In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Hymn
O more than blessed, merit high attaining,
Pure as the snow-drift, knowing no defilement,
Mightiest martyr, dweller in the desert,
Greatest of prophets.
Thirty-fold increase some with glory crowneth;
Others, with sixty, double meed attain to;
His triple chaplet who an hundred beareth,
Holy one, decks thee.
O may the virtue of thine intercession,
Make our hearts ready, change their stony hardness,
Smooth the rough places, and the crooked straighten,
For Christ’s blest coming.
Thus may our gracious Maker and Redeemer,
Seeking a station for his hallowed footsteps,
Find it within us, pure and undefiled,
Meet for his coming.
Now, as the Angels celebrate thy praises,
God everlasting, Trinity, Co-equal,
Spare thy redeemed ones, as they bow before thee,
Pardon imploring.
Amen.
Novena Prayer
Precursor of our divine Lord, destined by the Eternal One to prepare his ways, your seat must be high in Heaven, for on earth you were truly exalted. You have been pronounced the greatest of those born of woman, by the great Searcher of hearts. Your miraculous birth and extraordinary life, your austere penance and burning zeal, proclaim you great; and were all these wanting, your purity and profound humility would point you out as one truly exalted. When you came into the world, you came as the friend of your Creator; and whilst on earth, you never offended him. Though you administered baptism to Jesus Christ, you still confessed, with due humility, that you were not worthy to loose the fastenings of his shoe. As the reward of your humility, Christ himself has praised you, and the whole world to the end of time will glory in your birth. In you we behold a miracle of God’s grace and power; and we implore you to raise in our behalf that glorious voice, which, from the wilderness, pierced the heavens, and was heard at the throne of the Most High. We beg of you to implore for us the intentions we seek (name them)
O, holy Anchoret, whom the Saviour ardently loved, take me under your special protection. Obtain for me the graces I stand in need of, and, more especially, perfect obedience to the voice of those who preach to us the necessity of true penance. O you who were a burning fire, obtain for us, through your powerful intercession, a portion of that which is enkindled by the preaching of those whom God has commissioned to point out to us the way to eternal happiness. Teach us to know ourselves, teach us to know our God, and his son Jesus Christ our Lord. Obtain for us that we may be frequent and worthy partakers of the Holy Communion. Grant that we may approach with that angelic purity which enabled you to discover the Lamb of God, though he was then unknown to the world. O Holy Martyr of Jesus, though I am not worthy to shed my blood for him as you have, I implore to intercede for me, that I may live and die in the practice of Christian penance, and in the faithful observance of every duty which the law of God imposes on me.
Litany of St. John the Baptist
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary *
Queen of Prophets*
Queen of Martyrs*
Saint John the Baptist*
St. John the Baptist, precursor of Christ*
St. John the Baptist, glorious forerunner of the Sun of Justice*
St. John the Baptist, minister of baptism to Jesus*
St. John the Baptist, burning and shining lamp of the world*
St. John the Baptist, angel of purity before thy birth*
St. John the Baptist, special friend and favorite of Christ*
St. John the Baptist, heavenly contemplative, whose element was prayer*
St. John the Baptist, intrepid preacher of truth*
St. John the Baptist, voice crying in the wilderness*
St. John the Baptist, miracle of mortification and penance*
St. John the Baptist, example of profound humility*
St. John the Baptist, glorious martyr of zeal for God’s holy law*
St. John the Baptist, gloriously fulfilling thy mission*
*pray for us
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world
spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world
graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world
have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
V. Pray for us, O glorious John the Baptist
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us Pray:
O God, Who has honored this world by the birth of Saint John the Baptist, grant that your faithful people may rejoice in the way of eternal salvation, through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
