NOVENA TO THE SACRED HEART: NINTH and LAST DAY
A WELCOMING HEART
THE WORD FROM GOD I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. Ezekiel 36.
REFLECTION FOR THE LAST DAY OF THE NOVENA
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting. All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way. All over the world people are waking up to a new reality, to how big we really are; to how little control we really have; to what really matters; to Love.
So we pray and we remember that Yes, there is fear, but there does not have to be disquietedness.
Yes, there is isolation, but there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is sickness, But there does not have to be hopelessness. Yes there is even death, but nothing can extinguish love. Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now. Today, breathe; the birds are singing, the sky is clearing, Spring is not so far away, and we are encompassed by Love. Open the windows of your soul, reach across the emptiness, and sing.
THE HEART OF CHRIST
The Heart of the Divine Master is the centre on which everything in the Old and New Testament converges, the pivot around which everything in Catholic Christianity turns, the sun of the Church, the soul of our souls, the source of our mysteries, the origin of our sacraments, the pledge of our reconciliation, the salvation of our world, the remedy of all ills. That is how I understand devotion to the Sacred Heart: it embraces everything, it is the answer to everything.
Fr Jules Chevalier MSC Founder of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart
AS A PRAYER
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Be all else but naught to me, save that thou art. Be thou my best thought in the day and the night; Both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light. Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight; Be thou my whole armour, be thou my true might; Be thou my soul's shelter, be thou my strong tower; O raise thou me heavenward, great Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise; Be thou my inheritance now and always. Be thou and thou only the first in my heart; O Sovereign of Heaven, my treasure thou art. High King of Heaven, thou Heaven's bright Sun, O grant me its joys after victory is won! Great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, Still be thou my vision, O Ruler of all.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, you became
one of us to reveal how much
your Father loves us individually.
You reached out in love to the sinner and humble of heart.
Your heart was full of compassion
for the sick and the marginalised,
for the bereaved, for the oppressed and the poor, and for all who felt the burden of their humanity to be too heavy to bear.
Be with us in our weakness and help us to raise our hearts and minds to you in
trust. Give us loving hearts like your Heart, so that we too may spread your love in the circles in which we move. Make our hearts gentle and humble so that we may have compassion for those who are less fortunate than ourselves. Replace our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh. Open our eyes to the goodness and beauty in all your people and in all creation. Bless us with hearts that are slow to anger
and ready to forgive.
May God give us …
For every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile,
for every care a promise and a blessing in each trial;
for every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share;
for every sigh a sweet song and answer for each prayer.
An old Irish prayer.
NOVENA PRAYER Lord Jesus, You care for us when we are lost, sympathize with us in loneliness, and comfort us in mourning; you are closest to us where we are weakest. You love us most when we love ourselves least; you forgive us most when we forgive ourselves least; and you call us to spread your love in whatever way we can.
Lord Jesus, your heart is moved with compassion when we are suffering,
when we need your help,
and when we pray for each other.
I ask you to listen to my prayer during this Novena, (Mention your intention.)
and to grant what is best.
DAILY INVOCATION
Sacred Heart of Jesus,
I place all my trust in you.
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