Join me in praying Christmas Novena

Heavenly Father, You made Christmas night radiant with the splendor of Jesus Christ our light. I welcome Him as Lord, the true light of the world. Bring me to the joy of His heavenly kingdom.

We are filled with the new light by the coming of Your Word among us. May the light of faith shine in my words and actions.

Lord God, I praise You for creating man, and still more for restoring Him in Christ, Your Son shares our weakness: may I share His glory. Make me faithful to Your Word, that I may bring Your life to others. He made me Your child. May He welcome me into His Kingdom.

God of power and life, glory of all who believe in You, fill the world with Your splendor and show the nations the light of Your truth. May the simple beauty of Jesus' birth summon us always to love what is most deeply human and to see Your Word made flesh reflected in those whose lives we touch.

Father, in the wonder of the Incarnation Your eternal Word has brought to the eyes of faith a new and radiant vision of Your glory. In Him we see You, our God, made visible and so are caught up in love of the God we cannot see.

At Christmas You fill our hearts with joy as we recognize in Christ the revelation of Your love. No eye can see His glory as our God, yet now He is seen as one like us. Christ is Your Son before all ages, yet now He is born in time. He has come to lift up all things to Himself, to restore unity to creation, and to lead mankind from exile into Your heavenly Kingdom.

At Christmas in Jesus a new light has dawned upon the world: God has become one with man, and man has become one again with God. Your eternal Word has taken upon Himself our human weakness, giving our mortal nature immortal value. So marvelous is this oneness between You, our God, and man, that in Christ man restores to man the gift of everlasting life.

For the love of Jesus, Your Divine Son, become Man for us, I beg of You, grant me rich graces during this joyful season of Christmas. I ask especially for this favor: (Mention your re-quest).

In honor of the birth of Jesus, grant what I ask if it be Your holy Will.

Prayer to Our Newborn Savior

Divine Infant Jesus, with Mary and Joseph I kneel down in devout worship as I gaze upon You lying in Your crib. You wished to enter the world as a child in order to prove Yourself to be true Man; for by Your weeping and by Your need for rest and nourishment You prove that You have truly taken on human nature. You become human that I may be able to see You, listen to You, imitate You, and unite myself to You.

Even though You are God, You are now able to suffer for us, atone for our sins, and merit graces for our souls. It is through the flesh that man turns away from God; it is in taking on the flesh that You, our God, deliver us.

But You become Man also that man may become like God. In exchange for the humanity which You take from us, You wish to make us share in Your Divinity by sanctifying grace, that You may take complete possession of us.

May the mystery of Your birth bring me the grace to be born anew and live a new, Divine life, more free from sin and from too great an attachment to myself and creatures, a life for God alone.

As it was Mary's joy to form You in her own body, may her joy now be to form You in my soul, so that I may be more like You.

Jesus, I believe that the greatest proof of God's goodness and love toward us is His gift to us of You, His only beloved Son. All love tends to become like that which it loves. You loved man; therefore, You became man. Infinite love and mercy caused You, the Second Person of the most Holy Trinity, to leave the Kingdom of eternal bliss, to descend from the throne of Your majesty, power, and glory, to become a helpless child, to suffer and die for us, that we might live.

In Your crib I see the most wondrous love that ever was–the love of God humbling Himself so low to beg the love of our hearts. Give me the grace to love You in return with a deep, true, personal love. I surrender to Your gentle saving influence my heart and mind and will, so that my life may be lived in You, and You may become my intimate daily Companion, Consoler, and Friend.

May I come eagerly and often to unite myself closely to You in your Sacrament of Love. The church shall be my Bethlehem; the altar, the crib; the sacred species of bread and wine, the swaddling clothes by which I can recognize you as my God, and under which I can, as Mary and Joseph and the shepherds did, take You into my arms; yes, even receive You into my heart–a grace which even the Angels envy me.

Jesus, from the crib You teach the world the true dignity of humility. Poverty, suffering and humiliation stand by Your Cross and by Your crib. Your becoming a child for love of us is the greatest act of humility the world has ever seen. Although heaven and earth cannot contain You, although You are the Creator of all and King of glory, You humble Yourself to such a degree that You need human help. The infinite Lord of all becomes a servant; the Almighty, a helpless creature; the Immortal, mortal. Your Divine love chose this way of raising fallen mankind to its former dignity, for nothing draws the hearts of people so easily to God as Your stooping so low to reach them.

Draw me and all mankind to yourself by the example of Your loving humility. Teach me that my true glory consists in humbling myself, for You said, "I assure you, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the Kingdom of God" (Mt 18:3).
Prayer to Jesus, God Made Man

Jesus, Son of the glorious Virgin Mary and only Son of the living God, I adore You and acknowledge You as my God, the only true God, one and infinitely perfect. You have made out of nothing all things that are outside of You, and You preserve and govern them with infinite wisdom, sovereign goodness, and supreme power.

I beg of You, by the mysteries that were fulfilled in Your sacred Humanity, to cleanse me in Your Blood from all my past sins. Pour forth abundantly upon me Your Holy Spirit, together with His grace, His virtues, and His gifts. Make me believe in You, hope in You, love You, and labor to merit the possession of You through each of my actions. Give Yourself to me someday in the brightness of Your glory, in the company of Your Blessed Mother, Saint Joseph, and all Your Saints.

Why praying without ceasing ?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, recommends this prayer to Catholics.

" 2667 This simple invocation of faith developed in the tradition of prayer under many forms in East and West. The most usual formulation, transmitted by the spiritual writers of the Sinai, Syria, and Mt. Athos, is the invocation, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners." It combines the Christological hymn of Philippians 2:6-11 with the cry of the publican [Lk 18:9-14] and the blind men begging for light.[Matt. 9:27] By it the heart is opened to human wretchedness and the Savior's mercy.
2668 The invocation of the holy name of Jesus is the simplest way of praying always. When the holy name is repeated often by a humbly attentive heart, the prayer is not lost by heaping up empty phrases, but holds fast to the word and "brings forth fruit with patience." This prayer is possible "at all times" because it is not one occupation among others but the only occupation: that of loving God, which animates and transfigures every action in Christ Jesus."


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"We must pray literally without ceasing - without ceasing; in every occurrence and employment of our lives. You know I mean that prayer of the heart which is independent of place or situation, or which is, rather, a habit of lifting up the heart to God, as in a constant communication with Him."
- Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton -