CATHOLIC PRAYERS

HISTORY OF THE Novena of Grace

In Naples in 1633 there lived Fr. Marcello Mastrilli, S.J. He had taken the vow to ask to be assigned to the Japan Mission, then the most difficult; for at that time the Buddhist persecution was most cruel against the Catholic religion and the new form of martyrdom introduced was most excruciating. It was known as the “Pit” for the martyrs were kept hung, head downwards over a volcanic pit from which sulphurous gases and waters welled up. At times the martyrdom was protracted for several days before the victim expired. The torture was so horrible that in 1633 the Provincial of the Japan Mission Fr. Ferrara after five days of agony over the “Pit” apostatized. But hundreds of others, priests and laymen, Europeans and Japanese in holy emulation reached the martyr’s crown through the terrible “Pit”. When the news of the unfortunate Ferrara’s apostasy reached Europe, many Jesuits vowed themselves to the Japan Mission to replace their martyred brethren and to atone for the apostate. Marcello Mastrilli was one of them.

Fr. Ferrara was subsequently reconverted and atoned for his fall by dying a martyr’s death over the “Pit” in 1652.While waiting for the passage to Japan, Mastrilli organized on a grand scale the feast of the Immaculate Conception in the College of Naples, putting up for the occasion an elaborate structure that drew the admiration of the whole town. The feast was a stupendous success that helped so much to bring home to the faithful the great privilege of Our Lady, which then was not yet defined as a dogma of the faith.

The feast over, Fr. Mastrilli was supervising the removal of the temporary structure when a heavy hammer slipped from the hands of a worker and fell with deadly precision on Fr. Mastrilli’s head. The injury caused thereby was severe, and Fr. Mastrilli was on the verge of death. Just when the crisis was on, St. Francis Xavier appeared to Fr. Mastrilli and bidding him renew the vow to go to Japan, said to him:

“All those who implore my help daily for nine consecutive days, from the fourth to the twelfth of March inclusive and worthily receive the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion on one of the nine days will experience my protection and may hope with entire assurance to obtain from God any Grace they ask that is for the good of their souls and the glory of God.”

The vision vanished and Fr. Mastrilli arose entirely cured. Faithful to his vow, he led a band of thirty-three Jesuits to Japan. He had hardly landed there when he was seized and condemned to the “Pit” where he suffered from October 5 to 17 and died a glorious martyr. But before leaving for Japan, Fr. Mastrilli widely published the news of his cure and the promises of Saint Francis Xavier. The Saint himself kept his words and very many experienced his protection after making this “Novena of Grace”. Thus the devotion spread far and wide and it has been instrumental in obtaining many favors, spiritual and temporal.

Though St. Francis Xavier mentioned the time when the Novena should be made, yet its efficacy is not restricted to those days, but it may be made any time, and forms a fitting preparation for the feast of the saint, November 24 to December 2, with his feast being on December 3.

REFERENCE

Frs. P. de Mattei, S.J. & F.X. Rocca, S.J., Novena of Grace To St. Francis Xavier, Catholic Book Crusade, Patna, 1944. Imprimatur: Leo Proserpio, S.J., Episc. Calicutensis, Calicut, April 15, 1944.

Novena of Grace

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

V: O Jesus, answer our petitions as we kneel before Thee.
R: O Heart of Jesus, hear and grant our prayers.

V: Pray for us, Saint Francis Xavier,
R: that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray

Come, Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful. Enkindle in them the fire of Thy love. Send forth Thy spirit and they shall be created,
R: and Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

V: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
R: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

All:

O most lovable and loving Saint Francis Xavier in union with thee I adore the Divine Majesty. The remembrance of the favors with which God bestowed upon thee during life and of thy glory after death fills me with joy.
I unite with thee in offering to Him my humble tribute of praise and of thanksgiving.
I beseech thee to secure for me, through thy powerful intercession, the inestimable blessing of living and dying in the state of grace.
I also entreat thee to obtain the special favor I ask in this novena. (Mention your intentions here) However, if what I ask is not for the glory of God and for the good of my soul, do thou obtain for me what is more conducive to this end. Amen.

V: Pray for us, Saint Francis Xavier,
R: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray

O God, Who didst vouchsafe, by the preaching and miracles of St. Francis Xavier, to join unto Thy Church the nations of the Indies; grant, we beseech Thee, that we who reverence his glorious merits, may also imitate his example, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Recite one Our Father, three Hail Mary’s in memory of St. Francis Xavier’s devotion to the Most Holy Trinity, and ten Glory Be’s in thanksgiving for the graces received by him during his ten years of apostleship.

HYMN OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER

Oh, Father Saint Francis, we kneel at thy feet,
While blessings and favors we beg and entreat,
That thou from thy bright throne in heaven above
Wouldst look on thy clients with pity and love.

Saint Francis Xavier, Oh pray for us!
Saint Francis Xavier, Oh pray for us!

Oh, Father Saint Francis, thy words were once strong
Against Satan’s wiles and an infidel throng.
Not less is thy might where in heaven thou art;
Oh, come to our aid, in our battle take part.

Saint Francis Xavier, Oh pray for us!
Saint Francis Xavier, Oh pray for us!

ST. FRANCIS XAVIER’S PRAYER FOR THE CONVERSION OF INFIDELS

Eternal God, Creator of all things remember that the souls of unbelievers have been created by Thee and formed to Thy own image and likeness. Behold, O Lord, how to Thy dishonor hell is being filled with these very souls. Remember that Jesus Christ, Thy Son for their salvation suffered a most cruel death. Do not permit, O Lord, I beseech Thee that Thy divine Son be any longer despised by unbelievers, but rather, being appeased by the prayers of Thy saints and the Church the most holy spouse of Thy Son deign to be mindful of Thy mercy and forgetting their idolatry and their unbelief bring them to know Him Whom Thou didst send Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord Who is our health, life, and resurrection through Whom we have been redeemed and saved to Whom be all glory forever. Amen. (Indulgence– 300 days once a day Pius XI, May 24, 1847.)

When prayed publicly, there follows: a Sermon; Hymn Before Benediction; Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament; and a Closing Hymn.