First Day of the Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes

Please join me in prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes for the health of all those who suffer. Today is the first day of the Novena, but please keep praying with me for the whole nine day of this novena.

Novena (Feb 2-10):

O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Mercy, Health of the Sick, Refuge of Sinners, Comfort to the Afflicted,

you know my wants, my troubles, my sufferings. Deign to cast upon me a look of mercy. By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors; and already many sufferers have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and corporal.

I come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain, O loving Mother, the granting of my requests.
Through gratitude for favors, I will endeavor to imitate your virtues that I may one day share your glory.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us. Amen. (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.)

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Novena to St. John Bosco

I love reading up on St. John Bosco. One of the most inspirational stories I've ever read has come from him when St. John Bosco raised a boy back to life from death. I'm asking my readers to please join me in praying the Novena to St. John Bosco from today, Jan 23rd to Jan 31st.

The Novena Prayer:

Father and teacher of Young, In need of special help, I appeal with confidence to you, O Saint Don Bosco, for I require not only spiritual graces, but also temporal ones, and particularly... (add your own personal intentions here)

May you, who on earth had such great devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary Help of Christians, and who always had compassion for those who were suffering, obtain from Jesus and His Heavenly Mother the grace I now request, and also a sincere resignation to the Will of God.

Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father

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Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Today, January 18, begins the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, lasting until January 25. Let us remember to pray that all of us, as believers in Christ, may be brought to the fullness of the Truth - the Catholic Faith. Let us pray as Our Savior prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before His passion: "That they might be one."

Update: See my 2007 post for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity for more information.

Please join me in this Novena for Christian Unity:

O Lord Jesus Christ, who said unto Your Apostles, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you," regard not our sins, but the faith of Your church, and grant unto her that peace and unity which are agreeable to Your will, who live and reign, God, forever and ever. Amen. O Lord, increase in us the faith. My God, unite all minds in the truth and all hearts in charity Amen

Source: Catholic Culture

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain

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Christmas Novena

 

Some are still praying the St. Andrew's Christmas Novena that started on Nov. 30th, but this is a different Novena.

Thanks to Inspired Traditionalist for these prayers.

December 16: O Shepherd that rulest Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep, come to guide and comfort us.One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be

December 17: O Wisdom that comest out of the mouth of the Most High, that reachest from one end to another, and orderest all things mightily and sweetly, come to teach us the way of prudenceOne Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be.

December 18: O Adonai, and Ruler of the house of Israel, Who didst appear unto Moses in the burning bush, and gavest him the law in Sinai, come to redeem us with an outstretched armOne Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be

December 19: O Root of Jesse, which standest for an ensign of the people, at Whom the kings shall shut their mouths, Whom the Gentiles shall seek, come to deliver us, do not tarry.One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be

December 20: O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel, that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth, come to liberate the prisoner from the prison, and them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death.One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be

December 21: O Dayspring, Brightness of the everlasting light, Son of justice, come to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of deathOne Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be

December 22: O King of the Gentiles, yea, and desire thereof. O Corner-stone, that makest of two one, come to save man, whom Thou hast made out of the dust of the earthOne Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be

December 23: O Emmanuel, our King and our Law-giver, Longing of the Gentiles, yea, and salvation thereof, come to save us, O Lord our GodOne Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be

December 24: O Thou that sittest upon the cherubim, God of hosts, come, show Thy face, and we shall be saved.One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be.

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain

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St. Andrew the Apostle

Feast (1969 Calendar): November 30
Double of the II Class (1955 Calendar): November 30

Today is the Feast of St. Andrew. St. Andrew, the first apostle, was with our Lord throughout His life, as recorded in the Bible. St. Andrew's brother was Simon Peter, the first pope. After Our Lord's Ascension into Heaven, St. Andrew journeyed to Greece to spread the faith. He was martyred in Patras, Acaia (in the southern part of Greec) on November 30, 60 AD by Nero who bounded him, not nailed, to an X-shaped Cross. As St. Andrew suffered for 2 days, people still came to him to hear his words. He is the patron saint of Russia and Scotland.

For more on the lives of all the Apostles, pick up a copy of "The Twelve: Lives and Legends of the Apostles" on paperback or as part of the online course on the Apostles, which includes a Certificate of Completion.

Excerpt of The Church's Year of Grace by Pius Parsch:

Andrew, Peter's brother, and John were the first disciples to follow the Lord. With tender delicacy the Gospel (John 1:35-42) describes their first meeting with Jesus. Andrew did not belong to the inner circle of the apostles, Peter, James and John, and the evangelists narrate nothing extraordinary about him (John 6:8); but tradition (resting on apocrpyhal Acts) extols his great love of the Cross and of the Savior; and the Church distinguishes him both in the Mass (his name occurs in the Canon and in the Libera since the time of Pope St. Gregory I who had a special devotion to him) and in the Breviary.

The story of his martyrdom rests on the apocryphal Acts which lack historical foundation. The pagan judge exhorted him to sacrifice to the gods. Andrew replied: "I sacrifice daily to almighty God, the one and true God. Not the flesh of oxen and the blood of goats do I offer, but the unspotted Lamb upon the altar. All the faithful partake of His flesh, yet the Lamb remains unharmed and living." Angered by the reply, Aegeas commanded him to be thrown into prison. With little difficulty the people would have freed him, but Andrew personally calmed the mob and earnestly entreated them to desist, as he was hastening toward an ardently desired crown of martyrdom.

When Andrew was led to the place of martyrdom, on beholding the cross from a distance he cried out: "O good Cross, so long desired and now set up for my longing soul I confident and rejoicing come to you; exultingly receive me, a disciple of Him who hung on you." Forthwith he was nailed to the cross. For two days he hung there alive, unceasingly proclaiming the doctrine of Christ until he passed on to Him whose likeness in death he had so vehemently desired. --The legendary account of our saint's martyrdom has this value: it presents to us the mysticism of the Cross of later times.

The Miracle of the Manna of St. Andrew

According to tradition, St. Andrew was martyred in Patras, Greece. In 357 AD, his remains were transferred to the city of Constantinople, where they were placed in the Church of the Holy Apostles, which was newly constructed by the order of Emperor Constantine. During the Fourth Crusade in 1206, St. Andrew’s relics were brought from Constantinople to Amalfi, Italy, where they remain today. 

In the 14th century, it was discovered that the bones of St. Andrew excrete a substance known as the "manna of St. Andrew" four times a year: January 28, June 26, November 29 (his Feast Day is November 30 ), and December 7. Though the Church has not issued any formal pronouncement regarding this miracle, the faithful Catholics of Amalfi joyously celebrate its occurrence and thank God through the intercession of St. Andrew for continuing to work miracles among us.

Today is the Beginning of the St. Andrew's Christmas Novena:

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.

Imprimatur
+ MICHAEL AUGUSTINE,
Archbishop of New York, New York, February 6, 1897

Prayer:

We humbly entreat Thy majesty, O Lord: that as the blessed Apostle Andrew was once a teacher and a ruler of Thy Church: so he may be a constant advocate for us before Thee. Through our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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Prayer

Information:

Prayer
Five Types of Prayer
Conditions for Prayer

Divine Office:

Divinum Officium
Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Various Prayers:

Anima Christi
Morning Offering
St. Michael the Archangel Prayer
A Prayer of Praise
3 o'clock Mercy Prayer
Angelus
Regina Coeli
A prayer for reparation for those that don't love Jesus
A prayer to venerate any saint
Prayer before & after Mass
Prayer for Students by St. Thomas
Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament
Prayer to Our Lord Jesus, Crucified
A Prayer before Praying
Prayer before a crucifix
Prayer to the Holy Cross
Prayers for Lent
Prayer for Accepting God's Will
Prayer for the Cronically Ill
Evening Prayer by St. Alphonsus Liguori
The Praises of God Most High by St. Francis of Assisi
Prayer to Jesus in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar
Prayer for Peace
Prayer to live a life of prayer
Holy Trinity Prayer
Prayer to the Glorious Cross
Prayer for those that hurt us
Prayers for the deceased
A Prayer for Priests
Prayer for the Poor by Blessed Mother Teresa
Daily Offering to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the dying
Prayer of the Chalice
The 15 prayers of St. Bridget to honor Our Lord's passion
Prayer to Jesus in the Tabernacle
Prayer for a deceased priest
Prayer to follow the Good Shepherd
Prayer for Faith in the Risen Lord
Prayer to Jesus Crucified
Prayer before examinations
Prayer for the sick
Prayer for the Forgotten Soul
The Angel's Prayer at Fatima
A Prayer for November
Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus
Prayers in Times of Inclement Weather 
Litany of the Saints in Latin (chanted) 
Prayer Against Blasphemy by Pope Pius XII 
Morning Offering for all who have left the Church 
Prayer for the Conversion of American Protestants
Prayer for the Conversion of the Jews
Prayer for the Conversion of the Anglicans
Prayers for the Salvation of All Men
Servite Rosary Chaplet
Act of Reparation for Blasphemies Uttered Against the Holy Name of Jesus

Marian Prayers:

Prayer for Mary's Intercession by St. Francis
A Prayer to Jesus and Mary for the Holy Souls in purgatory
An Eternal Alliance with Mary
The Rosary
Dedication of oneself to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Prayer of Devotion to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
A Prayer for the Month of May
Litany to the Immaculate Heart of Mary 
Prayer to Mary, our Queen 
Prayer of Reparation for Insults to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Mary
Consecration to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception

Novenas:

Novena to the Holy Family
Novena to the Magi
Novena for Christian Unity
Novena for the Assumption of Mary

Novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows
Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes
St. Andrew's Christmas Novena
Novena to St. John Bosco
Novena to Our Lady of Fatima
Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help
Election Day Novena
Novena to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
Novena for the Holy Souls
Novena to St. Anthony
Novena to the Holy Ghost (Pentecost Novena)
Novena to the Holy Ghost (Booklet)
Novena to the Infant of Prague
Novena to St. Patrick
Novena for the Annunciation
Novena to the Holy Face

Dealing with Saints/Sainthood:

Prayer to St. John Bosco
Blessing of Throats (St. Blase)
Unfailing prayer to St. Anthony of Padua
Prayer for the intercession of St. Padre Pio
Prayer to St. Monica
Prayer to St. Joseph 
Prayer to St. Vincent de Paul
(For more see the Feastdays Listing)

Dealing with Special Days or Circumstances:

Prayer for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
All Saints Day Prayer
Christmas & Advent Prayers
Prayer for Lent
Ash Wednesday Prayer
Good Friday Prayer
Stational Churches of Lent
Ascension Thursday Prayer
Prayers for Pentecost
Labor Day Prayers
St. Joseph Feastday Prayers
Prayer for the Election of a Holy Pope
Candlemas Prayers

Act of Dedication of the Human Race to Christ the King

For the Holy Souls in Purgatory:

Prayer of Supplication to the Poor Souls in Purgatory
Prayer for the Souls in Purgatory
The Our Father for the Souls in Purgatory
A Prayer to Jesus and Mary for the Holy Souls in purgatory
An Offering of the Precious Blood for Souls
Prayer for the Holy Souls
Three Prayers for the Holy Souls
Prayer to the Holy Souls
Another Prayer for the Holy Souls
The Rosary for the Poor Souls in Purgatory
Novena for the Holy Souls

Office of the Dead

Acts of Consecration:

To the Sacred Heart
To the Sacred Heart (as written by Pope Leo XIII)
To the Immaculate Heart of Mary
To St. Joseph

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Novena to St. Vincent de Paul

The novena is said for 9 days to his feast day, and the novena is said by saying the chaplet of St. Vincent De Paul for 9 consecutive days.

St. Vincent de Paul is remembered for his tireless work among the poor and today the St. Vincent de Paul society works to help the poor just as their patron did.

The Feast of St. Vincent de Paul was moved to September 27th in the Novus Ordo Calendar of 1969 but from the institution of the feast in 1737 up until 1969, it was held on July 19th.

NOVENA TO ST VINCENT DE PAUL 

O Glorious Saint Vincent de Paul, the mention of your name suggests a litany of your virtues: humility, zeal, mercy, self-sacrifice. It also recalls your many foundations: Works of Mercy, Congregations, Societies. The Church gratefully remembers your promotion of the priesthood. Inspire all Charitable Workers, especially those who minister, to both the spiritually and the materially poor. O Lord, give us the grace that You bestowed upon, your servant St. Vincent de Paul, to relinquish the temptation of material things, in our holy effort to minister to the poor. Amen.

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

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Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows

Please start the Novena today up until the 15th of September for the Feast of our Lady of sorrows. (Novenas are prayers said for nine days in a row like Mary and the apostles prayed for nine days for the Holy Spirit)

Image found at Recta Ratio.

The Novena:

Most holy and afflicted Virgin, Queen of Martyrs, you stood beneath the cross, witnessing the agony of your dying Son. Look with a mother's tenderness and pity on men, who kneel before you. I venerate your sorrows and I place my requests with filial confidence in the sanctuary of your wounded heart.

Present them, I beseech you, on my behalf to Jesus Christ, though the merits of his own most sacred Passion and death, together with your sufferings at the foot of the cross. Through the united efficacy of both, obtain the granting of my petition. To whom shall I have recourse if my wants and miseries if not to you, Mother of Mercy? You have drunk so deeply of the chalice of your Son, you can compassionate our sorrows.

Holy Mary, your soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow at the sight of the passion of your divine Son. Intercede for me and obtain from Jesus (mention your request) if it be for his honor and glory and for my good Amen.

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain

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