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.
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
Also known as: Doctor of Mystical Theology
Todays Carmelite Feast:
