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St. Clare of Assisi Novena Day 6 – Discerning Hearts podcast

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Day 6

From a letter to St. Agnes of Prague

The kingdom of heaven is promised and given by the Lord only to the poor: for he who loves temporal things loses the fruit of love. Such a person cannot serve God and Mammon, for either the one is loved and the other is hated, or the one is served and the other despised.

You also know that one who is clothed cannot fight with another who is naked, because he is more quickly thrown who gives his adversary a chance to get hold of him; and that one who lives in the glory of earth cannot rule with Christ in heaven.

Dear St. Clare,

As a young girl you imitated your mother’s love for the poor of your native Assisi.

Inspired by the preaching of St. Francis, who sang enthusiastically of His Lord Jesus and Lady Poverty, you gave your life to Jesus at nineteen years of age, allowing St. Francis to cut off your beautiful hair and invest you with the Franciscan habit.

All through your life you offered your great suffering for your Sisters, the Poor Clares, and the conversion of souls. You greatly aided St. Francis with his new order, carrying on his spirit in the Franciscans after his death.

Most of all you had a deep love of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, which fueled your vocation to love and care for the poor.

Please pray for me (mention your request) that I will seek to keep Jesus as my first love, as you did. Help me to grow in love of the Blessed Sacrament, to care for the poor, and to offer my whole life to God.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of St. Clare. Through her intercession, please hear and answer my prayer, in the name of Jesus Your Son.

Amen.

For the complete novena visit the St. Clare Novena Discerning Hearts Page

Day 7 – Novena to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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A Novena to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) – Day 7

St. Teresa Benedicta you have said:

The soul may take dryness and darkness as fortunate symptoms: symptoms that God is freeing her from herself. He is disentangling her from the activity of her faculties. Probably she would have been able to acquire much through this, her own activity, but never as completely, perfectly, and securely as she does now since God takes her by the hand. He is leading her in the darkness… by ways that she herself, in the happiest of wanderings while using her own eyes and feet, would never have succeeded in finding.

Prayer of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross:

“O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage and strength to serve You. Enkindle Your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me. I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived where the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before me and I shall meet with peace.”

All-powerful, ever-living God,
you gave Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
the courage to witness to the gospel of Christ
even to the point of giving her life for it.
By her prayers, help us to endure all suffering for love of you
and to seek you with all our hearts,
for you alone are the source of life.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

For the entire 9-Day St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Novena visit here

Day 1 – Novena in Honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

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Lord Jesus Christ, You have destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life in body and soul.
You granted your Mother a special place in your glory, and did not allow decay to touch her body.
As we rejoice in the Assumption of Mary, give to us a renewed confidence in the victory of life over death.
You live and reign forever and ever.
Amen.

Day 1

Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, we believe in your triumphant assumption into heaven where the angels and saints acclaim you as Queen of Heaven and earth.
We join them in praising you and bless the Lord who raised you above all creatures. With them we honor you.
We are confident that you watch over our daily lives and we ask that you intercede for us now.

(mention your request)

We are comforted by our faith in the coming Resurrection and we look to you for prayers and comfort.
After this earthly life, show us Jesus, the blest fruit of your womb, O kind, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us.
Amen.

St. Clare of Assisi Novena Day 5 – Discerning Hearts podcasts

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Day 5

From a letter to Ermentrude of Bruges

O dearest, look on heaven that invites us, and bear the cross and follow Christ who preceded us; indeed, after various and many tribulations we shall enter through him into his glory. Love with your whole heart God and Jesus, his son, crucified for our sins, and never let his memory escape your mind; make yourself mediate continually on the mysteries of the cross and the anguish of the mother standing beneath the cross.

Dear St. Clare,

As a young girl, you imitated your mother’s love for the poor of your native Assisi.

Most of all you had a deep love of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, which fueled your vocation to love and care for the poor.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of St. Clare. Through her intercession, please hear and answer my prayer, in the name of Jesus Your Son.

Amen.

For the complete novena visit the St. Clare Novena Discerning Hearts Page

Day 6 – Novena to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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A Novena to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) – Day 6

St. Teresa Benedicta you have said:

In the Passion and death of Christ our sins were consumed by fire. If we accept that in faith, and if we accept the whole Christ in faith-filled surrender, which means, however, that we choose and walk the path of the imitation of Christ, then he will lead us “through his Passion and cross to the glory of his Resurrection.” This is exactly what is experienced in contemplation: passing through the expiatory flames to the bliss of the union of love. This explains its twofold character. It is death and resurrection.

Prayer of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross:

“O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage and strength to serve You. Enkindle Your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me. I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived where the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before me and I shall meet with peace.”

For the entire 9-Day St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Novena visit here

St. Clare of Assisi Novena Day 4 – Discerning Hearts podcast

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Day 4

From a letter to Ermentrude of Bruges

This labour of ours is brief, but the reward is eternal; let the noises of the fleeting world and its shadow not confound you; let the empty spectres of the deceiving world not drive you mad; shut your ears to the whispers of hell and, strong, break down its attempts [against you]; willingly bear adverse evils and let provident goods not puff you up; for the one requires faith, the other demands it; what you promised God, faithfully render, and he will repay you.

Dear St. Clare,

As a young girl, you imitated your mother’s love for the poor of your native Assisi.

Most of all you had a deep love of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, which fueled your vocation to love and care for the poor.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of St. Clare. Through her intercession, please hear and answer my prayer, in the name of Jesus Your Son.

Amen.

For the complete novena visit the St. Clare Novena Discerning Hearts Page

Day 5 – Novena to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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A Novena to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) – Day 5

St. Teresa Benedicta you have said:

Whatever did not fit in with my plan did lie within the plan of God. I have an even deeper and firmer belief that nothing is merely an accident when seen in the light of God, that my whole life down to the smallest details has been marked out for me in the plan of Divine Providence and has a completely coherent meaning in God’s all-seeing eyes. And so I am beginning to rejoice in the light of glory wherein this meaning will be unveiled to me.

Prayer of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross:

“O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage and strength to serve You. Enkindle Your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me. I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived where the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before me and I shall meet with peace.”

For the entire 9-Day St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Novena visit here

St. Clare of Assisi Novena Day 3 – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Day 3

From a letter to St. Agnes of Prague

Consider also the midst of his life, his humility, or at least his blessed poverty, the countless hardships, and the punishments that he endured for the redemption of the human race. Indeed, ponder the final days of this mirrored one, contemplate the ineffable love with which he was willing to suffer on the tree of the cross and to die there a kind of death that is more shameful than any other. That mirror suspended upon the wood of the cross from there kept urging those passing by of what must be considered, saying: O all you who pass by this way, look and see if there is any suffering like my suffering. In response let us with one voice and in one spirit answer him who is crying out and lamenting: I will remember this over and over and my soul will sink within me.

Dear St. Clare,

As a young girl you imitated your mother’s love for the poor of your native Assisi.

Most of all you had a deep love of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, which fueled your vocation to love and care for the poor.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of St. Clare. Through her intercession, please hear and answer my prayer, in the name of Jesus Your Son.

Amen.

For the complete novena visit the St. Clare Novena Discerning Hearts Page

A Novena in Honor of Ven. Bruno Lanteri Day 9 – Mp3 audio and Text

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A Novena in honor of Ven. Bruno Lanteri, founder of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary

Day 9 – Opening to the Supreme Joy: Friendship with Jesus

“[The heart of the human person] finds itself in great distress without a close union with God, because only the fullness of being, of intelligence and of love, the infinite Unity and ineffable Trinity of God, can fill and satisfy its immense capacity.”

“The Church sings the solemn chant: Nobis datus, nobis natus–For us he has been given, for us he is born! Who would ever doubt this truth after so many testimonies? Jesus Christ is all for us. His Father gave him to us. He gave himself to us. There is no other acquisition better than this gift. He is therefore mine. Yes, he is mine and belongs to me. Oh Love! Oh Goodness! What is necessary on my part to gain this gift, greater than any gift, that contains in itself every other gift? Three things are necessary: faith, confidence and offering.”

“They are always in Jesus’ company; they are always conversing with Jesus. They strive to keep their memory gently fixed on Jesus, to accustom their intellect to always see and judge everything according to Jesus, to keep their will always tranquil and united to that of Jesus.”

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you created me in your plan of love. You created all the things on the face of the earth to help me find true happiness. Fully aware of my weakness, I resolve this day to become a living copy of Jesus, letting him rejoice in me.

Daily Novena Prayer

Venerable Bruno Lanteri, I come to you confident in the words of Jesus: Ask and you shall receive (Matthew 7:7). You said, “It is impossible to hope too much; the one who hopes for everything attains everything.” You taught that the greatest miracles are those that change the heart. Through your intercession, may the good God, whose infinite mercy surpasses all the malice of the world, console my heart and grant my request.

By your prayers keep my poor heart in peace, protect me from discouragement, and help me to serve God with a holy joy. Amen.

O Father, fountain of all life and holiness you gave Father Bruno Lanteri great faith in Christ, your Son, a lively hope, and an active love for the salvation of his brethren. You made him a prophet of your Word and a witness to your Mercy. He had a tender love for Mary and by his very life he taught fidelity to the Church. Father, hear the prayer of your family and, through the intercession of Fr. Lanteri, grant us the grace for which we now ask…. May he be glorified on earth that we may give you greater praise.

We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

For more teachings from Ven. Bruno Lanteri visit
Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Begin Again” Discerning Hearts series

Day 4 – Novena to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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A Novena to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) – Day 4

St. Teresa Benedicta you have said:

God is there in these moments of rest and can give us in a single instant exactly what we need. Then the rest of the day can take its course, under the same effort and strain, perhaps, but in peace. And when night looks back and you see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone, and all the reasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed: just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God’s hands and leave it to Him – really rest – and start the next day as a new life.

Prayer of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross:

“O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage and strength to serve You. Enkindle Your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me. I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived where the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before me and I shall meet with peace.”