| |
|
How to pray to the Novena
This Novena is for the nine days leading to the Feast of the Sacred Heart, on June 18.
These are ways of making the Novena to the Sacred Heart privately in your family or any other group.
A novena prepares us over a short period of time to receive the graces of God special to a feast.
In the Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the grace we pray for is to know personally the love of God in the Heart of Christ.
Read the reflection and meditate slowly, pausing when something strikes you. A prayer takes up the theme of the day, and you end with the Novena Prayer (on the right).
|
NOVENA PRAYER
TO THE SACRED HEART |
Lord Jesus, the needs of your people open your heart in love to each of us. You
care for us when we are lost, sympathize with us in loneliness and comfort us in mourning; you are closest to us when we are at our weakest. You love us most when we love ourselves least; you forgive
us most when we forgive ourselves least; you call us to spread your love in whatever way we can.
Lord Jesus, your heart is moved with compassion when we are suffering, when we need your help and when we pray for each other. I ask you to listen to my prayer during this novena, and grant what I
ask. . . (make your request). If what I ask is not for my own good and the good of others, grant me always what is best for me, that I may build up your kingdom of
love in our world. Amen.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus,
I place all my trust in You.
|
|
Jesus is found in the Temple
(Day 1 - June 10) How to pray to the
Novena
|
| Scripture: |
Three days later they found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers ... And he said to them, "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" (Lk. 2:46,49).
|
| Meditation: |
Jesus loved to pray to his beloved Father. It was natural for him to be in this place of worship and to forget time, as he engaged with the teachers in their discussions. To worship and love God is natural to our human souls, for it is our destiny and our only way to reach total joy and happiness.
His action invites us, even at the risk of criticism, to befriend the outcasts of our day, especially those who have been branded as socially deviant - such as drug addicts and criminals - and all those who have been left behind by the tide of affluence and become the jetsam of society - like the pitiful hordes of refugees and displaced persons who roam our world.
|
| Prayer: |
God our Father, if we really knew your love, beauty and goodness we would never stop wanting to adore and praise you. Help us to come closer to you in this novena through Jesus your Son.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, help us to experience your love.
|
| End: |
Say the Novena Prayer to the Sacred Heart. |
|
Jesus in the happy home in Nazareth
(Day 2 - June 11) How to pray to the
Novena
|
| Scripture: |
'He went down with them and came to Nazareth...And Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature and in favour with God and with people' (Lk. 2:51-52).
|
| Meditation: |
The hidden years, as they are called, pass swiftly in that holiest of homes. Mary watches her son at play and as he masters new skills in Joseph's workshop. In that home of love and prayer there is great peace and joy.
|
| Prayer: |
Jesus, help us to realise that our homes, too, can be havens of peace and prayer, and that our human lives are given to us so that we may grow in love and holiness.
Scared Heart of Jesus, teach us to welcome you into our homes.
|
| End: |
Say the Novena Prayer to the Sacred Heart. |
|
Jesus is rejected by his own townspeople
(Day 3 - June 12) How to pray to the
Novena
|
| Scripture: |
'He came to Narareth, where he had been brought up...They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town' (Lk. 4:16,29).
|
| Meditation: |
How he must have looked forward to sharing his Good News with those he had grown up with, and to curing their sick! Their hardness of heart must have been a bitter disappointment to him. They even tried to 'throw him off the cliff' (v. 29).
|
| Prayer: |
Lord, how often do we too have our hopes dashed, and we feel rejected. Help us to accept these hurts and to pray for those who in their blindness wound us.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, help us to forgive others.
|
| End: |
Say the Novena Prayer to the Sacred Heart. |
|
Jesus goes to a wedding feast in Cana
(Day 4 - June 13) How to pray to the
Novena
|
| Scripture: |
'And they ran out of wine...The mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine".' (Jn. 2:3).
|
| Meditation: |
The wedding of family friends is always an occasion of joy. Jesus' closeness to his mother is clearly shown by the way she simply makes known to him the situation. It was a joy for him to answer his mother's request and to help the young couple.
|
| Prayer: |
Lord, we know that you always hear every prayer and petition, and that in your wisdom and love for us you know what is best for us. Let your will, not ours, be done.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, we place all our trust in you.
|
| End: |
Say the Novena Prayer to the Sacred Heart. |
|
Jesus wept over Jerusalem
(Day 5 - June 14) How to pray to the
Novena
|
| Scripture: |
'As he drew near and came in sight of the city, he shed tears over it and said, "If you too had only recognised on this day the way to peace".' (Lk. 19:41).
|
| Meditation: |
Jesus foresees the siege and destruction of Jerusalem and the suffering that will come upon its people. The compassionate heart of Jesus is deeply moved by human suffering. Through our wars and hatreds we cause so much unnecessary suffering. Only by accepting Jesus and his message can we change our world.
|
| Prayer: |
Lord, our sins are always self-inflicted wounds. It is your love for us, that causes you most sorrow. Lord, open the eyes of our minds and hearts to accept your love.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
|
| End: |
Say the Novena Prayer to the Sacred Heart. |
|
Jesus rejoices with his disciples
(Day 6 - June 15) How to pray to the
Novena
|
| Scripture: |
'Jesus said, "I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to little children".' (Lk. 10:21).
|
| Meditation: |
We need the trusting attitude of little children to know God. Only by accepting the truth of our own frailty and dependence on God can we be open to the God of truth as he reveals himself to us.
|
| Prayer: |
Lord, you found joy in whatever pleased your Father. Help us to recognise our true littleness and frailty, which leads to real humility, so that we can receive the gift of faith.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, strengthen our weak faith.
|
| End: |
Say the Novena Prayer to the Sacred Heart. |
|
Jesus is betrayed
(Day 7 - June 16) How to pray to the
Novena
|
| Scripture: |
'Jesus said, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss"?' (Lk. 22:48).
|
| Meditation: |
Judas had been specially chosen by Jesus, and had been his constant companion for the past three years. Because of this, his treachery was a cause of even deeper sorrow for Jesus. When someone close to us rejects our love, it is felt all the more keenly.
|
| Prayer: |
Lord, you experienced all of our human pain except the wounds of sin. Give us the courage to forgive anyone who injures us.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
|
| End: |
Say the Novena Prayer to the Sacred Heart. |
|
|
|
Jesus visits his friends in Bethany
(Day 8 - June 17) How to pray to the
Novena
|
| Scripture: |
A woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord's feet and listened to him speaking' (Lk. 10:38-39).
|
| Meditation: |
Bethany was just two miles from Jerusalem, and it is clear from the gospels that Jesus loved to go there. He was received in this home with great love and faith, and they became very close friends.
|
| Prayer: |
Jesus, you call each of us to grow in intimate friendship with you during our life on earth. May we come to know you better and find joy in the time that we set aside for you in prayer each day.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, teach us to meet you in prayer.
|
| End: |
Say the Novena Prayer to the Sacred Heart. |
|
|
|
Jesus enters his passion
(Day 9 - June 18) How to pray to the
Novena
|
| Scripture: |
He said to them, "my soul is sorrowful to the point of death. Wait here and stay awake with me".' (Mt. 26:37-38).
|
| Meditation: |
Human suffering can be very lonely, for no one but God and ourselves really know what our pain is like. Jesus asked for the company of his closest friends, but they fell asleep. In his passion, Jesus entered into our human suffering and changed it through his resurrection. Now, by accepting our sufferings and uniting them with Christ's, we can be brought closer to God.
|
| Prayer: |
Lord, your suffering was real human suffering, and you freely accepted it out of love for us. Ease our sufferings. Give us the courage to accept what we cannot change and to unite it to your sufferings, so that we can be caught up in the glory of your resurrection.
Scared Heart of Jesus, strengthen us by your dying and rising.
|
| End: |
Say the Novena Prayer to the Sacred Heart.
|
|
|
