Novena to St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Day 2

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. Bernard of Clairvaux

Opening prayer:

O St. Bernard, mellifluous Doctor and faithful servant of Mary, your every word breathed love for Jesus Christ. Teach me to love God for his own sake, and to find in his Holy Name the sweetness that drew your heart heavenward. Amen.

Read the meditation and offer the intention of the day.

Day 2: Loving God for His own sake

In his treatise 'On Loving God,' Bernard asked why we should love God and answered that God himself is the reason, and the measure is to love without measure. He traced the soul's ascent from loving self, to loving God for our own benefit, to loving God purely for who He is. He calls us beyond fear and reward to a love that seeks God alone, finding in Him not merely a giver of gifts but the one gift that satisfies forever.

O St. Bernard, who taught us to love God without measure and for His own sake, obtain for me a love that asks for nothing but Himself, purified of self-interest, that I may delight in God simply because He is God and worthy of all my heart. Amen.

Today's intention:

For a love of God that asks for nothing but Himself.

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. Bernard, who taught us never to despair of Mary's help, present to her the petition I bring in this novena. Obtain for me a heart on fire with love of God, and lead me at last to contemplate forever the One whom you so longed to see. 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.