Novena to St. John of the Cross

December 5th, 2009 by admin

Begins Dec. 5

Day One

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:

O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised, and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven. Dear Saint, from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your companion in glory. Amen.
First Day: Unwavering Faith

Prayer:
My glorious father St. John of the Cross; overflowing with love for Mary and for the cross of her divine Son by which you merited to become the protector of afflicted souls, obtain for me from Jesus and Mary, I beseech you, an unwavering faith and a love of the cross so deep and so valiant that no possible misfortune will ever be able to separate me from the love of my God. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (makerequest).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
Day 2:

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:
O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus
crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised,
and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so
burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments
and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which
your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain
from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to
bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure
means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven. Dear Saint,
from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so
that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your
companion in glory. Amen.
Second Day: Spirit of Penitence

Prayer:
Glorious St. John of the Cross, you preserved to death in unspotted
brilliancy the radiant whiteness of your baptismal innocence, while
nevertheless practicing the most cruel and persevering penance. In honor
and imitation of this crucifying love, I entreat you that I may share your
mortified and penitential life so that, even in this world, I may receive
the grace to atone for my many sins, purify my soul, and acquire merit, that
I may also enjoy heaven’s glory with you. Obtain for me also the special
grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the
glory of God and for my salvation (make request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
Day 3:

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:
O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus
crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised,
and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so
burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments
and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which
your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain
from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to
bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure
means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven. Dear Saint,
from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so
that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your
companion in glory. Amen.
Third Day: Holy Enlightenment

Prayer:
O my beloved father St. John of the Cross, your continual prayer merited for
you the name of Ecstatic Doctor, favored with special graces in the guidance
and direction of souls. I humbly beg you to enlighten my soul and to give
me a relish for holy meditation that, detached from earthly things, I may
love God alone and desire heaven only. Obtain for me also the special grace
I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory
of God and for my salvation (make request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
Day 4

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:
O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus
crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised,
and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so
burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments
and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which
your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain
from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to
bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure
means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven. Dear Saint,
from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so
that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your
companion in glory. Amen.
Fourth Day: Holy Patience

Prayer:
Great St. John of the Cross, model of patience and generosity, for the glory
of God and for the propagation of the holy reform of Carmel, you endured
grievous trials and undertook heavy labors, finding, as did St. Paul, joy in
opprobrium. Obtain from our Lord for me the grace of unalterable patience
in adversity that I may thereby glorify God, have cleansed my souls of every
stain, advance in the practice of solid virtue, and obtain at last the crown
promised to those who suffer for the love of God. Obtain for me also the
special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be
for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
Day 5:

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:
O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus
crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised,
and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so
burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments
and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which
your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain
from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to
bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure
means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven. Dear Saint,
from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so
that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your
companion in glory. Amen.
Fifth Day: Protection from Temptation

Prayer:
Dear St. John of the Cross, you exercised dominion over the powers of hell,
often obliging them to relinquish the souls, as well as the bodies of their
victims. Have compassion on me; ask God to preserve me from the temptations
and deceits of these wicked spirits, not only throughout my life, but above
all at the hour of my death, that persevering to the end in the grace and
love of God, I may possess Him with you forever. Obtain for me also the
special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be
for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
Day 6:

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:
O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus
crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised,
and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so
burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments
and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which
your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain
from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to
bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure
means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven. Dear Saint,
from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so
that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your
companion in glory. Amen.
Sixth Day: Purity of Soul and Body
Prayer:
Great St. John of the Cross, favored by our Lord and the glorious Virgin,
His mother, in reward for your angelic life and with the precious gift of
chastity, you converted many souls held captive by the most shameful
passions. Obtain for me some share in so priceless a gift that, pure and
chaste in soul and body, I may reach heaven where nothing stained may enter
and where choirs of virgins follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Obtain for me
also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena,
if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
Day 7

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:
O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus
crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised,
and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so
burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments
and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which
your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain
from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to
bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure
means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven. Dear Saint,
from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so
that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your
companion in glory. Amen.
Seventh Day: Humility

Prayer:
Blessed father St. John of the Cross, in you was joined the most profound
humility to the most sublime knowledge of the ways of God. Obtain for me
real humility of heart, making me love humiliation and contempt that,
despairing worldly vanity, I may learn from you to esteem only God and
heavenly things. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your
intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my
salvation (make request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
Day 8

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:
O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus
crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised,
and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so
burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments
and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which
your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain
from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to
bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure
means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven. Dear Saint,
from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so
that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your
companion in glory. Amen.
Eighth Day: Comfort in Affliction

Prayer:
St. John of the Cross, my glorious protector, in your lifetime you were the
father of the poor, the consoler of the afflicted and the assured refuge of
the suffering; you worked miracles of charity for all, miracles which you
repeat even now by means of your holy images and relics. Deign also to be
my consoler and my father; comfort me in my sorrows and aid me to see in
every cross a pledge of divine mercy that, through the cross, I may gain
heaven. Obtain for me, too, the special grace I ask through your
intercession during the novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my
salvation (make request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
Day 9

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:
O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus
crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised,
and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so
burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments
and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which
your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain
from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to
bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure
means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven. Dear Saint,
from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so
that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your
companion in glory. Amen.
Ninth Day: Holy Abandonment

Prayer:
O my loving father St. John of the Cross, to imitate more perfectly our
Lord, you generously renounced every consolation, even the spiritual; prayed
to suffer and to be despised for God’s sake; and finally died suffering,
happy to be condemned by men. Obtain for me the grace of abandonment to the
Will of God that, placing all my joy and my hope in the passion of my
Savior, I may at last rest eternally with you in His glory. Obtain for me
also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena,
if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys

Novena to St. John of the Cross
day 1
day2
day 3
day 4
day 5
day 6
day 7
day 8
day 9

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The Place of Splendor

October 4th, 2009 by admin

Sr Miriam

Little one, wait.
Let me assure you this is not the way
to gain the terminal of outer day.

Its single gate
lies in your soul, and you must rise and go
by inward passage from what earth you know.

The steps lead down
through valley after valley, far and far
past the five countries where the pleasures are,

and past all known
maps of the mind and every colored chart
and past the final outcry of the heart.

No soul can view
its own geography; love does not live
in places open and informative.

Yet, being true,
it grants to each its Raphael across
the mist and night through unknown lands of loss.

Walk till you hear
light told in music taht was never heard,
and softness spoken that was not a word.

The soul grows clear
when senses fuse; sight, touch and sound are one
with savor and scent, and all to splendor run.

The smothered roar
of the eternities, their vast unrest
and infinite peace are deep in your own breast.

That light-swept shore
will shame the data of grief upon your scroll.
Child, have none told you? God is in your soul.

** Sr. Miriam of the Holy Spirit – 1945

The Selected Poetry of Jessica Powers Edited by Regina Siegfried and Robert Morneau. ICS Publications 2131 Lincoln Road, NE Washington, DC 20002-1199 Reprint of the most extensive anthology of this noted Carmelite poet, which she approved five weeks before her death. Includes introduction by Bishop Morneau.

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Listening in the Dwelling places of the Interior Castle

September 16th, 2009 by admin

Though our podcast library is quite large and will fill a good amount of space on your ipod, it is once again time to get back to podcasting after our summer break.  We thank you for your patience for our vacation and prayerfully hope  your meditations have been filled with the beauty of our Creator!

To slowly break back into production here we thought we might alert our listening audience to a wonderful new Audio Conference Series.  It is a set of conferences entitled, “Listening in the Dwelling places of the Interior Castle” and was a retreat given by Dr. Susan Muto, PhD from the Epiphany Association in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The retreat was given during this past Lenten season and it was to be a “companion” to Dr. Muto’s book, “Where Lovers Meet: Inside the Interior Castle” published by the Institute of Carmelite Studies.  The formative talks were given to both the Carmelite Nuns at the Carmel of St. Joseph and to our OCDS community.

The complete Audio series is a 10 CD Book and runs approximately 10 hours and can be purchased through the Epiphany Association for $40.  Their Toll Free phone number is 1-877-324-6873.

You can listen to a brief excerpt on the embedded MP3 below or by following this link.

Epiphany Association
820 Crane Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15216-3050
412-341-7494 (Phone)
412-341-7495 (Fax)
1-877-324-6873 (Toll Free)
info@epiphanyassociation.org

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Our Lady of Mount Carmel Novena – night 9

July 19th, 2009 by admin

Annual Outdoor Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel at the Carmel of

It is always sad when you come to the end of a Novena like this one to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. The beautiful habit of making your pilgrimage to the Carmel of St. Joseph with the prayerful intention of love and devotion to Our Lady is just so awesome and wonderful that it is a habit you don’t want to break!  It is a good and generous thing that the Sisters daily invite all to their chapel for Eucharistic Adoration of Our Blessed Lord — and may the faithful know that the Holy Rosary is prayed EACH night of the year at 7:45 p.m. in the chapel so you can keep your Novena going!

Tonight Mt. Carmel was especially blessed to have celebrating the final night of Novena Masses the new Archbishop of St. Louis, his Excellency Robert Carlson. The Archbishop told a story of his recent adventure 3,000 miles away in the mountains of Columbia where on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel he celebrated another Novena. The novena was celebrated with a Carmelite Community of Nuns which have been established there since 1584!  The Carmel is in a little village some 3 1/2 hours from Bogota.

“And so from South America to St. Louis we bridge two cultures and two different ways of honoring our Blessed Mother. And so tonight as we celebrate this mass we ask that Our Lady of Mt. Carmel would place the Archdiocese of St. Louis under her protective care,” said the Archbishop.

Wow! That certainly is a most wonderful blessing for our city of St. Louis.  We are so very thankful for the Archbishop to call upon our Mother and her maternal care under the most beautiful title of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.  It is her beautiful and loving mantle which wrap us in safekeeping and as we wear the garment of her brown scapular, we pledge our devotion to her.  Surely it is known that a most important mission of  Carmelites  to pray especially for Priests.  And so we will continue to do so for the Archdiocese and the world.

The Bishop was assisted tonight by Deacon Anthony Yates and the Rosary was led by Kenrick Glennon Seminarian, Peter Fonseca. The choir was from St. Mary Magdalene Parish in Brentwood.

You can pray along to the Most Holy Rosary and Benediction here.
You may listen to Archbishop Carlson’s Homily here.

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Our Lady of Mount Carmel Novena – night 8

July 19th, 2009 by admin

Annual Outdoor Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel at the Carmel of

It is the second to last night of this beautiful outdoor Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and it has been an unusually refreshing July Night with cool temperatures in the high 60s!  What a blessing for St. Louis!!!  The Rev. Mark Chrismer Associate Pastor of Sacred Heart, Valley Park celebrated mass tonight and he was accompanied by the Filipino-American Friendship Choir and their lovely voices.

You may Listen to Father’s Homily Here.

We invite you to Pray along to the Joyful Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary and Benediction prayers here.  The Rosary is traditionally led by one of our most wonderful Seminarians from Cardinal Glennon College Seminary.  You will recognize the voice tonight as seminarian, Charlie Samson.

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