Christmas Novena
The novena begins on December 15.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
Opening Prayer
My God and my Saviour Jesus Christ, only Son of God, who out of your infinite love for me became man and were born in a cave to save me: I adore you with the deepest reverence in that manger where you were born, humble and suffering so much for me. I unite my adoration with the adoration offered to you at your birth by your glorious Mother, by her chaste spouse Saint Joseph, by the choirs of your holy angels and by the simple shepherds. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the love beyond understanding with which you have favoured me. And when I remember how unfaithful I have been and how many sins I have committed against this unique love, I hate these sins with all my heart, because they have offended your divine majesty, and I am sorry for having repaid your kindness with such grave ingratitude and neglect. With the help of your grace, I am resolved to choose death rather than consent to the least sin, and I ask your pardon and forgiveness. I offer you my whole self: my thoughts, words and actions, and all the movements and feelings of my heart, from now until the last breath of my life. Amen.
I ask you, my Lady, Virgin Mary, by your holy virginity and by your conception free from every stain, to purify my soul and my body. Amen.
– O God, come to my assistance.
– O Lord, make haste to help me.
– Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Our Father… then say the invocation for the day:
December 15
You who are fairer than the sons of men, who out of love for us chose to become man, so as to show us the hidden beauty of your divinity through the visible beauty of the body you received from the Virgin Mary, and so drew people to your divine love; beloved of the Father and the only joy of his heart: we ask you, by your holy birth and through the intercession of your Mother and of your chosen one, Saint Joseph, to set our hearts on fire with your love and to enlighten our minds with the rays of your heavenly grace, so that we may love you with all our heart and all our will, and love all things in you and for you, for you alone deserve the love of every heart. Amen.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
December 16
Hope of the patriarchs and expectation of the nations, who by your birth gave hope to the children of men, and gathered the shepherds, the Magi and all who believe in your holy name in the sweetness of hope in you, and brought them to adore you as is fitting: we ask you, by your holy birth and through the intercession of your Mother and of your chosen one, Saint Joseph, by your grace to free us from attachment to earthly things and from false reliance on our own efforts. Let us rely only on your fatherly plan and your divine providence. Draw our hearts and minds to contemplate your heavenly goods, so that we may long and yearn for them alone. Amen.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
December 17
Wonderful Counsellor, who led the nations to obey you through the sweetness of your love: we ask you, by your holy birth and through the intercession of your Mother and of your chosen one, Saint Joseph, to teach us perfect obedience to your holy commandments, and to help us obey our superiors with a convinced mind, a surrendered heart, all the eagerness of our spirit and the joy of our soul. Amen.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
December 18
Wine that makes virgins flourish and lily of purity, whose mere touch purifies bodies and makes souls chaste, who by dwelling in the womb of your Mother made her the purest of all virgins: we ask you, by your holy birth and through the intercession of your Mother and of your chosen one, Saint Joseph, to grant us chastity of soul and body, and purity in both our actions and our thoughts, so that we may serve you with a clean heart and a chaste body all the days of our life. Amen.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
December 19
O Most High and Exalted One, who left the glory of your divinity and embraced the lowliness of our human nature, to become for us a model of humility and self-abasement: we ask you, by your holy birth and through the intercession of your Mother and of your chosen one, Saint Joseph, to grant us humility of heart and forgetfulness of self, so that we may bring down every proud height raised against the knowledge of you, recognize our lowliness and glorify you, the only Holy One, whose name is great, and to whom belong glory, honour and power. Amen.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
December 20
Word of God, proceeding from the mouth of God to be the life of every person, who became the living bread and were born in Bethlehem, the “house of bread”, to satisfy our hunger: we ask you, by your holy birth and through the intercession of your Mother and of your chosen one, Saint Joseph, to give us a deep hunger for the bread of your Body and your most pure Blood, so that we may approach the service of your altars and the reception of your holy mysteries with fitting preparation; and make them serve our salvation and eternal life. Amen.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
December 21
One Person in two natures, who made known to us what you heard from the Father: we ask you, by your holy birth and through the intercession of your Mother and of your chosen one, Saint Joseph, to grant us a living faith and good works worthy of our true faith. Do not let us lose the reward of our faith through our wrongdoing, but make us fruitful both in sincere belief and in right action. Amen.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
December 22
Angel of great counsel, who joined the glory of your dazzling power with the prudence of human conduct when you fled into Egypt from Herod, you, the mighty and almighty God: we ask you, by your holy birth and through the intercession of your Mother and of your chosen one, Saint Joseph, to give us wisdom, so that we may direct our actions while remaining bound to your divine service all the days of our life. Amen.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
December 23
You who are rich by nature, yet loved the poverty of our humanity when you became man like us: though you were of royal lineage and the illustrious heir of David, from all his royal wealth you were content with a cave and a lowly manger. We ask you, by your holy birth and through the intercession of your Mother and of your chosen one, Saint Joseph, to give us a love for voluntary poverty, and help us to be content with only what is necessary for our life, keeping far from luxury and the love of comfort all the days of our life. Amen.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
Closing Prayer
Wonderful Child and only Son, we have offered you the fragrance of our incense, the longings of our hearts, the submission of our souls, the bowing of our bodies and the pleading of our lips, so that you may grant us the preparation we need for your holy birth. On that holy day may we be found worthy for you to dwell in us through the sacrament of your most holy Body and Blood, as you dwelt for nine months in your Mother’s womb. May we be enlightened by the guidance of your holy angels, like the humble shepherds, and adore you with true and spiritual adoration, like the blessed Magi, offering you not gold, myrrh and frankincense, but faith, hope and burning love, so that the flowers of virtue may grow in us and bear the fruit of good works pleasing to your will. To you we offer glory and honour, and to your blessed Father and your Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen.
* Jesus, be glorified with the Father and the Spirit who guides us. May our hearts be your temple, where you dwell for ever. Amen.
– Christ is near to us.
– Come, let us adore him.
* Blessed is the womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of the eternal Father; and blessed are the breasts which nursed Christ the Lord.
– Hail Mary…
Litany of the Infant Jesus
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, beautiful Child, hear us.
Jesus, beautiful Child, graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Child Jesus, Saviour and glory of God the Creator, have mercy on us.
Child, true Son of God and Son of the Virgin Mary, have mercy on us.
Child, Wisdom of your Father and purity of your Mother, have mercy on us.
Child, only Son of your Father and firstborn of your Mother, have mercy on us.
Child, image of your Father and Creator of your Mother, have mercy on us.
Child, joy of your Father and honour of your Mother, have mercy on us.
Child, equal to your Father and obedient to your Mother, have mercy on us.
Child, delight of your Father and glory of your Mother, have mercy on us.
Child, gift of your Father and offering of your Mother, have mercy on us.
Child born of the Virgin, source of creation, have mercy on us.
Child, our God and our brother, have mercy on us.
Child, glorified in your exile, have mercy on us.
Child, perfect man and wise elder, have mercy on us.
Child, begotten before all ages and born in time, have mercy on us.
Child, silent eternal Word and sweetest speech, have mercy on us.
Child, great Ruler of all, lying in a cradle, have mercy on us.
Child, joy of paradise and terror of hell, have mercy on us.
Child, hope of the good and fear of the wicked, have mercy on us.
Child, a stranger in your power and a sovereign in your exile, have mercy on us.
Child, destroyer of idols and zealous for the glory of the God of all, have mercy on us.
Child, strong in your weakness and weak in your strength, have mercy on us.
Child, treasure of grace and wellspring of love, have mercy on us.
Child, adorner of heaven and restorer of the earth, have mercy on us.
Child, joy of the good angels and bliss of the just, have mercy on us.
Child, light of the Magi and comforter of souls, have mercy on us.
Child, guardian of children and firstborn of the holy martyrs, have mercy on us.
Jesus, beautiful Child, hear us.
Jesus, beautiful Child, graciously hear us.
From slavery to the devils and the deceit of the world, deliver us, Jesus.
From the pride of life and the desire for this vain world, deliver us, Jesus.
From blindness of heart, from foolishness and from ill will, deliver us, Jesus.
By your holy conception and your holy birth, deliver us, Jesus.
By your many tears and your painful circumcision, deliver us, Jesus.
By your presentation in the Temple and your wondrous deeds, deliver us, Jesus.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, O Lord.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray:
O Lord our God, Jesus Christ, who in the abundance of your mercy veiled your divinity in your birth and childhood, grant that we may honour and adore these divine mysteries in this world, so that we may be worthy to enjoy the sight of your face in the world to come, for ever and ever. Amen.
