Christmas Novena

Day 7

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 7: Mary's expectant faith

Our Lady carried the Christ within her and pondered in her heart the promise drawing near. She is the model of every soul that waits in faith, and she teaches us to receive Jesus as she did, with a quiet and trusting yes. Blessed is she who believed, said Elizabeth, that the Lord's word would be fulfilled. In these last days of Advent Mary shows us how to wait: not anxiously but in adoration, treasuring the nearness of the Lord she bears.

O Mary, who bore the Christ within you and waited for His birth in quiet, trusting faith, obtain for me a share in your expectant heart. Teach me to await the Lord without anxiety, to ponder His promise, and to welcome Jesus into my soul with the same humble yes that you spoke for all the world. Amen.

Today's intention:

For Mary's faith as I await the birth of her Son.

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.