St. Anne Novena, Day 9

Day Nine

Most holy mother of the Virgin Mary, glorious Saint Anne, I, a miserable sinner, confiding in your kindness, choose you today as my special advocate. I offer all my interests to your care and maternal solicitude. O my very good mother and advocate, deign to accept me and to adopt me as your child.
O glorious Saint Anne, I beg you, by the passion of my most loving Jesus, the Son of Mary, your most holy daughter, to assist me in all the necessities both of my body and my soul. Venerable Mother, I beg you to obtain for me the favor I seek in this novena…
(State your intention here.)
…and the grace of leading a life perfectly conformed to all things of the Divine Will. I place my soul in your hands and in those of your kind daughter. I ask for your favor in order that, appearing under your patronage before the Supreme Judge, He may find me worthy of enjoying His Divine Presence in your holy companionship in Heaven.
Amen.
Pray for us, Saint Anne & Saint Joachim, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

St. Anne Novena, Day 8

Day Eight

Remember, O Saint Anne, you whose name signifies grace and mercy, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, and sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto you, good, and kind mother; I take refuge at your feet, burdened with the weight of my sins. O holy mother of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, despise not my petition…
(State your intention here.)
…but hear me and grant my prayer.
Amen.
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Was Mary Magdalene Misunderstood? Not in the Way You Think.

 

St. Anne Novena, Day 7

Day Seven

O Good Saint Anne, so justly called the mother of the infirm, the cure for those who suffer from disease, look kindly upon the sick for whom I pray.
Alleviate their sufferings; cause them to sanctify their sufferings by patience and complete submission to the Divine Will; finally, deign to obtain health for them and with it, the firm resolution to honor Jesus, Mary, and yourself by the faithful performance of duties.
But, merciful Saint Anne, I ask you above all for the salvation of my soul, rather than bodily health, for I am convinced that this fleeting life is given to us solely to assure us a better one. I cannot obtain that better life without the help of God’s graces. I earnestly beg for them from you for the sick and for myself, and especially for the petition for which I am making in this novena…
(State your intention here.)
…through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of His Immaculate Mother, and through your efficacious and powerful mediation, I pray.
Amen.
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

St. Anne Novena, Day 6

Day Six

Glorious Saint Anne, mother of the Mother of God, I beg for your powerful intercession for the freedom from my sins and the assistance I need in my troubles…
(State your intention here.)
What can I not hope for if you deign to take me under your protection? The Most High has been pleased to grant the prayers of sinners, whenever you have been charitable enough to be their advocate.
Therefore, I beg you to help me in all spiritual and temporal dangers; to guide me in the true path of Christian perfection, and finally to obtain for me the grace of a happy death, so that I may contemplate your beloved Jesus and daughter, Mary, in your loving companionship throughout all eternity.
Amen.
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

St. Anne Novena, Day 5

Day Five

Great Saint Anne, how far I am from resembling you. I so easily give way to impatience and discouragement; and so easily give up praying when God does not at once answer my request. Prayer is the key to all heavenly treasures and I cannot pray, because my weak faith and lack of confidence fail me at the slightest delay. O my powerful protectress, come to my aid, listen to my petition…
(State your intention here.)
Make my confidence and fervor, supported by the promise of Jesus Christ, increase as the trial to which God, in His goodness, subjects me is prolonged, that I may obtain, like you, more than I can venture to ask for. In the future I will remember that I am made for heaven and not for earth; for eternity and not for time; that consequently I must ask, above all, for the salvation of my soul.
Amen.
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

St. Anne Novena, Day 4

Day Four

Glorious Saint Anne, I kneel in confidence at your feet, for you also have tasted the bitterness and sorrow of life. My need, the cause of my request, is…
(State your intention here.)
Good Saint Anne, you who did suffer much during the twenty years that preceded your glorious maternity, I beseech you, by all your sufferings and humiliations, to grant my prayer.
I pray to you, through your love for your glorious spouse Saint Joachim, through your love for your immaculate child, through the joy you felt at the moment of her happy birth, not to refuse me. Bless me, bless my family and all who are dear to me, so that someday, we may all be with you in the glory of heaven, for all eternity.
Amen.
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

St. Anne Novena, Day 3

Day three

Beloved of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, mother of the Queen of Heaven, take us and all who are dear to us under your special care. Obtain for us the virtues you instilled in the heart of her who was destined to become Mother of God, and the graces with which you were endowed. O model of Christian womanhood, pray that we may imitate your example in our homes and families. Please listen to our petitions,
(State your intention here.)
Guardian of the infancy and childhood of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, obtain the graces necessary for all who enter the marriage state, that by imitating your virtues, they may sanctify their homes and lead the souls entrusted to their care to eternal glory. Amen.
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

St. Anne Novena, Day 2

 Day Two

Glorious Saint Anne, how can you be anything other than overflowing with tenderness toward sinners like me, since you are the grandmother of Him who shed His blood for us, and the mother of her whom the saints call advocate of sinners? To you, therefore, I address my prayers with confidence.
Vouchsafe to commend me to Jesus and Mary so that, at your request, I may be granted remission of my sins, perseverance, the love of God, charity for all mankind, and the special grace of…
(State your intention here.)
…for which I stand in need at the present time. O most powerful protectress, let me not lose my soul, but pray for me that through the merits of Jesus Christ and the intercession of Mary, I may have the great happiness of seeing them, of loving and praising them with you through all eternity.
Amen.
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

St. Anne Novena - Day 1 (July 17th)

Day One

Great Saint Anne, engrave indelibly on my heart and in my mind the words that have reclaimed and sanctified so many sinners:
“What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world if he lose his own soul?” May this be the principal fruit of these prayers by which I will strive to honor you during this novena.
At your feet, renew my resolution to invoke you daily, not only for the success of my temporal affairs and to be preserved from sickness and suffering, but above all, that I may be preserved from all sin, that I may gain eternal salvation and that I will receive the special grace of…
(State your intention here.)
O most powerful Saint Anne, do not let me lose my soul, but obtain for me the grace of heaven, there with you, your blessed spouse, and your glorious daughter, to sing the praise of the Most Holy and Adorable Trinity forever and ever.
Amen.
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

A Medjugorje Revelation: What are the Two Plans? Satan's Plan & Mary's Plan!

 

St. Kateri Tekakwitha

*“Today the Church needs saints. This calls for our combating our

attachment to comforts that lead us to choose a comfortable and

insignificant mediocrity. Each one of us has the possibility to be a saint,

and the way to holiness is prayer. Holiness is, for each of us, a simple

duty.” *St. Mother Teresa

Simon and Garfunkel sang *Mrs. Robinson*, the classic song from the movie *The

Graduate.* They lamented the lack of American heroes and sang, “Where have

you gone, Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.”

The true American heroes are not sport or entertainment figures, but

Catholic saints. We should turn our “lonely eyes” to them and follow their

good examples, virtues and works. They are our true friends and are alive

in heaven with God. They are models of holiness for us. They can help us

just like friends on earth by their prayerful intercession on our behalf.

They give us courage and hope.

July 14 is the feast of one of our saints of the states, St. Kateri

Tekakwitha. Let our nation turn its lonely eyes to her for courage and

hope. Pope Benedict XVI canonized her at St. Peter's square in Vatican City

October 21, 2012.

The blood of the martyrs is often the water that sprouts the seed of the

Catholic faith. The blood of the only martyrs of the United States, Saints

Isaac Jogues, Rene Goupil and Jean de la Lande, watered the seed of the

faith in the Mohawk Village at Auriesville, New York. Kateri Tekakwitha was

born there in 1656, ten years after they were martyred there.

*Kateri's Baptism*

Kateri lived in the Mohawk Village with her uncle, the chief of the Turtle

Clan, after her parents died from smallpox when she was four. The smallpox

left her disfigured with impaired vision. "Tekakwitha" in Mohawk means "one

who puts things in order" or "one who feels her way", because Kateri had to

feel her way with her poor eyesight in the darkened lodges. She often

stayed in the Longhouse because the sunlight hurt her eyes.

She fell in love with Jesus and decided to remain a virgin. Virginity was

unheard of amongst the Indians and they pressured her to marry and to work

on Sunday, but she refused to do so. When they connived to have her lodge

visited by a young warrior in the hopes of their union, she turned him out.

Then the Indians treated her as a slave and put her to work for the village.

In 1666, the French attacked and burned down Kateri’s village. The Mohawks

built a new village on the north side of the Mohawk River at Fonda

(Caughnawaga), New York. Here Kateri first  heard of the Catholic faith

from Father Jacques de Lamberville, a French Jesuit, who occasionally

visited her village at St. Peter's Mission. He baptized her on April 18,

1676 and she took the name Catherine that the Mohawks pronounced “Kateri”.

The other Mohawks persecuted her for her faith. They mocked her devotion to

Our Lady and her recitation of the Rosary. Kateri was not deterred, but to

avoid the persecution she escaped in 1677 with some companions from the

village to Canada. She trekked north through New York and paddled Lake

Champlain to Sault Saint-Louis, a Christian Indian Mission near Montreal on

the St. Lawrence River. Her journey took over two weeks, traveling by foot

and canoe about three hundred miles through woods, rivers, swamps and lakes.

*The Lily of the Mohawks *

At the Mission, Kateri lived a life dedicated to prayer, penitential

practices and care for the sick and aged. Her day at the Mission began at 4

a.m. each morning in church where she remained for several hours of prayer

and Masses. She helped the sick and the poor. She formed a group called the

Slavery of the Blessed Virgin and they fasted and endured exposure to the

cold in the woods as acts of penance. On March 25, 1679, Kateri was

permitted to make a vow of perpetual virginity.

Kateri was a half-blind, pockmarked orphan Indian maiden. She was little

more than a slave in her own clan, but in God's eyes she was His pure

daughter and a model for her race. Many Indians followed her good example

and converted. Kateri received the Eucharist with the greatest devotion.

Father Pierre Cholenec, who prepared her for her First Communion said,

"Only God knows what passed between Himself and His dear Spouse."

Kateri attended daily Masses at 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. and visited the Blessed

Sacrament five times daily, after her daily visitations to the sick and the

poor. During her own last sickness, she dragged herself to Mass until she

could no longer walk. She died at the age of 24 on April 17, 1680 in the

presence of Father Cholenec and all of her pox marks disappeared. He said

that at the time of her death Kateri's face "... so disfigured and so

swarthy in life, suddenly changed about fifteen minutes after her death,

and in an instant became so beautiful and so fair that just as soon as I

saw it (I was praying by her side) I let out a yell, I was so astonished."

Two hundred and ninety three years later on the very same date, April 17,

1973, young Peter McCauley's hearing was spontaneously restored through

Kateri's intercession. This was the miracle that led to her beatification

by Pope John Paul II on June 22, 1980.

Pope Benedict XVI canonized Kateri on October 21, 2012. He called St.

Kateri the "protectress of Canada and the first Native American saint" and

he entrusted to her "the renewal of the faith in the First Nations and in

all of North America."

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia, who is of American Indian

descent, said, "I think many young people today are embarrassed about

embracing the Catholic faith because they live in a secular culture that's

hostile toward religious experience. St. Kateri also grew up in a place

where there was great hostility toward Christianity, but she resisted all

efforts to turn her away from her faith, so in some ways she would be a

model of fidelity in the face of persecution on religious freedom grounds."

Kateri’s Feast Day is July 14. Because of her purity, she is known as the

"Lily of the Mohawks."