NOVENA PRAYERS

1⃣ NOVENA TO ST. PATRICK

2⃣ NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH
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1⃣ NOVENA TO ST. PATRICK

DAY 6 - MARCH 13

REFLECTION: According to tradition, St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. While there is no proof that this actually happened, St. Patrick did drive the evils of paganism, idolatry, and sun worship out of Ireland. In ridding the country of these “snakes,” he opened the hearts of the Irish people to receive God. We all have “snakes” inside us that keep us from being all that God wants us to be. Our “snakes” might be crippling fears, low self-esteem, or an addiction. Or they might be evils such as prejudice, materialism, or self-centeredness. God has the power to drive these “snakes” from us. But we need to ask.

PRAYER: Oh, God, I have many faults that get in the way of my bringing Your love and compassion to others. I want to do Your will but there are many times when I fail through sin. Please forgive my sins, Lord. I am truly sorry for them and want to overcome my weaknesses. You know, better than I, the evils that lurk within me and cripple me. As You sent St. Patrick to Ireland, send people into my life to drive these “snakes” from my heart, so that it may be a pure dwelling place for You and a source of strength and courage for me. 

Our Heavenly Father sent St. Patrick to preach the Gospel and bring the Holy Eucharist to the people of Ireland. By St. Patrick's intercessory prayer and saintly example, may we always enjoy his protection from every evil. May he always lead us to the truth of the Triune God and the human face of Divine Truth, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(State your intentions here…)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be...

O Glorious Saint Patrick, pray for us and seek my intention through this Novena but may “God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.

V. Pray for us, O glorious St. Patrick

R. And obtain for us the intention of this Novena.

LET US PRAY: O God, Who didst send Thy blessed servant St. Patrick to instruct and save Thy people, and didst infuse into his heart so great a share of Thine own tenderness, charity, and zeal, listen, we beseech Thee, to the prayers which we now offer up in union with the prayers of this glorious patron and father in heaven, and grant us, through his intercession, the intentions of this Novena, and the grace rather to die than to offend thee. Amen.
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2⃣ NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH

DAY 4 - MARCH 13

PRAYER BEFORE THE NOVENA: Great Saint Joseph, prostrate at thy feet with feelings of unlimited confidence, we beg thee to bless the Novena that I pray in thy honor. I will meditate upon thy virtues; grant that I may learn fully to appreciate them. The knowledge of them will be the source of great confusion for me because of the poverty and destitution of my soul. Great dispenser of the heavenly treasures, assist me in my poverty, help me to display thy virtues in my own soul. "Thou art never invoked in vain," says the seraphic St. Teresa of Jesus; be thou to me what thou hast been to that Spouse of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; graciously hearken to me as thou didst hearken to her. Amen.

SAINT JOSEPH, MODEL OF PURITY

"How beautiful is the chaste generation!" (Wisdom 4) "The whole weight of gold is as nothing in comparison with a pure soul." (Eccles. 25). St. Joseph was preeminent in purity because he feared God and faithfully observed His holy law; because he safeguarded his virtue by fear of the Sovereign Good and by prudence; because he sheltered it under the virginity of Mary, and felt the influence of Jesus, the divine Son of all sanctity.

How pure must he have been who was to become the worthy spouse of the Immaculate Virgin!

How holy must he have been whose relations with the thrice holy God were so intimate.

(State your intentions here…)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be...

PRAYER: St. Joseph, help me to understand the excellence of purity and how dear it is to the heart of God. Teach me to preserve carefully this delicate virtue and the shadow of the fear of God; to safeguard it by prayer, by vigilance, by shunning the world, by careful watch over my heart and my senses. Grant that I may hence forward close my heart to all disorderly affections; that I may deserve to enjoy like thee upon earth the friends and intimacy of Jesus, and that it may be given to me one day to sing in Heaven the canticle reserved for Virgins. Amen.

Joseph, most chaste: Pray for us!

Joseph, most prudent: Pray for us!

Joseph, most strong: Pray for us!