Christmas Novena, Day 4

Christmas Novena

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
(mention request here).

Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

Fourth Day

The Life Of Humiliation Which Jesus Led From His Birth.

Thought:
 The Sign which the angel gave the shepherds to help them find the newborn Savior, points to His lowliness: "This shall be a sign to you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." No other newborn baby who was wrapped in poor swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, a feeding trough for animals, could be found anywhere else but in a stable. Thus in lowliness the King of heaven, the Son of God, chose to be born, because He came to destroy the pride that had been the cause of man's ruin.

The prophets had already foretold that our Redeemer was to be treated as the vilest of men on earth and that He was to be overwhelmed with insults. How much contempt had not Jesus indeed to suffer from men! He was called a drunkard, a trickster, a blasphemer and a heretic. What ignominies He endured in His Passion! His own disciples abandoned Him; one of them sold Him for thirty pieces of silver, and another denied having ever known Him. He was led in bonds through the streets like a criminal; He was scourged like a slave, ridiculed as a fool, crowned with thorns as a mock king, buffeted and spit upon, and finally left to die, hanging on a cross between two thieves, as the worst criminal in the world. "The noblest of all," says Saint Bernard, "is treated as the vilest of all." But the Saint adds, "The viler Thou are treated, the dearer Thou art to me." The more I see Thee, my Jesus, despised and put to shame, the more dear and worthy of my love dost Thou become to me.

Prayer:
O Dearest Savior, Thou hast embraced so many outrages for love of me, yet I have not been able to bear one word of insult without at once being filled with resentful thought, I who have so often deserved to be trodden under foot by the demons in hell! I am ashamed to appear before Thee, sinful and proud as I am. Yet do not drive me from Thy presence, O Lord, even though that is what I deserve. Thou hast said that Thou wilt not spurn a contrite and humbled heart. I am sorry for the offenses I have committed against Thee. Forgive me, O Jesus. I will not offend Thee again.

For love of me Thou hast borne so many injuries; for love of Thee I will bear all the injuries that are done to me. I love Thee, Jesus, who was despised for love of me. I love Thee above every other good. Give me the grace to love Thee always and to bear every insult for love of Thee.

O Mary, recommend me to Thy Son; pray to Jesus for me.
Amen.

December 19, 2015 With Blessed Father Alberione and With Father Tom

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19


Peace is the totality o fall good and so when we say " Glory to God, peace to men," we wish all good things to all people.


FROM FATHER TOM: Indeed!

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR DECEASED.

Christmas Novena Day 3

Christmas Novena

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
(mention request here).

Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

Third Day

The Life Of Poverty Which Jesus Led From His Birth.

Thought:
 God so ordained that, at the time when His Son was to be born on this earth, the Roman emperor should issue a decree ordering everyone to go to the place of his origin and there be registered in the census. Thus it came about that, in obedience to this decree, Joseph went to Bethlehem together with his virgin wife when she was soon to have her Child.
Finding no lodging either in the poor inn or in the other houses of the town, they were forced to spend the night in a cave that was used as a stable for animals, and it was here that Mary gave birth to the King of heaven. If Jesus had been born in Nazareth, He would also, it is true, have been born in poverty; but there He would at least have had a dry room, a little fire, warm clothes and a more comfortable cradle. Yet He chose to be born in this cold, damp cave, and to have a manger for a cradle, with prickly straw for a mattress, in order that He might suffer for us.

Let us enter in spirit into this cave of Bethlehem, but let us enter in a spirit of lively faith. If we go there without faith, we shall see nothing but a poor infant, and the sight of this lovely child shivering and crying on his rough bed of straw may indeed move us to pity. But if we enter with faith and consider that this Babe is the very Son, God, who for love of us has come down on earth and suffers so much to pay the penalty for our sins, how can we help thanking and loving Him in return?

Prayer:
O Dear Infant Jesus, how could I be so ungrateful and offend Thee so often, if I realized how much Thou hast suffered for me? But these tears which Thou sheddest, this poverty which Thou embracest for love of me, make me hope for the pardon of all the offenses I have committed against Thee.

My Jesus, I am sorry for having so often turned my back on Thee. But now I love Thee above all else. "My God and my all!"
From now on Thou, O my God, shalt be my only treasure and my only good. With Saint Ignatius of Loyola I will say to Thee, "Give me the grace to love Thee; that is enough for me." I long for nothing else; I want nothing else. Thou alone art enough for me, my Jesus, my life, my love.

O Mary, my Mother, obtain for me the grace that I may always love Jesus and always be loved by Him. Amen. 

December 18, 2015 With Blessed Father Alberione and With Father Tom

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18


Only God gives peace. He is the source and the joy of all our consolations. He is infinite goodness.

FROM FATHER TOM: But a very practical goodness - not granting our every whim and fancy but only what is truly for our benefit on the journey to eternity.

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR DECEASED

Christmas Novena Day 2

Christmas Novena
(Picture from the internet, novena from the EWTN website)

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
(mention request here).

Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

Second Day

God's Love Revealed In His Being Born An Infant.

Thought:
 When the Son of God became man for our sake, He could have come on earth as an adult man from the first moment of of His human existence, as Adam did when he was created. But since the sight of little children draws us with an especial attraction to love them, Jesus chose to make His first appearance on earth as a little infant, and indeed as the poorest and most pitiful infant that was ever born. "God wished to be born as a little babe," wrote Saint Peter Chrysologus, "in order that He might teach us to love and not to fear Him." The prophet Isaias had long before foretold that the Son of God was to be born as an infant and thus give Himself to us on account of the love He bore us: "A child is born to us, a son is given to us."

My Jesus, supreme and true God! What has drawn Thee from heaven to be born in a cold stable, if not the love which Thou bearest us men? What has allured Thee from the bosom of Thy Father, to place Thee in a hard manger? What has brought Thee from Thy throne above the stars, to lay Thee down on a little straw? What has led Thee from the midst of the nine choirs of angels, to set Thee between two animals? Thou, who inflamest the seraphim with holy fire, art now shivering with cold in this stable! Thou, who settest the stars in the sky in motion, canst not now move unless others carry Thee in their arms! Thou, who givest men and beasts their food, has need now a little milk to sustain Thy life! Thou, who art the joy of heaven, dost now whimper and cry in suffering! Tell me, who has reduced Thee to such misery? "Love has done it," says Saint Bernard. The love which Thou bearest us men has brought all this on Thee.

Prayer:
O Dearest Infant! Tell me, what hast Thou come on earth to do? Tell me, whom art Thou seeking? Yes, I already know. Thou has come to die for me, in order to save me from hell. Thou hast come to seek me, the lost sheep, so that, instead of fleeing from Thee any more, I may rest in Thy loving arms.
Ah my Jesus, my treasure, my life, my love and my all! Whom will I love, if not Thee? Where can I find a father, a friend, a spouse more loving and lovable than Thou art?

I love Thee, my dear God; I love Thee, my only good. I regret the many years when I have not loved Thee, but rather spurned and offended Thee. Forgive me, O my beloved Redeemer; for I am sorry that I have thus treated Thee, and I regret it with all my heart. Pardon me, and give me the grace never more to withdraw from Thee, but constantly to love Thee in all the years that still lie before me in this life. My love, I give myself entirely to Thee; accept me, and do not reject me as I deserve.
O Mary, thou art my advocate. By thy prayers thou dost obtain whatever thou wilt from thy Son. Pray Him then to forgive me, and to grant me holy perseverance until death. Amen. 

 

Christmas Novena, Day 1

Picture from the internet. Prayer from the EWTN Website

Christmas Novena  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 (mention request here). Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.
Day One God's Love Revealed In His Becoming Man. Thought:  Because our first parent Adam had rebelled against God, he was driven out of paradise and brought on himself and all his descendants the punishment of eternal death. But the son of God, seeing man thus lost and wishing to save him from death, offered to take upon Himself our human nature and to suffer death Himself, condemned as a criminal on a cross. "But, My Son," we may imagine the eternal Father saying to Him, "think of what a life of humiliations and sufferings Thou wilt have to lead on earth. Thou wilt have to be born in a cold stable and laid in a manger, the feeding trough of beasts. While still an infant, Thou wilt have to flee into Egypt, to escape the hands of Herod. After Thy return from Egypt, Thou wilt have to live and work in a shop as a lowly servant, poor and despised. And finally, worn out with sufferings, Thou wilt have to give up Thy life on a cross, put to shame and abandoned by everyone." "Father," replies the Son, "all this matters not. I will gladly bear it all, if only I can save man." What should we say if a prince, out of compassion for a dead worm, were to choose to become a worm himself and give his own life blood in order to restore the worm to life? But the eternal Word has done infinitely more than this for us. Though He is the sovereign Lord of the world, He chose to become like us, who are immeasurably more beneath Him than a worm is beneath a prince, and He was willing to die for us, in order to win back for us the life of divine grace that we had lost by sin. When He saw that all the other gifts which He had bestowed on us were not sufficient to induce us to pray His love with love, He became man Himself and gave Himself all to us. "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us;" "He loved us and delivered Himself up for us." Prayer: O Great Son of God, Thou hast become man in order to make Thyself loved by men. But where is the love that men give Thee in return? Thou hast given Thy life blood to save our souls. Why then are we so unappreciative that, instead of repaying Thee with love, we spurn Thee with ingratitude? And I, Lord, I myself more than others have thus ill treated Thee. But Thy Passion is my hope. For the sake of that love which led Thee to take upon Thyself human nature and to die for me on the cross, forgive me all the offenses I have committed against Thee. I love Thee, O Word Incarnate; I love Thee, O infinite goodness. Out of love for Thee, that I could die of grief for these offenses. Give me, O Jesus, Thy love. Let me no longer live in ungrateful forgetfulness of the love Thou bearest me. I wish to love Thee always. Grant that I may always preserve in this holy desire. O Mary, Mother of God and my Mother, pray for me that thy Son may give me the grace to love Him always, unto death. Amen.

December 17, 2015 With Blessed Father Alberione and With Father Tom

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17
ST FLORIAN

Let us look at the life of Jesus Christ. Let us consider it in the details and let us listen to all the words of eternal life that some from his lips.

FROM FATHER TOM: But also the words - and the deeds - of human life that he so generously spoke and so wonderfully practiced. The fact is that non of those who encountered the Carpenter failed to note that here was an exceptional personality linked to warmth and love of others. 

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR DECEASED

December 16, 2015 With Blessed Father Alberone and With Father Tom

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16

While we wait for Christmas, full of joy we prepare ourselves practicing temperance, justice and piety (RSP).

FROM FATHER TOM: Sometimes we feel that certain pious phrases are OK for us in the West in our convents and monasteries, who can depend on good people to support us, but make less sense for the millions struggling financially, to avoid being martyred, being condemned to racial hatred, etc. "Full of joy"? I don't think so. 

PLEASE PRAY FOR DECEASED

December 15, 2015 With Blessed Father Alberione and With Father Tom

TUESDAY,  DECEMBER 15


The practice of virtue, of the Christian life and of one's daily duties, the outcome of initiatives, joy sacrifice, all depend of spiritual dynamism , the fruit of prayer. One who prays goes into action and produces results (BM, p. 507).

FROM FATHER TOM: Nevertheless not necessarily visible results. So the trick is to pray always and leave the results to God.

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR DECEASED.