.
Within Thy Heart I place my every care.
In every need let me come to Thee with humble trust saying,
Heart of Jesus help me.
Amen

Novena of Confidence to the Sacred Heart

O Lord Jesus Christ, to Your Most Sacred Heart I confide this intention (Here mention your request).
Only look upon me, then do what Your Heart inspires ...Let Your Sacred Heart decide ...I count on it ...I trust in it ...I throw myself on its Mercy ...

Lord Jesus, You will not fail me. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in You. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I believe in Your Love for me. Sacred Heart of Jesus, Your Kingdom Come. O Sacred Heart of Jesus I have asked for many favours, but I earnestly implore this one. Take it, place it in Your Sacred Heart. When the Eternal Father sees it covered with Your Precious Blood, He will not refuse it. It will be no longer my prayer but Yours. O Jesus, O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in You. Let me never be confounded.
Amen.

Novena of the Miraculous Medal

O Immaculate Virgin Mary,
Mother of Our Lord Jesus and our Mother,
penetrated with the most lively confidence in your all-powerful and never-failing intercession, manifested so often through the Miraculous Medal,
we your loving and trustful children implore you to obtain for us the graces and favors we ask during this novena,
if they be beneficial to our immortal souls,
and the souls for whom we pray.
(Here form your petition)

You know, O Mary, how often our souls have been the sanctuaries of your Son who hates iniquity.
Obtain for us then a deep hatred of sin and that purity of heart which will attach us to God alone so that our every thought, word and deed may tend to His greater glory.
Obtain for us also a spirit of prayer and self-denial that we may recover by penance what we have lost by sin and at length attain to that blessed abode where you are the Queen of angels and of men.
Amen.

Novena to the Infant Jesus of Prague

Day 1

O Sweet Child Jesus, here at Your feet is a soul that, conscious of its nothingness turns to You, who are all. I have so much need of Your help. Look on me O! Jesus, with love since You are all powerful, help me in my poverty.

Our Father...Hail Mary...Glory Be...

By your Divine Infancy, O! Jesus, grant the grace that I now ask (Express it) if it is according to Your Will and for my true good. Do not look upon my unworthiness, but rather on my faith and show me Your Infinite Mercy.

Day 2

O Splendour of the Heavenly Father, in Whose face shines the Light of the Divinity. I adore You profoundly and I confess You a the true Son of the Living God. I offer You, O Lord, the humble homage of all my being, Grant that I may never separate myself from You, my highest goal.

Pray the PURPLE response

Day 3

O Holy Child Jesus, in gazing upon Your countenance, from which comes the most beautiful of smiles, I feel myself filled with a lively trust. Yes. I hope for all from Your goodness. Shed, O Jesus, on me and on those dear to me Your smile of grace and I will praise Your Infinite Mercy.

Pray the PURPLE response

Day 4

O Child Jesus, Whose forehead is adorned with a crown, I accept You as my absolute sovereign, I do not wish to serve any longer the evil one, my passions, or sin. Reign, O Jesus over this poor heart and make it all Yours forever.

Pray the PURPLE response

Day 5

I gaze upon You, O Most Sweet Redeemer, dressed in a mantle of purple. It is Your royal attire. How it speaks to me of blood! That Blood which You have shed solely on my account. Grant, O Child Jeus that I may respond to Your great sacrifice and not refuse when You offer me some difficulty to suffer with You and for You.

Pray the PURPLE response

Day 6

O Most Lovable Child, in contemplating You as You sustain the world, my heart fills with joy. Among the innumerable beings that You sustain, I also am one. You look on me, uphold me at every instant and guard me as Your own. Look after, O Jesus, this humble being and help it in its many necessities.

Pray the PURPLE response

Day 7

On Your Breast, O Child Jesus, shines a Cross. It is a standard of our redemption. I also, O Divine Saviour, have my cross, that, although light, very often weighs me down. Help me to bear it and may the carrying of it be fruitful. You well know how weak and worthless I am.

Pray the PURPLE response

Day 8

Together with the cross, I see on Your Breast, O Child Jesus, a little golden heart. It is the image of Your Heart, which is truly golden on account of its infinite tenderness. You are the true friend, that generously gives Himself; even immolates Himself, for the one He loves, Continue to pour out on me. O Jesus, the enthusiasm which Your Love inspires and teach me to respond always to Your great Love.

Pray the PURPLE response

Day 9

How many blessings, O Little Child has Your almighty right hand poured out on those who honour You and call upon You. Bless me also, O Child Jesus, my soul, my body and my interests. Bless and help me in my necessities, and grant me what I now desire. Listen with compassion to my prayers and I will bless Your Holy Name everyday.

Pray the PURPLE response

Novena To Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Day 1

O Beautiful Flower of Carmel, Most Fruitful Vine, Splendor of Heaven, holy and singular, who brought forth the Son of God, still ever remaining a pure virgin, assist us in our necessity! O Star of the Sea, help and protect us! Show us that you are our Mother!(pause and mention petitions)

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Day 2

Most Holy Mary, Our Mother, in your great love for us you gave us the Holy Scapular of Mount Carmel, having heard the prayers of your chosen son Saint Simon Stock. Help us now to wear it faithfully and with devotion. May it be a sign to us of our desire to grow in holiness.(pause and mention petitions)

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Day 3

O Queen of Heaven, you gave us the Scapular as an outward sign by which we might be known as your faithful children. May we always wear it with honor by avoiding sin and imitating your virtues. Help us to be faithful to this desire of ours.(pause and mention petitions)

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Day 4

When you gave us, Gracious Lady, the Scapular as our Habit, you called us to be not only servants, but also your own children. We ask you to gain for us from your Son the grace to live as you children in joy, peace and love. (pause and mention petitions)

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Day 5

O Mother of Fair Love, through your goodness, as your children, we are called to live in the spirit of Carmel. Help us to live in charity with one another, prayerful as Elijah of old, and mindful of our call to minister to God's people.
(pause and mention petitions)

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Day 6

With loving provident care, O Mother Most Amiable, you covered us with your Scapular as a shield of defense against the evil one. Through your assistance, may we bravely struggle against the powers of evil, always open to your Son Jesus Christ.(pause and mention petitions)

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Day 7

O Mary, Help of Christians, you assured us that wearing your Scapular worthily would keep us safe from harm. Protect us in both body and soul with your continual aid. May all that we do be pleasing to your Son and to you.(pause and mention petitions)

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Day 8

You give us hope, O Mother of Mercy, that through your Scapular promise we might quickly pass through the fires of purgatory to the Kingdom of your Son. Be our comfort and our hope. Grant that our hope may not be in vain but that, ever faithful to your Son and to you, we may speedily enjoy after death the blessed company of Jesus and the saints.(pause and mention petitions)

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Day 9

O Most Holy Mother of Mount Carmel, when asked by a saint to grant privileges to the family of Carmel, you gave assurance of your Motherly love and help to those faithful to you and to your Son.Behold us, your children. We glory in wearing your holy habit, which makes us members of your family of Carmel, through which we shall have your powerful protection in life, at death and even after death.
Look down with love, O Gate of Heaven, on all those now in their last agony!
Look down graciously, O Virgin, Flower of Carmel, on all those in need of help!
Look down mercifully, O Mother of our Savior, on all those who do not know that they are numbered among your children.
Look down tenderly, O Queen of All Saints, on the poor souls!

(pause and mention petitions)

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Novena to Saint Rita of Cascia

O Holy Patroness of those in need, St. Rita, whose pleadings before thy Divine Lord are almost irresistible, who for thy lavishness in granting favors hast been called the Advocate of the hopeless and even of the impossible; St. Rita, so humble, so pure, so mortified, so patient and of such compassionate love for thy Crucified Jesus that thou couldst obtain from Him whatsoever thou askest, on account of which all confidently have recourse to thee expecting, if not always relief, at least comfort; be propitious to our petition, showing thy power with God on behalf of thy suppliant; be lavish to us, as thou hast been in so many wonderful cases, for the greater glory of God, for the spreading of thine own devotion, and for the consolation of those who trust in thee. We promise, if our petition is granted, to glorify thee by making known thy favor, to bless and sing thy praises forever. Relying then upon thy merits and power before the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we pray thee grant that ................................... (here mention your request).

Pray for us, O holy Saint Rita, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Amen.

Most Precious Blood of Jesus

(Please say this Novena together with one other prayer devoted to the Most Precious Blood of the Lord Jesus, for example with Litany).

Lord Jesus, 40 days after Your Resurrection, when You were returning to Your Father, You told Your students, who were gathered together, to wait for the Descent of the Holy Ghost. They prayed for 9 days in order to receive the great gift pf becoming true Apostles. Trusting that You will also give Your gift to us and that You will bless us, we ask:
Brighten our intellect and clean our hearts in order for us to be able to pray well. As You did for Apostles, dispense also for us the grace of enduring prayer with Mary. She is after all, the Lord’s servant.
Lord, You said: “Ask and you will receive; look and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you”. Encouraged by Your words, we come to You today in order to present to You with trust our requests:

Jesus, we trust Your Love and Your Mercy, which You showed us through Your the Most Precious Blood. As you wiped away the tears of the widow from Nain, as You heard the centurion’s request and as You rewarded Mary’s confidence, so also endow us with happiness of receiving help from You.
But if our desires are not consistent with Your Will, strengthen our faith. We want to say together with You: “Father, not my will, but Your Will let be”.
Awake confidence in us, that we may trust that your plan is the best for us, even if we don't always understand it.
We thank You now for everything, what You prepared for us, as You are Love and everything that you will or allow for our sanctification.
Amen.

Novena to the Holy Spirit

Act of Consecration to the Holy Spirit

On my knees before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses I offer myself, soul and body, to You, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Your Purity, the unerring keenness of Your Justice, and the might of Your Love. You are the Strength and Light of my soul. In You I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve You by unfaithfulness to grace and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against You. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Your Light, and listen to Your Voice, and follow Your gracious inspirations. I cling to You and give myself to You and ask You by Your compassion to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus and looking at His Five Wounds and trusting in His Precious Blood and adoring his opened Side and stricken Heart, I implore You, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, so to keep me in Your grace that I may never sin against You. Give me grace, O Holy Ghost, Spirit of the Father and the Son to say to You always and everywhere, "Speak, Lord, for Your servant heareth."
Amen.

Prayer for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Christ Jesus, before ascending into heaven, You promised to send the Holy Spirit to Your apostles and disciples.
Grant that the same Spirit may perfect in our lives the work of Your Grace and Love.
Grant us the Spirit of Fear of the Lord that we may be filled with a loving reverence toward You:
The Spirit of Piety, that we may find peace and fulfillment in the service of God while serving others;
The Spirit of Fortitude, that we may bear our cross with You and, with courage, overcome the obstacles that interfere with our salvation;
The Spirit of Knowledge, that we may know You and know ourselves and grow in holiness;
The Spirit of Understanding, to enlighten our minds with the light of Your truth;
The Spirit of Counsel, that we may choose the surest way of doing Your Will, seeking first the Kingdom;
Grant us The Spirit of Wisdom, that we may aspire to the things that last forever;
Teach us to be Your faithful disciples and animate us in every way with Your Spirit.
Amen.

Day 1

Creation Awaits Fulfillment

Holy Spirit, Lord of light!
From Your clear celestial height,
Your pure' beaming radiance give!

Almighty and Eternal God, send forth Your Spirit, who brought order from chaos at the beginning of the universe, and peace to the Lord's disciples.
Grant that I, as Your creation, baptized in Your Spirit, may be filled with the seven gifts so that I may forever do Your Will and renew the face of the earth.
Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father, Act Of Consecration to the Holy Spirit, Prayer For The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Day 2

Christ's Promise To Send The Paraclete

Come, Father of the poor!
Come, treasures which endure!
Come, Light of all that live!

Come, O Blessed Spirit of Holy Fear, fill me with devotion to God alone.
In the Risen Christ, I welcome You, O Spirit of truth, whom the Father sends in Jesus' name.
Wash clean the sinful soul, and rain down Your grace that we may be one with the Church in fidelity to our Lord Jesus, Christ.
Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father, Act Of Consecration to the Holy Spirit, Prayer For The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Day 3

The Soul Of Christ's Body, The Church

Thou, of all consolers, best,
Visiting the troubled breast
Dost refreshing peace bestow.

Come, O Blessed Spirit of Piety, possess my heart.
God, our Father, may I, through the grace of Your Spirit, be forever filled with filial affection for You.
Grant that I may be inspired to love and respect all members of Your family as brothers and sisters of Jesus, who, together with him, call you Abba, Father.
Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father, Act Of Consecration to the Holy Spirit, Prayer For The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Day 4

The Dignity Of The Christian

Thou, in toil art comfort sweet;
Pleasant coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.

Come, O Blessed Spirit of Fortitude, uphold my soul in time of trouble and adversity.
O, Divine Trinity, grant that we may be strengthened to see in ourselves and each other the dignity that is ours as temples of Your Holy Spirit, to be loved by one another as each of us is loved by Jesus.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father, Act Of Consecration to the Holy Spirit, Prayer For The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Day 5

Gifted To Serve And Build Others Up

Light Immortal! Light Divine!
Visit Thou these hearts of Thine,
And our inmost being fill!

Come, 0 Blessed Spirit of Knowledge, and grant that I may perceive the Will of the Father.
Father, through Your Spirit, You invite us to participate in the fullness of Creation.
Help me to see that all gifts are from You and intended for Your Glory.
For there are many different gifts, but always the same Spirit, many ways of serving, but always the same Lord.
Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father, Act Of Consecration to the Holy Spirit, Prayer For The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Day 6

Human Weakness And Sinfulness

If Thou take Thy grace away,
Nothing pure in man will stay,
All his good is turn'd to ill.

Come, 0 Blessed Spirit of Understanding, enlighten our minds that we may appreciate and see more fully what we know by faith.
Come to us in our weakness and give voice to our petitions, for "the prayers that the Spirit makes for God's holy people are always in accordance with the mind of God."

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father, Act Of Consecration to the Holy Spirit, Prayer For The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Day 7

Growth In The Freedom That Love Gives

Heal our wounds - our strength renew;
On our dryness, pour Thy dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away!

Come, 0 Blessed Spirit of Counsel. Make my thoughts holy, my love pure, and my works pleasing to God.
Father, guided by Your Spirit, may I strive to make loving choices and respect all life.
May we be aware of our dignity as Your sons and daughters, redeemed with the Blood of Your Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father, Act Of Consecration to the Holy Spirit, Prayer For The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Day 8

Gifted Through The Spirit

Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray!

Come, 0 Blessed Spirit of Wisdom, strengthen my faith, increase my hope, perfect my charity.
Father, enlighten us each day, in the silence of our hearts, to discern the voice of Your Spirit, to do what He asks of us and to understand the gifts He freely gives us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father, Act Of Consecration to the Holy Spirit, Prayer For The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Day 9

Sent With The Power To Reconcile

Thou on those who evermore,
Thee confess and Thee adore,
In Thy sevenfold gifts, descend;
Give them comfort when they die;
Give them life with Thee on high;
Give them joys which never end.
Amen.

Father, through Jesus, Your Son, You sent the Paraclete to be at our side, to reconcile all Creation to you.
Grant that I may be forever open to Jesus' invitation to "Receive The Holy Spirit!" Father, open our hearts to accept Your forgiveness for our sins and to offer that same forgiveness to those who we feel have offended us.
For merciful forgiveness is the essence of Your love revealed in Your Son.
Come, O Divine Spirit, fill my heart with Your Heavenly Fruits - Your charity, joy, peace patience, benignity, goodness, faith, mildness and temperance, that I may, by faithful submission to Your Inspiration, merit to be united eternally with You in the love of the Father and the Son.
Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father, Act Of Consecration to the Holy Spirit, Prayer For The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Novena for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

This Novena, written by St. Alphonsus Liguori, has different prayers for each of the 9 days, followed by the Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory which is at the bottom of the section.

Day 1

Jesus, my Saviour I have so often deserved to be cast into hell how great would be my suffering if I were now cast away and obliged to think that I myself had caused my damnation. I thank Thee for the patience with which Thou hast endured me. My God, I love Thee above all things and I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee because Thou art infinite goodness. I will rather die than offend Thee again. Grant me the grace of perseverance. Have pity on me and at the same time on those blessed souls suffering in Purgatory. Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory below.

Day 2

Woe to me, unhappy being, so many years have I already spent on earth and have earned naught but hell! I give Thee thanks, O Lord, for granting me time even now to atone for my sins. My good God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee. Send me Thy assistance, that I may apply the time yet remaining to me for Thy love and service; have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the Holy Souls suffering in Purgatory. O Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory below

Day 3

My God! Because Thou art infinite goodness, I love Thee above all things, and repent with my whole heart of my offenses against Thee. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and, at the same, on the Holy Souls suffering in Purgatory. And thou, Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory below.

Day 4

My God! because Thou art infinite goodness, I am sorry with my whole heart for having offended Thee. I promise to die rather than ever offend Thee more. Give me holy perseverance; have pity on me, and have pity on those Holy Souls that burn in the cleansing fire and love Thee with all their hearts. O Mary, Mother of God, assist them by thy powerful prayers.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory below.

Day 5

Woe to me, unhappy being, if Thou, O Lord, hadst cast me into hell; for from that dungeon of eternal pain there is no deliverance. I love Thee above all things, O Infinite God and I am sincerely sorry for having offended Thee again. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the Holy Souls suffering in Purgatory. O Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory below.

Day 6

My Divine Redeemer, Thou didst die for me on the Cross, and hast so often united Thyself with me in Holy Communion, and I have repaid Thee only with ingratitude. Now, however, I love Thee above all things, O Supreme God; and I am more grieved at my offences against Thee than at any other evil. I will rather die than offend Thee again. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the Holy Souls suffering in Purgatory. Mary, Mother of God, come to their aid with thy powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory below.

Day 7

God, Father of Mercy, satisfy this their ardent desire! Send them Thy holy Angel to announce to them that Thou, their Father, are now reconciled with them through the suffering and death of Jesus, and that the moment of their deliverance has arrived.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory below.

Day 8

Oh my God! I also am one of these ungrateful beings, having received so much grace, and yet despised Thy love and deserved to be cast by Thee into hell. But Thy Infinite Goodness has spared me until now. Therefore, I now love Thee above all things, and I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee. I will rather die than ever offend Thee. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me and, at the same time, on the Holy Souls suffering in Purgatory. Mary, Mother of God, come to their aid with thy powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory below.

Day 9

My God! How was it possible that I, for so many years, have borne tranquilly the separation from Thee and Thy Holy Grace! O Infinite Goodness, how long-suffering hast Thou shown Thyself to me! Henceforth, I shall love Thee above all things. I am deeply sorry for having offended Thee; I promise rather to die than to again offend Thee. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance, and do not permit that I should ever again fall into sin. Have compassion on the Holy Souls in Purgatory. I pray Thee, moderate their sufferings; shorten the time of their misery; call them soon unto Thee in heaven, that they may behold Thee face to face, and forever love Thee. Mary, Mother of Mercy, come to their aid with thy powerful intercession, and pray for us also who are still in danger of eternal damnation.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory below

Prayer to the Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory:

O Most Sweet Jesus, through the bloody sweat, which Thou didst suffer in the Garden of Gethsemane, have mercy on these Blessed Souls. Have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O Most Sweet Jesus, through the pains, which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel Scourging, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O Most Sweet Jesus, through the pains, which Thou didst suffer in Thy most painful Crowning with Thorns, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O Most Sweet Jesus, through the pains, which Thou didst suffer in Carrying Thy Cross to Calvary, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O Most Sweet Jesus, through the pains, which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel Crucifixion, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O Most Sweet Jesus, through the pains, which Thou didst suffer in Thy most bitter Agony on the Cross, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O Most Sweet Jesus, through the immense pain, which Thou didst suffer in Breathing Forth Thy Blessed Soul, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

(Recommend yourself to the Souls in Purgatory and mention your intentions here)

Blessed Souls, I have prayed for thee; I entreat thee, who are so dear to God, and who are secure of never losing Him, to pray for me a miserable sinner, who is in danger of being damned, and of losing God forever.
Amen.

Lenten Novena

Jesus, Son of God, help me to know Your Will during this Novena

Father, All Powerful and Ever-Living God, during the Holy Season of Lent You call us to a closer union with Yourself. Help me to prepare to celebrate the Paschal Mystery with mind and heart renewed. Give me a Spirit of Loving reverence for You, Our Father, and of willing service to my neighbor. As I recall the great events that gave us new life in Christ, bring the image of Your Son to perfection within my soul.

This great season of grace is Your gift to Your family to renew us in spirit. Give me strength to purify my heart, to control my desire, and so to serve You in freedom.

I ask for the grace to master my sinfulness and conquer my pride. I want to show to those in need Your Goodness to me in being kind to all.

Through my observance of Lent, help me to correct my faults and raise my mind to You, and thus grow in holiness that I may deserve the reward of everlasting life.

In Your Mercy grant me this special favor.
(Mention Your Request)

The days of the life-giving Death and glorious Resurrection
of Jesus Christ, Your Son, are approaching. This is the hour when He triumphed over Satan's pride, the time when we celebrate the great event of our redemption. The suffering and death of Your Son brought life to the whole world, moving our hearts to praise Your Glory.

The power of the Cross reveals Your judgment on this world and the Kingship of Christ Crucified. Father, through His love for us and through His Sufferings, Death and Resurrection, may I gain eternal life with You in heaven.
Amen.

Novena to Saint Joseph

Day 1

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, forseen, 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. Then it was that fatherly love, which was the only refuge, which received and protected the Divine Child. Your fatherly love carried Him through the desert into Egypt till all enemies were removed. Then on your arms, the Child returned to Nazareth, where over many years, he was nourished and provided for by the toil 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 work, 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 honor 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 Savior. Help me to serve Him with some of the self-sacrificing love and devotedness with which you have done so. 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.

Daily Novena Prayer

Day 2

Virginal Husband of Mary

"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 the 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 honor 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 had belonged to Mary, by right, belonged 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 Savior, who did not come upon earth to enjoy honors 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 to love Mary with some of the tenderness and loyalty with which you loved her.

Daily Novena Prayer

Day 3

Man Chosen by the Blessed Trinity

Saint Joseph, you were the man chosen by God the Father. He selected you to be His representative on earth, hence He granted you all the graces and blessings you needed to be His worthy representative.

You were the man chosen by God the Son. Desirous of a worthy foster father, He added His own riches and gifts, and above all, His Love. The true measure of your sanctity is to be judged by your imitation of Jesus. You were entirely consecrated to Jesus, working always near Him, offering Him your virtues, your work, your sufferings, your very life. Jesus lived in you perfectly so that you were transformed into Him. In this lies your special glory, and the keynote of your sanctity. Hence, after Mary, you are the holiest of the saints.

You were chosen by the Holy Spirit. He is the mutual Love of the Father and the Son - the Heart of the Holy Trinity. In His Wisdom He drew forth all creatures from nothing, guides them to their end in showing them their destiny and giving them the means to reach it. Every vocation and every fulfillment of a vocation proceeds from the Holy Spirit.

As the foster father of Jesus and head of the Holy Family, you had an exalted and most responsible vocation - to open the way for the redemption of the world and to prepare for it by the education and guidance of the youth of the God-Man. In this work you cooperated as the instrument of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was the guide; you obeyed and carried out the works. How perfectly you obeyed the guidance of the God of Love!

The words of the Old Testament which Pharaoh spoke concerning Joseph of Egypt can well be applied to you: "Can we find such another man, that is full of the Spirit of God, or a wise man like to him?" (Genesis 41.38)
No less is your share in the divine work of God than was that of Egypt. You now reign with your foster-Son and see reflected in the mirror of God's Wisdom the Divine Will and what is of benefit to our souls.

Saint Joseph, I thank God for having made you the man specially chosen by Him. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to imitate your virtues so that I too may be pleasing to the Heart of God. Help me to give myself entirely to His service and to the accomplishment of His Holy Will, that one day I may reach heaven and be eternally united to God as you are.

Daily Novena Prayer

Day 4

Faithful Servant

Saint Joseph, you lived for one purpose - to be the personal servant of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. Your noble birth and ancestry, the graces and gifts, so generously poured out on you by God - all this was yours to serve our Lord better. Every thought, word, and action of yours was a homage to the love and glory of the Incarnate Word. You fulfilled most faithfully the role of a good and faithful servant who cared for the House of God.

How perfect was your obedience! Your position in the Holy Family obliged you to command, but besides being the foster father of Jesus, you were also His disciple. For almost thirty years, you watched the God-Man display a simple and prompt obedience, and you grew to love and practice it very perfectly yourself. Without exception you submitted to God, to the civil rulers, and to the voice of your conscience.

When God sent an angel to tell you to care for Mary, you obeyed in spite of the mystery which surrounded her motherhood. When you were told to flee into Egypt under painful conditions, you obeyed without the slightest word of complaint. When God advised you in a dream to return to Nazareth, you obeyed. In every situation your obedience was as simple as your faith, as humble as your heart, as prompt as your love. It neglected nothing; it took in every command.

You had the virtue of perfect devotedness, which marks a good servant. Every moment of your life was consecrated to the service of our Lord: sleep, rest, work, pain. Faithful to your duties, you sacrificed everything unselfishly, even cheerfully. You would have sacrificed even the happiness of being with Mary. The rest and quiet of Nazareth was sacrificed at the call of duty. Your entire life was one generous giving, even to the point of being ready to die in proof of your love for Jesus and Mary. With true unselfish devotedness you worked without praise or reward.

But God wanted you to be in a certain sense a cooperator in the Redemption of the world. He confided to you the care of nourishing and defending the Divine Child. He wanted you to be poor and to suffer because He destined you to be the foster father of His Son, who came into the world to save men by His sufferings and death, and you were to share in His suffering. In all of these important tasks, the Heavenly Father always found you a faithful servant!

Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being God's faithful servant. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to be a faithful servant of God as you were. Help me to share, as you did, the perfect obedience of Jesus, who came not to do His Will, but the Will of His Father, to trust in the Providence of God, knowing that if I do His Will, He will provide for all my needs of soul and body: to be calm in my trials and to leave it to our Lord to free me from them when it pleases Him to do so.

And help me to imitate your generosity, for there can be no greater reward here on earth than the joy and honor of being a faithful servant of God.

Daily Novena Prayer

Day 5

Patron of the Church

Saint Joseph, God has appointed you patron of the Catholic Church because you were the head of the Holy Family, the type and starting-point of the Church. You were the father, protector, guide and support of the Holy Family. For that reason you belong in a particular way to the Church, which was the purpose of the Holy Family's existence.

I believe that the Church is the family of God on earth. Its government is represented in priestly authority which consists above all in its power over the true Body of Christ, really present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, thus continuing Christ's life in the Church. From this power, too, comes authority over the Mystical Body of Christ, the members of the Church - the power to teach and govern souls, to reconcile them with God, to bless them, and to pray for them.

You have a special relationship to the priesthood because you possessed a wonderful power over our Savior Himself. Your life and office were of priestly functions and are especially connected with the Blessed Sacrament. To some extent you were the means of bringing the Redeemer to us - as it is the priest's function to bring Him to us in the Mass - for you reared Jesus, supported, nourished, protected and sheltered Him. You were prefigured by the patriarch Joseph, who kept supplies of wheat for his people. But how much greater than he were you! Joseph of old gave the Egyptians mere bread for their bodies. You nourished and with tenderest care preserved for the Church Him who is the Bread of Heaven and who gives eternal life in Holy Communion.

God has appointed you Patron of the Church because the glorious title of patriarch also falls by special right to you. The patriarchs were the heads of families of the Chosen People, and theirs was the honor to prepare for the Savior's incarnation. You belonged to this line of patriarchs, for you were one of the last descendants of the family of David and one of the nearest forebears of Christ according to the flesh. As husband of Mary, the Mother of God, and as the foster father of the Savior, you were directly connected with Christ. Your vocation was especially concerned with the Person of Jesus; your entire activity centered about Him. You are, therefore, the closing of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New, which took its rise with the Holy Family of Nazareth. Because the New Testament surpasses the Old in every respect, you are the patriarch of patriarchs, the most venerable, exalted, and amiable of all the patriarchs.

Through Mary, the Church received Christ, and therefore the Church is indebted to her. But the Church owes her debt of gratitude and veneration to you also, for you were the chosen one who enabled Christ to enter into the world according to the laws of order and fitness. It was by you that the patriarchs and the prophets and the faithful reaped the fruit of God's promise, Alone among them all, you saw with your own eyes and possessed the Redeemer promised to the rest of men.

Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being the Patron of the Church. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to live always as a worthy member of this Church, so that through it I may save my soul. Bless the priests, the religious, and the laity of the Catholic Church, that they may ever grow in God's love and faithfulness in His service. Protect the Church from the evils of our day and from the persecution of her enemies. Through your powerful intercession may the church successfully accomplish its mission in this world - the glory of God and the salvation of souls!

Daily Novena Prayer

Day 6

Patron of Families

Saint Joseph, I venerate you as the gentle head of the Holy Family. The Holy Family was the scene of your life's work in its origin, in its guidance, in its protection, in your labor for Jesus and Mary, and even in your death in their arms. You lived, moved, and acted in the loving company of Jesus and Mary. The inspired writer describes your life at Nazareth in only a few words:
"And (Jesus) went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them" (Luke, 2:51).

Yet these words tell of your high vocation here on earth, and the abundance of graces which filled your soul during those years spent in Nazareth.
Your family life at Nazareth was all radiant with the light of divine charity. There was an intimate union of heart and mind among the members of your Holy Family. There could not have been a closer bond than that uniting you to Jesus, your foster-Son and to Mary, your most loving wife. Jesus chose to fulfill toward you, His foster father, all the duties of a faithful son, showing you every mark of honor and affection due to a parent. And Mary showed you all the signs of respect and love of a devoted wife. You responded to this love and veneration of both Jesus and Mary for you with feelings of deepest love and respect. You had for Jesus a true fatherly love, enkindled and kept aglow in you heart by the Holy Spirit. And you could not cease to admire the workings of grace in Mary's soul, and this admiration caused the holy love which you had consecrated to her on the day of your wedding you grow stronger every day.

God has made you a heavenly patron of family life because you sanctified yourself as head of the Holy Family and thus by your beautiful example sanctified family life. How peacefully and happily the Holy Family rested under the care of your fatherly rule, even in the midst of trials. You were the protector, counselor, and consolation of the Holy Family in every need. And just as you were the model of piety, so you gave us by your zeal, your earnestness and devout trust in God's providence, and especially by your love, the example of labor according to the Will of God. You cherished all the experiences common to family life and the sacred memories of the life, sufferings, and joys in the company of Jesus and Mary. Therefore the family is dear to you as the work of God, and it is of the highest importance in your eyes to promote the honor of God and the well-being of man. In your loving fatherliness and unfailing intercession you are the patron and intercessor of families, and you deserve a place in every home.

Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of living in the Holy Family and being its head. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain God's blessing upon my own family. Make our home the kingdom of Jesus and Mary - a kingdom of peace, of joy, and love.

I also pray for all Christian families. Your help is needed in our day when God's enemy has directed his attack against the family in order to desecrate and destroy it. In the face of these evils, as Patron of Families, be pleased to help; and as of old, you arose to save the Child and His Mother, so today arise to protect the sanctity of the home. Make our homes sanctuaries of prayer, of love, of patient sacrifice, and of work. May they be modeled after your own at Nazareth. Remain with us with Jesus and Mary, so that by your help we may obey the commandments of God and of the Church, receive the holy sacraments of God and of the Church, live a life of prayer and foster religious instruction in our homes. Grant that we may be reunited in God's Kingdom and eternally live in the company of the Holy Family in heaven.

Daily Novena Prayer

Day 7

Patron of Workers

Saint Joseph, you devoted your time at Nazareth to the work of a carpenter. It was the Will of God that you and your foster-Son should spend your days together in manual labor. What a beautiful example you set for the working classes!

It was especially for the poor, who compose the greater part of mankind, that Jesus came upon earth, for in the synagogue of Nazareth He read the words of Isaiah and referred them to Himself:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because He has anointed Me; to bring good news to the poor He has sent Me" (Luke 4:18).

It was God's Will that you should be occupied with work common to poor people, that in this way Jesus Himself might enoble it by inheriting it from you, His foster father, and by freely embracing it.
Thus our Lord teaches us that for the humbler class of workmen, He has in store His richest graces, provided they live in content in the place God's Providence has assigned them, and remain poor in spirit for He said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3).

The kind of work to which you devoted your time in the workshop of Nazareth offered you many occasions of practicing humility. You were privileged to see each day the example of humility which Jesus practiced - a virtue most pleasing to Him. He chose for His earthly surroundings, not the courts of princes nor the halls of the learned, but a little workshop of Nazareth. Here you shared for many years the humble and hidden toiling of the God-Man. What a touching example for the worker of today!

While your hands were occupied with manual work, your mind was turned to God in prayer. From the Divine Master, who worked along with you, you learned to work in the presence of God in the spirit of prayer, for as He worked He adored His Father and recommended the welfare of the world to Him, Jesus also instructed you in the wonderful truths of grace and virtue, for you were in close contact with Him Who said of Himself,

"I am the Way and the Truth and the Life."

As you were working at your trade, you were reminded of the greatness and majesty of God, Who, as a most wise Architect, formed this vast universe with wonderful skill and limitless power.

The light of divine faith that filled your mind, did not grow dim when you saw Jesus working as a carpenter. You firmly believed that the saintly Youth working beside you was truly God's own Son.

Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being able to work side by side with Jesus in the carpenter shop of Nazareth. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to respect the dignity of labor and ever to be content with the position in life, however lowly, in which it may please Divine Providence to place me. Teach me to work for God and with God in the spirit of humility and prayer, as you did, so that I may offer my toil in union with the sacrifice of Jesus in the Mass as a reparation for my sins, and gain rich merit for heaven.

Daily Novena Prayer

Day 8

Friend of Suffering

Saint Joseph, your share of suffering was very great because of your close union with the Divine Savior.. All the mysteries of His life were more or less mysteries of suffering. Poverty pressed upon you, and the cross of labor followed you everywhere. Nor were you spared domestic crosses, owing to misunderstandings in regard to the holiest and most cherished of all beings, Jesus and Mary, who were all to you. Keen must have been the suffering caused by the uncertainty regarding Mary's virginity; by the bestowal of the name of Jesus, which pointed to future misfortune. Deeply painful must have been the prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, the disappearance of Jesus at the Paschal feast. To these sufferings were surely added interior sorrow at the sight of the sins of your own people.

You bore all this suffering in a truly Christ-like manner, and in this you are our example. No sound of complaint or impatience escaped you - you were, indeed, the silent saint! You submitted to all in the spirit of faith, humility, confidence, and love; and cheerfully bore all in union with and for the Savior and His Mother, knowing well that true love is a crucified love. But God never forsook you in your trials. The trials, too, disappeared and were changed at last into consolation and joy.

It seems that God had purposely intended your life to be filled with suffering as well as consolation to keep before my eyes the truth that my life on earth is but a succession of joys and sorrows, and that I must gratefully accept whatever God sends me, and during the time of consolation prepare for suffering.

Teach me to bear my cross in the spirit of faith, of confidence, and of gratitude toward God. In a happy eternity, I shall thank God fervently for the sufferings which He deigned to send me during my pilgrimage on earth, and which after your example I endured with patience and heartfelt love for Jesus and Mary.

You were truly the martyr of the hidden life. This was God's Will, for the holier a person is, the more he is tried for the love and glory of God. If suffering is the flowering of God's grace in a soul and the triumph of the soul's love for God, being the greatest of saints after Mary, you suffered more than any of the martyrs.
Because you have experienced the sufferings of this valley of tears, you are most kind and sympathetic toward those in need. Down through the ages souls have turned to you in distress and have always found you a faithful friend in suffering. You have graciously heard their prayers in their needs even though it demanded a miracle. Having been so intimately united with Jesus and Mary in life, your intercession with Them is most powerful.

Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being able to suffer for Jesus and Mary. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to bear my suffering patiently for love of Jesus and Mary. Grant that I may unite the sufferings, works and disappointments of life with the sacrifice of Jesus in the Mass, and share like you in Mary's spirit of sacrifice.

Daily Novena Prayer

Day 9

Patron of a Happy Death

Saint Joseph, how fitting it was that at the hour of your death Jesus should stand at your bedside with Mary, the sweetness and hope of all mankind. You gave your entire life to the service of Jesus and Mary; at death you enjoyed the consolation of dying in Their loving arms. You accepted death in the spirit of loving submission to the Will of God, and this acceptance crowned your hidden life of virtue. Yours was a merciful judgement, for your foster-Son, for whom you had cared so lovingly, was your Judge, and Mary was your advocate. The verdict of the Judge was a word of encouragement to wait for His coming to Limbo, where He would shower you with the choicest fruits of the Redemption, and an embrace of grateful affection before you breathed forth your soul into eternity.

You looked into eternity and to your everlasting reward with confidence. If our Savior blessed the shepherds, the Magi, Simeon, John the Baptist, and others, because they greeted His presence with devoted hearts for a brief passing hour, how much more did He bless you who have sanctified yourself for so many years in His company and that of His Mother? If Jesus regards every corporal and spiritual work of mercy, performed in behalf of our fellow men our of love for Him, as done to Himself, and promises heaven as a reward, what must have been the extent of His gratitude to you who in the truest sense of the word have received Him, given Him shelter, clothed, nourished, and consoled Him at the sacrifice of your strength and rest, and even your life, with a love which surpassed the love of all fathers.

God really and personally made Himself your debtor. Our Divine Savior paid that debt of gratitude by granting you many graces in your lifetime, especially the grace of growing in love, which is the best and most perfect of all gifts. Thus at the end of your life your heart became filled with love, the fervor and longing of which your frail body could not resist. Your soul followed the triumphant impulse of your love and winged its flight from earth to bear the prophets and patriarchs in Limbo the glad tidings of the advent of the Redeemer.

Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being able to die in the arms of Jesus and Mary. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace of a happy death. Help me to spend each day in preparation for death. May I, too, accept death in the spirit of resignation to God's Holy Will, and die, as you did, in the arms of Jesus, strengthened by Holy Viaticum, and in the arms of Mary, with her rosary in my hand and her name on my lips!

Daily Novena Prayer

Daily Novena Prayer:

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 specially 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 in 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.

Novena to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

Mary, Queen Assumed into Heaven, I rejoice that after years of heroic martyrdom on earth, you have at last been taken to the throne prepared for you in heaven by the Holy Trinity.

Lift my heart with you in the glory of your Assumption above the dreadful touch of sin and impurity. Teach me how small earth becomes when viewed from heaven. Make me realize that death is the triumphant gate through which I shall pass to your Son, and that someday my body shall rejoin my soul in the unending bliss of heaven.

From this earth, over which I tread as a pilgrim, I look to you for help. I ask for this favor: (Mention your request).

When my hour of death has come, lead me safely to the presence of Jesus to enjoy the vision of my God for all eternity together with you.
Amen.

Novena Prayers to Mary, Queen of Apostles

Introduction

Devotion to Mary as Queen of Apostles is one of the oldest devotions in the Church. After Christ and with Christ, Mary is the Apostle. God continues to give all graces through Mary, just as he willed that Christ should come to us through Mary: "born of a woman" (Gal 4:4). Every apostolate and every true apostle has life and action from Mary. So it was of Christ: " ... Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession" (Heb. 3:1). Christ began his apostolate through Mary at Cana; the mission of the apostles was begun through Mary in the cenacle. Likewise through the centuries all apostolates have received their origin and strength through Mary. Without God nothing exists; without Mary, nothing in Christ and in the Church.

History

The feast of the Queen of Apostles was established on the first Saturday after the Ascension by the Sacred Congregation of Rites at the request of the Pallottine Fathers. Mary initiated her mission as Queen of Apostles in the Cenacle. She gathered the apostles together, comforted them, and assisted them in prayer. Together with them she hoped, desired and prayed; with them her petitions were heeded and she received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

Mary is Queen of Apostles because she was chosen to be the Mother of Jesus Christ and to give Him to the world; she was made the apostles' Mother and our own by Our Savior on the cross. She was with the apostles while awaiting the descent of the Holy Spirit, obtaining for them the abundance of supernatural graces they received on Pentecost. The most holy Virgin was and always will be the wellspring for every apostolate.

She exercised a universal apostolate, one so vast that it embraced all others. The apostolate of prayer, the apostolate of good example, the apostolate of suffering--Mary fulfilled them all. Other people have practiced certain teachings of the Gospel; Mary lived them all. Mary is full of grace, and we draw from her abundance.

Mary attracts the zealous to the various apostolates, then protects and defends all these works. She sheds on each the warmth of her love and the light of her countenance. She presented Jesus in a manner unparalleled throughout the ages. Her apostolate is of the highest degree--never to be equaled, much less surpassed.

Mary gave Jesus to the world and with Jesus came every other blessing. Thus, because of Mary we have the Church: "Mary is the Mother of the Church not only because she is the Mother of Christ and his most intimate associate in 'the new economy when the Son of God took a human nature from her, that he might in the mysteries of His Flesh free man from sin,' but also because 'she shines forth to the whole community of the elect as a model of the virtues' (Lumen Gentium, nos. 55, 65). She now continues to fulfill from heaven her maternal function as the cooperator in the birth and development of the divine life in the individual souls of the redeemed" (The Great Sign, by Paul VI). What do we have of value that we have not received through Mary? It is God's Will that every blessing should come to us through her.

Because the Blessed Mother occupies a most important position in God's plan of salvation, all humanity should pay homage to her. Whoever spreads devotion to the Queen of Apostles is an apostolic benefactor of the human race, because devotion to Mary is a treasure. Blessed is the person who possesses this treasure! Mary's devotees will never be without grace; in any danger, in every circumstance they will always have the means to obtain every grace from God.
Several religious congregations practice devotion to Mary under the title of Queen of Apostles, including the Pallotines, the Marianists, and the congregations founded by Bl. James Alberione (the Society of St. Paul, the Daughters of St. Paul, and several others). In the twentieth century, Bl. Alberione promoted this devotion in a particular way.

Novena to the Queen of Apostles

First Day

"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel" (Gen 3:15).

Through God's loving foresight, Mary was placed, so to speak, on a path different from that on which all the common children of Eve, born with original sin, entered the world. The new path is that of the redeemed. The light of the cross illumined Mary's conception, infancy and youth. Thus, she was worthy to be blessed among women.

Together let us honor Mary Immaculate, Queen of Apostles, and ask her to give Jesus, Master, Way, Truth and Life, to all of us and to all people on earth.

Reflection and Resolution

Prayer--O God, you sent the Holy Spirit upon the apostles as they were united in prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus. May the Queen of Apostles, the same Mother of us all, help us to serve Your Majesty faithfully, and to spread the glory of Your Name by word and example. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be)
Queen of Apostles, pray for us.

Second Day

"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; He will be called Son of God" (Lk 1:35).

The grace in a soul is like a root from which a plant develops with its branches, leaves, flowers and fruits. Virtues grow in a soul in proportion to grace. Thus, we understand why Mary reached the highest degree of virtue and holiness: because she was full of grace. She possessed the theological, cardinal and moral virtues, the beatitudes and the fruits of the Holy Spirit to an eminent degree.

Mary is full of grace, the creature most intimate with God, the Blessed Mother who gives Jesus to us and helps us to love Him. She makes us conceive a great fear of sin and of dangerous occasions. She inspires in us the desire for purity and for sacrifice.

Reflection and Resolution

Prayer--O God, You sent the Holy Spirit upon the apostles as they were united in prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus. May the Queen of Apostles, the same Mother of us all, help us to serve Your Majesty faithfully, and to spread the glory of Your Name by word and example. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be)
Queen of Apostles, pray for us.

Third Day

"She gave birth to her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in bands of cloth, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn" (Lk 2:7). Mary fulfills her apostolate: to give Jesus to the Father, to humanity, to heaven. She presented Jesus to the Gentiles, represented by the Magi who came to the crib in Bethlehem. Mary always gives Jesus. She is like a fruitful branch. She always carries Jesus and offers Him to us: the Way, the Truth and the Life of humanity.

Let us pray to Mary, the Mother of the Infant Jesus, that through her maternal intercession we may all welcome the message from the crib: "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom He favors!" (Lk 2:14).

Reflection and Resolution

Fourth Day

"This Child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed...and a sword will pierce your own soul too" (Lk 2:34-35). Jesus Christ saw Mary at the foot of His cross, sharing in His Passion. The Christian possesses an inexhaustible strength and is able to endure great sufferings without breaking. In suffering, a person can attain great nobility of character; indeed, suffering becomes a real apostolate.

Let us always trustfully invoke Mary: "Pray for us, now and at the hour of our death." All to Mary, from Mary, with Mary. She shows everyone on earth her Son. Let us pray: "After this our exile, show to us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus."

Reflection and Resolution

Fifth Day

"His mother treasured all these things in her heart" (Lk 2:51).

The Presentation of the Lord enlightens us to live in holiness, detachment from worldly things, and purity of thoughts and actions. The Child Jesus enters the temple, takes possession of it and will live in the Eucharist until the end of time. Once we have known our vocation, we must follow it and live it faithfully until we are called to heaven.

Reflection and Resolution

Sixth Day

"Standing near the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene" (Jn 19:25).

Let us look at Jesus--He sacrificed Himself on the cross. Let us look at Mary--she shared Christ's mission and passion with Him. The essence of the redemption is on Calvary--Jesus offers himself; Mary offers herself and her Son, Whom she loves more than herself. Jesus is the Redeemer; Mary, the co-redemptrix.

Reflection and Resolution

Seventh Day

"When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, He said to his mother, 'Woman, here is Your Son.' Then He said to the disciple, 'Here is your mother'" (Jn 19:26-27). When human perversity had reached its height and had brought about the death of our Lord, when the Shepherd was smitten and the entire flock of apostles and faithful were dispersed, Jesus Christ offered hope, salvation and His Mother: "Here is your mother" (Jn 19:26).

Reflection and Resolution

Eighth Day

"All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers" (Acts 1:14).

It is clear that we have to consider and follow Mary as our model. She is the Most Holy Virgin, the co-redemptrix and the Queen of Apostles. She offered Jesus on Calvary, and together with the apostles she prayed in the cenacle to obtain the Holy Spirit. She took care of the Church, newly born and already persecuted. As Mother of the Church, she became the outstanding member of the Mystical Body of Christ.

Reflection and Resolution

Ninth Day

"Mary Immaculate, the ever-virgin Mother of God, having finished the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory" (Pius XII, November, 1950).

After the death of her Son, Jesus, Mary took care of the apostles, especially St. John, the youngest. She accompanied them with her prayers, good example and maternal comfort. Thus, Jesus willed that Mary be with them during their first years of evangelization, as she had accompanied him. After her earthly pilgrimage, her mission fulfilled, she was assumed into heaven. Let us think about the last day of the world. All the elect will gloriously enter heaven, body and soul; thus they will have an eternal reward.

Reflection and Resolution

Chaplet to Mary, Queen of Apostles (By Blessed James Alberione)

1. Most loving Queen of heaven and of earth, I venerate and praise that privilege, unique in the world, whereby--pleasing God in your humility and faith, and preserving your spotless virginity--you became the great Mother of the Divine Savior, source of all truth and first apostle of truth. You gave the world the Book to read: the Eternal Word. For the indescribable joy you felt and for that privilege so sublime, I bless the Holy Trinity. I ask you to obtain for me the grace of heavenly wisdom, to be a humble and fervent disciple of Jesus, a devoted child of the Church, the pillar of truth. Make the light of the Gospel shine to the farthest bounds of the earth, overcome errors, gather all people around the See of Peter. Enlighten theologians, preachers and writers, O Mother of Good Counsel, O Seat of Wisdom, O Queen of All Saints.
Queen of Apostles, pray for us.

2. O Mary, Queen of All the Angels, Full of Grace, Conceived without Sin, Blessed among Creatures, Living Tabernacle of God, remember that painful and solemn moment in which the dying Jesus from the cross gave you John as your son, and in him all humanity and especially all the apostles. What tender love flooded your heart at that moment for those consecrated to the apostolate, to the following of the cross, to the love of Jesus! For your indescribable sufferings and those of your divine Son, for your motherly heart, O Mary, increase the number of apostles, missionaries, priests and virgins. May they be resplendent for sanctity of life, integrity of morals, solid piety, the deepest humility, the most firm faith, the most ardent charity. May they all be holy, purifying salt of the earth and light of the world.
Queen of Apostles, pray for us.

3. O Most Pure Virgin, noble Queen of Martyrs, Morning Star, Safe Refuge of Sinners, rejoice for the days in which you were Teacher, Comforter and Mother of the Apostles in the cenacle, to invoke and receive the Divine Paraclete, the Spirit with the seven gifts, Love of the Father and of the Son, Transformer of the Apostles. By your all-powerful intercession and by your humble and irresistible prayers, which always move God's Heart, obtain for me the grace to realize the value of every human person, for whom Jesus Christ shed His most precious blood. May each one of us be enthusiastic about the beauty of the Christian apostolate. May the Charity of Christ urge us on. May the spiritual misery of poor humanity move us. Grant that we may feel in our hearts the needs of childhood, of adolescence, of adulthood, of old age. Grant that vast Africa, immense Asia, promising Oceania, troubled Europe, the two Americas may exercise a powerful attraction on our souls. Grant that the apostolate of example and word, of prayer and the press, of films, radio and television, of the souls in purgatory, may conquer many generous persons, even to the point of the most heroic sacrifices. O Mother of the Church, O Queen of Apostles, our Advocate, to you we sigh, mourning in this valley of tears.
Queen of Apostles, pray for us.

4. O our tender Mother Mary, Gate of Heaven, Source of Peace and Happiness, Help of Christians, Trust of the Dying, and Hope even of the Desperate, I recall the blessed moment for you in which you left the earth to fly to the blessed embrace of Jesus. It was the omnipotent favor of God which assumed you into heaven, beautiful and immortal. I see you exalted above the angels and saints, confessors and virgins, apostles and martyrs, prophets and patriarchs, and even I, from the midst of my sins, dare to add the voice of an unworthy but repentant sinner to praise and bless you. O Mary, convert me once and for always. Give me a repentant life, that I may have a holy death and one day join my voice to that of the saints to praise you in heaven. I consecrate myself to you and through you to Jesus. With full awareness and here in the presence of all the heavenly court, I renew the promises made in holy Baptism. I renew the resolution, which I place in your heart, to fight my self-love and to combat unceasingly against my principal defect, which so often has cast me into sin. O Mary, gain for yourself the greatest glory: change a great sinner into a great saint, O Refuge of Sinners, O Morning Star, O Comforter of the Afflicted.
Queen of Apostles, pray for us.

5. O Mary, Star of the Sea, my gentle sovereign, our life and Queen of Peace, how great and how wonderful the day on which the Holy Trinity crowned you Queen of Heaven and Earth, Dispenser of All Graces, our most lovable Mother--what a triumph for you! What happiness for the angels, for the saints, for the earth, for purgatory! I know, O Mary, that those who love you will be saved, and that those who love you greatly will be holy and will participate one day in your glory in heaven. I do not doubt your clemency nor your power; I fear my inconstancy in praying to you. Obtain for me perseverance. O Mary, be my salvation. I feel my passions, the devil, the world. O Mary, hold me close to you and to your Jesus! Do not permit me to fall; do not leave me even for an instant, O Mother. It is consoling to cast the first glance upon you in the morning, to walk under your mantle during the day, to fall asleep under your gaze at night. You have smiles for innocent children, strength for struggling youth, light for working men and women, comfort for old age awaiting heaven. O Mary, to you I consecrate my entire life; pray for me now and in the final battle at the hour of my death. Receive my soul when it breathes its last, and do not leave me until I kneel before your throne in heaven, to love you for all eternity. O Mary, my Queen, my advocate, my sweetness, obtain for me holy perseverance.
Queen of Apostles, pray for us.

From a Pentecost Novena by St. Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

Who are You, Sweet Light, that fills me
And illumines the darkness of my heart?
You lead me like a mother's hand,
And should You let go of me,
I would not know how to take another step.
You are the space
That embraces my being and buries it in Yourself.
Away from You it sinks into the abyss
Of nothingness, from which You raised it to the light.
You, nearer to me than I to myself
And more interior than my most interior
And still impalpable and intangible
And beyond any name:
Holy Spirit eternal love!
Are You not the Sweet Manna
That from the Son's Heart
Overflows into my heart,
The Food of Angels and the Blessed?
He who raised himself from death to life,
He has also awakened me to new life
From the sleep of death.
And he gives me new life from day to day,
And at some time His fullness is to stream through me,
Life of Your Life indeed, You Yourself:
Holy Spirit Eternal Life!
Are You the Ray
That flashes down from the Eternal Judge's throne
And breaks into the night of the soul
That had never known itself?
Mercifully relentlessly
It penetrates hidden folds.
Alarmed at seeing itself,
The self makes space for holy fear,
The beginning of that wisdom
That comes from on high
And anchors us firmly in the heights,
Your action,
That creates us anew:
Holy Spirit Ray that penetrates everything!
Are You the Dpirit's Fullness and the Power
By which the Lamb releases the seal
Of God's eternal decree?
Driven by You
The messengers of judgment ride through the world
And separate with a sharp sword
The Kingdom of Light from the kingdom of night.
Then heaven becomes new and new the earth,
And all finds its proper place
Through Your Breath:
Holy Spirit victorious power!
Are You the master who builds the eternal cathedral,
Which towers from the earth through the heavens?
Animated by You, the columns are raised high
And stand immovably firm.
Marked with the eternal name of God,
They stretch up to the light,
Bearing the dome,
Which crowns the holy cathedral,
Your work that encircles the world:
Holy Spirit God's Molding Hand!
Are You the one who created the unclouded mirror
Next to the Almighty's throne,
Like a crystal sea,
In which Divinity lovingly looks at Itself?
You bend over the fairest work of Your creation,
And radiantly Your Own Gaze
Is illumined in return.
And of all creatures the pure beauty
Is joined in one in the dear form
Of the Virgin, Your immaculate bride:
Holy Spirit Creator of all!
Are You the Sweet Song of Love
And of Holy Awe
That eternally resounds around the triune throne,
That weds in itself the clear chimes of each and every being?
The harmony,
That joins together the members to the Head,
In which each one
Finds the mysterious meaning of His being blessed
And joYously surges forth,
Freely dissolved in Your surging:
Holy Spirit Eternal Jubilation!

Novena to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Feast Day - Monday, December 8

(Holy Day of Obligation)

O God, Who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain, so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession, to come unto You. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

First, recite the Prayer to the Immaculate Conception.
Then, recite the appropriate prayer of each of the nine days.

Day One

O most Holy Virgin who was pleasing to the Lord and became His mother,
immaculate in body and spirit, in faith and in love, look kindly on me as I implore your powerful intercession. O most Holy Mother, who by your blessed Immaculate Conception, from the first moment of your conception did crush the head of the enemy, receive our prayers as we implore you to present at the throne of God the favor we now request... (State your intention here...)

O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be His Divine Will.

Day Two

O Mary, ever blessed Virgin, Mother of God, Queen of Angels and of
Saints, we salute you with the most profound veneration and filial devotion as we contemplate your holy Immaculate Conception, We thank you for your maternal protection and for the many blessings that we have received through your wondrous mercy and most powerful intercession. In all our necessities we have recourse to you with unbounded confidence. O Mother of Mercy, we beseech you now to hear our prayer and to obtain for us of your Divine Son the favor that we so earnestly request in this novena…(State your intention here...)

Day Three

O Blessed Virgin Mary, Glory of the Christian People, Joy of
the Universal Church and Mother of Our Lord, speak for us to the Heart of Jesus, who is your Son and our brother. O Mary, who by your holy Immaculate Conception did enter the world free from stain, in your mercy obtain for us from Jesus the special favor which we now so earnestly seek... (State your intention here...)

Day Four

O Mary, Mother of God, endowed in your glorious Immaculate
Conception with the fullness of grace; unique among women in that you are both mother and virgin; Mother of Christ and Virgin of Christ, we ask you to look down with a tender heart from your throne and listen to our prayers as we earnestly ask that you obtain for us the favor for which we now plead... (State your intention here...)

Day Five

O Lord, who, by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary,
did prepare a fitting dwelling for your Son, we beseech you that as by the
foreseen death of your Son, you did preserve her from all stain of sin, grant that through her intercession, we may be favored with the granting of the grace that we seek for at this time... (State your intention here...)

Day Six

Glorious and Immortal Queen of Heaven, we profess our firm
belief in your Immaculate Conception preordained for you in the merits of your Divine Son. We rejoice with you in your Immaculate Conception. To the one ever-reigning God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three in one Person, one in nature, we offer thanks for your blessed Immaculate Conception. O Mother of the Word made Flesh, listen to our petition as we ask this special grace during this novena… (State your intention here.)

Day Seven

O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God, and my mother, from the
sublime heights of your dignity turn your merciful eyes upon me while I, full of confidence in your bounty and keeping in mind your Immaculate Conception and fully conscious of your power, beg of you to come to our aid and ask your Divine Son to grant the favor we earnestly seek in this novena if it be beneficial for our immortal souls and the souls for whom we pray... (State your intention here...)

Day Eight

O Most gracious Virgin Mary, beloved Mother of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, intercede with him for us that we be granted the favor which we petition for so earnestly in this novena...O Mother of the Word Incarnate, we feel animated with confidence that your prayers in our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. O Glorious Mother of God, in memory of your joyous Immaculate Conception, hear our prayers and obtain for us our petitions…(State your intention here...)

Day Nine

O Mother of the King of the Universe, most perfect member of
the human race, "our tainted nature’s solitary boast," we turn to you
as Mother, Advocate and Mediatrix. O Holy Mary, assist us in our present necessity. By your Immaculate Conception, O Mary conceived without sin, we humbly beseech you from the bottom of our heart to intercede for us with your Divine Son and ask that we be granted the favor for which we now plead... (State your intention here...)

Recite The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

God our Father in Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the World, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Most honored of virgins, pray for us.
Mother of Christ, pray for us.

Mother of the Church, pray for us.
Mother of Divine Grace, pray for us.
Mother Most Pure, pray for us.
Mother of Chaste Love, pray for us.
Mother and Virgin, pray for us.
Sinless Mother, pray for us.
Dearest of Mothers, pray for us.
Model of Motherhood, pray for us.
Mother of Good Counsel, pray for us.
Mother of our Creator, pray for us.
Mother of our Savior, pray for us.
Virgin Most Wise, pray for us.
Virgin rightly praised, pray for us.
Virgin rightly renowned, pray for us.
Virgin Most Powerful, pray for us.
Virgin gentle in mercy, pray for us.
Faithful Virgin, pray for us.
Mirror of Justice, pray for us.
Throne of Wisdom, pray for us.
Cause of Our Joy, pray for us.
Shrine of the Spirit, pray for us.
Glory of Israel, pray for us.
Vessel of Selfless Devotion, pray for us.
Mystical Rose, pray for us.
Tower of David, pray for us.
Tower of Ivory, pray for us.
House of Gold, pray for us.
Ark of the covenant, pray for us.
Gate of Heaven, pray for us.
Morning Star, pray for us.
Health of the Sick, pray for us.
Refuge of Sinners, pray for us.
Comfort of the Troubled, pray for us.
Help of Christians, pray for us.
Queen of Angels, pray for us.
Queen of Patriarchs and Prophets, pray for us.
Queen of Apostles and Martyrs, pray for us.
Queen of Confessors and Virgins, pray for us.
Queen of all Saints, pray for us.
Queen Conceived Without Sin, pray for us.
Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us.
Queen of the Rosary, pray for us.
Queen of Families, pray for us.
Queen of Peace, pray for us.

Blessed be the name of the Virgin Mary now and forever.
Amen.

Pentecorst Novena

Novena to the Holy Spirit is the oldest of all novenas since it was first made at the direction of Our Lord Himself when He sent His apostles back to Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost. It is still the only novena officially prescribed by the Church. Addressed to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, it is a powerful plea for the light and strength and love so sorely needed by every Christian.

Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts of the Spirit

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

On my knees before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses, I offer myself, soul and body to You, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Your purity, the unerring keenness of Your justice, and the might of Your love. You are the Strength and Light of my soul. In You I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve You by unfaithfulness to grace and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against You. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Your light, and listen to Your voice, and follow Your gracious inspirations. I cling to You and give myself to You and ask You, by Your compassion to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus and looking at His Five Wounds, and trusting in His Precious Blood and adoring His opened Side and stricken Heart, I implore You, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, to keep me in Your grace that I may never sin against You. Give me grace, O Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Father and the Son to say to You always and everywhere, "Speak Lord for Your servant heareth." Amen.

To be recited daily during the Novena

PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

O Lord Jesus Christ Who, before ascending into heaven did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul, the work of Your grace and Your love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal, the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth, the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with You and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation, the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints, the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, and the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Your true disciples and animate me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen.

(To be recited daily during the Novena)

FIRST DAY (Friday, May 14th)

Holy Spirit! Lord of Light! From Your clear celestial height, Your pure beaming radiance give!

The Holy Spirit

Only one thing is important -- eternal salvation. Only one thing, therefore, is to be feared--sin· Sin is the result of ignorance, weakness, and indifference The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Light, of Strength, and of Love. With His sevenfold gifts He enlightens the mind, strengthens the will, and inflames the heart with love of God. To ensure our salvation we ought to invoke the Divine Spirit daily, for "The Spirit helpeth our infirmity. We know not what we should pray for as we ought. But the Spirit Himself asketh for us."

Prayer

Almighty and eternal God, Who hast vouchsafed to regenerate us by water and the Holy Spirit, and hast given us forgiveness all sins, vouchsafe to send forth from heaven upon us your sevenfold Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and fortitude, the Spirit of Knowledge and Piety, and fill us with the Spirit of Holy Fear. Amen.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE.

Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.

Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

SECOND DAY (Saturday, May 15th)

Come. Father of the poor. Come, treasures which endure; Come, Light of all that live!

The Gift of Fear

The gift of Fear fills us with a sovereign respect for God, and makes us dread nothing so much as to offend Him by sin. It is a fear that arises, not from the thought of hell, but from sentiments of reverence and filial submission

to our heavenly Father. It is the fear that is the beginning of wisdom, detaching us from worldly pleasures that could in any way separate us from God. "They that fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and in His sight will sanctify their souls."

Prayer

Come, O blessed Spirit of Holy Fear, penetrate my inmost heart, that I may set you, my Lord and God, before my face forever, help me to shun all things that can offend You, and make me worthy to appear before the pure eyes of Your Divine Majesty in heaven, where You live and reign in the unity of the ever Blessed Trinity, God world without end. Amen.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE.

Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.

Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

THIRD DAY (Sunday May 16th)

Thou, of all consolers best, Visiting the troubled breast, Dost refreshing peace bestow.

The Gift of Piety

The gift of Piety begets in our hearts a filial affection for God as our most loving Father. It inspires us to love and respect for His sake persons and things consecrated to Him, as well as those who are vested with His authority, His Blessed Mother and the Saints, the Church and its visible Head, our parents and superiors, our country and its rulers. He who is filled with the gift of Piety finds the practice of his religion, not a burdensome duty, but a delightful service. Where there is love, there is no labor.

Prayer

Come, O Blessed Spirit of Piety, possess my heart. Enkindle therein such a love for God, that I may find satisfaction only in His service, and for His sake lovingly submit to all legitimate authority. Amen.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE.

Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.

Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

FOURTH DAY (Monday, May 17th)

Thou in toil art comfort sweet, Pleasant coolness in the heat, solace in the midst of woe.

The Gift of Fortitude

The Gift of Fortitude By the gift of Fortitude the soul is strengthened against natural fear, and supported to the end in the performance of duty. Fortitude imparts to the will an impulse and energy which move it to under take without hesitancy the most arduous tasks, to face dangers, to trample under foot human respect, and to endure without complaint the slow martyrdom of even lifelong tribulation. "He that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved."

Prayer

Come, O Blessed Spirit of Fortitude, uphold my soul in time of trouble and adversity, sustain my efforts after holiness, strengthen my weakness, give me courage against all the assaults of my enemies, that I may never be overcome and separated from Thee, my God and greatest Good. Amen.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE.

Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.

Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

FIFTH DAY (Tuesday, May 18th)

Light immortal! Light Divine! Visit Thou these hearts of Thine, And our inmost being fill!

The Gift of Knowledge

The gift of Knowledge enables the soul to evaluate created things at their true worth--in their relation to God. Knowledge unmasks the pretense of creatures, reveals their emptiness, and points out their only true purpose as instruments in the service of God. It shows us the loving care of God even in adversity, and directs us to glorify Him in every circumstance of life. Guided by its light, we put first things first, and prize the friendship of God beyond all else. "Knowledge is a fountain of life to him that possesseth it."

Prayer

Come, O Blessed Spirit of Knowledge, and grant that I may perceive the will of the Father; show me the nothingness of earthly things, that I may realize their vanity and use them only for Thy glory and my own salvation, looking ever beyond them to Thee, and Thy eternal rewards. Amen.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE.

Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.

Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

SIXTH DAY (Wednesday, May 19th)

If Thou take Thy grace away, nothing pure in man will stay, All his good is turn'd to ill.

The Gift of Understanding

Understanding, as a gift of the Holy Spirit, helps us to grasp the meaning of the truths of our holy religion by faith we know them, but by Understanding we learn to appreciate and relish them. It enables us to penetrate the inner meaning of revealed truths and through them to be quickened to newness of life. Our faith ceases to be sterile and inactive, but inspires a mode of life that bears eloquent testimony to the faith that is in us; we begin to "walk worthy of God in all things pleasing, and increasing in the knowledge of God."

Prayer

Come, O Spirit of Understanding, and enlighten our minds, that we may know and believe all the mysteries of salvation; and may merit at last to see the eternal light in Thy Light; and in the light of glory to have a clear vision of Thee and the Father and the Son. Amen.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE.

Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.

Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

SEVENTH DAY (Thursday, May 20th)

Heal our wounds--our strength renews; On our dryness pour Thy dew, Wash the stains of guilt away.

The Gift of Counsel

The gift of Counsel endows the soul with supernatural prudence, enabling it to judge promptly and rightly what must done, especially in difficult circumstances. Counsel applies the principles furnished by Knowledge and Understanding to the innumerable concrete cases that confront us in the course of our daily duty as parents, teachers, public servants, and Christian citizens. Counsel is supernatural common sense, a priceless treasure in the quest of salvation. "Above all these things, pray to the Most High, that He may direct thy way in truth."

Prayer

Come, O Spirit of Counsel, help and guide me in all my ways, that I may always do Thy holy will. Incline my heart to that which is good; turn it away from all that is evil, and direct me by the straight path of Thy commandments to that goal of eternal life for which I long.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE. Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.

Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

EIGHTH DAY (Friday, May 21st)

Bend the stubborn heart and will, melt the frozen warm the chill. Guide the steps that go astray!

The Gift of Wisdom

Embodying all the other gifts, as charity embraces all the other virtues, Wisdom is the most perfect of the gifts. Of wisdom it is written "all good things came to me with her, and innumerable riches through her hands." It is the gift of Wisdom that strengthens our faith, fortifies hope, perfects charity, and promotes the practice of virtue in the highest degree. Wisdom enlightens the mind to discern and relish things divine, in the appreciation of which earthly joys lose their savor, whilst the Cross of Christ yields a divine sweetness according to the words of the Saviour: "Take up thy cross and follow me, for my yoke is sweet and my burden light.

Prayer

Come, O Spirit of Wisdom, and reveal to my soul the mysteries of heavenly things, their exceeding greatness, power and beauty. Teach me to love them above and beyond all the passing joys and satisfactions of earth. Help me to attain them and possess them for ever. Amen.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE.

Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.

Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

NINTH DAY (Saturday, May 22nd

Vigil of Pentecost)

Thou, on those who evermore Thee confess and Thee Adore, in Thy sevenfold gift, Descend; Give Them Comfort when they die; Give them Life with Thee on high; Give them joys which never end. Amen

The Fruits of the Holy Spirit

The gifts of the Holy Spirit perfect the supernatural virtues by enabling us to practice them with greater docility to divine inspiration. As we grow in the knowledge and love of God under the direction of the Holy Spirit, our service becomes more sincere and generous, the practice of virtue more perfect. Such acts of virtue leave the heart filled with joy and consolation and are known as Fruits of the Holy Spirit. These Fruits in turn render the practice of virtue more attractive and become a powerful incentive for still greater efforts in the service of God, to serve Whom is to reign.

Prayer

Come, O Divine Spirit, fill my heart with Thy heavenly fruits, Thy charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, faith, mildness, and temperance, that I may never weary in the service of God, but by continued faithful submission to Thy inspiration may merit to be united eternally with Thee in the love of the Father and the Son. Amen.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE.

Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.

Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

Link to more Novena Prayers:

- Treasure of 604 Novena Prayers

- Novena Prayer.com

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