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Novena to St. Augustine

Day 1

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.

Novena to St. Augustine

Opening prayer:

O God who made the heart for Yourself, hear me through the intercession of St. Augustine, who sought You long and far before he found You within. Grant me the courage of his conversion and the fire of his love, that my restless heart may come to rest in You. Amen.

Read the meditation and offer the intention of the day.

Day 1: The restless heart

Augustine confessed that he chased pleasures, honors, and false philosophies, yet found no rest in any of them. Only at the last did he cry, 'You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.' He teaches us that every restlessness is secretly a hunger for God, who alone can fill the heart He made, and that the very ache of our wandering is itself a summons home.

O restless and seeking St. Augustine, who found peace only in God after long wandering, obtain for me the grace to recognize my own restlessness as a thirst for Him. Turn my heart from empty things to the one Good that satisfies, that I may rest at last in the Lord who made me for Himself. Amen.

Today's intention:

For all who feel an emptiness no created thing can fill.

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:

St. Augustine, who turned from the love of the world to the love of God, obtain for me the grace I now implore and a heart wholly given to the Truth. Late may I have loved You, O Beauty ever ancient and ever new, but let me love You without end. 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 novena to St. Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of Grace, for all who seek God through restless hearts, intellectual struggle, and the long road of conversion.

History

St. Augustine (354–430), bishop of Hippo in North Africa, was one of the most influential thinkers in the history of the Church. After years of worldly ambition, a son born out of wedlock, and adherence to the Manichaean heresy, he was converted in a Milan garden at the words 'Take up and read.' His Confessions and City of God shaped Western theology, and his cry, 'You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You,' remains the prayer of every seeking soul.

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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