Dear friends, please join us offering this 9-Day Novena for the upcoming
surgery of our son Thomas Lauer beginning on October 24th (Feast of St.
Raphael) and ending on November 1st (Feast of All Saints). Thomas's
gastrointestinal reconstruction surgery is scheduled for 7:00 a.m. on November
2nd, the Feast of All Souls. We offer this novena to our Blessed Mother
Mary under the title of Our Lady of Lourdes and in the name of Jesus Christ for
the divine protection over Thomas and all of his medical team. This
novena includes prayers to Saints who either cared for the sick in life or were
afflicted by or died due to some sort of illness. All are known to work
healing miracles among God’s Faithful People. Prayer is our greatest weapon,
not only against worldly evils such as maladies, but also against that greater
sickness of sin. Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for and heal us for the glory
of your Son, Jesus! Amen.
- Chris and Katherine Lauer
Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes and Nine Healing Saints for Thomas
Lauer
The Catholic Church celebrates the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes,
recalling a series of 18 appearances that the Blessed Virgin Mary made to a
14-year-old French peasant girl, Saint Bernadette Soubirous. The Marian
apparitions began Feb. 11, 1858, ended July 16 that year and received the local
bishop's approval after a four-year inquiry. Coming soon after the 1854
dogmatic definition of her Immaculate Conception, the Virgin Mary's appearances
at Lourdes turned the town into a popular travel destination. Thousands of
people say their medical conditions have been cured through pilgrimage, prayer
and the water flowing from a spring to which Bernadette was directed by the
Blessed Virgin. Experts have verified 69 cases of miraculous healing at Lourdes
since 1862.
Day 1 (Sunday, October 24th Feast of St. Raphael):
Our Lady of Lourdes, chosen from all eternity to be the Mother of the
Eternal Word and in virtue of being the Immaculate Conception, we kneel before
you as did young Bernadette at Lourdes and pray with childlike trust in you
that as we contemplate your glorious appearance at Lourdes, you will look with
mercy on our present petition and secure for us a favorable answer to the
request for which we are making this novena.
St. Raphael the Archangel: One of the three
Archangels mentioned in Sacred Scripture, St Raphael is “one of the seven who
stand before the Lord” (Tobit 12:15). His name means, “God heals”. St. Raphael
is best known for his appearance in the book of Tobit, in which, disguised as a
human, he aids the young Tobiah on a journey to Media. On this journey, St
Raphael liberates Sarah, Tobiah’s betrothed, from a demon who killed her seven
previous husbands on their wedding night. Upon their return, he heals Tobiah’s
father Tobit of his blindness. Due to his role of healing in the Book of Tobit,
St. Raphael is traditionally attributed as the Angel of the Lord in John
Chapter 5, who moves the healing waters of the pool of Bethsaida. His feast
falls on September 29th.
O Glorious Archangel St. Raphael, great prince of the heavenly court, you
are illustrious for your gifts of wisdom and grace. You are a guide of those
who journey by land or sea or air, consoler of the afflicted, and refuge of
sinners. We beg you, assist us in all our needs and in all the sufferings of
this life, as once you helped the young Tobias on his travels. Because you are
the “medicine of God” we humbly pray you to heal the many infirmities of our
souls and the ills that afflict our bodies. We especially ask of you the favor
of (healing for Thomas Lauer), and the great grace of purity to prepare us to
be the temple of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Followed by the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
Day 2 (Monday, October 25th):
We give you thanks, Almighty God, for sending your Blessed Mother to the
Grotto of Lourdes, saying to Saint Bernadette: I am the Immaculate Conception.
O Immaculate Mary, inflame our hearts with one ray of the burning love of your
pure heart. Let them be consumed with love for Jesus and for you, in order that
we may merit one day to enjoy your glorious eternity. O dispenser of His graces
here below, take into your keeping and present to your Divine Son the petition
for which we are making this novena.
St Roch was marked with a red cross on his chest
at birth. When his parents died he inherited great wealth which he gave to the
poor and devoted his life to helping the plague-stricken and sick. His
miraculous powers were known to have cured many with the, “Sign of the cross”.
He is Patron Saint of plague victims. His Feast Day is 16th August.
O Blessed St Roch, Patron of the sick, have pity on those who lie upon a bed
of suffering. Your power was so great when you were in this world, that by the
sign of the Cross, many were healed of their diseases. Now that you are in
heaven, your power is no less. Offer to God our sighs and tears and obtain for
us the physical and spiritual health we seek: (healing for Thomas). This
we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. St. Roch, pray for us, that
we may be relieved from all diseases of body and soul. Lord Jesus, may
thy will be done.
Followed by the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary
Day 3 (Tuesday, October 26th):
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. O star
of sanctity, as on that day in Lourdes you spoke to Bernadette and a fountain
sprang forth from the ground, bringing with it miracles from our Lord. Now I
beseech you to hear our fervent prayer and grant us the petition we now so earnestly
seek.
St. Luke: Hailing from the ancient city of
Antioch, Syria, Luke was a Roman whose early conversion to Christianity is
evidenced by his membership in the Christian community of Antioch, after
meeting Paul. He became the Church’s most articulate historian, writing both
his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Luke, a physician whose skills
healed many of his suffering comrades, joined St. Paul on his second missionary
journey, as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. He was later to display a considerable
talent as an artist whose icon of the Virgin Mary he gave to the Mother of God
herself and which is now the prized possession of the Patriarchate of
Constantinople. Although his skill as a physician and his talent as an artist
may have by themselves given St. Luke a small place in history, it was his
consummate gift as a writer that made him one of the greatest figures in all
Christendom. It is known that he remained unmarried all of his life,
devoting himself to the utmost degree to the cause of Christ. When advancing
years curbed his campaigning, he withdrew to write his memorable accounts and
died in Thebes at the age of eighty-four. The winged ox, assigned to St. Luke,
is a reference to his Gospel, which deals with the sacrificial aspects of Christ's
life. St. Luke’s Feast Day is October 18th.
Most charming and saintly Physician, you were animated by the heavenly
Spirit of love. In faithfully detailing the humanity of Jesus, you also showed
his divinity and his genuine compassion for all human beings. Inspire our
physicians with your professionalism and with the divine compassion for their
patients. Enable them to cure the ills of both body and spirit that afflict so
many in our day (especially Thomas Lauer). Amen.
Almighty God, who didst inspire thy servant Luke the physician to set forth
in the Gospel the love and healing power of thy Son: Graciously continue in thy
Church the like love and power to heal, to the praise and glory of thy Name;
through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with
thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Followed by the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
Day 4 (Wednesday, October 27th):
Queen of Heaven, we your wayward children join our unworthy prayers of praise
and thanksgiving to those of the angels and saints and your own. We pray the
Holy Trinity may be glorified in heaven and on earth. Our Lady of Lourdes, as
you looked down with love and mercy upon Bernadette as she prayed her rosary in
the grotto, look down now, we beseech you, with love and mercy upon us. Obtain
for us the graces from your Divine Son and dispense them to us in in our needs,
in particular for the special favor we seek in this novena.
Sts. Cosmas and Damian suffered martyrdom in
Syria during the Roman persecution of Diocletian, around A.D. 303. Tradition
says they were twin brothers and medical doctors, and have been honored since
the 6th century. These brothers never charged a fee for their medical services.
They are patron Saints of physicians, surgeons, pharmacists, and the
sick. Their Feast Day is September 26th and their names are in
the Roman Canon of the Mass.
O Physicians of souls, Saints Cosmas and Damian, stand before the Lord of
All and ask Him to heal us and all those dear to us of any spiritual ills we
may endure. Drive away from us all sin and sadness of mind, all darkness
and despair. Make us then willing and loving servants of Christ, following your
holy example of detachment from the things of this world and care for the needs
of our neighbors. On the glorious day of the Universal Resurrection may we
shine with you in the full health of our nature restored by the mercies of
Jesus who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
O glorious martyrs of Christ, Saints Cosmas and Damian, you gave your lives
for the love of God, benefiting your fellow man, and crowning your martyrdom
with an open and loyal profession of your faith. You taught us to love God
above all things, and to love our fellow man as ourselves, professing always,
and without fear, the religion of Jesus. Augmenting amongst the faithful
populace many miracles, you are glorious indeed. Through your intercession,
which brings about deliverance of these miracles, we pray to you for your aid
in all things. May your patronage never be far from us in the illness of our
body and soul. O great protectors, Saints Cosmas & Damian, assist us with
your love and free us from all evils. Amen.
Followed by the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
Day 5 (Thursday, October 28th):
O Mother of God and our mother, from the heights of your dignity look down
mercifully upon us while we, full of confidence in your unbounded goodness and
confident that your Divine Son will look favorably upon any request you make of
Him in our behalf, beseech you to come to our aid and secure for us the favor
we seek in this novena.
St. Elizabeth of Hungary St. Elizabeth was born in
Hungary in 1207. Her father was the king of Hungary. As royalty, St.
Elizabeth’s “call” to married life was determined early on. Her marriage to
Ludwig IV of Thuringia was decided when she was only four years old. She and
Ludwig were married in 1221 and had a loving marriage. They had three children
together. St. Elizabeth longed for simplicity, however. She wanted to simply
live a quiet life with her family and devote herself to serving the poor. She
would deliver bread to the poor each day. She also built a hospital. She even
gave away royal clothing to about 1,000 poor people. Six years after they were
married, Ludwig died. St. Elizabeth resolved not to remarry but decided to live
as a nun would. With the money from her dowry, St. Elizabeth created a hospital
and became a Third Order Franciscan. She continued to serve the poor tirelessly
until her death at the age of 24 in 1231. St. Elizabeth of Hungary’s Feast Day
is November 17.
St. Elizabeth, your heart was moved with compassion for all those who
suffered. You even set up two hospitals to care for your beloved poor. We know
so many people who are sick or suffering – illness is all around us. St.
Elizabeth, please intercede on their behalf. Pray to God to ease their pain and
bring them comfort. Help them to use their suffering to become closer to
Christ. Please also inspire in us a compassionate heart. Encourage us to help
all those who are sick. Sometimes it feels like the world’s problems must all
be solved by a single person, a single cure. Yet we know that even simply
offering a kind word, a prepared meal, or a ride to the doctor can be the
actions that help change the world. All it takes is one person. God, we know
that You work all things for our good, and that You have a plan that we cannot
see. We ask for the healing of all of these people, through the intercession of
St. Elizabeth of Hungary: (healing for Thomas Lauer). But we will trust
in Your will for them. If it is Your will that they do not get better, we beg
You for their comfort. May their suffering bring them closer to You! Amen.
Followed by the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary
Day 6 (Friday, October 29th):
O Blessed Mother, so powerful under your title of Our Lady of Lourdes, to
you we raise our hearts and hands to implore your powerful intercession in
obtaining from the gracious Heart of Jesus all the helps and graces necessary
for our spiritual and temporal welfare and for the special favor we so
earnestly seek in this novena.
St. Gerlach of Valkenberg was a 12th-century
Dutch hermit. Originally a licentious soldier and brigand, Gerlach became a
pious Christian upon the death of his wife and went on pilgrimage to Rome and
Jerusalem. At Rome, he nursed the sick for seven years. He also performed rites
of penance for the sins of his youth. Upon returning to the Netherlands, he
gave up all of his possessions to the poor and took up residence in a hollow
oak on his former estate. Legend states that when Gerlach had done enough
penance, water from the local well transformed itself into wine three times as
a sign that his sins had been forgiven. He died shortly after, barely fifty.
O glorious St. Gerlach, you repented from a life of sin and cared for the
sick in body and soul. Through a life of simplicity and penance you traded your
earthly life for a heavenly one. Obtain for us, we pray you, lively faith, firm
hope and burning love; patience in adversity, humility in prosperity,
recollection in prayer, purity of heart, a right intention in all my works,
diligence in fulfilling the duties of our state of life, constancy in our
resolutions, resignation to the will of God and perseverance in the grace of
God even unto death, and, by your intercession and your glorious merits we
entrust to you this special favor we now ask... (especially healing for Thomas
Lauer) We ask this through Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with God the
Father and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
Followed by the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
Day 7 (Saturday, October 30th):
Father in Heaven, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin
Mary did prepare a worthy dwelling place for your Son, we humbly beseech you
that as we contemplate the apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes, we may be blessed
with health of mind and body. O most gracious Mother Mary, beloved Mother of
Our Redeemer, look with favor upon us as you did that day on Bernadette and
intercede with Him for us that the favor we now so earnestly seek may be
granted to us.
St. Frances of Rome was born in Rome in
1384. She was married and had three children. After the plague
swept through Rome and left one of Frances’ sons dead, she began to turn more
to charitable work. Frances gave up all her wealth to the sick and poor and
began to go door to door raising money to aid the sick and poor. After the
plague claimed Frances’ daughter, she opened up a wing of her home as a hospital
for the poor. As Frances became more deeply involved in charitable work, she
began to realize the great need for it in the world and began to seek
permission from the pope to form a charitable society of women to do this work.
After setting up the foundation of this society, Frances continued to live with
her husband until his death. After his death Frances lived the remainder of her
life with the society that she formed. During epidemics it was difficult
to find not only doctors to care for the sick, but even priests to provide the
Sacraments, so Frances herself would seek out priests and bring them to those
disposed to receive the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. In order
to have a priest more readily available to assist her in her apostolate, she
supported, at her own expense, a priest who would go to the hospitals and visit
the sick whom she had designated.
O almighty and eternal God, in Saint Frances of Rome You have given us a
model of holiness, in married life and of monastic conversion. By Your
hand-maid’s aid, may we know, love and serve You with all perseverance and
fortitude, so that in all circumstances, we may fix our gaze upon You alone,
follow Your Only-begotten Son, and faithfully carry our cross with gratitude.
O glorious Saint Frances of Rome, by the abundant merits you gained by
suffering for Christ and His Church, and through your powerful intercession,
help us gain that knowledge which discerns the difference between our own
malevolent will and the holy will of God. Help us gain the wisdom to abhor our
own self-love and instead desire what God desires.
Followed by the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
Day 8 (Sunday, October 31st, Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ the
King):
O Mary our Queen, from heaven itself you came to appear to Bernadette in the
Grotto of Lourdes! And as Bernadette knelt at your feet and the miraculous
spring burst forth, O Mother of God, we kneel before you today to ask that in
your mercy you plead with your Divine Son to grant the special favor we seek in
this novena.
St. Aloysius Gonzaga was born in northern Italy
in 1568. He had six younger siblings, and his parents were members of the
nobility. Aloysius spent much of his youth witnessing brutality and violence
around him, including the murder of two of his brothers. When Aloysius was
eight years old, he was sent to serve at the court of the Grand Duke Francesco
I de’ Medici. During this time, Aloysius became ill with a disease in his
kidneys. While ill, he began to read about the saints and to devote time to
prayer. It is said that he even took a private vow of chastity when he was nine
years old. As he grew older, Aloysius began more seriously considering
religious life and the priesthood. He decided to join the Jesuits, and his
mother agreed. His father was furious and forbade him to pursue this vocation.
Aloysius chose to give up all rights to his inheritance to become a Jesuit
priest. As a Jesuit novice in Rome, he began suffering from further health
problems, including skin disease, chronic headaches, and insomnia. He took his
vows in 1587, and he began studying for his ordination. In 1591, a plague broke
out in Rome, and Aloysius’ order opened a hospital for the sick. Though
Aloysius cared for them diligently, his superiors soon forbade him, since many
had become infected with the plague. But Aloysius persisted in asking to return
until his request was granted. He eventually contracted the disease himself. He
died while looking at the crucifix and attempting to say the name of Jesus. St.
Aloysius Gonzaga’s Feast Day is June 21st.
Venerable old age is not that of long time, nor counted by the number of
years: but the understanding of man is grey hairs; and a spotless life is old
age (Wisdom 4:8, 9). And therefore, Aloysius, when thou wast seen sacrificing
thy life so blithely for the sick and the pestiferous. Cease not, O dearest
Saint, to aid us in the midst of so many miseries; lend a kindly hand to each
and all. Aloysius, look compassionately on those who have not imitated thine
innocence, and obtain that they may yet follow thee in the example of thy
penance. Amen.
Followed by the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
Day 9 (Monday, November 1st, Feast of All Saints):
Immaculate Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, to you we raise our hearts to
implore your intercession in obtaining from the benign Heart of Jesus all the
graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly for the
grace of a happy death. O Mother of our Divine Lord, graciously pray for us as
we conclude this novena for the special favor we seek at this time.
St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) was born
Gonxha (Agnes) Bojaxhiu in Yugoslavia. She was the youngest, with an other
sister and brother. Her father died suddenly when she was only 7. At 18 years
old, Gonxha decided to join the Loreto Sisters of Dublin, missionaries and
educators founded to educate young girls. When she made her first vows she
chose the name Teresa, honoring both saints Teresa of Avila and Therese of
Lisieux. One day, she was riding a train on route to a retreat when she said
that Christ spoke to her and told her to abandon teaching to work in the slums
of Calcutta aiding the city’s poorest and sickest people. She began an open-air
school and established a home for the dying destitute. She, then, founded a new
congregation called the Missionaries of Charity. Mother Teresa’s tireless work
and service resulted in the establishment of a leper colony, an orphanage, a
nursing home, a family clinic and a string of mobile health clinics. Numerous
honors had been awarded to her throughout the years. Most notably, she was
awarded Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her work “in bringing help to
suffering humanity.” She died in 1997 at the age of 87.
Holy and loving St. Teresa, the love of Jesus on the Cross became a living
flame within you, and so you became the light of His love to all those who are
sick, elderly, dying and unwanted. Help us to stay with people who are
suffering as you did. So that we may have eyes to see the sick, elderly and
dying and give us helpful hands to care for them. St. Teresa, as you loved and
served Jesus through your work upon earth, we humbly ask that you continue your
work in Heaven and intercede for us in our needs… (especially healing for
Thomas Lauer). Teach us to allow Jesus to fill us so completely that our lives
my also radiate His light and love to others. Amen.
Followed by the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary
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