This year, the reflection of the Family Novena revolves around the value of human life and the cessation of violence.
The month of December for Catholics is loaded with religious traditions before the arrival of Jesus at Christmas. A clear example is the Christmas Novena: days of prayer, songs and reflection that begin on Thursday, December 16, until Friday, December 24.
This year Ecuador and the entire world have lived immersed in an epidemic stronger than the coronavirus: violence. After the increase in crime and the terrible massacre in the Litoral Penitentiary, the bishops and even Pope Francis call for the cessation of violence and invite the parishioners to join in prayer and reflection on the value of human life, as he collects it the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference.
What is happening in the Litoral Penitentiary, the Ecuadorian prison that adds almost 190 deaths in two massacres
During the Angelus prayer, in Saint Peter’s Square, the Supreme Pontiff asked God to “heal the wounds of crime”, in relation to those raised in the Guayaquil jail, an act that is already considered one of the confrontations between inmates with highest number of deaths in recent times in prisons in Latin America.
I was very saddened by what happened during the days spent in jail in #Guayaquil, in Ecuador. God help us to heal the wounds of crime that enslaves the poorest. And help those who work every day to make life in prisons more human.
– Pope Francis (@Pontifex_es) October 3, 2021
Under this context, for nine days Ecuadorian and world families can join in the preparation for the arrival of the child of God. Next, we explain how the Christmas novena is prayed, according to the specialized portal AciPrensa.
Structure of the novena
- It begins with the sign of the Holy Cross
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen
- Prayer for every day
Most benign God of infinite charity who has loved us so much and who gave us in your Son the best pledge of your love, so that, incarnated and made our brother in the womb of the Virgin, he might be born in a manger for our health and remedy; We thank you for such an immense benefit. In return, we offer you, Lord, the sincere effort to make this world yours and ours, a more just world, more faithful to the great commandment to love each other as brothers. Grant us, Lord, your help to be able to do it.
- Our Father Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be your Name; let your kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; forgive our offenses, as we also forgive those who offend us; do not lead us into temptation, and deliver us from evil. Amen.
- Glory to the Father is prayed three times
- Carol
Lord, make our home a place of your love. Let there be no injury because you give us understanding. May there be no bitterness because you bless us. May there be no selfishness because you encourage us. Let there be no resentment because you give us forgiveness. May there be no abandonment because you are with us. We know march towards you in your daily life. May every morning one more day of dedication and sacrifice dawns. Every night finds us with more love. Make Lord with our lives, that you wanted to unite, a page full of you. Make Lord of our children what you long for, help us to educate them, guide them on your way. We strive for mutual support. Let’s make love another motive to love you more. That when the great day of going to meet you dawns, grant us to find ourselves united forever in you. Amen.
Sovereign Mary, we ask you for all the families of our country; Make every home in our country and in the world a source of understanding, of tenderness, of true family life. May these Christmas parties, which gather us around the manger where your Son was born, also unite us in love, make us forget offenses and give us simplicity to recognize the mistakes we have made.
Mother of God and Our Mother, intercede for us. Amen.
Most Holy Saint Joseph, husband of Mary and adoptive father of the Lord, you were chosen to act as father in the home of Nazareth. Help parents; may they always be the image of the heavenly father in their home, after your example; that they fully fulfill the great responsibility of educating and training their children, giving them the best of themselves with continuous effort. Help children understand and appreciate the selfless efforts of their parents.
Saint Joseph, model of husbands and fathers, intercedes for us. Amen.
- Our Father Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be your Name; let your kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; forgive our offenses, as we also forgive those who offend us; do not lead us into temptation, and deliver us from evil. Amen.
- Meditation / Reflection / Requests
- Prayer to the child God
Lord, Christmas is the memory of your birth among us, it is the presence of your love in our family and in our society. Christmas is the certainty that the God of heaven and earth is our Father, that you, Divine Child, are our Brother.
May this meeting with your manger increase our faith in your goodness, commit us to truly living as brothers, give us courage to kill hatred and sow justice and peace. Oh Divine Child, teach us to understand that where there is love and justice, there you are and there it is also Christmas. Amen.
My sweet Jesus, my adored Child. Come to our souls! Come, don’t take so long!
– O supreme wisdom of the sovereign God, that at the level of a child you have lowered yourself. O Divine infant, come to teach us the prudence that makes true wise men.
My sweet Jesus, my adored child. Come to our stores! Come, don’t take so long!
– Child of the manger, our God and Brother, You know and understand human pain; that when we suffer pain and anguish, we always remember that you have saved us.
My sweet Jesus, my adored child. Come to our stores! Come, don’t take so long!
– Oh light of the East, sun of eternal rays, that among the darkness your splendor we see, so precious Child, Christian happiness, shine the smile of your sweet lips.
My sweet Jesus, my adored child. Come to our souls! Come, don’t take so long!
– King of the nations, Immanuel illustrious, of Israel longing, Shepherd of the flock. Child that you feed with a soft crook, and the wild sheep and the meek lamb.
Sweet Jesus, my beloved child. Come to our souls! Come, don’t take so long!
– Let the heavens open and rain from on high benefactor dew, as holy watering. Come beautiful child, come God humanized; a beautiful star shines, a flower sprouts from the field.
My sweet Jesus, my adored child. Come to our souls! Come, don’t take so long!
– You became a Child in a family full of tenderness and human warmth. Long live the homes gathered here, the great commitment of Christian love.
My sweet Jesus, my adored child. Come to our souls! Come, don’t take so long!
– Of the weak help, of the suffering protection; consolation of the sad, outcast light. Life of my life, my adored dream; my constant friend, my divine brother.
My sweet Jesus, my adored child. Come to our souls! Come, don’t take so long!
– Come before my eyes of you in love, kiss your plants now, kiss your hands now. Prostrated on the ground I extend my arms to you and even more than my phrases my crying tells you.
Sweet Jesus of mine my adored child. Come to our souls! Come, don’t take so long!
– make our country a great family; sow your love and peace in our soil. Give us faith in life, give us hope and a sincere love that unites us more.
My sweet Jesus, my adored Child. Come to our souls! Come, don’t take so long!
– Come our Savior for whom we sigh. Come to our souls! Come, don’t take so long!
- Finally the novena closes with the Sign of the Cross
In the Name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
