Thursday, September 25, 2008

Novena for the Feast of Saint Therese of The Child Jesus

I'm starting very late two novenas of the Liturgical year : in the honor of Saint Therese of Lisieux ~ our little Flower , and in the honor of Our Guardian Angel . I was delaying to pray , because I'm passing through sorrowful moments in my life , many hardships and worries , so many that I just can't describe . But I trust in God , in His endless Divine Mercy that soon I shall find the good answer to all this present moment problems .

First, recite the prayer...

O St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
who during your short life on earth
became a mirror of angelic purity,
of love strong as death,
and of wholehearted abandonment to God,
now that you rejoice in the reward of your virtues,
cast a glance of pity on me
as I leave all things in your hands.
Make my troubles your own,
speak a word for me to Our Lady Immaculate,
whose flower of special love you were
to that Queen of Heaven
"who smiled on you at the dawn of life."
Beg her powerful intercession
the grace I yearn for so ardently at this moment...

(State your intention here....)
and that she join with it a blessing
that may strengthen me during life,
defend me at the hour of death,
and lead me straight on to a happy eternity.

Amen.

O God, who did inflame with the Spirit of Love,
the soul of your servant Therese of the Child Jesus,
grant that we also may love you
and make you much loved.

Amen.

Next, recite the prayer of the appropriate day...

DAY ONE

O Therese of the Child Jesus,
well beloved and full of charity,
in union with you,
I reverently adore the majesty of God,
and since I rejoice with exceeding joy
in the singular gifts of grace
bestowed upon you during your life,
and your gifts of glory after death,
I give Him deepest thanks for them;
I beseech you with all my heart’s devotion
to be pleased to obtain for me

(State your intention here....)

But if what I ask of you so earnestly
does not tend to the glory of God
and the greater good of my soul,
do you, I pray, obtain for me
that which is more profitable to both these ends.

Amen.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.


DAY TWO

Almighty God,
giver of all good gifts,
who did will that Blessed Therese,
being watered by the heavenly dew of your guiding grace,
should bloom in Carmel with the beauty of virginity
and patience in suffering,
grant that I your servant
may go forward in the order of her sweetness
and may be found worthy to become a devoted
and loyal follower of Christ.

Amen.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.


DAY THREE

O Therese of the Child Jesus,
lily of purity,
ornament and glory of Carmel,
I greet you, great saint,
seraph of divine love.
I rejoice in the favors
our Lord so liberally bestowed on you.
In humility and confidence
I ask you to help me,
for I know God has given you love
and pity as well as power.
Tell Him, now, I beseech you,
of the favor I seek in this novena...

(State your intention here....)

Your request will crown my petition
with success and bring joy to my heart.
Remember your promise to do good here on earth.
"I shall spend my heaven doing good on the Earth.
After death I shall let fall a shower of roses."

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.


DAY FOUR

O Little Flower of Jesus,
who at an early age had your heart set on Carmel
and in your brief earthly life
did become the mirror of angelic purity,
of courageous love
and of whole hearted surrender to Almighty God,
turn your eyes of mercy upon me who trusts in you.
Obtain for me the favor I seek in this novena...

(State your intention here....)

and the grace to keep my heart and mind pure and clean.
O dear saint, grant me to feel in every need
the power of your intercession;
help to comfort me in all the bitterness of this life
and especially at its end,
that I may be worth
to share eternal happiness with you in heaven.

Amen.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.


DAY FIVE

O Little Flower of Carmel,
Almighty God endowed you,
consumed by love for him,
with wondrous spiritual strength
to follow the way of perfection
during the days of your short life.
Sickness touched you early
but you remained firm in faith
and prayer was your life.
O pray for me that I may benefit
by your intercession
and be granted the favor I ask in this novena...

(State your intention here....)

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.


DAY SIX

O Little Flower of Jesus,
you have shown yourself so powerful in your intercession,
so tender and compassionate toward those
who honor you and invoke you
in suffering and distress,
that I kneel at your feet
with perfect confidence
and beseech you most humbly
and earnestly to take me under your protection
in my present necessity
and obtain for me the favor I ask in this novena...

(State your intention here....)

Vouchsafe to recommend my request to Mary,
the merciful Queen of Heaven,
that she may plead my cause with you
before the throne of Jesus, her divine Son.
Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.


DAY SEVEN

Therese of the Child Jesus,
most loving Saint,
in union with you I adore the Divine Majesty.
My heart is filled with joy
at the remembrance of the marvelous favors
with which God blessed your life on earth
and of the great glory that came to you after death.
In union with you,
I praise God,
and offer Him my humble tribute of thanksgiving.
I implore you to obtain for me,
through your powerful intercession,
the greatest of all blessings
that of living and dying in the state of grace.
I also beg of you to secure for me
the special favor I seek in this novena...

(State your intention here....)

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.


DAY EIGHT

O glorious St. Therese, who,
burning with the desire of increasing the glory of God,
invariably attended to the sanctification of your soul
by the constant practice of prayer and charity so that,
becoming in the Church a model of holiness,
you are now in Heaven the protector of all those
who have recourse to you in faith,
look down upon me who invokes your powerful patronage
and join your petition to mine
that I be granted the favor I seek in this novena...

(State your intention here....)

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.


DAY NINE

O St. Therese,
seraphic virgin,
beloved spouse of our Crucified Lord,
you who on earth did burn with a love
so intense toward your God and my God,
and now glow with a bright
and purer flame in paradise,
obtain for me, I beseech you,
a spark of that same holy fire
which shall help me to put things of the world
in their proper place
and live my life always conscious of the presence of God.
As I conclude my novena
I also beg of you to secure for me
the special favor I seek at this time...

(State your intention here....)

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.

Amen

Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious blood of thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, for those in my own home and in my family. Amen