NOVENA TO ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS
(DECEMBER 5 – 13)
December 14: Solemnity of St. John of the Cross
HYMN
1. O saint more blessed than tongue can say,
Who walked the ways our Saviour trod.
And bore his cross along the way,
That leads to peace and rest in God.
2. Be near us when temptation calls,
And keep us true for evermor
Bring light when sin’s dark shadow falls,
And guide us home to heaven’s door.
3. Saint of Christ’s redeeming cross,
The road of life is dark and long.
When sorrow comes and pain and loss,
Teach us to be resigned and strong.
4. Oh, win for us the joy of grace,
The light of love, the peace of prayer.
That we may reach God’s dwelling-place,
And live with you forever there.
First Day (December 5)
O St. John of the Cross, I humbly beseech you to obtain the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation [mention your intention(s) in silence].
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be…
Let us pray
O my glorious Father, St. John of the Cross, overflowing with tender love for Mary and for the cross of her Divine Son, by which thou has merited to become the special protector of afflicted souls, obtain for me, from Jesus and Mary, I beseech thee, an unwavering faith, a love of the cross so deep and so valiant that no possible misfortune will ever be able to separate me from the love of my God. Amen.
St. John of the Cross – Pray for us.
Second Day (December 6)
As on First Day: O St. John of the Cross, I humbly…
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be…
Let us pray
O Glorious St. John of the Cross, who while preserving unto death, in unspotted brilliancy, the radiant whiteness of your baptismal innocence, did practise the most cruel and persevering penance, in honour and imitation of this crucifying love of yours, I entreat you, that I may share your mortified and penitential life, so that even in this world I may atone for my many sins, purify my soul, and acquire merit that I may also be crowned with your glory. Amen.
St. John of the Cross – Pray for us.
Third day (December 7)
As on First Day: O St. John of the Cross, I humbly…
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be…
Let us pray
O my beloved Father St. John of the Cross, whose continual prayer merited him the name Ecstatic Doctor, favoured also with special graces in the guidance and direction of souls, I humbly beseech you to enlighten mine, and to give me a relish for holy meditation, that detached from earthly things, I may love God alone and desire heaven only. Amen.
St. John of the Cross – Pray for us.
Fourth Day (December 8)
As on First Day: O St. John of the Cross, I humbly…
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be…
Let us pray
O great St. John of the Cross, model of patience and heroic generosity, who, for the glory of God and for the propagation of the Holy Reform of Carmel, endured so many trials, and undertook such heavy labours, finding, as did St. Paul, your joy in opprobrium, obtain from our Lord for me the grace of unalterable patience in adversity, that I may thereby glorify God, cleanse my soul of every stain, advance in the practice of solid virtue and obtain at last the crown promised to those who suffer for the love of God. Amen.
St. John of the Cross – Pray for us.
Fifth Day (December 9)
As on First Day: O St. John of the Cross, I humbly…
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be…
Let us pray
O dear St. John of the Cross, who exercised such dominion over the powers of hell, often obliging them to relinquish the souls and the bodies of their victims, have compassion on me; preserve me from the temptations and deceits of these wicked spirits, not only throughout my life, but above all at the hour of my death, that persevering to the end in the grace and love of God, I may possess Him with you forever. Amen.
St. John of the Cross – Pray for us.
Sixth Day (December 10)
As on First Day: O St. John of the Cross, I humbly…
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be…
Let us pray
O great St. John of the Cross, favoured by our Lord and the glorious Virgin, His Mother, in reward for your angelic life, with the precious gift of chastity, which enabled you to convert so many souls held captive by the most shameful passions, obtain for me some share in so priceless a gift, that pure and chaste in soul and body I may reach heaven, where nothing stained may enter, where choirs of virgins follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Amen.
St. John of the Cross – Pray for us.
Seventh Day (December 11)
As on First Day: O St. John of the Cross, I humbly…
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be…
Let us pray
O Blessed Father St. John of the Cross, who to your most profound humility joined the most sublime knowledge of the ways of God, obtain for me real humility of heart, making me love humiliation and contempt, that despising worldly vanity, I may learn from you to esteem henceforth only God and heavenly things. Amen.
St. John of the Cross – Pray for us.
Eighth Day (December 12)
As on First Day: O St. John of the Cross, I humbly…
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be…
Let us pray
St. John of the Cross, my glorious protector, known in your lifetime as the father of the poor, the consoler of the afflicted, the assured refuge of the suffering, working miracles of charity for all – miracles which you have not stopped repeating even now by means of your holy images and relics; deign also to be my consoler and my father; comfort me in my sorrows and aid me to see in every cross a pledge of divine mercy, that through them I may gain heaven. Amen.
St. John of the Cross – Pray for us.
Ninth Day (December 13)
As on First Day: O St. John of the Cross, I humbly…
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be…
Let us pray
O my loving Father, St. John of the Cross, who in order to imitate our Lord more perfectly renounced so generously every consolation, even spiritual, praying only to suffer and to be despised for God’s sake, and who finally died in intense suffering, happy to be condemned by men, obtain for me the grace of perfect abandonment to the holy will of God, that placing all my joy and my hope in the passion of my Saviour, I may at last rest eternally with thee in His glory. Amen.
St. John of the Cross – Pray for us.