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Novena to St. Clare of Assisi

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.

Novena to St. Clare of Assisi

Opening prayer:

O glorious St. Clare, mirror of holy poverty and bride of Christ, you left all things to follow the poor and crucified Lord. Draw my heart away from the passing things that weigh it down, and teach me to gaze, as you did, upon the face of Jesus. Amen.

Read the meditation and offer the intention of the day.

Day 6: Patience in long suffering

For twenty-eight years Clare bore illness without complaint, often unable to rise, yet still spinning cloth for altar linens from her bed and making fine corporals to send to poor churches. She let her hidden cross become an offering, joined to the Passion of the Lord she contemplated. She shows that a patient suffering offered in love bears more fruit than great deeds, and that no day in bed is wasted in God's sight.

O St. Clare, who through long years of sickness never ceased to love and to work for God, obtain for me patience in my own afflictions, that I may offer every pain in union with the Cross and bear my weakness with a peaceful heart. Amen.

Today's intention:

For patience to bear my own crosses in union with Christ.

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. Clare, who held the Blessed Sacrament before the enemy and saw your sisters delivered, hold me before your Lord and shield me in every danger of soul and body. Obtain for me the grace I now implore, and a heart wholly given to Christ as yours was. 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. Clare of Assisi, the first Franciscan woman, who embraced Lady Poverty, founded the Poor Clares, and repelled invaders from San Damiano by holding aloft the Blessed Sacrament.

History

Born to a noble family of Assisi in 1194, Clare heard St. Francis preach and fled her home on Palm Sunday night in 1212 to consecrate herself to Christ. At San Damiano she founded the Order of Poor Ladies, defending its radical poverty against popes who wished to soften her Rule. She is patroness of television, having seen a distant Mass upon her cell wall, and her body remains incorrupt in the basilica that bears her name.

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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