NOVENA PRAYERS
1⃣ CHRISTMAS NOVENA
2⃣ NOVENA TO THE HOLY FAMILY
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1⃣ CHRISTMAS NOVENA
DAY 8 - DECEMBER 23
THE LIFE OF THE CHILD JESUS IN EGYPT AND IN NAZARETH
O Jesus, my Saviour ! When I consider how, for love of me, Thou didst spend thirty years of Thy life hidden and unknown in a poor workshop, how can I desire the pleasures and honours and riches of the world? Gladly do I renounce all these things, since I wish to be Thy companion on this earth, poor as Thou wast, mortified and humble as Thou wast, so that I may hope to be able one day to enjoy Thy companionship in heaven. What are all the treasures and kingdoms of this world? Thou, O Jesus, art my only treasure, my only Good!
I keenly regret the many times in the past when I spurned Thy friendship in order to satisfy my foolish whims. I am sorry for them with all my heart. For the future I would rather lose my life a thousand times than lose Thy grace by sin. I wish never to offend Thee again, but always to love Thee. Help me to remain faithful to Thee until death.
O Mary, thou art the refuge of sinners, thou art my hope. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be...
PRAYER: Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment at which the Son of God was born of a most pure Virgin at a stable at midnight in Bethlehem. In the piercing cold at that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, to hear my prayers and grant my desires...
(State your intentions here…)
Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother. Amen.
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2⃣ NOVENA TO THE HOLY FAMILY
DAY 3 - DECEMBER 23
THE HOLY FAMILY - MODEL OF PRAYERFULNESS
Prayer is a cornerstone for the Holy Family. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are prayerful as persons and as a family in their practice of the Jewish faith. Joseph and Mary taught Jesus His prayers and they prayed as a family. They kept the Commandments, kept holy the Sabbath and Holy Days (Luke 2:22-41), and gave thanks for their blessings at mealtime. As parents, grandparents, godparents, aunts and uncles, are we teaching our children how to pray? As children, are we praying for others or only for ourselves? Are we remembering to say grace before our meals at home and when we dine in public? Are we keeping Sundays and Days of Obligation holy by attending Mass and celebrating family life with special activities, or are we instead shopping and doing work that could be done on other days of the week? Consider how Jesus, Mary, and Joseph prayed everyday and especially lived their lives on the ‘Sunday' of their week. Amen.
(State your intentions here…)
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be...
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, your grace reaches us through the hands of your most precious Son, Jesus. His response to the prayers of Mary and Joseph are assured, so we ask for their prayers during this Novena. Lord, send light to our understanding, inspiration to our decisions, and the fire of pure love to our hearts, so that we will respond to the blessing of your grace in our lives which comes through the prayers of the Holy Family. And you, our Guardian Angels and all the Saints in Heaven, intercede for us so that we may honour Jesus, Mary, and Joseph by the way we live. Help us to find ways to live as they did and to avoid looking for excuses for not changing our ways. Through this Novena in honour of the Holy Family, place in us the desire to pursue and imitate the virtues of the Holy Family and to accept your answer to our requests as your will for our lives. Amen.