Novena To St Teresa Of The Little Flower
NOVENA PRAYER
DAY ONE
O Heavenly Father,
Who in Thine ineffable goodness
didst place in the soul
of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus
the precious treasure of sanctifying grace,
and didst grant her ever to keep it
in the midst of earthly dangers,
we pray Thee to grant to us
for our part the happiness
of never losing this inestimable gift
whereby we become Thine adopted children,
the brothers and sisters of Thy Son Jesus,
the temples of the Holy Spirit
and the heirs of Heaven.
Enable us, to this end,
carefully to avoid mortal sin
which would rob us of this grace
more to be desired
than all the wealth of the world,
to fly the occasions of sin,
and to resist temptation.
We implore these graces
through the intercession of the one
who was ever Thy faithful child
and whose memory we venerate.
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus,
who would have preferred to die
rather than lose God's grace,
vouchsafe to obtain for us
all the help necessary
to avoid the misfortune
of committing mortal sin,
incompatible with this divine grace.
Obtain for us the favours we crave
and implore through you powerful intercession.
Amen.
DAY TWO
O Heavenly Father,
Who to assure our advancement
in the right path dost never cease
to multiply the supernatural means
of help which we need,
and which Thou has divinely poured out
upon Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus,
we beg of Thee,
through this Saint so dear to Thy Heart,
all the graces of light
and of fortitude necessary or helpful
to fulfill Thine adorable will.
Thy grace ever went
before Saint Theresa
and Thou didst uphold her at each moment,
for Thou didst give to her
both to will and to do,
and without Thee
none can even utter the name of Jesus
whereby we may be saved.
Father, shed abroad in our minds and hearts
those graces won by the merits of our Savior
and which Saint Theresa asks for us.
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus
upon whom so many divine graces were showered,
we pray you to intercede with our Heavenly Father,
so that through the merits
of our Savior and your merits,
He may vouchsafe to give to our souls
all the graces needful
for the perfect fulfillment of our duty.
Obtain for us the favours we crave and implore
through your powerful intercession.
Amen.
DAY THREE
O Heavenly Father,
Who didst dispose the soul
of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus
to ascend by such wonderful steps
and didst make this lovable saint
to rise from virtue to virtue,
aiding her so admirably to practice
humility, simplicity, patience,
confidence, zeal and love,
we beseech Thee to place in our hearts
dispositions like to hers
and to grant us to resemble her,
that we may hence become
conformable to Thy Son Jesus,
our Model and the Divine Example
of Thine adorable perfections.
These virtues are so needful for us,
for without them
we cannot be happy here below;
without them we cannot gain for Thee
the glory that Thou dost look for from us.
Vouchsafe, O Father,
to help us to make these virtues ours.
May Thy numerous graces
joined to our generous efforts,
bring forth, as in Saint Theresa,
true and lasting virtue.
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus
who to please God ever Wonderfully
grew in virtue each day of your life,
obtain for us to resemble you
and generously to practice those virtues
of which you have left us
such a beautiful example.
Obtain for us the favours we crave
and implore through your powerful intercession.
Amen.
DAY FOUR
O Heavenly Father,
Who in Thine infinite wisdom
dost permit the just to be tried upon earth,
like gold in the furnace,
hereafter to crown them gloriously in Heaven,
we beseech Thee to grant us
through the intercession
of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus,
all the graces of fortitude
and consolation which we urgently need
in the difficulties we encounter here below.
Thou dost order all things
for the good of those who love Thee,
nothing befalls without Thy permission,
Thou knowest how to draw good out of evil.
May these consoling truths be our support
in the midst of our sorrows.
Sweeten for us all that is bitter
by the unction of Thy grace.
Permit not, O Father,
that impatience shall possess our heart
or murmurs rise to our lips.
Make us understand the providential use of sorrow,
as it was undertook by Saint Theresa
who owned to finding happiness
in the midst of suffering.
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus
who suffered much here below,
and knew how to find joy in every bitterness,
intercede for us with God
that so He may help us
to bear patiently all our crosses,
and console our hearts saddened
by the trials of earth's exile.
Obtain for us the favours we crave
and implore through your powerful intercession.
Amen.
DAY FIVE
O Heavenly Father,
Who so loved men that Thou didst give them
Thine Only-begotten Son
to be their Redeemer upon the Cross,
and Food in the Divine Sacrament of the Altar,
we beseech Thee to grant us,
through the prayers of
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus
so inflamed with love
for this Adorable Sacrament
and so eager to receive It,
the grace for our part
to draw near very often to the Holy Table.
Following the example of
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus,
may we bring to it the best dispositions,
a right intention,
hearts filled with lively faith,
sincere humility,
deep confidence,
ardent charity.
Father, make us truly understand
that this Divine Bread
is no less needful to our soul
than material bread is to our body
and that we cannot abstain from It
without hurt to our soul.
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus
who so much loved
the Divine Sacrament of the Altar
and so greatly longed to unite yourself to It
through Holy Communion,
obtain for us from God
a love like to yours for this Adorable Sacrament
and a fervent longing often
to receive It in our hearts.
Obtain for us the favours we crave
and implore through your powerful intercession.
Amen
DAY SIX
O Heavenly Father,
Who bestowed upon the Blessed Virgin Mary
the greatest and most precious
graces and privileges,
and called her to become the Mother
of Thy Son Jesus
also giving her to be our Mother,
we beseech Thee through the intercession of
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus
ever so faithful to honour this beloved Virgin,
whose radiant countenance
and gracious smile she one day beheld,
to grant us too the inestimable favour
of being the very loving children of this Holy Mother.
We need her maternal mediation,
for this good Mother is the way that leads to Jesus,
and she is the treasurer of all the graces
that our Saviour acquired for us
by shedding of His Precious Blood.
We thank Thee, O Father,
for having given us the Blessed Virgin
to be our Mother,
and our guide along our life's path,
and we beseech Thee that,
like Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus,
we may be true imitators of her virtues:
of her perfect humility,
her immaculate purity,
and her ardent love.
We look to her for the greatest succor now
and at the hour of our death.
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus
who ever manifested a great love
for the One you named the Immaculate Virgin,
and from whom you received so many benefits,
we ask you to obtain for us
the grace to imitate your tender devotion towards her
and to help us to reproduce
her beautiful and admirable virtues
even as you yourself did.
Obtain for us the favours we crave
and implore through your powerful intercession.
Amen.
DAY SEVEN
O Heavenly Father,
Who has bestowed upon us so many benefits
through the intercession of
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus,
and willest that we should honour
this lovable saint with a special devotion,
we earnestly implore Thee
of Thy fatherly loving-kindness
the grace to be ever faithful in venerating her,
invoking her and imitating her virtues.
It is good for us to pay honour to the Saints.
Thou has placed these blessed Saints
as powerful mediators between ourselves and Thee,
that so Thou mayest bestow upon us
more ready and more abundant aids.
That which our prayer cannot obtain,
theirs will obtain for us.
Thou hast willed that the Saints
should be our models.
They were once what we are;
we can with Thy grace become what they are,
what they have done,
we can do in our turn.
Father, give us a true and lasting devotion
towards Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus,
a devotion well ordered and constant,
a devotion that will sanctify us
and lead us to Thee
to Whom all the homage we pay
to the Saints returns.
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus,
placed by the Church upon our altars
to be out protectress with God
and model in Christian life,
obtain for us,
we ask of you,
ever to have you in honour,
to venerate you,
to invoke you,
to imitate you
for the greater glory of God
and the greater good of our souls.
Obtain for us the favours we crave
and implore through your powerful intercession.
Amen.
DAY EIGHT
O Heavenly Father,
Who hast created all the good things of earth
for the use of man
and dost measure them out to him
with marvelous bounty,
we beg Thee through the intercession of
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus
to give us all those things
of which we have need
for the preservation of our life here below.
Teach us to use these things
with the moderation befitting Christians,
let us not attach our heart to them;
may they serve not to keep us from Thee,
the Only True Good to be desired
and the Giver of all that is good in this world.
Give us, as Thou gavest to Thy faithful handmaid
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus,
to make a holy use of earthly things
and to make them serve on for Thy Glory.
Father, Who dost feed the birds of the air
and clothe the lilies of the valley,
forsake not the souls of those who trust in Thee.
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus
who ever used the things of this world
according to the order willed by God,
you who made earthly gifts serve
to merit those that are heavenly,
we ask you to obtain for us
all that is necessary for us
during our life upon earth.
Obtain for us the favours we crave
and implore through your powerful intercession.
Amen.
DAY NINE
O Heavenly Father,
Who hast prepared for us
a glorious reward after the labours of this life,
and hast promised to crown
with honour and glory
those who are faithful to the end in Thy love,
we beseech Thee to grant us
through the intercession of
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus
the grace to be faithful to Thy Commandments,
to those of the Holy Church
and to Thy holy inspirations
until the hour of our death.
Father, grant that,
after the example of
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus,
we may not recoil from labours,
that temptations may not
keep us from Thee,
that trials may not
cause us to lose courage.
May neither the world,
nor the devil,
nor our own inclinations
separate us from Thee
to Whom we desire to belong for ever,
as we promised Thee
on the day of our Baptism
and on the day of our First Communion.
Perseverance in grace is a grace,
we beseech Thee to grant it to us,
and in Thy merciful love
not to refuse us the grace of graces,
that of final perseverance
which will unite us to Thee for evermore
and will give us to contemplate
during all Eternity Thine adorable Face.
Father, uphold us in the midst of our combats
until the day when we shall gain the victory,
when Thou Thyself wilt triumph in us.
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus
who persevered throughout your life
in exact fidelity to God's grace,
you who saw your perseverance crowned
on the glorious day of your death,
obtain for us to be fully faithful to God's law
and never to separate ourselves
from His holy love.
Obtain for us the favours we crave
and implore through your powerful intercession.
Amen.
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