St. Clare grew up in Assisi and from early in her life was devoted to Christ and His Church.
Starts: August 2nd
Feastday: August 11th
Introduction
St. Clare grew up in Assisi and from early in her life was devoted to Christ and His Church.
She heard St. Francis preach and knew that God was leading her to follow him. St. Francis recognized Clare’s virtue and set her on a path to ultimately found what we know today as the Poor Clares. Before her death, St. Clare wrote the Rule for her nuns to follow, and the pope confirmed it.
St. Clare of Assisi Novena
Intro Prayers (start each day with this prayer)
O most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we praise Thy Holy Name and the wonders of grace Thou hast worked in Thy servant, Saint Clare.
Through her powerful intercession grant us the favors we beg in this novena, above all the grace to live and die as she did in Thy most Holy Love. Amen.
Daily Novena Prayers
Day 1: O Seraphic Saint Clare, first disciple of the Poor Man of Assisi, who hast abandoned all riches and honours for a life of sacrifice and of highest poverty, obtain from God for us the grace we ask (mention your intentions here), that of always submitting to the Divine Will and of living confidently in the providence of our Heavenly Father. Amen.
Day 2: O Seraphic Saint Clare who, notwithstanding living separated from the world hast not forgotten the poor and the afflicted, but hast become a mother to them, sacrificing for them your riches and working for them innumerable miracles; obtain from God for us the grace we implore (mention your intentions here), Christian charity towards our brethren in all their spiritual and temporal needs. Amen.
Day 3: O Seraphic Saint Clare, light of your country, who hast delivered Italy from barbarous invaders; obtain from God for us the grace we implore (mention your intentions here), that of overcoming all attacks of the world against faith and morals thus preserving in our families true Christian peace with a holy fear of God and a devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. Amen.
Day 4: Blessed Saint Clare, whose very name means light, illumine the darkness of our minds and hearts so that we might see what God wishes us to do and perform it with a willing and joyful heart. Before your birth, a Heavenly voice foretold that you would be a light illuminating the world. Be a light to us in the sorrows and anxieties of this earthly life, and lead us into the eternal light of our home in Heaven. Amen.
Day 5: O Seraphic Saint Clare, whose virginal heart was great enough to love the whole world, take our petitions into your pure hands and present them to God. Pray for us that we may one day enter joyously before the throne of God. Let the light of your perfect purity consume the shadows of sin and corruption that darkens the world. Intercede by your innocence for our youth. Safeguard the peace of our homes and the unity of our family. Plead with your chaste love for all in peril. Amen.
Day 6: Generous Saint Clare, who left wealth and pleasure and all earthly goods to become the first spiritual daughter of Saint Francis and to serve God in the cloister, help us to commit our lives to God without limit or measure so that He may live in us and shine forth from us to all whose lives touch ours. You who loved souls so much as to make your life a continual sacrifice for them, obtain for us the graces we now implore and win for us the strength to praise God in suffering as well as in joy. Amen.
Day 7:Faithful Saint Clare, loyal daughter of the Church, friend and confidante of popes, intercede for the holy Church and look graciously from Heaven on our holy Father Pope. Enlighten us to remove from our souls all that hinders the progress of the Church on earth. Grant that we may share your great love for the church of God and spread His kingdom on earth by a holy life. You, who worked miracles in the presence of the pope on earth, obtain for us the graces we need, now that you stand in the presence of the most high God in Heaven. Amen.
Day 8: Valiant Saint Clare, who fearlessly stood alone against the barbarous Saracens, trusting in the Blessed Sacrament as your only protection, enkindle in us a tender love for Jesus Christ; help us to live Eucharistic lives. You who saved your city of Assisi from plunder and ruin, protect our city and archdiocese, plead for our beloved country and the suffering world. A voice from the Sacred Host rewarded your trust with a promise: ‘I will always take care of you.’ Glorious Saint Clare, from your high place in Heaven, take care of us now in our earthly needs and guide us by your light to Heaven. Amen.
Day 9: Gracious Saint Clare, who fulfilled your womanhood by a life of love in prayer and penance, help us to fulfill our destiny that we may one day greet you in Heaven. You who were consoled at your death by a vision of Christ band His Mother, obtain for us the grace that we may die under the special protection of God and enter into the life and bliss you now enjoy. Have pity on us who struggle, on us who mourn, and win for us the favours of God so that after this life we may come home to Him who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
Concluding Prayer for each day
V. Pray for us, Saint Clare.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us Pray. We Pray Thee, Lord, Grant us Thy servants who celebrate the festival of blessed Clare Thy Virgin, by her intercession, to be partakers of the joys of heaven and coheirs with Thine only-begotten Son, Who being God, lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
Our Lady of Monte Berico ended a plague in Italy in the 1420s. Pray this novena for an end to pandemics. Facts about Our Lady of Monte Berico Novena Feastday: August 22nd Novena Starts: August 13th Patron saint of overcoming plagues and pandemics Birth: 1st century Death: 1st century Our Lady of Monte Berico Novena You can pray the full Our Lady of Monte Berico Novena below. Day 1 Prayer Intro Prayer O Most Holy Virgin, Mother of God and my Mother Mary, I thank you that you have deigned to appear on Monte Berico and I thank you for all the graces you grant here to those who turn to you. Nobody ever prayed to you in vain. I, too, resort to you and beg you for the Passion and Death of Jesus and for your pains: welcome me, o’ merciful Mother, under your mantle, which is a maternal mantle; grant me the particular grace that I ask of You [your petition here] and protect me from all evil and especially from sin which is the greatest evil. Oh make, oh Mary, my Mother, tha...
St. Maria Goretti is the patron saint of chastity, rape victims, girls, youth, teenage girls, poverty, purity and forgiveness. Starts: June 28th Feast day: July 6th St. Maria Goretti Novena Introduction Maria Goretti was born on October 16, 1890 in Italy. By the time Maria was five, her family had become so poor that they were forced to give up their farm, move, and work for other farmers, where they lived in a house that they shared with another family (the Serenellis). On July 5, 1902, eleven-year-old Maria was sitting on the outside steps of her home, while a young man named Alessandro was close by. Knowing she would be alone, he returned to the house and threatened her with a knife if she did not do what he said; he was intending to rape her. She would not submit, however, protesting that what he wanted to do was a mortal sin and warning him that he would go to Hell. She fought desperately, and he stabbed her numerous times. The following day, Maria forgave Alessandr...
Born to a rich French family near Geneva, Switzerland in 1567, Francis was devout from an early age and blessed with deep intellect. FACEBOOK Starts: January 15th Feastday: January 24th St. Francis de Sales Introduction Born to a rich French family near Geneva, Switzerland in 1567, Francis was devout from an early age and blessed with deep intellect. His father desired that he study law and enter the political world, but Francis believed God was calling him to the priesthood. He did study law, but meanwhile he grew in mental prayer and also learned theology. At 26, after contention with his father, he was ordained a priest. Recall that this time period was in the first 75 years of the Protestant schisms from the Reformation. The Protestant Calvinists had a stronghold in Geneva, so Francis began a mission to lead them back to the Catholic Church. For several years, he met total failure: no one gave him the time of day, let aloned listened to him to convert back to Cath...
