Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent

FRIDAY AFTER THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

GOSPEL. ST. JOHN xi, 1-45.

(Lazarus in the Grave. Jesus is Stripped of His Garments.)

At that time: There was a certain man sick named Lazarus, of Bethania, of the town of Mary and of Martha her sister. (And Mary was she that anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair: whose brother Lazarus was sick.) His sisters therefore sent to Him, saying: Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick. Jesus hearing it, said to them: This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary, and Lazarus. When He had heard therefore that he was sick, He still remained in the same place two days: then after that He said to His disciples: Let us go into Judea again. The disciples say, to Him: Rabbi, the Jews but now sought to stone Thee: and goest Thou thither again? Jesus answered: Are there not twelve hours of the day? If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he has the light of the world: but if he walk in the night, he stumbleth, because the light is not in him. These things He said; and after that He said to them: Lazareth, our friend, sleepeth: but I go that I may awake him out of the sleep. His disciples therefore said: Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. But Jesus spoke of his death; and they thought that He spoke of the repose of sleep. Then therefore Jesus said to them plainly: Lazarus is dead; and I am glad for your sake, that I was not there, that you may believe: but let us go to him. Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples: Let us also go that we may die with Him. Jesus therefore came and found that he had been four days already in the grave. (Now Bethania was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.) And many of the Jews were come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Martha therefore, as soon as she heard that Jesus was come, went to meet Him: but Mary sat at home. Martha therefore said to Jesus: Lord, If Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But now also I know that whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, God will give it Thee. Jesus saith to her: Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith to Him: I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in Me although he be dead, shall live: and every one that liveth and believeth in Me, shall not die forever. Believest thou this? She saith to Him: Yea, Lord, I have believed that Thou art Christ the Son of the living God, who art come into this world. And when she had said these things, she went, and called her sister Mary secretly, saying: The Master is home and calleth for thee. She, as soon as she heard this, riseth quickly and cometh to Him. For Jesus was not yet come into the town: but He was still in that place where Martha had met Him. The Jews therefore, who were with her in the house and comforted her, when they saw Mary that she rose up speedily and went out, followed her, saying: She goeth to the grave to weep there. When Mary therefore was come where Jesus was, seeing Him, she fell down at His feet, and saith to Him: Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. Jesus therefore, when He saw her weeping, and the Jews that were come with her weeping, groaned in the spirit, and troubled Himself, and said: Where have you laid him? They said to Him: Lord, come and see. And Jesus wept. The Jews therefore said: Behold how He loved him. But some of them said: Could not He that opened the eyes of the man born blind, have caused that this man should not die? Jesus therefore again groaning in Himself cometh to the sepulchre: Now it was a cave; and a stone was laid over it. Jesus saith: Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith to Him: Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he is now of four days. Jesus saith to her: Did not I say to thee, that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of God? They took therefore the stone away. And Jesus lifting up His eyes said: Father, I give Thee thanks that Thou hast heard me. And I knew that Thou hearest Me always, but because of the people who stand about have I said it: that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me. When He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice: Lazarus come forth. And presently he that had been dead came forth, bound feet and hands with winding bands, and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said to them: Loose him and let him go. Many therefore of the Jews who were come to Mary and Martha, and had seen the things that Jesus said, believed in Him.

Consider, O Christian soul, that our Lord permits His friend Lazarus to become sick, to die and to be deprived of all that he had on earth, all but his shroud. Before His own death, Jesus permitted Himself to be stripped even of all His clothes. Learn from this to detach yourself from all the useless and harmful things of which death can rob you. By a worthy confession, purify your soul from every sin, so that your Savior will not be troubled over you, and that He will not need to weep over the misfortune that would befall you, if He could not awaken you to a glorious resurrection.


LET US PRAY.
O God, Who renewest the world by ineffable mysteries, grant we beseech Thee, that Thy Church may profit by Thy eternal precepts and may never be destitute of Thy temporal assistance; through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy divine Son, who wrought so many miracles and Who was so shamefully stripped of His garments. Amen.

Novena of Grace - Day 3

After completing his studies in Paris and filling the post of teacher there for some time, Xavier left the city with his companions 15 November, 1536, and turned his steps to Venice, where he displayed zeal and charity in attending the sick in the hospitals. On 24 June, 1537, he received Holy orders with St. Ignatius. The following year he went to Rome, and after doing apostolic work there for some months, during the spring of 1539 he took part in the conferences which St. Ignatius held with his companions to prepare for the definitive foundation of the Society of Jesus. The order was approved verbally 3 September, and before the written approbation was secured, which was not until a year later, Xavier was appointed, at the earnest solicitation of the John III, King of Portugal, to evangelize the people of the East Indies. He left Rome 16 March, 1540, and reached Lisbon about June. Here he remained nine months, giving many admirable examples of apostolic zeal.

Novena of Grace Prayer
O most amiable and loving St. Francis Xavier, in union with thee I adore the Divine Majesty. While joyfully giving thanks to God for great graces which He conferred upon thee in life and for the great glory with which He has gifted thee in heaven, I come to thee with heartfelt love, begging thee to secure for me, by thy powerful intercession, the inestimable blessings of living and dying in the state of grace. I also beseech thee to obtain for me the favors I ask in this Novena

Here name your petitions.

But if what I ask is not for the Glory of God, or the good of my soul, do thou obtain for me what is most conducive to both. Amen.

Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be to the Father.

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

Let us pray: O God, Who chose to bring into the bosom of the Church the nations of the Indies through the preaching and miracles of St. Francis Xavier, mercifully grant that we may imitate his virtues, whose glorious merits we hold in veneration. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer of Saint Francis Xavier
Eternal God, Creator of all things, remember that the souls of infidels were created by Thee and formed to Thine own image and after thine own likeness. Behold, O Lord, how to Thy dishonor hell is being filled with these very souls. Remember that Jesus Christ, Thy Son, suffered a most cruel death for their salvation. Do not permit, I beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thy divine Son be any longer despised by unbelievers, but rather, being appeased by the prayers of Thy saints and of the Church, the most holy spouse of Thy Son, deign to be mindful of Thy mercy, and forgetting their idolatry and their infidelity, 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.

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent

THURSDAY AFTER THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

GOSPEL. ST. LUKE vii, 11-16.

(The Dead Son of the Widow. The Third Fall of Jesus.)

At that time Jesus went into a city that is called Naim; and there went with Him His disciples, and a great multitude. And when He came nigh to the gate of the city, behold a dead man was carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow: and a great multitude of the city was with her. Whom when the Lord had seen, being moved with mercy towards her, He said to her: Weep not. And He came near, and touched the bier. And they that carried it stood still. And He said: Young man, I say to thee, arise. And he that was dead, sat up, and began to speak. And He gave him to his mother. And there came a fear on them all: and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet is risen up among us: and, God hath visited His people.

Christian soul, our divine Savior did not permit the youth of Naim to remain dead, but to the unspeakable joy of his mother, a widow, Jesus raised him to life. Yes, Christ Himself did not remain in the grave, but on the third day He rose again.

Previous to His resurrection, in His bitter passion, He fell for the third time beneath the heavy weight of the cross. But He did not remain where He had fallen. He summoned all His strength and carried the cross to the foot of Mt. Calvary. By all this our beloved Savior wished to teach us not to remain prostrate when we have fallen into sin, but with God s help to rise as quickly as possible and to stand firm. Otherwise the inclination and love for sin will grow stronger, relapses will be more frequent, horror for evil will lessen, and true contrition and improvement will become more difficult.

O Christian soul, beg God for the grace to rise from your daily sins and even from your smaller faults, and not to fall again into them; and pray for those especially who postpone their conversion from day to day.

LET US PRAY.

Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we, who are chastised by the fasts we have undertaken, may rejoice with holy devotion; to the end that our earthly affections being suppressed, we may more easily apprehend heavenly things.

Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, we admire Thee as much in Thy sorrow, humility and debasement in Thy third fall beneath the cross as in the miracle which Thou didst work in raising to life the dead youth of Naim. Give us the grace never to fall into the death of mortal sin; and, if we should incur this misfortune by our foolishness and wickedness, grant that, with Thy grace, we may soon rise again by penance and true contrition. Amen.

Novena of Grace - Day 2

In 1525, having completed a preliminary course of studies in his own country, Francis Xavier went to Paris, where he entered the college de Sainte-Barbe. Here he met the Savoyard, Peter Faber, and a warm personal friendship sprang up between them. It was at this same college that St. Ignatius Loyola, who was already planning the foundation of the Society of Jesus, resided for a time as a guest in 1529. He soon won the confidence of the two young men; first Favre and later Xavier offered themselves with him in the formation of the Society. Four others, Lainez, Salmerón, Rodríguez, and Bobadilla, having joined them, the seven made the famous vow of Montmartre, 15 Aug., 1534.

Novena of Grace Prayer
O most amiable and loving St. Francis Xavier, in union with thee I adore the Divine Majesty. While joyfully giving thanks to God for great graces which He conferred upon thee in life and for the great glory with which He has gifted thee in heaven, I come to thee with heartfelt love, begging thee to secure for me, by thy powerful intercession, the inestimable blessings of living and dying in the state of grace. I also beseech thee to obtain for me the favors I ask in this Novena

Here name your petitions.

But if what I ask is not for the Glory of God, or the good of my soul, do thou obtain for me what is most conducive to both. Amen.

Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be to the Father.

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

Let us pray: O God, Who chose to bring into the bosom of the Church the nations of the Indies through the preaching and miracles of St. Francis Xavier, mercifully grant that we may imitate his virtues, whose glorious merits we hold in veneration. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer of Saint Francis Xavier
Eternal God, Creator of all things, remember that the souls of infidels were created by Thee and formed to Thine own image and after thine own likeness. Behold, O Lord, how to Thy dishonor hell is being filled with these very souls. Remember that Jesus Christ, Thy Son, suffered a most cruel death for their salvation. Do not permit, I beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thy divine Son be any longer despised by unbelievers, but rather, being appeased by the prayers of Thy saints and of the Church, the most holy spouse of Thy Son, deign to be mindful of Thy mercy, and forgetting their idolatry and their infidelity, 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.

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

WEDNESDAY AFTER THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

GOSPEL. ST. JOHN ix, 1-38.

(The Man Born Blind. The Women of Jerusalem.)

At that time: Jesus passing by, saw a man who was blind from his birth: and His disciples asked Him: Rabbi, who hath sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind? Jesus answered: Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must do the works of Him that sent Me, whilst it is day: the night cometh when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When He had said these things, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and spread the clay upon his eyes, and said to him: Go, wash in the pool of Siloe, which is interpreted, Sent. He went therefore, and washed, and he came seeing. The neighbors therefore, and they who had seen him before that he was a beggar, said: Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said: This is he. But others said: No, but he is like him. But he said: I am he. They said therefore to him: How were thy eyes opened? He answered: That man that is called Jesus, made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me: Go to the pool of Siloe, and wash. And I went, I washed, and I see. And they said to him: Where is He? He saith, I know not. They bring him that had been blind to the Pharisees. Now it was the sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Again therefore the Pharisees asked him how he had received his sight. But he said to them: He put clay upon my eyes, and I washed, and I see. Some therefore of the Pharisees said: This man is not of God, Who keepeth not the sabbath. But others said: How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. They say therefore to the blind man again: What sayest thou of him that hath opened thy eyes? And he said: He is a prophet. The Jews then did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight, and asked them, saying: Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then doth he now see? His parents answered them, and said: We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not; ask himself; he is of age, let him speak for himself. These things his parents said, because they feared the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed among themselves, that if any man should confess Him to be Christ he should be put out of the Synagogue. Therefore did his parents say: He is of age, ask him. They therefore asked the man again that had been blind, and said to him: Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner. He said there fore to them: If He be a sinner, I know not: One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see. They said then to him: What did He do to thee? How did He open thy eyes? He answered them: I have told you already, and you have heard: why would you hear it again? will you also be come His disciples? They reviled him therefore, and said: Be thou His disciple; but we are the disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses but as to this man, we know not from whence He is. The man answered, and said to them: Why herein is a wonderful thing that you know not from whence He is, and He hath opened my eyes. Now we know that God doth not hear sinners: but if a man be a server of God, and doth His will, him He heareth. From the beginning of the world it hath not been heard, that any man hath opened the eyes of one born blind. Unless this man were of God He could not do anything. They answered and said to him: Thou wast wholly born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out: and when He had found him, He said to Him: Dost thou believe in the Son of God? He answered and said: Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him? And Jesus said to him: Thou hast both seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee. And he said: I believe, O Lord. And fall ing down he adored Him.

Behold, O Christian soul, Jesus spreads clay upon the eyes of this man born blind to teach you how worthless and corrupt is your nature, and that the transitory things of this world, which you love so much, are only dust and ashes. Further He commanded the blind man to wash himself in the pool of Siloe. The holy Church likewise com mands you to cleanse your soul by making a good confession and by the practice of virtue; and after receiving your Easter Communion, she expects you to adhere more closely to your Savior. Otherwise you might fall into the deplorable condition in which, like the obstinate Jews described in this gospel, you neither could nor would any longer believe.
In the course of His bitter passion, "there followed Him a great multitude of people, and of women who bewailed and lamented Him. And Jesus, turning to them, said: Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children." Why? In order to prepare themselves for the fearful judgment which was to be inflicted upon Jerusalem, and to endeavor by penance and contrition to render the punishment salutary for themselves and their children. You, too, O Christian soul, should be mindful of the judgment of God, and live accordingly.

LET US PRAY.

O God, Who granted to the just the reward of their merits, and to sinners pardon, by means of fasting, have mercy on us suppliants, that the confession of our guilt may enable us to receive the forgiveness of our sins.

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

TUESDAY AFTER THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

GOSPEL. ST. JOHN vii, 14-31.

(The Teaching and Honor of Jesus. His Second Fall under the Cross.)

At that time: About the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews wondered, saying: How doth this man know letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them and said: My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me. If any man will do the will of Him: he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself. He that speaketh of himself, seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh the glory of him that sent him, he is true, and there is no injustice in him. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why seek you to kill Me? The multitude answered, and said: Thou hast a devil; who seeketh to kill Thee? Jesus answered and said to them: One work I have done; and you all wonder: therefore Moses gave you circumcision (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers); and on the Sabbath-day you circumcise a man. If a man receive circumcision on the Sabbath-day, that the law of Moses may not be broken; are you angry with Me because I have healed the whole man on the Sabbath-day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge just judgment. Some therefore of Jerusalem said: Is not this He Whom they seek to kill? Have the rulers known for a truth that this is the Christ? But we know this man whence He is. Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying: You both know Me, and you know whence I am: and I am not come of myself; but He that sent Me is true, Whom you know not. I know Him, because I am from Him, and He hath sent Me. They sought therefore to apprehend Him: and no man laid hands on Him, because His hour was not yet come. But of the people many believed in Him.

How grand and inspiring is the teaching of Jesus! But excellent as it is, His teaching consists chiefly in this that we do the will of God by the faithful observance of the divine commandments and of the precepts of the Church, which is the representative of Jesus Christ on earth; and that we cheerfully perform the particular duties of our state of life. Therein lies our true honor be fore God. All other honor that is not accompanied by the pleasure of God and is not directed towards the honor of God, is no true honor at all. It rests merely on appearances and on the unfair judgment of men; wherefore St. Augustine says: "Many are highly honored in this world who are burning with reproaches in hell." Therefore is patience in suffering for God greater than all joys without God; humiliation borne for God’s sake is greater than all honor without God; shame endured for God is greater than all the vain exaltation of the world; poverty with God is greater than wealth without God.

As we are poor, weak men, and even the just fall seven times, Jesus, our divine Teacher, wished to fall for the second time beneath the cross to encourage us in practicing His doctrines and to prevent us from forgetting His honor. Coming to a large stone on the road leading up to Mt. Calvary, Jesus felt that He was unable to pass it. But the soldiers mercilessly dragged and drove Him on till He fell beneath the cross; nevertheless with supernatural strength He rose again and pressed on His way. Reflect on this, O Christian soul, when you are inclined to be despondent after falling into sin.

LET US PRAY.

We beseech Thee, O Lord, that the fasts of this holy observance may procure us an increase of piety in our lives, and the continual help of Thy mercy.

O Jesus, through Thy second fall beneath the cross, permit us not to forget Thy holy teaching; and grant that, on our way of the cross unto eternity, we may always, by word and deed, seek to promote Thy honor which is also our only true honor. Amen.

Novena of Grace - Day 1

Francis was born on April 7, 1506, in the Castle of Xavier near Sanguesa, a small village in the province of Navarre in northern Spain. He was the last of five children of landed nobility. While Francis was still young, his father died and the family lost their land and home in a war with Spain. His mother, a very devout Catholic, saw to it that he received a Catholic upbringing and a good education.




Novena of Grace Prayer
O most amiable and loving St. Francis Xavier, in union with thee I adore the Divine Majesty. While joyfully giving thanks to God for great graces which He conferred upon thee in life and for the great glory with which He has gifted thee in heaven, I come to thee with heartfelt love, begging thee to secure for me, by thy powerful intercession, the inestimable blessings of living and dying in the state of grace. I also beseech thee to obtain for me the favors I ask in this Novena

Here name your petitions.

But if what I ask is not for the Glory of God, or the good of my soul, do thou obtain for me what is most conducive to both. Amen.

Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be to the Father.

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

Let us pray: O God, Who chose to bring into the bosom of the Church the nations of the Indies through the preaching and miracles of St. Francis Xavier, mercifully grant that we may imitate his virtues, whose glorious merits we hold in veneration. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer of Saint Francis Xavier
Eternal God, Creator of all things, remember that the souls of infidels were created by Thee and formed to Thine own image and after thine own likeness. Behold, O Lord, how to Thy dishonor hell is being filled with these very souls. Remember that Jesus Christ, Thy Son, suffered a most cruel death for their salvation. Do not permit, I beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thy divine Son be any longer despised by unbelievers, but rather, being appeased by the prayers of Thy saints and of the Church, the most holy spouse of Thy Son, deign to be mindful of Thy mercy, and forgetting their idolatry and their infidelity, 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.