NOVENA PRAYERS
1⃣ NOVENA TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
2⃣ NOVENA TO ST. JOSEMARIA ESCRIVA
3⃣ NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL SUCCOUR
4⃣ NOVENA TO STS. PETER AND PAUL
5⃣ NOVENA TO ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE
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1⃣ NOVENA TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
DAY 9 - JUNE 24
IMITATION OF MARY
Immaculate Mother of God, our Mother by grace, we the beloved of thy Immaculate Heart come to thee on this final day of this Novena to pray for the grace to imitate thee, our Heavenly Mother in thy life of faith, hope, charity, humility, purity - all the Christian virtues in which thou excelled to a perfect degree. Created "full of grace," thou increased more in grace day by day. At the Annunciation, Immaculate Mary thou replied to the Angel: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; may it be done to me according to Thy word." (Luke 1:38) Thy cousin, St. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Ghost, greeted thee: "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb... And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things will be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord." (Luke 42-45) Thy Divine Son Jesus Christ praised thee in response to the woman in the crowd: "...blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it." (Luke 1:28) Thus did Jesus praise thy faith and love even more than thy physical maternity. It was thy perfect faith, O Mary, in which thy Motherhood was rooted and which inspires us yet today. Thou responded in love as the Spirit of Love overshadowed thee. Thou lived the beatitudes perfectly, serving the Church both as Mother and Model for the Church.
Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, call upon all to imitate thee in faith and love when He said: "Who is my mother and my brethren? ...Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of God, he is my brother, and my sister and mother." (Mark 3:33-35)
Our Mother of Mercy, "God hath regarded the humility of His handmaid." It was of thee, Mother Mary, that St. Luke the Evangelist wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, beholding thee as the first disciple who heard the Word of God and did it perfectly. (Luke 1:38) Thou was present at the beginning of the Gospel and the beginning of the Church as a perfect example: "All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with...and Mary the Mother of Jesus..." (Acts 1:14)
(State your intentions here…)
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be...
PRAYER: Mary, inspiration for every Christian vocation - single and virginal, married, parent, widowed, religious - by thy perfection in all virtues, living the beatitudes perfectly, thou has inspired all generations which have called thee "Blessed." At the wedding feast of Cana, as "Daughter of Zion," thou greeted the Messianic bridegroom as thy represented the Church as, His Bride. On Calvary, as the new Eve, representing the Church, the new Israel, thou became the Mother of all. Today, ever still we hear thy words, "Do whatever He tells you." (John 2:5) And we hear still His words from the Cross: "Woman, this is thy Son. This is thy Mother." (John 19:27) In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2), in the Cenacle, we see thee, O Mary, prayerfully imploring the gift of the Holy Ghost for the Church. For none days thou teaches the Apostles how to pray. Gathered around thee and inspired by thy Immaculate Heart, Peter, the first Pope, and the other disciples of the Lord imitated thy perfection of faith, hope and love in prayer as thou awaited with them the fulfillment of the promise of the Lord. We, the beloved of thy Immaculate Heart, gathered about thee even now, implore thy special prayers for the outpouring again of the Holy Spirit upon all members of Holy Mother Church. In confidence we now present to thy Holy and Immaculate Heart the special intentions for which we have made this Novena. Amen.
Immaculate Heart of Mary: Pray for us!
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2⃣ NOVENA TO ST. JOSEMARIA ESCRIVA
DAY 8 - JUNE 24
Heavenly Father, you have given us the shining example of St. Josemaría Escrivá. You granted him the grace and ability to minister to many when he founded Opus Dei. He shared Your word and taught people how to make their daily life and work holy. For it is in our daily life and work that we can come to know You, O God!
St. Josemaría Escrivá, we know that you are particularly close with God and so we humbly beg you to hear and answer our intentions through the grace of Our Lord.
(State your intentions here…)
O God, we long to have your peace within us. Please show us how to be holy like St. Josemaría Escrivá so that every day we may see Your loving hand in our work, our families, in our friends and in all that we do. Help us to be strong when we face illness and difficulty in life so that we may see Your good and loving hand in all situations.
Today, we come to You with a special request through the intercession of St. Josemaría Escrivá:
Dear God, help us understand that the love that we put into our work is what gives our work value. Please teach us to know the love that comes from offering our work to God and for our neighbour. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be...
PRAYER: St. Josemaría Escrivá, we offer our prayers and intentions into your steadfast hands with the knowledge that you will bring them to the feet of God speedily. As we ask you to pray for our intentions, we pray even more that we may become as close to Our Lord as you are. Only there, close to God, may our hearts be fulfilled. Amen.
St. Josemaría Escrivá: Pray for us!
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3⃣ NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL SUCCOUR
DAY 7 - JUNE 24
Most Holy Mother of our Saviour, thou alone hast loved Him worthily for thou hast not loved Him in word only, but in deed and in truth; thou hast given the great proof that this love demands, for thou has loved us with a love which being next to His own, never had an equal and which brought thee to sacrifice for our happiness all that was made thine own, even thy Jesus Himself. I can never be dear to thee unless I also love my neighbour with a sincere and generous love. Help me to do so, O Mother of Perpetual Help. Obtain for me a heart like to that of Jesus and thy own, so that I may be meek and humble, patient, compassionate, more ready to forgive than to take offense, and to give than to receive; that thus I may keep my eyes ever open to my own faults, and may close them to those of my neighbour; that I may put up with everything rather than cause pain to another; that severe to myself, I may be full of indulgence towards others, that I may love them in Jesus, and Jesus in them; that by my prayers, my good advice, and good example, I may strive to draw them for their salvation to Jesus and to thee. Amen.
PRAYER: O Mother of Perpetual Succour, behold me a miserable sinner at thy feet; I have recourse to thee and put my trust in thee. O Mother of Mercy have pity upon me. I hear thee called by all the refuge and the hope of sinners, be then my refuge and my hope. Succour me for the love of Jesus Christ; stretch forth thy hand to me a poor sinner, who recommend and dedicate myself to thee as thy perpetual servant. I bless and thank GOD for having in His mercy given me this confidence in thee, the pledge as I believe of my eternal salvation. Alas! Too often in past times have I miserably fallen, because I had not recourse to thee! I know that with thy help I shall conquer. I know that thou will help me if I recommend myself to thee; but I fear lest in the occasion of falling. I should cease to call upon thee and so should lose my soul. This, then, is the grace I seek from thee; and I beg of thee, as far as I know how and can, to obtain it for me; namely, in the assaults of hell, always to have recourse to thee and to say to thee: O Mary help me; Mother of Perpetual Succour, suffer me not to lose my God. Amen.
(State your intentions here…)
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be... (3 times)
Holy Mary, succour the miserable, help the faint hearted, cheer those that weep, pray for the people, be the advocate of the clergy, intercede for all devout woman; let all feel thine aid who implore thy perpetual succour.
Mother of Perpetual Succour: Pray for us!
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4⃣ NOVENA TO STS. PETER AND PAUL
DAY 5 - JUNE 24
JAMES 2:14-18
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or a sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat well,' but you do not give him the necessities of the body, what good is it? Indeed, someone may say, ‘You have faith; I have works.' Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.”
REFLECTION: Faith is the underlying force of Christian life. If one has Christian values, good deeds will automatically follow. Christians want to help each other, so it is only logical that they perform acts of kindness to show their love. How can we offer proof of our love without good works and assistance? Telling someone we love them is not as effective as demonstrating concern with actions. “Others will know we are Christians by our love.”
PRAYER: Dear Lord, you call me to love my neighbors as myself and teach me that faith without works is dead. Open me to the opportunities to serve you and my brothers and sisters.
O holy Apostles, Peter and Paul, I choose you this day and forever to be my special patrons and advocates; thee, Saint Peter, Prince of the Apostles, because thou art the Rock, upon which Almighty God hath built His Church; thee, Saint Paul, because thou wast fore-chosen by God as the Vessel of election and the Preacher of truth in the whole world.
(State your intentions here...)
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be...
Obtain for me, I pray you, lively faith, firm hope, and burning love; complete detachment from myself, contempt of the world, patience in adversity, humility in prosperity, attention in prayer, purity of heart, a right intention in all my works, diligence in fulfilling the duties of my state of life, constancy in my resolutions, resignation to the will of God and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death; that so, by means of your intercession and your glorious merits, I may be able to overcome the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil, and may be made worthy to appear before the chief and eternal Shepherd of souls, Jesus Christ, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth for endless ages, to enjoy His presence and love Him forever. Amen.
Sts. Peter and Paul: Pray for us!
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5⃣ NOVENA TO ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE
DAY 1 - JUNE 24
REFLECTION: LIKE THOMAS, WE HAVE BEEN CHOSEN BY JESUS CHRIST.
In these days he went out into the hills to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles; Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. (Luke 6:12‐16)
Lord Jesus, help me to believe that you have chosen me.
Lord Jesus, what have you chosen me for?
(State your intentions here...)
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be...
St. Thomas the Apostle: Pray for us!