Each day of the novena: the sign of the cross.
I place myself in the presence of the Lord Jesus… (silence). Lord Jesus, let me live Your presence at this moment… Your prayer to the Father and Your thanksgiving, and forgive me. Mary, tender Mother, accompany me in my prayer.
(Silence… so that the presence of the Lord Jesus, Mary and Saint Peregrine may take hold of me.)
– Come, Creator Spirit / visit the souls of Your faithful / fill with heavenly grace / the hearts You have made / kindle Your light in us / fill our hearts with Your love / strengthen always with Your power the weakness of our bodies / make us know God the Father / and reveal the Son to us / and You, the Spirit of both / make us believe in You always / Amen.
Day One “Love one another; even as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Am I fully convinced of the love Jesus has for me? This conviction is the holiness that is built up by serving those around me out of love, giving them what I would be happy for the Lord to give me. Christ Jesus loves the one who can give himself more, who hopes much from Him and relies on Him for everything. A simple smile, an encouraging word, a visit to someone who is alone… are signs of my love for Jesus. With the help of the Lord Jesus, may my life be a real, living outpouring of the love He came to bring us on earth. Prayer: Lord Jesus, who in Your great tenderness gave Your servant Saint Peregrine a great love for those around him, grant us this same grace. Spread Your love through me. Mary, my Mother, give me your Son. Amen. May the peace of God keep my thoughts in Christ Jesus. Amen. Saint Peregrine, pray for us. (Pray one decade of the Rosary.)
Day Two “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). The people around me are a gift from the Lord Jesus; they are the object of my love. Jesus does not ask me how many works I do, but how much love I put into my actions. My Christian life is a life pledged to the Lord Jesus, and its fruit is precisely serving those around me with love. And this loving service is at the same time prayer, because I do it with Jesus’ help, with Jesus and in Jesus. Prayer: Lord Jesus, who in Your great tenderness granted Your servant Saint Peregrine to live a loving service to those around him, grant me this same grace, and let me welcome those around me as a gift You give me. Mary, tender Mother, give me your Son. Amen. May the peace of God keep my thoughts in Christ Jesus. Amen. Saint Peregrine, pray for us. (Pray one decade of the Rosary.)
Day Three “And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit for forty days in the wilderness…” (Luke 4:1). It is hard for me to pray if I do not know how to go about it. The most important thing is silence. Souls who pray are souls of deep silence. I cannot enter into the presence of the Lord Jesus unless I enter into inner and outer silence. I must gradually get used to silence of the mind, the eyes and the tongue. Christ Jesus is a friend of silence. He is not found in noise, confusion or agitation. Prayer: Lord Jesus, who in Your great goodness granted Your servant Saint Peregrine to be a soul of prayer and silence, grant me this same grace. Form in me a true temple of the Spirit. Mary, tender Mother, give me your Son. Amen. May the peace of God keep my thoughts in Christ Jesus. Amen. Saint Peregrine, pray for us. (Pray one decade of the Rosary.)
Day Four “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). My mission is to give the Lord Jesus to others. I can give in my active life only as much as I have drawn from silent prayer. What matters is not what I can say well, but what the Lord Jesus says to me, and what He says to people through me. Jesus waits for me in silence. He listens to me in silence, and it is in silence that He speaks to my heart. Silence is not easy, but I must do all I can to be able to pray. In prayer I will find new energy, new resolve and true union: the union of my thoughts with the Lord Jesus, of my prayers with His prayer, of my actions with His work and of my life with His life. Prayer: Lord Jesus, who in Your great kindness granted Saint Peregrine the grace to fulfil his mission completely, to give You to others, grant me this same grace. Form in me a temple of the Spirit that serves with love. Tender Mother, give me your Son. Amen. May the peace of God keep my thoughts in Christ Jesus. Amen. Saint Peregrine, pray for us. (Pray one decade of the Rosary.)
Day Five “Let not your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1). What would my life be if I did not radiate joy? Just a burden or a slavery. My joy must shine in my eyes and my gaze, and in my service offered in love. When those around me see this happiness shining from me, they will become aware of their dignity as children of God. This does not prevent me from sometimes going through great inner trials and entering into darkness. If I want others to notice the presence of Jesus, I must first be convinced of it myself, by radiating joy every time I go out to others. Prayer: Lord Jesus, who in Your kindness granted Your servant Saint Peregrine to live in joy, grant me this same grace. Let me be Your joy. Mary, tender Mother, give me your Son. Amen. May the peace of God keep my thoughts in Christ Jesus. Amen. Saint Peregrine, pray for us. (Pray one decade of the Rosary.)
Day Six “If any one would be first, he must be last of all…” (Mark 9:35). The Lord needs the simplicity of my heart, not my abundance or eloquence. I want to be humble: I must speak about myself as little as possible,
take opposition with a sense of humour,
not dwell on other people’s faults,
accept criticism, even when it is unfair,
yield to the will of others,
accept being left in the shadows,
remain polite, sensitive and kind, even when provoked,
not seek to be loved and admired,
not seek to have
the last word in arguments, even when I am right, and above all seek humility.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, who in Your great tenderness gave Your servant Saint Peregrine the beautiful virtue of humility, grant me this same grace. Form in me the heart of a poor person, full of humility. Mary, tender Mother, give me your Son. Amen. May the peace of God keep my thoughts in Christ Jesus. Amen. Saint Peregrine, pray for us. (Pray one decade of the Rosary.)
Day Seven “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). When the Lord Jesus is with me, I can do everything, because Jesus is my strength. With this certainty, I can trust deeply that my work, which is Jesus’ work, will turn out well. But on my own I can do nothing but sin. All the gifts of nature and grace I have come to me from the Lord Jesus. My work must not be mixed with arrogance or vanity. I place myself entirely under Jesus’ influence, so that I may think with His thoughts and work with His hands, for if His strength is in me, I can do all things. Prayer: Lord Jesus, who in Your great tenderness granted Your servant Saint Peregrine to stake everything on You, grant me this same grace. Keep me always under Your influence. Mary, tender Mother, give me your Son. Amen. May the peace of God keep my thoughts in Christ Jesus. Amen. Saint Peregrine, pray for us. (Pray one decade of the Rosary.)
Day Eight “I am the bread of life” (John 6:48). Faith made flesh in deeds is service offered in a spirit of love. I must accept the Lord Jesus’ offer at once and believe in Him. To do this, I need the Eucharist, for Jesus made Himself “the bread of life” to answer my desires, my longings and my love for Him. That is why my life must be closely bound to the Eucharist. I should live the Mass every day if I can, and spend an hour of adoration that brings me close to Him and helps me serve those around me better. Prayer: Lord Jesus, who in Your great kindness granted Your servant Saint Peregrine to be a Eucharistic soul, grant me this same grace. Bind my life closely to You, Jesus in the Host. Mary, tender Mother, give me your Son. Amen. May the peace of God keep my thoughts in Christ Jesus. Amen. Saint Peregrine, pray for us. (Pray one decade of the Rosary.)
Day Nine “Behold, your mother” (John 19:27). Love Mary so that you may love as the Lord Jesus loves; be, like her, a source of joy; share everything with Mary, even the cross. I have my own cross to carry: it is the sign that I belong. I need Mary’s help with this… Holiness is not a luxury but a duty. Great holiness always becomes simple if I truly belong to Mary. I give Mary, my Mother, complete freedom to make use of me. Prayer: Lord Jesus, who in Your great tenderness gave Your servant Saint Peregrine a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant me this same grace. Make me a child of Mary. Kind Jesus, give me Your Mother. Amen. May the peace of God keep my thoughts in Christ Jesus. Amen. Saint Peregrine, pray for us. (Pray one decade of the Rosary.)
Daily Novena Prayer: Crucified Lord Jesus, You who were Yourself the physician of Saint Peregrine when You healed him of cancer, grant us through his intercession the grace to love You by serving those around us with love. Protect us from this disease through the intercession of this great saint, patron of those with cancer. Restore health to the sick who suffer from this illness, if it is for their good and in keeping with Your loving will. Mary, compassionate Mother, give us your Son, so that He may protect us from the cancer that eats away at our Christian life. Amen.
