NOVENA TO OUR HOLY FATHER ST. FRANCIS
October 4
Begins September 25
Day 1
Lord Jesus, who said: You will all come to the same end unless you reform, we beg you to give us the courage and the same magnanimity with which our holy Father Francis abandoned a worldly life and entered on the way of evangelical perfection, so that we will acknowledge our errors, do penance for them with true contrition, and with a brave heart always begin a new life.
St. Francis, call all to a faithful and loving life,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. O God, who caused our seraphic Father St. Francis to live in poverty and humility, conformed to Christ, grant that we may walk this same way, in imitation of Your Son and in union with You, in the fullness of joy and love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 2
Lord Jesus Christ, who said: Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, grant us the heroic love of poverty for which our holy Father St. Francis is renowned in your Church, that we may seek only the Kingdom of God and its justice, having faith that all will be given to us.
St. Francis, leaving all to gain Christ,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, who, desiring to set a cold world on fire with your love, revealed the signs of your Passion in the body of our holy Father St. Francis, grant that we may worthily carry the mark of Christ’s suffering before the world, and thus be worthy of the name of your true disciples. You live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
Day 3
Lord Jesus Christ, who said: I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike, grant us the humility of mind and heart which radiated from our seraphic Father St. Francis, that we may be numbered among the childlike, to whom God reveals His truth and gives grace.
St. Francis, who ardently loved Christ’s poverty and humility,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. O God, who caused our seraphic Father St. Francis to live in poverty and humility, conformed to Christ, grant that we may walk this same way, in imitation of Your Son and in union with You, in the fullness of joy and love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 4
Lord Jesus Christ, who said: Unless you become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven, give us the sweetness and simplicity by which our holy Father St. Francis conquered the world, that we also, in becoming all for all, may draw at least some to you.
St. Francis, winning hearts with simplicity and with the power of the Gospel,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, who, desiring to set a cold world on fire with your love, revealed the signs of your Passion in the body of our holy Father St. Francis, grant that we may worthily carry the mark of Christ’s suffering before the world, and thus be worthy of the name of your true disciples. You live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
Day 5
Lord Jesus Christ, who said: Whoever wishes to come after Me, must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me, grant that we may look at our holy Father St. Francis, marked with your holy wounds, that we may willingly carry our daily cross, and may obtain the fruits of your salvific Passion.
St. Francis, boasting in the Cross of Jesus Christ,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. O God, who caused our seraphic Father St. Francis to live in poverty and humility, conformed to Christ, grant that we may walk this same way, in imitation of Your Son and in union with You, in the fullness of joy and love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 6
Lord Jesus Christ, who said: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, give us the grace to imitate our holy Father St. Francis, who embraced in his love even the greatest sinners, so that we will not harbor animosity towards anyone, but love everyone in deed and in truth.
St. Francis, meeting Christ in everyone,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, who, desiring to set a cold world on fire with your love, revealed the signs of your Passion in the body of our holy Father St. Francis, grant that we may worthily carry the mark of Christ’s suffering before the world, and thus be worthy of the name of your true disciples. You live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
Day 7
Lord Jesus Christ, who said, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God, grant that we will always preserve in our hearts the peace and good which our holy Father St. Francis proclaimed to a hostile world, and may give it to our neighbor, and so be worthy to be called the true children of God.
St. Francis, preaching more by example of life than by word,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. O God, who caused our seraphic Father St. Francis to live in poverty and humility, conformed to Christ, grant that we may walk this same way, in imitation of Your Son and in union with You, in the fullness of joy and love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 8
Lord Jesus Christ, who said: Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you, give us a humble perseverance in prayer, that, following the example of our holy Father St. Francis, we will first turn to God in our needs and thus receive the redeeming results of our prayers.
St. Francis, given to the Church for the renewal of Christian life,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, who, desiring to set a cold world on fire with your love, revealed the signs of your Passion in the body of our holy Father St. Francis, grant that we may worthily carry the mark of Christ’s suffering before the world, and thus be worthy of the name of your true disciples. You live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
Day 9
Lord Jesus Christ, who said: Whoever loves Me will keep My word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him, grant us that seraphic love which inflamed the heart of our holy Father St. Francis, that, through our zealous ardor, and by the perfection of our deeds, we might even now, come to union with God here on earth, and later, in heaven.
St. Francis, imbued deeply with the spirit of Christ,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. O God, who caused our seraphic Father St. Francis to live in poverty and humility, conformed to Christ, grant that we may walk this same way, in imitation of Your Son and in union with You, in the fullness of joy and love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
For Devotional Use;
LITANY TO OUR HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
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,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, conceived without sin,
Pray for us.
Holy Mary, special patroness of the three Orders of Saint Francis,
Pray for us.
Saint Francis, seraphic patriarch, etc.
Saint Francis, most prudent father,
Saint Francis, despiser of the world,
Saint Francis, model of penance,
Saint Francis, conqueror of vices,
Saint Francis, imitator of the Savior,
Saint Francis, bearer of the marks of Christ,
Saint Francis, sealed with the character of Jesus,
Saint Francis, example of purity,
Saint Francis, image of humility,
Saint Francis, abounding in grace,
Saint Francis, reformer of the erring,
Saint Francis, healer of the sick,
Saint Francis, pillar of the Church,
Saint Francis, defender of the Faith,
Saint Francis, champion of Christ,
Saint Francis, defender of thy children,
Saint Francis, invulnerable shield,
Saint Francis, confounder of the heretics,
Saint Francis, converter of the pagans,
Saint Francis, supporter of the lame,
Saint Francis, raiser of the dead,
Saint Francis, healer of the lepers,
Saint Francis, our advocate,
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
V. Pray for us, O holy Father Francis,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let Us Pray
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, when the world was growing cold, in order to renew in our hearts the flame of love, imprinted the sacred marks of Thy Passion on the body of our blessed father Francis, mercifully grant that by his merits and prayers we may persevere in bearing the cross and may bring forth fruits worthy of penance. You who live and reign, world without end. Amen.
THE PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS
Before the Cross in the Church of San Damiano
O Most High and Glorious God and my Lord Jesus Christ, enlighten, I beseech You, the darkness of my mind. Give me right faith, certain hope and perfect charity. Grant that I may know you, Lord, in order that I may always and in all things act according to Your most holy and perfect will. Amen.
PEACE PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
October 4
Begins September 25
Day 1
Lord Jesus, who said: You will all come to the same end unless you reform, we beg you to give us the courage and the same magnanimity with which our holy Father Francis abandoned a worldly life and entered on the way of evangelical perfection, so that we will acknowledge our errors, do penance for them with true contrition, and with a brave heart always begin a new life.
St. Francis, call all to a faithful and loving life,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. O God, who caused our seraphic Father St. Francis to live in poverty and humility, conformed to Christ, grant that we may walk this same way, in imitation of Your Son and in union with You, in the fullness of joy and love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 2
Lord Jesus Christ, who said: Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, grant us the heroic love of poverty for which our holy Father St. Francis is renowned in your Church, that we may seek only the Kingdom of God and its justice, having faith that all will be given to us.
St. Francis, leaving all to gain Christ,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, who, desiring to set a cold world on fire with your love, revealed the signs of your Passion in the body of our holy Father St. Francis, grant that we may worthily carry the mark of Christ’s suffering before the world, and thus be worthy of the name of your true disciples. You live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
Day 3
Lord Jesus Christ, who said: I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike, grant us the humility of mind and heart which radiated from our seraphic Father St. Francis, that we may be numbered among the childlike, to whom God reveals His truth and gives grace.
St. Francis, who ardently loved Christ’s poverty and humility,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. O God, who caused our seraphic Father St. Francis to live in poverty and humility, conformed to Christ, grant that we may walk this same way, in imitation of Your Son and in union with You, in the fullness of joy and love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 4
Lord Jesus Christ, who said: Unless you become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven, give us the sweetness and simplicity by which our holy Father St. Francis conquered the world, that we also, in becoming all for all, may draw at least some to you.
St. Francis, winning hearts with simplicity and with the power of the Gospel,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, who, desiring to set a cold world on fire with your love, revealed the signs of your Passion in the body of our holy Father St. Francis, grant that we may worthily carry the mark of Christ’s suffering before the world, and thus be worthy of the name of your true disciples. You live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
Day 5
Lord Jesus Christ, who said: Whoever wishes to come after Me, must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me, grant that we may look at our holy Father St. Francis, marked with your holy wounds, that we may willingly carry our daily cross, and may obtain the fruits of your salvific Passion.
St. Francis, boasting in the Cross of Jesus Christ,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. O God, who caused our seraphic Father St. Francis to live in poverty and humility, conformed to Christ, grant that we may walk this same way, in imitation of Your Son and in union with You, in the fullness of joy and love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 6
Lord Jesus Christ, who said: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, give us the grace to imitate our holy Father St. Francis, who embraced in his love even the greatest sinners, so that we will not harbor animosity towards anyone, but love everyone in deed and in truth.
St. Francis, meeting Christ in everyone,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, who, desiring to set a cold world on fire with your love, revealed the signs of your Passion in the body of our holy Father St. Francis, grant that we may worthily carry the mark of Christ’s suffering before the world, and thus be worthy of the name of your true disciples. You live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
Day 7
Lord Jesus Christ, who said, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God, grant that we will always preserve in our hearts the peace and good which our holy Father St. Francis proclaimed to a hostile world, and may give it to our neighbor, and so be worthy to be called the true children of God.
St. Francis, preaching more by example of life than by word,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. O God, who caused our seraphic Father St. Francis to live in poverty and humility, conformed to Christ, grant that we may walk this same way, in imitation of Your Son and in union with You, in the fullness of joy and love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 8
Lord Jesus Christ, who said: Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you, give us a humble perseverance in prayer, that, following the example of our holy Father St. Francis, we will first turn to God in our needs and thus receive the redeeming results of our prayers.
St. Francis, given to the Church for the renewal of Christian life,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, who, desiring to set a cold world on fire with your love, revealed the signs of your Passion in the body of our holy Father St. Francis, grant that we may worthily carry the mark of Christ’s suffering before the world, and thus be worthy of the name of your true disciples. You live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
Day 9
Lord Jesus Christ, who said: Whoever loves Me will keep My word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him, grant us that seraphic love which inflamed the heart of our holy Father St. Francis, that, through our zealous ardor, and by the perfection of our deeds, we might even now, come to union with God here on earth, and later, in heaven.
St. Francis, imbued deeply with the spirit of Christ,
Pray for us.
Let us pray. O God, who caused our seraphic Father St. Francis to live in poverty and humility, conformed to Christ, grant that we may walk this same way, in imitation of Your Son and in union with You, in the fullness of joy and love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
For Devotional Use;
LITANY TO OUR HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
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,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, conceived without sin,
Pray for us.
Holy Mary, special patroness of the three Orders of Saint Francis,
Pray for us.
Saint Francis, seraphic patriarch, etc.
Saint Francis, most prudent father,
Saint Francis, despiser of the world,
Saint Francis, model of penance,
Saint Francis, conqueror of vices,
Saint Francis, imitator of the Savior,
Saint Francis, bearer of the marks of Christ,
Saint Francis, sealed with the character of Jesus,
Saint Francis, example of purity,
Saint Francis, image of humility,
Saint Francis, abounding in grace,
Saint Francis, reformer of the erring,
Saint Francis, healer of the sick,
Saint Francis, pillar of the Church,
Saint Francis, defender of the Faith,
Saint Francis, champion of Christ,
Saint Francis, defender of thy children,
Saint Francis, invulnerable shield,
Saint Francis, confounder of the heretics,
Saint Francis, converter of the pagans,
Saint Francis, supporter of the lame,
Saint Francis, raiser of the dead,
Saint Francis, healer of the lepers,
Saint Francis, our advocate,
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
V. Pray for us, O holy Father Francis,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let Us Pray
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, when the world was growing cold, in order to renew in our hearts the flame of love, imprinted the sacred marks of Thy Passion on the body of our blessed father Francis, mercifully grant that by his merits and prayers we may persevere in bearing the cross and may bring forth fruits worthy of penance. You who live and reign, world without end. Amen.
THE PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS
Before the Cross in the Church of San Damiano
O Most High and Glorious God and my Lord Jesus Christ, enlighten, I beseech You, the darkness of my mind. Give me right faith, certain hope and perfect charity. Grant that I may know you, Lord, in order that I may always and in all things act according to Your most holy and perfect will. Amen.
PEACE PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
