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Novena to St. Gerard Majella

Day 8

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. Gerard Majella

Opening prayer:

St. Gerard Majella, faithful servant of God who hid great holiness beneath the humblest of duties, look kindly upon me. Teach me to love the will of God as you did, with simple and joyful surrender, and obtain for me the grace I ask in this novena. Amen.

Read the meditation and offer the intention of the day.

Day 8: Penance and purity

St. Gerard embraced severe penances and guarded the purity of his heart with great care, that nothing might come between him and God. He teaches us that self-denial frees the soul to love the Lord without division. He mortified his body not from hatred of it but from love of God, knowing that the heart cleansed of every disordered attachment becomes a clear mirror in which the beauty of Christ is reflected.

O St. Gerard, lover of penance and purity, who let nothing stand between you and God, obtain for me a heart undivided. Teach me a self-denial born of love, that cleansed of every disordered attachment my soul may become a clear mirror reflecting the beauty of Christ. Amen.

Today's intention:

For the grace of self-denial and purity of heart.

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. Gerard, wonderworker and tender protector of mothers and the helpless, intercede for me before the throne of God. Obtain for me a heart obedient and abandoned to Providence, so that in all things I may say with you, 'Lord, let it be done as You will.' 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. Gerard Majella, the Redemptorist lay brother and wonderworker beloved as the patron of expectant mothers. Through his example we learn obedience, hidden holiness, and total abandonment to the will of God.

History

Gerard Majella was born in 1726 in Muro Lucano, Italy, the youngest child of a poor tailor's family, and worked as a tailor and servant before entering the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer as a lay brother. Though entrusted only with humble tasks as sacristan, porter, and infirmarian, he became renowned for extraordinary gifts: miracles, ecstasies, bilocation, and a profound discernment of souls. He is best known as the patron of expectant mothers from a beloved tradition in which he gave a handkerchief to a young woman, telling her she would one day need it, and years later, in danger during childbirth, she was delivered through it. Worn out by penance and tuberculosis, he died in 1755 at the age of twenty-nine; he was canonized by Pope St. Pius X in 1904, and his feast is kept on October 16.

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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