A novena inspired from Pope John Paul II - Day Three

Day Three

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
from the XXXV World Day of Prayer for Vocations

While they are necessary in every age, these vocations are more necessary today, in a world marked by great contradictions and the temptation to relegate God to the margins in the fundamental choices of life. The words of the Gospel come to mind: “the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest!”(Mt. 9,37-38). The Church welcomes every day this command of the Lord and, with faithful hope, raises up her invocations to the “Lord of the harvest”, recognizing that only He can call and send His labourers. My wish is that the annual celebration of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations raise up in the hearts of the faithful a more intense prayer to obtain new vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life and reawaken the responsibility of all, especially parents and those who educate in the faith, to promote vocations.

We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.

Pause for a moment to ask for Pope John Paul’s intercession.

Please pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be.

Prayer
Spirit of eternal Love, who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
we thank You for all the vocations of apostles and saints which have enriched the Church.
Continue, we pray, this work of Yours.
You descended on the Apostles gathered together in prayer with Mary, the mother of Jesus,
and look upon Your Church which today has particular need of holy priests,
of faithful and authoritative witnesses of Your grace;
she needs consecrated men and women,
who show the joy of those who live only for the Father,
who make their own the mission and offering of Christ,
who build up in charity the new world.
Open the hearts and minds of young men and women,
so that a new flowering of holy vocations
may show forth the fidelity of Your love,
and all may know Christ,
the true light come into the world
to offer every human being
the sure hope of eternal life. Amen.

A novena inspired from Pope John Paul II - Day Two

Day Two
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
from the XXXIII World Day of Prayer for Vocations

The Christian vocation a gift of God is the heritage of all. Whether married or ordained, priests or religious, all are chosen by God to proclaim the Gospel and to communicate salvation; not alone, however, but in the Church and with the Church. “The work of evangelization is not an individual activity; it is essentially ecclesial”(Evangelii nuntiandi, n. 60). Along with God’s universal call to live and witness to the proclamation of salvation there are particular vocations with specific responsibilities within the Church; these are the fruit of a special grace and require an additional moral and spiritual commitment. They are the vocations to the priesthood, the religious life, to work of the missions and to the contemplative life.

We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.

Pause for a moment to ask for Pope John Paul’s intercession.

Please pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be.

Prayer
Look, O Lord, upon the whole human family
and show Your mercy to the men and women who
in prayer and righteous living seek You without
yet having encountered You:
show Yourself to them as the way
which leads to the Father, as the truth which makes us free,
as the life which has no end.
Grant us, Lord, to live in Your Church
in a spirit of faithful service and total gift,
so that our witness will be credible and bear fruit. Amen!

A novena inspired from Pope John Paul II - Day One

A Novena for Consecrated Life and Priesthood through the Intercession of Pope John Paul II

created for www.seekholiness.com in 2005

St. John Damascene defined prayer as “the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God(Catechism, 2559).” We are encouraged to be people of prayer, people who converse with God. While He knows our desires before we ask, He still has great concern for us and encourages us to state our needs. One prayer form that has developed by the faithful of the Church over the centuries is the novena.

The Church views a period of eights days, the octave, as a period of celebration, a time to rejoice. The Church sees nine days as a time to “of hopeful mourning, of yearning, of prayer(Catholic Encyclopedia, Novena).” A novena is a prayer that has developed over the centuries to ask God for special assistance, ultimately for grace.

This is a new novena. Pope John Paul II started his pontificate by stating “Do not be afraid!” He preached to the youth of the Church and the world to seek holiness. He told them to listen to God call out to them, to accept God’s grace. He encouraged us to rise above our humanity and accept and live in divinity.

It is the hope that all who pray this novena have as their intention an increase in consecrated life and priesthood.

Day One
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
from the XXXII World Day of Prayer for Vocations

It is in following Jesus that youth display all the riches of it potentiality and acquires its full meaning. It is in following Jesus that the young discover the sense of a life lived as a gift of self, and experience the beauty and truth of growing in love. It is in following Jesus that they feel themselves called to communion with Him as living members of a single body, which is the Church. It is in following Jesus that it will be possible for them to understand the personal call to love: in matrimony, in the consecrated life, in the ordained ministry, in the mission ad gentes. That dialogue shows however that Jesus’ care and tenderness can remain unanswered. And it is sad in the inheritance of life choices which distance us from Him. How many motives, even today, hold adolescents and young people from living the truth of their age in generous adherence to Christ. How many still do not know of whom to ask that question the “rich young man” put to Jesus! How many people’s young days are at risk of losing out on an authentic growth!

We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.

Pause for a moment to ask for Pope John Paul’s intercession.

Please pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be.

Prayer
O Mother of Jesus,
in your free and joyful “yes”
and in your active faith so many generations
have found inspiration and strength
for welcoming the Word of God
and for fulfilling His will.
O Teacher of life,
teach young people to pronounce “yes”
that gives meaning to existence
and brings them to discover the hidden “name” of God
in the heart of every person. Amen.