NOVENA OF GRACE (March 4 to 12)
Preparatory Prayers
Priest:
In the Name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen.
O Jesus, answer our petitions as we kneel before Thee.
People:
O Heart of Jesus,
hear and grant our prayers.
Priest:
Pray for us,
Saint Francis Xavier,
People:
that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Priest:
Let us pray:
Come, Holy Ghost,
fill the hearts of Thy faithful.
Enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.
Send forth Thy spirit
and they shall be created,
People:
and Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Priest:
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost,
People:
as it was in the beginning,
is now,
and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
All together:
O most lovable
and loving Saint Francis Xavier
in union with thee
I adore the Divine Majesty.
The remembrance of the favors
with which God blessed thee during life
and of thy glory after death
fills me with joy;
and I unite with thee
in offering to Him
my humble tribute
of thanksgiving and of praise.
I implore thee to secure for me
through thy powerful intercession
the inestimable blessing
of living and dying
in the state of grace.
I also beseech thee
to obtain for me
the favour I ask in this novena.
(State your intentions here...)
But if what I ask
is not for the glory of God
and for the good of my soul
do thou obtain for me
what is more conducive to both.
Amen.
Hail Mary...
Priest:
Pray for us,
Saint Francis Xavier,
People:
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Hymn to Saint Francis Xavier
Oh, Father Saint Francis, we kneel at thy feet,
While blessings and favors we beg and entreat,
That thou from thy bright throne in heaven above
Wouldst look on thy clients with pity and love.
Saint Francis Xavier, Oh pray for us!
Saint Francis Xavier, Oh pray for us!
Oh, Father Saint Francis, thy words were once strong
Against Satan’s wiles and an infidel throng.
Not less is thy might where in heaven thou art;
Oh, come to our aid, in our battle take part.
Saint Francis Xavier, Oh pray for us!
Saint Francis Xavier, Oh pray for us!
St. Francis Xavier’s Prayer for Unbelievers
All together:
Eternal God,
Creator of all things
remember that the souls of unbelievers
have been created by Thee
and formed to Thy own image and likeness.
Behold, O Lord,
how to Thy dishonour
hell is being filled with these very souls.
Remember that Jesus Christ, Thy Son
for their salvation suffered a most cruel death.
Do not permit, O Lord,
I beseech Thee
that Thy divine Son
be any longer despised by unbelievers,
but rather,
being appeased by the prayers of Thy saints
and the Church
the most holy spouse of Thy Son
deign to be mindful of Thy mercy
and forgetting their idolatry
and their unbelief
bring them to know Him Whom Thou didst send
Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord
Who is our health, life, and resurrection
through Whom we have been redeemed and saved
to Whom be all glory forever.
Amen.
Priest:
Pray for us, Saint Francis Xavier,
People:
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Priest:
O God, Who did deign,
by the preaching and miracles
of Saint Francis Xavier,
to join unto Thy Church
the nations of the Indies,
grant, we beseech Thee,
that we who reverence his glorious merits,
may also imitate his example,
through Jesus Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.
