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Christmas Novena

Day 6

10 min
Sign of the Cross

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In nómine Patris, et Fílii, et Spíritus Sancti. Amen.

Christmas Novena

Opening prayer:

O Lord Jesus, eternal Word of the Father, who for love of us willed to be born of the Virgin Mary, prepare my heart to receive You. As I keep these nine days of watching, kindle in me a holy longing, and come to be born anew in my soul. Amen.

Read the meditation and offer the intention of the day.

Day 6: O Dayspring, light to those in darkness

The Antiphon hails Christ as the Dayspring, the radiant dawn who comes to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. We who wait in the long December night long for His light to break over us. Zechariah sang of the dawn from on high that visits us to guide our feet into the way of peace. No night is so deep that this rising Sun cannot scatter it; He comes precisely for those who can no longer see their way.

O Dayspring, splendor of eternal light and Sun of justice, come and shine upon all who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. Scatter the night of my sins, guide my feet into the way of peace, and let Your dawn rise within my heart until it is wholly Yours. Amen.

Today's intention:

For Christ's light to shine on all who sit in darkness.

Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

Our Father

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

Pater noster, qui es in cælis,

sanctificétur nomen tuum.

Advéniat regnum tuum.

Fiat volúntas tua, sicut in cælo et in terra.

Panem nostrum quotidiánum da nobis hódie,

et dimítte nobis débita nostra,

sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris.

Et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem,

sed líbera nos a malo.

Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Ave María, grátia plena, Dóminus tecum.

Benedícta tu in muliéribus,

et benedíctus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.

Sancta María, Mater Dei,

ora pro nobis peccatóribus,

nunc et in hora mortis nostræ.

Amen.

Glory Be

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.

Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto.

Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper,

et in sǽcula sæculórum.

Amen.

Closing prayer:

Come, Lord Jesus, and do not delay; let the night of waiting give way to the dawn of Your coming. Make my heart a poor and lowly manger, swept clean and ready, that when You are born at Bethlehem You may find a home in me. Amen.

Sign of the Cross

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In nómine Patris, et Fílii, et Spíritus Sancti. Amen.

About this prayer

A nine-day Christmas novena leading the soul through the longing of Advent to the night of the Nativity. In the spirit of the O Antiphons it cries 'Come, Lord Jesus,' and prepares a manger in the heart for the Word made flesh.

History

The Christmas novena grows out of the Church's ancient Advent expectation, especially the seven great O Antiphons sung in the final days before Christmas, each hailing Christ under a title drawn from the prophets. The Fathers, above all St. Leo the Great in his nativity sermons, urged believers to recognize the dignity given them in the Incarnation. Prayed in the nine days before December 25, this novena unites the soul to the whole Church's watchful longing for the birth of the Savior.

How to pray it

Pray once each day for nine consecutive days. Begin with the Sign of the Cross and the opening prayer, prayerfully read the meditation and offer the day's intention, then conclude with an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, and the closing prayer.

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