Pray Always

"Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you.
For every one that asketh, receiveth: and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened." -Matthew 7:7-8

“We ought always to pray.” –Luke 18:1

“Pray always” –Romans 12:12

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Novena to Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face

Novena to St. Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face
September 24th-October 2nd
Feast: October 3rd

The Novena prayer and Litany found below are taken from the official approved prayers used at the American National Shrine of the Little Flower.  They are approved for public or private use.  They can be found in The Little Flower Prayerbook.

Novena Prayer

O Blessed Little Flower of Jesus, thou didst desire upon earth to live for Jesus alone, to suffer for His sake, to make Him better known and love by all men.  Now that thou rejoicest in the everlasting vision of that Holy Face, continue to send upon the World a shower of roses, the sweetness of whose perfume will draw all souls from the passing things of time to the joys that never end.

Obtain for our Holy Father the Pope, the favors of which he stands in much need; for our bishops, all things necessary to enable them to be true shepherds of the flock committed to their care; for our priests, a right understanding of their vocation and a burning zeal for souls; for our religious, the true spirit of their holy state; for our lay people, the gift of loyalty to Christ and His holy Church; for fallen Catholics, the grace to become again the friends of God; for non-Catholics, the light of the true faith and help to overcome the obstacles that are keeping them outside the One True Fold; for the foreign missions, zealous workers in those distant vineyards of the master.  Obtain for us the grace to imitate thy "little way" that leads with certainty to the feet of Jesus, and beg for us those favors especially which we now confidently ask of thee (name any special favors).

These things we ask through thy love for the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.

O Little Therese of the Child Jesus, who during thy short life on earth didst become a mirror of angelic purity, of love strong as death, and of wholehearted abandonment to God, now that thou rejoicest in the reward of they virtues cast a glance of pity on us as we leave all things in thy hands.  Make our troubles thine own and interceded for us to our Lady Immaculate, whose flower of special love thou wert, to that Queen of Heaven who "smiled on thee at the dawn of life."  Beg her as Queen of the Heart of Jesus to obtain for us the grace we yearn for so ardently, and to join with it a blessing that may strengthen us during life, defend us at the hour of death, and lead us straight on to a happy eternity.


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Litany of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face
(To be said on the Feast of Saint Therese) 

Lord, have mercy on us,
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God, the Holy Ghost,
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us. (Repeat after each line)
Our Lady of Victory,
Our Lady of Mount Carmel,
St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
St. Therese of the Holy Face,
St. Therese, child of Mary,
St. Therese, devoted to St. Joseph,
St. Therese, angel of innocence,
St. Therese, model child,
St. Therese, pattern of religious,
St. Therese, flower of Carmel,
St. Therese, converter of hardened hearts,
St. Therese, healer of the diseased,
St. Therese, filled with love for the Blessed Sacrament,
St. Therese, filled with angelic fervor,
St. Therese, filled with an apostle's zeal,
St. Therese, filled with loyalty to the Holy Father,
St. Therese, filled with a tender love for the Church,
St. Therese, filled with extraordinary love for God and neighbor,
St. Therese, wounded with a heavenly flame,
St. Therese, victim of divine love,
St. Therese, patient in sufferings,
St. Therese, eager for humiliations,
St. Therese, consumed with love,
St. Therese, rapt in ecstasy,
Who desired always to be as a little child,
Who taught the way of spiritual childhood,
Who gave perfect example of trust in God,
Whom Jesus filled with a desire for suffering,
Who found perfection in little things,
Who refused God nothing,
Who sought bitterness in this life,
Who told us to call you littleTherese,
Who offered her life to God for priests and missionaries,
Who gained countless souls for Christ,
Who promised, after her death, a shower of roses,
Who foretold: "I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth,"
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
V. Pray for us, St. Therese.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray

O Lord, who hast said: Unless you become as little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven; grant us, we beseech Thee, so to follow in humility and simplicity of heart, the footsteps of St. Therese, the virgin, that we may obtain everlasting rewards. Who livest and reignest forever. Amen.