O Lord God Almighty, I beseech Thee,
by the precious blood
which Thy Divine Son Jesus shed in His cruel scourging,
deliver the souls in purgatory,
and among them all,
especially that soul which is nearest
to its entrance into Thy glory;
that, so it may soon begin to praise Thee and bless Thee forever.
Amen.
O Lord, hear my prayer
And let my prayer cry come unto thee.
O God
the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful,
grant unto the souls of thy servants and handmaids
the remission of all their sins
that through our devout supplications
they may obtain the pardon they have always desired.
Who live and reign world without end…Amen.
Say the following prayers:
Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May their souls and the souls of all the faithfully departed rest in peace. Amen.
Day Seven – For the grace to become, like Mary, the “prey” of the Trinity – a soul consumed by love.
In the spiritual mission of Saint Elizabeth, the Virgin Mary, humble handmaid of the Lord, is the model of radical surrender to the Trinity. When we look to her, we see what it means to be the “prey” of the Trinity – a grace that we have been asking for throughout this Novena. When the Angel appeared to her, Mary responded: “I am the handmaid of the Lord, Let it be done to me according to your will.” Out of this humble “yes”, the Holy Trinity was able to bring to fulfillment the loving plan of salvation. This humble “yes” reveals a great spiritual truth for how God desires to work in every soul: God’s saving plan is always unleashed in the world through humble loving obedience to the Trinity.
For Saint Elizabeth, Mary’s obedient “yes” was more than a one-time event – Mary’s “fiat” reveals a continual attitude that she kept throughout her life, as she followed Jesus and stood before the Cross. This attitude was no mere human achievement. Mary’s constant awareness and readiness to respond with obedience to God was itself a work of the Trinity within her. Every act of surrender begets an even deeper act of surrender. In this way, Saint Elizabeth describes the humble handmaid of the Lord as the “prey” of the Trinity. Every prayerful soul, according to Saint Elizabeth, should make this same humble offering and become the “prey “ of the Trinity.
Just as the Virgin Mary became the “prey” of the Trinity through her peaceful and recollected surrender, through our surrender to the Holy Trinity, we can learn to live in humble recollection in each moment. In both peaceful moments of silence and difficult moments of trial, the Lord is just as present to us – He never changes. We simply need to believe in His immense love and have confidence in Him. This means we must renounce every disturbance of worry, anxiety, self-pity, or despair that would interrupt our own “fiat” to the Lord.
Such prayer is difficult, but allowing Mary to show us how to be this humble and recollected is an important aid. Christ has saved her maternal presence for our sake – He wants us to know His Mother because she is ready to help us if we ponder her example. A soul recollected in God’s presence can become like Mary, abandoned to the Father, docile to the Holy Spirit, and devoted to the Son, When this happens, this believer has also become the “prey” of the Trinity – a soul consumed by love.
Let us pray
O My God, Trinity whom I adore, help me to forget myself entirely so as to be established in you as still and as peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to disturb my peace, nor make me depart from you, o my Unchanging One, but may each moment carry me further into the depths of your Mystery. Pacify my soul, make it your heaven, your beloved abode, your resting place. May I never leave you there alone, but may I be entirely present, my faith completely ready, wholly adoring, fully surrendered to your creative action.
O my beloved Christ, crucified by love, I would like to be a bride for your heart. I would like to cover you with glory, I would like to love you… unto death. I feel my powerlessness, however, and I ask you to clothe me with yourself, to identify my soul with all the movements of your soul, to defeat me, to overwhelm me, to substitute yourself for me, that my life might be but the radiation of your Life. Come into me as Adorer, as Healer, as Savior. O Eternal Word, Word of my God, I want to spend my life listening to you, I want to be completely docile, ready to learn everything from you. Then, through all nights, all voids, all weakness, I want to fixate on you always and to remain under your great light. O My beloved Star, fascinate me so that I would not be able to forsake your shining light.
O Consuming Flame, Spirit of love, come over me until my soul is render into an incarnation of the Word; may I be for Him another humanity in which he renews His whole Mystery.
And you, O Father, bend over your little creature, cover her with your shadow, and see in her only the Beloved in whom You are well-pleased.
O my Three, my All, my Beatitude, Infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I loose myself, I surrender myself as prey. Bury yourself in me in order that I might bury myself in you, while waiting to contemplate in your light the immeasurable depths of your grandeur.
Amen
The Novena to St. Elizabeth of the Trinity is authored by Dr. Anthony Lilles S.T.D.
Day Six For the grace of living in the shadow of the Father
Jesus lived in the shadow of the Father. To be under this shadow is to accept a paradoxical mystery. In his humiliation, He was exalted. In his rejection, He was beloved. By His Wounds, we are healed. In His death, He became the source of life. Conversely, He humiliated the haughty and the proud who could not recognize Him. He declared the poor blessed, and the rich were not able to follow him. He held up the meek as conquerors, and the violent could not seize Him. He calmed storms but humbly accepted the kiss that betrayed Him. He saved others, but out of love for the Father, would not save Himself. It is in this shadow that Jesus gave Himself for us, and in this same shadow, we learn to how to give ourselves in love for Him.
Saint Elizabeth sees the shadow of the Father as a mystery that separates us from everything that might distract or impede our efforts to seek God by a wholly loving and simple movement of the heart. Sometimes being overshadowed in this way means embracing difficult and trying circumstances. Often it means having trust and confidence in God when we do not understand how or feel or even intuit that He is acting in our lives. The Trinity works at a level more fundamental than any state of consciousness, deeper than any feeling, higher than any understanding, beyond any intuition to sense or grasp. Saint John of the Cross, to whom Saint Elizabeth was devoted as a spiritual daughter, understood this secret place could only be entered by faith. Saint John of the Cross identifies the shadow of the Father with a mysterious darkness – and enchanting dark night in which love transforms by faith. In this night, God has the freedom to realize the plan of love that He has for each of us. The Father will detach us from every other support until we cleave to Him alone – allowing Him to transform us in the image of His Son. He wants us by faith to imitate His Son – who did everything with total trust and confidence in the goodness of the Father, even when that goodness seemed so hidden.
The spiritual mission of Saint Elizabeth encourages us to desire to live in the shadow of the Father, even though it is sometimes difficult to do so. She encourages this because she knows the joy and peace that one can find in this shadow – not only for oneself, but for everyone God entrusts to us. For this grace, let us pray
O My God, Trinity whom I adore, help me to forget myself entirely so as to be established in you as still and as peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to disturb my peace, nor make me depart from you, o my Unchanging One, but may each moment carry me further into the depths of your Mystery. Pacify my soul, make it your heaven, your beloved abode, your resting place. May I never leave you there alone, but may I be entirely present, my faith completely ready, wholly adoring, fully surrendered to your creative action.
O my beloved Christ, crucified by love, I would like to be a bride for your heart. I would like to cover you with glory, I would like to love you… unto death. I feel my powerlessness, however, and I ask you to clothe me with yourself, to identify my soul with all the movements of your soul, to defeat me, to overwhelm me, to substitute yourself for me, that my life might be but the radiation of your Life. Come into me as Adorer, as Healer, as Savior. O Eternal Word, Word of my God, I want to spend my life listening to you, I want to be completely docile, ready to learn everything from you. Then, through all nights, all voids, all weakness, I want to fixate on you always and to remain under your great light. O My beloved Star, fascinate me so that I would not be able to forsake your shining light.
O Consuming Flame, Spirit of love, come over me until my soul is rendered into an incarnation of the Word; may I be for Him another humanity in which he renews His whole Mystery.
And you, O Father, bend over your little creature, cover her with your shadow, and see in her only the Beloved in whom You are well-pleased.
O my Three, my All, my Beatitude, Infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I lose myself, I surrender myself as prey. Bury yourself in me in order that I might bury myself in you while waiting to contemplate in your light the immeasurable depths of your grandeur.
Amen
The Novena to St. Elizabeth of the Trinity is authored by Dr. Anthony Lilles S.T.D.
The Poor/Holy Souls and Purgatory – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff
Msgr. John Esseff and Kris McGregor discuss the significance of All Souls’ Day and the theology of purgatory. The deep connection Catholics share with the souls in purgatory, who are part of the larger body of Christ. He describes his personal practice of praying for those he’s known who have passed, recalling their names and lifting them in prayer during Mass. The Church provides special graces on All Souls’ Day to pray for these “holy souls,” who yearn to be with God but require purification.
The process of purgation as a cleansing fire, likening it to the Sacred Heart’s fire that purifies the soul’s imperfections, drawing it closer to God’s perfect love. This fire is not only for the souls in purgatory but is present throughout the Christian life, in trials and sufferings that refine believers. He reflects on Jesus as an anchor for the souls, grounding them in hope and drawing them closer to heaven. Msgr. Esseff invites listeners to pray for the dead, encouraging them to recall and “remember” those they love, trusting in God’s mercy and the promise of eternal life.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
Union with the Holy Souls: How can I deepen my relationship with the souls in purgatory through prayer and remembrance?
Understanding Purgation as Divine Love: In what ways do I see God’s purifying love working in my own life?
Embracing the Fire of the Sacred Heart: How can I open myself more fully to God’s love that refines and transforms?
Contemplating Life after Death: What beliefs do I hold about purgatory, and how do they shape my prayers for the deceased?
Reflecting on Baptism and Eternal Life: How does my baptismal identity anchor my hope in the resurrection and eternal life?
Offering Prayers and Sacrifices: What specific actions can I take today to pray for the souls in purgatory and support their journey to heaven?
Facing Death without Fear: How can I grow in trust and confidence in God’s love, freeing myself from fear of death?
Interceding for Family and Friends: Who in my life, living or deceased, needs my prayers, and how can I actively remember them today?
Living the Paschal Mystery: How am I experiencing the cycles of suffering, death, and resurrection in my spiritual journey?
Recognizing God’s Mercy for All Souls: How does God’s desire for everyone’s salvation influence the way I pray and hope for others, even those who struggled in life?
“The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
they shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the LORD shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.”
Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served as a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the Missionaries of Charity around the world. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by Pope St. John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world, especially to the poor. Msgr. Esseff assisted the founders of the Institute for Priestly Formation and continues to serve as a spiritual director for the Institute. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians, and other religious leaders around the world.
Day Five – For the Grace of being overcome by the Fire of God’s Love
For Saint Elizabeth, the Holy Spirit is the consuming Fire of God’s Love. To fully offer oneself to the Lord, one needs to allow one’s whole existence to be set on fire by this Divine Love. This means a total offering of oneself analogous to the offering of holocaust proscribed in the Mosaic Law. Before Christ, such an offering would be completely consumed in the sacred fire before the altar of sacrifice. It was a sign of what God deserves from us, and with that acknowledgment, the people’s worship was deemed acceptable to the Lord. Christ’s offering of Himself on the Cross was the perfect fulfillment of this practice. Only it was not earthly flames that consumed His self-offering. Instead, He burned with the Gift of the Father’s Love and through this obedient love, opened up a pathway for us to render the Holy Trinity a hymn of praise so beautiful, God is utterly delighted by it.
Why should God be delighted by what we offer Him? It is because the Holy Spirit renews the mystery of the Word made flesh in us through our faith in Christ. The Word of the Father, the Radiant One, not only captivates the hearts of those who seek Him, but He is also the greatest delight of the Father. The Father delights in His Son because His Son communicates the truth about His love – and this is the Father’s glory. Born out of the silent fullness of the Father’s heart, the glory that the Word reveals makes all things new. When the Father spoke His Word into our humanity, He renewed humanity so that Christ’s humanity became the instrument to reveal the glory of God.
The Holy Spirit renews this whole mystery in us when we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by His coming into our hearts. When we accept what Christ has done for us out of love for the Father, the love with which Christ burned, burns in us. This fire purifies us of our attachments to sin and at the same time implicates us in the plight of those whom God has sent into our lives. In this way, we discover new liberty to give ourselves in love of God and our neighbor that we did not have before. It is the freedom of Christ – the One crucified by love. Through this Gift of the Holy Spirit, the Father even recognizes the beauty of Christ in us – a beauty that delights Him and a beauty that saves the world.
Saint Elizabeth understands that, in a certain sense, being overwhelmed by the Fire of the Holy Spirit extends the mystery of the Incarnation through our humanity – into the circumstances, relationships and events of our lives. The more we surrender our humanity to the love of Christ and die to our plans, the more vulnerable we are to this movement of Love at work in us.
The mission that Saint Elizabeth exercises from heaven is geared to the total transformation of our lives that the Holy Spirit accomplishes when we make ourselves vulnerable to His wholly simple and wholly loving movement in us. For this kind of openness, let us pray:
O My God, Trinity whom I adore, help me to forget myself entirely so as to be established in you as still and as peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to disturb my peace, nor make me depart from you, o my Unchanging One, but may each moment carry me further into the depths of your Mystery. Pacify my soul, make it your heaven, your beloved abode, your resting place. May I never leave you there alone, but may I be entirely present, my faith completely ready, wholly adoring, fully surrendered to your creative action.
O my beloved Christ, crucified by love, I would like to be a bride for your heart. I would like to cover you with glory, I would like to love you… unto death. I feel my powerlessness, however, and I ask you to clothe me with yourself, to identify my soul with all the movements of your soul, to defeat me, to overwhelm me, to substitute yourself for me, that my life might be but the radiation of your Life. Come into me as Adorer, as Healer, as Savior. O Eternal Word, Word of my God, I want to spend my life listening to you, I want to be completely docile, ready to learn everything from you. Then, through all nights, all voids, all weakness, I want to fixate on you always and to remain under your great light. O My beloved Star, fascinate me so that I would not be able to forsake your shining light.
O Consuming Flame, Spirit of love, come over me until my soul is rendered into an incarnation of the Word; may I be for Him another humanity in which he renews His whole Mystery.
And you, O Father, bend over your little creature, cover her with your shadow, and see in her only the Beloved in whom You are well-pleased.
O my Three, my All, my Beatitude, Infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I lose myself, I surrender myself as prey. Bury yourself in me in order that I might bury myself in you, while waiting to contemplate in your light the immeasurable depths of your grandeur.
Amen
The Novena to St. Elizabeth of the Trinity is authored by Dr. Anthony Lilles S.T.D.
Day Four – For the grace to be captivated by Christ
In her prayer to the Trinity, Saint Elizabeth asks particular graces of each of the Divine Persons. From Christ, she asks to be captivated by Him. She refers to Him as the Radiant Star and asks for the grace to fixate on Him and to learn all from Him. She situates this petition within her awareness of her own inadequacies, voids, weaknesses and failings. She does not run from these struggles, but she also knows that she cannot overcome these on her own. She needs help – the help that comes from Christ alone. When we look to Him, it is not our failures that ultimately define us – instead, it is the love that He has for us that becomes definitive in our lives. If we allow the dynamism of His presence to draw our hearts to Him, rather than self-pity or despair, we find the strength to trust Him even as everything in our lives seems to be falling apart. If we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, He will lead us to the victory of good over evil in our hearts, our families and our communities. He is greater than every evil and He loves to reveal His strength in our weakness. When we come across that painful emptiness in which everything seems impossible, Jesus is present there too — ready to shine on us anew and to help us find our way once again.
In the spiritual mission of Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity, she knows how much it brings the Radiant Star great delight when we allow Him to be the light that shines in the darkness of our lives – and, when we ask her to help us find this light, it increases Saint Elizabeth’s joy to help us triumph. Let us pray:
O My God, Trinity whom I adore, help me to forget myself entirely so as to be established in you as still and as peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to disturb my peace, nor make me depart from you, o my Unchanging One, but may each moment carry me further into the depths of your Mystery. Pacify my soul, make it your heaven, your beloved abode, your resting place. May I never leave you there alone, but may I be entirely present, my faith completely ready, wholly adoring, fully surrendered to your creative action.
O my beloved Christ, crucified by love, I would like to be a bride for your heart. I would like to cover you with glory, I would like to love you… unto death. I feel my powerlessness, however, and I ask you to clothe me with yourself, to identify my soul with all the movements of your soul, to defeat me, to overwhelm me, to substitute yourself for me, that my life might be but the radiation of your Life. Come into me as Adorer, as Healer, as Savior. O Eternal Word, Word of my God, I want to spend my life listening to you, I want to be completely docile, ready to learn everything from you. Then, through all nights, all voids, all weakness, I want to fixate on you always and to remain under your great light. O My beloved Star, fascinate me so that I would not be able to forsake your shining light.
O Consuming Flame, Spirit of love, come over me until my soul is render into an incarnation of the Word; may I be for Him another humanity in which he renews His whole Mystery.
And you, O Father, bend over your little creature, cover her with your shadow, and see in her only the Beloved in whom You are well-pleased.
O my Three, my All, my Beatitude, Infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I loose myself, I surrender myself as prey. Bury yourself in me in order that I might bury myself in you, while waiting to contemplate in your light the immeasurable depths of your grandeur.
Amen
The Novena to St. Elizabeth of the Trinity is authored by Dr. Anthony Lilles S.T.D.
Day Three – For the Grace that makes our sins into a source of humility
Today we ask Saint Elizabeth to intercede for us against the temptation to be discouraged by our sins. It is possible to take sin too lightly, to not realize the great price that was paid so that we might live as sons and daughters of God. It is also possible to allow our awareness of sin to discourage us, even to the point of abandoning prayer. Saint Elizabeth is adamant that we should never abandon prayer, that even our awareness of sin can help us go deeper into the silence in which the Lord wants to heal and transform us. This is because she keeps her eyes fixed on “God, who is rich in mercy.”
Those who keep the mercy of God before them never grow tired of confessing their sins and deepening their life of conversion. Mercy is love that suffers the misery of another, and Christ has justified us by suffering the misery of our sin for our sake. He has rescued our dignity and given us standing before the Father by accepting the consequences of our sin out of love for us and dying for us. This is the reason that Saint Elizabeth refers to Christ “crucified by love.” As long as we keep our eyes fixed on this love, rather than discourage us, our sins can become occasions for gratitude to the Lord and confidence in the immensity of His devotion to us.
Saint Elizabeth says that the Lord has found a way to convert our sins into instruments of salvation. This does not diminish the horror that we should have for sin. It opens up, instead, a source of humility. We are a little more free from self-love when we accept how broken we are and how much we need God’s love. Less self-satisfied, we discover in our hearts a new openness to die to ourselves and to live the life that the Lord would have for us instead. Whenever we humbly repent of what we have done and turn with confidence to the Lord, He is ready to give us peace and help us to begin again.
In her mission, Saint Elizabeth wants us to plunge into humility before the mercy of God. She does not want us to be discouraged by sin, but with a simple movement of love and confidence to confess it, to feel sorrow over it, and to humbly work to repair the damage that we have done. Instead of being pre-occupied with personal failure or even the hurt we have caused, we must see how God is turning even our weakness into a new kind of wisdom. We must allow God to love us in this way. Saint Elizabeth explains, “Love rebuilds what you have destroyed.”
O My God, Trinity whom I adore, help me to forget myself entirely so as to be established in you as still and as peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to disturb my peace, nor make me depart from you, o my Unchanging One, but may each moment carry me further into the depths of your Mystery. Pacify my soul, make it your heaven, your beloved abode, your resting place. May I never leave you there alone, but may I be entirely present, my faith completely ready, wholly adoring, fully surrendered to your creative action.
O my beloved Christ, crucified by love, I would like to be a bride for your heart. I would like to cover you with glory, I would like to love you… unto death. I feel my powerlessness, however, and I ask you to clothe me with yourself, to identify my soul with all the movements of your soul, to defeat me, to overwhelm me, to substitute yourself for me, that my life might be but the radiation of your Life. Come into me as Adorer, as Healer, as Savior. O Eternal Word, Word of my God, I want to spend my life listening to you, I want to be completely docile, ready to learn everything from you. Then, through all nights, all voids, all weakness, I want to fixate on you always and to remain under your great light. O My beloved Star, fascinate me so that I would not be able to forsake your shining light.
O Consuming Flame, Spirit of love, come over me until my soul is render into an incarnation of the Word; may I be for Him another humanity in which he renews His whole Mystery.
And you, O Father, bend over your little creature, cover her with your shadow, and see in her only the Beloved in whom You are well-pleased.
O my Three, my All, my Beatitude, Infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I loose myself, I surrender myself as prey. Bury yourself in me in order that I might bury myself in you, while waiting to contemplate in your light the immeasurable depths of your grandeur.
Amen
The Novena to St. Elizabeth of the Trinity is authored by Dr. Anthony Lilles S.T.D.
Day Two – For the grace to give our hearts to Jesus
Saint Elizabeth wants us to give our heart to Jesus, to enter into a prayer so deep and beautiful, that we hear Him ask for it. She invites us to hear the Word of the Father speak to our souls the way the Samaritan Woman heard Christ speak to hers. Our Lord wants adorers “in spirit and truth.”
For Saint Elizabeth, Jesus is the great Adorer, and he wants us to become what He is. When we look at how He adored the Father, we see that his prayer was not a good intention or a nice wish, but a lived reality. What Christ offered to the Father in the silence of prayer, He gave up on the Cross for our sake. His whole existence became an act of worship and spiritual sacrifice.
This means that to be an adorer in “truth,” we must also live out the truth in our actions. We must give Jesus the gift of our hearts not only in our words and intentions but our actions as well. Here, however, our weaknesses seem to hinder us. The truth is that God loves us, and He does so, even in the face of our sins. Christ-crucified lived in the love of the Father, even as He took on the consequences of our sins to show us that God’s love is greater than sin. Everything for Jesus was done out of love for the Father. For us to be adorers in truth, we must, like Christ, live in God’s love – until every decision, every action is carried out in that love, by that love, and for that love. Even in the midst of difficult trials, our actions must be Christ-like – just as Jesus Christ lived by complete confidence in the Father, we must live in complete confidence in Him.
How do we acquire this is childlike posture before the Lord? Saint Elizabeth wants to help us spend time in the silence of prayer. Trying to stay in this silence is difficult. We must face our tendencies to brood over injuries or else simply not deal with the interior pain that we carry. Silence wasted on such interior rancor is dangerous. Saint Elizabeth describes another kind of silence, and it this silence that we must seek in prayer by renouncing every thought or feeling or fantasy that is not worthy of it. Each renunciation deepens childlike confidence and trust. The greater this trust, the deeper the silence God guides us into. She describes this silence as allowing the Lord to sit us on His knee and caress us like a mother comforts her child — an image from Isaiah. Throughout the trials and difficulties in life, the silent and tender love of God surrounds us and is completely present to us. This is the same love that gave Christ the strength to die for us. Now the Trinity gently offers it to strengthen us, too. In the silence of prayer, we can hear and respond to God’s gentle invitation, “Give me your heart.”
The spiritual mission of Saint Elizabeth is to keep us in the deep silence in which we can hear this tender voice. So that she might help us give our hearts in the stillness of this immense love, let us pray:
O My God, Trinity whom I adore, help me to forget myself entirely so as to be established in you as still and as peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to disturb my peace, nor make me depart from you, o my Unchanging One, but may each moment carry me further into the depths of your Mystery. Pacify my soul, make it your heaven, your beloved abode, your resting place. May I never leave you there alone, but may I be entirely present, my faith completely ready, wholly adoring, fully surrendered to your creative action.
O my beloved Christ, crucified by love, I would like to be a bride for your heart. I would like to cover you with glory, I would like to love you… unto death. I feel my powerlessness, however, and I ask you to clothe me with yourself, to identify my soul with all the movements of your soul, to defeat me, to overwhelm me, to substitute yourself for me, that my life might be but the radiation of your Life. Come into me as Adorer, as Healer, as Savior. O Eternal Word, Word of my God, I want to spend my life listening to you, I want to be completely docile, ready to learn everything from you. Then, through all nights, all voids, all weakness, I want to fixate on you always and to remain under your great light. O My beloved Star, fascinate me so that I would not be able to forsake your shining light.
O Consuming Flame, Spirit of love, come over me until my soul is render into an incarnation of the Word; may I be for Him another humanity in which he renews His whole Mystery.
And you, O Father, bend over your little creature, cover her with your shadow, and see in her only the Beloved in whom You are well-pleased.
O my Three, my All, my Beatitude, Infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I loose myself, I surrender myself as prey. Bury yourself in me in order that I might bury myself in you, while waiting to contemplate in your light the immeasurable depths of your grandeur.
Amen
The Novena to St. Elizabeth of the Trinity is authored by Dr. Anthony Lilles S.T.D.
“The pilgrim Church on earth lifts its gaze to Heaven and exultantly joins the choir of those with whom God shares his glory. It is the communion of saints!”
Prayer for the Intercession of St. John Paul II
O Blessed Trinity, we thank you
for having graced the Church with
Saint John Paul II and for allowing
the tenderness of your fatherly care,
the glory of the Cross of Christ
and the splendor of the Spirit of love
to shine through him.
Trusting fully in your infinite mercy
and in the maternal intercession of Mary,
he has given us a living image of
Jesus the Good Shepherd.
He has shown us that holiness
is the necessary measure of ordinary
Christian life and is the way of
achieving eternal communion with you.
Grant us, by his intercession,
and according to your will,
the graces we implore,
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Prayer composed by St. John Paul II
Jesus said…”Abide in Me, and I in you…for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
I leave you now with this prayer: that the Lord Jesus will reveal Himself to each one of you, that He will give you the strength to go out and profess that you are Christian, that He will show you that He alone can fill your hearts. Accept His freedom and embrace His truth, and be messengers of the certainty that you have been truly liberated through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. This will be the new experience, the powerful experience, that will generate, through you, a more just society and a better world.
God bless you and may the joy of Jesus be always with you!
“Thus the great gift of redemption – our being ‘brought forth’ to divine life – is a mighty work of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It must be received by us in faith. It must be lived. It must be proclaimed.”
Prayer for the Intercession of St. John Paul II
O Blessed Trinity, we thank you
for having graced the Church with
Saint John Paul II and for allowing
the tenderness of your fatherly care,
the glory of the Cross of Christ
and the splendor of the Spirit of love
to shine through him.
Trusting fully in your infinite mercy
and in the maternal intercession of Mary,
he has given us a living image of
Jesus the Good Shepherd.
He has shown us that holiness
is the necessary measure of ordinary
Christian life and is the way of
achieving eternal communion with you.
Grant us, by his intercession,
and according to your will,
the graces we implore,
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Prayer composed by St. John Paul II
Thanksgiving for the Eucharist
For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast!
O Christ the Savior, we give You thanks for Your redeeming sacrifice, the only hope of men!
O Christ the Savior, we give You thanks for the eucharistic breaking of bread, which You instituted in order to really meet Your brothers, in the course of the centuries!
Christ the Savior, put into the hearts of the baptized the desire to offer themselves with You and to commit themselves for the salvation of their brothers!
You who are really present in the Blessed Sacrament, spread Your blessings abundantly on Your people…Amen.
