Novena - Day 8

Opening Prayer: 

+Lord, open our lips. And we shall praise your holy name.

We celebrate the memorial of your Death and Resurrection, Lord, and we offer you the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation. We give thanks that you have held us worthy to stand in your presence and minister to you. 

At the Last Supper, you instructed us to take and eat the Bread of life and to drink from the Chalice of salvation. Blessed are we who are called to the supper of the Lamb. 

Reading:

Matthew 26:26-30

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, from now on I shall not drink this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father.”

Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection: 

Lord, at the Last Supper, you instituted the Eucharist. You give us your Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the bread and the wine that we receive at Mass. We are so thankful for calling us to Your table. May we who receive the Eucharist become who we receive. May we who receive the Eucharist become more like You.  

Closing Prayer: 

Jesus, strengthen us to follow your instructions to receive our daily bread, the Bread of life, as we pray:

Our Father...

Lord, bless us, keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.+

Closing Song: 

Novena - Day 7

Opening Prayer:

+Lord, open our lips. And we shall praise your holy name.

We celebrate the memorial of your Death and Resurrection, Lord, and we offer you the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation. We give thanks that you have held us worthy to stand in your presence and minister to you. 

May your Body and Blood make us one with you. May it make us into the people that you have created us to be.  

Reading:

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”

He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”

The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven, but the children of the kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour [his] servant was healed.

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ. 

Reflection:

Jesus, we, too, are unworthy to have you enter under the roofs of our mouths and into the depths of our being. Yet, despite our unworthiness, you invite us to Your heavenly banquet to eat of the Bread of Life. May our partaking of Your Precious Body and Blood redeem us, restore us and bring us to everlasting life.

Closing Prayer:

Lord, please come to us in the Eucharist and heal us as you healed the centurion's servant; only say the word and our souls shall be healed. You are the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are we who are called to the supper of the Lamb:

Our Father...

Lord, bless us, keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.+

Closing Song: 

Novena - Day 6

 Opening Prayer: 

+Lord, open our lips. And we shall praise your holy name.

We celebrate the memorial of your Death and Resurrection, Lord, and we offer you the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation. We give thanks that you have held us worthy to stand in your presence and minister to you. 

May this daily bread give us the strength to serve both you and others, bringing glory to your holy and precious name. 

Reading:

John 13:1-15

Before the feast of Passover,* Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. The devil had already induced* Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.”

Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” 

Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”

Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.”

Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed* has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.”

For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

So when he had washed their feet [and] put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ. 

Reflection:

Lord, at the Last Supper, in addition to instituting the Eucharist, you also issued a commission for your disciples to serve You through service to others. With nourishment from the Eucharist, may we follow the command given to us at the end of each Mass to "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life" by washing the feet of others. 

Closing Prayer: 

Lord, may we have the courage to follow your model of service. In a spirit of humility, we pray:

Our Father...

Lord, bless us, keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.+

Closing Song: 

Novena - Day 5

 Opening Prayer:

+Lord, open our lips. And we shall praise your holy name.

We celebrate the memorial of your Death and Resurrection, Lord, and we offer you the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation. We give thanks that you have held us worthy to stand in your presence and minister to you. 

Stir our hearts so that they burn with love for you. Reveal yourself to us, like you did for the apostles, in the breaking of the bread at the Eucharistic table.

Reading:

Luke 24:13-25

Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.

He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast.

One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?”

And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” 

They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.”

And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.

Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?”

So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection:

Lord, the disciples recognized you in the breaking of the bread. May we see your Real Presence in the Eucharist and may our hearts burn for this communion with you and with others. May we, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, run to tell others of your infinite goodness. 

Closing Prayer:

Jesus, your heart burns with love for us. We humbly pray that partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ can make our hearts burn with love for you and for others:

Our Father...

Lord, bless us, keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.+

Closing Song:

Novena - Day 4

 Opening Prayer:

+Lord, open our lips. And we shall praise your holy name.

We celebrate the memorial of your Death and Resurrection, Lord, and we offer you the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation. We give thanks that you have held us worthy to stand in your presence and minister to you. 

Take the fruit of the earth and vine and the work of our human hands - this bread and wine - and transform them so that they may become the bread of life and our spiritual drink. 

Reading: 

Matthew 14:13-21

When Jesus heard of it, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”

[Jesus] said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.”

But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”

Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking* the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.

They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over*—twelve wicker baskets full.

Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ. 

Reflection: 

Jesus, please take our meager offering of bread and wine and transform them into your Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist. May we who eat at the Eucharistic table become who we receive, multiplying your presence in our lives and in our world.

Closing Prayer: 

Jesus, with your grace, our efforts are multiplied into something beyond measure. With thankful hearts, we pray:

Our Father...

Lord, bless us, keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.+

Closing Song:

Novena - Day 3

Opening Prayer:  

+Lord, open our lips. And we shall praise your holy name.

We celebrate the memorial of your Death and Resurrection, Lord, and we offer you the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation. We give thanks that you have held us worthy to stand in your presence and minister to you. 

May the mingling of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it.  

Reading:

John 2:1-12

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”

[And] Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.”

His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons.

Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim.

Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it.

And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.”

Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.

After this, he and his mother, [his] brothers, and his disciples went down to Capernaum and stayed there only a few days.

Reflection: 

Jesus, in your first act of public ministry, you turned water into wine. In the mystery of the Eucharist we believe that you transform water and wine into Your Precious Blood. Your love for us is poured out at the altar of salvation. 

May we who are blessed to be called to the supper of the Lamb become who we receive. As we receive your Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist may you transform us into the people you created us to be. 

Closing Prayer:

Jesus, your love for us overflows in abundance. With thankful hearts, we pray:

Our Father...

Lord, bless us, keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.+

Closing Song:

Novena - Day 2

Opening Prayer: 

+Lord, open our lips. And we shall praise your holy name.

We celebrate the memorial of your Death and Resurrection, Lord, and we offer you the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation. We give you thanks that you have held us worthy to stand in your presence and minister to you. 

Please give us this day our daily bread, which is the Bread of Life come down to us from heaven. Amen. 

Reading:

A reading from the Book of Exodus: 16:4-15.

Then the LORD said to Moses: I am going to rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow my instructions or not.

On the sixth day, however, when they prepare what they bring in, let it be twice as much as they gather on the other days.

So Moses and Aaron told all the Israelites, “At evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt;

and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, when he hears your grumbling against him. But who are we that you should grumble against us?”

And Moses said, “When the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening and in the morning your fill of bread, and hears the grumbling you utter against him, who then are we? Your grumbling is not against us, but against the LORD.”

Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole Israelite community: Approach the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.”

But while Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they turned in the direction of the wilderness, and there the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud!

The LORD said to Moses:

I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them: In the evening twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will have your fill of bread, and then you will know that I, the LORD, am your God.

In the evening, quail came up and covered the camp. In the morning there was a layer of dew all about the camp, and when the layer of dew evaporated, fine flakes were on the surface of the wilderness, fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground. On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, “What is this?” for they did not know what it was. 

But Moses told them, “It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat."

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 

Reflection:

Jesus, you gave Moses and the Israelites manna while they waited in the wilderness to enter the Promised Land. Every morning the dew would evaporate and bread would be left behind, and the Israelites would eat until they were full. This bread satisfied the physical hunger of our spiritual ancestors and every day you would bless them in this way.  

But, the daily bread that you give to us in the Eucharist is the eternal bread that has come down from heaven. It does not perish. Rather it is the source of all life. 

Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of this daily bread. Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of the Bread of Life. 

Closing Prayer:

Jesus, thank you for sending down like the dewfall your Spirit upon the gifts of bread and wine so that they may become your precious Body and Blood. With thankful hearts, we pray:

Our Father...

Lord, bless us, keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.+

Closing Song: