Novena to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart National Shrine O.L.S.H. Church, Randwick

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1 Benediction: Down in adoration falling this great sacrament we hail. Ancient types have long departed, Newer rites of grace prevail. Faith for all defects supplying, where the feeble senses fail. Novena to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart National Shrine O.L.S.H. Church, Randwick O.L.S.H. Shrine, Issoudun France Glory let us give and blessing, To the Father and the Son. Honour, might and praise addressing While eternal ages run. Equal praise to thee confessing Who proceeds from both as one. Amen. Leader: May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be everywhere loved. All: Forever! Leader: Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. All: Pray for us. V. You have given them bread from heaven. R. Having in itself all delight. Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, we worship you living among us In the sacrament of your body and blood. May we offer to our Father in heaven a solemn pledge of undivided love. May we offer to our brothers and sisters a life poured out in loving service of that kingdom where you live with the Father and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. All: Amen. The Divine Praises: Blessed be God. Blessed be his Holy Name. Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man. Blessed be the Name of Jesus, Blessed be his most Sacred Heart. Blessed be his most Precious Blood. Blessed be Jesus in the holy sacrament of the altar. Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete. Blessed be the mother of God, Mary most holy. Blest be her holy and immaculate conception. Blessed be her glorious assumption. Blessed be the name of Mary, virgin and mother. Blessed be St Joseph her chaste spouse. Blessed be God in his Angels and in His Saints. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. All: Jesus, we adore you present with us in the Blessed Sacrament. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, we wish to be one with you as we pray to your Son. You were with him at Bethlehem, Nazareth, Calvary; it is only right that we should think of you, together with him, handing on our prayers to him, and handing to us his graces. Help us to follow his example, and become more and more like Jesus. Encourage us to be always ready to help others as you did for Elizabeth. Help us to be aware of the needs of others as you were at Cana. Teach us to be as courageous as you were on Calvary, and to have the same spirit of faith, of prayer, of hope which you showed throughout your life. Your whole life is summed up in the words: Be it done to me according to your Word. I want this to be my way of life too. Help me to accept God s plan for my life, whatever it might be. (Adapted from St Marcellin Champagnat)

2 2 1. In you our flesh he had to come, You grounded him upon our earth. Your feet that walked, your womb that held, Your pain that brought this love to birth. The Sacred Heart of Him you held, Can grieve and grow within the space, Of patient love and listening, A mother s choice, a mystic s grace. Day One: Woman of Faith HYMN: Woman of the Sacred Heart James Maher MSC 3. O Woman of the Sacred Heart, You heard the words of Gabriel, Pray we may hear the call of God And come to meet Emmanuel. His truth is witnessed in your face, That he became and was and is, The Sacred Heart, the resting place, Our hearts forever held in his. 2. In your delight, in your despair, The smallest choices of each day; The cost to you, your hope-filled yes, Your courage lived shows us the way. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Eternal sign of God s surprise, In you we know the poor as blessed, This world transformed before our eyes. Fr Chevalier, in honouring Mary with the new title Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, wanted to express all aspects of the relationship between Jesus and His mother, the one chosen by God, through whom the Son would form the human heart of God. This Heart where God works such wonders and from which he receives so much love; this Heart which reunites so many wonderful things, where heaven and earth meet with a kiss of peace; this Heart from which life flows and to which life returns; this Heart, the centre of creation, is the Heart of Your Son. It is you who have given this to heaven and to God. May you be blessed in time. May you be blessed in eternity, O Mary. (Jules Chevalier) Meditation: Mary s magnificat her song of praise focuses on the great source of true joy: loving obedience to the will of our loving God. If we really want to be fully happy, we too, should look towards God. We see what God has done through Mary a simple, poor young woman from a poor country. Nothing is impossible to God be glad and rejoice. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, let our joy abound from a life centred on the love of Jesus. May we always give joy to those we meet. As evangelised people, may we promote happiness and joy in the world so often full of bad news. Woman of joy, pray for us. The concluding prayers are below. Concluding the Memorare to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. Remember, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, The great things the Lord has done for you. He chose you for his mother; He wanted you close to his cross. He gives you a share in his glory. He listens to your prayer. Offer him our prayers of praise and thanksgiving. Present our petitions to Him. ( Pause to recall your petitions) Let us live like you in the love of your Son So that his Kingdom may come. Lead all people to the source of living water that flows from his heart, Spreading over the world hope and salvation, justice and peace. See our trust in you; answer our prayer. Show yourself always our Mother. Amen. Exposition concludes with Benediction. As the Blessed Sacrament is taken back to the Tabernacle, the Petition and Thanks boxes are also taken to be placed near the altar for the duration of Mass. 11

3 10 Meditation: As a devout Jewess, Mary prayed seven times a day. She taught her boy, Jesus, how to pray. She prayed reflectively, for the Gospel tells us she pondered all these things in her heart. She worked and lived her life in a spirit of prayer. Turn to God, present with you, and love Him. You may not feel his presence; but desire Him, give yourself to Him, love Him, and you are experiencing God. Mary, intercede for us that we will have a great desire for prayer and that we will link all our life with prayer. May we always pray with confident faith as your Son told us: ask and you will receive. May we show the love of your Son for us by expressing our thanks for the great abundance and variety of gifts with which he blesses us. Woman of prayer, pray for us. 3 Scripture: Lk 1:26-38 the Annunciation Blessed is she who believed that the promises made to her would be fulfilled. Meditation: When the angel approached Mary to be the mother of Jesus, she was afraid. But she talked with the angel on how this could come about. She then consented fully and gave a wholehearted yes to what God was asking of her. Mary, so often we are afraid in one way or another. Do not let our fears block us from becoming the people you want us to become and from doing the things you want us to do. Do not let us be afraid to question. After expressing the feelings in our hearts, let us joyfully put into practice what God is asking of us. Woman of faith, pray for us. Day Nine: Woman of Joy When Mary visited Elizabeth, she responded to her cousin s greeting with the wonderful song of joy: My soul glorifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour. Fr Chevalier, truly caught up in Mary s joy, wrote: Having resolved that the Word would take human nature, God wishes to give him a human mother, but a mother pure and without stain...thus Mary took her place in the divine plan. Then he invites us to share in this joy as he continues: It is to you, Mary, the Ark of God the wonder of all ages, that the eyes of all are turned And so to you all generations will proclaim you blessed. Yes, All will call you blessed for you have brought them life and glory. However, later this experience of joy was tempered with the insight of Simeon, the prophet, in the temple with this ominous glimpse into the future: Behold this child is set for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and as a sign of contradiction, and your own soul will be pierced by a lance. Sorrow in the midst of joy-mary is truly one of us, for that is our lot too. Scripture: Luke 1:46-56 {the Magnificat} The Song of the Virgin Mary: My soul glorifies the Lord and my Spirit rejoices in God, my saviour Day Two: Woman of Hope For all of his life Fr Jules Chevalier lived in difficult times: the ongoing revolutionary period in France saw an often brutal and cold society, while within the Church there was a spirit of severity and fear. Moved profoundly by the theology and spirituality of the Heart of Jesus, Fr Chevalier spoke confidently and simply of Friendship with God in the face of the coldness of his times: Our heart has not only the need to love; it experiences also the need to be loved. Where shall we turn to find a true friend into whose heart we can pour what is overflowing in ours? To whom can we confide our most intimate secrets?... Jesus Christ has a keen desire to be our friend, so let us turn to him, making him our friend. How precious his friendship is! We can count on his fidelity; he will never fail us, not even when we are in the midst of trials, not even on the other side of the tomb. God is a sincere friend. Human beings are not always so...jesus makes no exceptions of persons. No matter what our talents, no matter where we may be or what may have happened to us, his Heart will always be open to receive us, to lavish his love upon us. The greater our misfortune, the more proofs of his sincere friendship there will be. So let us, ( with Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) put our trust in him with the greatest confidence. ( Jules Chevalier MSC)

4 4 Scripture: John 4:10-14 Jesus is the living water. Meditation: At the Second Vatican Council the Bishops spoke of Mary as a sign of sure hope and solace for God s people on their pilgrimage through life. They urged the entire body of the faithful to pour forth persevering prayer to the Mother of God and the mother of people. The words of St Ephrem are also significant: she is the hope of the hopeless. All: Mother of hope, we confidently appeal to you as children to their mother. Lead us to your Son who is the living water of life. Lead us to this water that quenches our thirst and heals us. You who are called the hope of the hopeless lead us from despair to hope. Pray for us that we may bring the Good News of your Son s love to everyone everywhere. Woman of Hope, pray for us. Day Three: Woman of Love One of the first duties of a mother is to provide for all the needs of her children, to love, to nourish, maintain and develop the life she has given to them. Mary s greatest need and deepest desire is to assist God s outpouring of Himself. God is an infinitely abundant spring desiring only to pour out its water. Mary is a blessed channel, desiring only to further this outpouring, and she wants this out of love for us. We are made to live the life of God; and so throughout our whole life there is this hunger for God that God alone can satisfy. Mary continually says; do whatever He tells you. Jesus says, Love one another as I have loved you. (From the writings of Fr.Chevalier.) Scripture: John 2:1-10 (The Wedding at Cana) The mother of Jesus said to Him, they have no wine... Then she said to the servants Do whatever He tells you. Scripture: Zephaniah 3: When that day comes...in your midst I will leave a poor and needy people, and they shall hope in the name of the Lord. Meditation: Mary of Nazareth belonged to this poor and needy people. Her heart was full of humble trust. She did not trust in money, powerful friends, land or education certificates; but as one of Israel s poor and needy, she trusted in the Love of God. We need to be reminded of the harsh facts of poverty, because, although we may not be responsible for placing this burden on people, we do share responsibility for leaving it there. Mary of Nazareth, draw us to trust the love of your Son, first of all by acknowledging that, without Him, we can do nothing. It is your Son who said, Happy are those who know their need of God. Woman of the poor, pray for us. Day Eight: Woman of Prayer The Heart of the Divine Master is the centre on which everything in the Old and New Testament converges, the pivot around which everything in Catholicism turns: The sun of the Church; The soul of our souls; The source of our mysteries; The origin of our sacraments; The pledge of our reconciliation; The salvation of our world; The remedy of our ills. That is how I understand devotion to the Sacred Heart: it embraces everything; it is the answer to everything. (Jules Chevalier, 1862) Scripture: Acts 1:12-14 All the apostles joined in continuous prayer with several women including Mary, the mother of Jesus. 9

5 8 Scripture: Luke 2:51-52 (Jesus and Mary in Nazareth). He then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority. His mother kept all these things in her heart. Meditation: Mary was a mother; she had to look after her family in all sorts of circumstances: in her home, as a refugee, when her son was on the road, and above all at the foot of the cross. She has a mother s awareness of the difficulties we are experiencing; she is anxious to help, without being intrusive. She showed that in the life of her Son, and she shows it now to all of us, for Jesus said on the Cross: Behold your mother. It is for us to work out with Mary what we need, and then we know that she will obtain it from the heart of her Son. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, you formed a loving family. You were united in work, prayer and enjoyment for thirty years. It was from this base that you sent Jesus on the greatest mission of all time. You helped in the process in which Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and people. May parents in our day be supported by your example and prayer. May our children be well cared for, and not be aborted, abandoned, or abused. Woman of the family, pray for us. Day Seven: Woman of the Poor Mary, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, was a woman who understood, and still understands, from experience, what it means to be poor and live among the poor. Yet, she was called by the Lord to the greatest of honours. Fr Chevalier gives us a picture of her: A young woman, poor and unknown, a modest workman for a spouse, and passing her days in silence, work and obscurity, presumes to claim before heaven and earth that all generations will call me blessed. And this she does under a humble roof in a corner of Judea... Yet she was called by God to the greatest of honours. When the shepherd followed the message of the angels, they recognise their Saviour by the coarse swaddling clothes and by the dilapidated stable which serves as a cradle; but what strikes them first is Mary: They found the child with Mary, His mother. It will always be thus: Mary, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, will always lead us to the Heart of Jesus. Meditation: Mary noticed the problem that had arisen at the wedding feast in Cana and drew the attention of Jesus to it. Mary did something and a miracle resulted. She showed love for people in difficulty. For evil to thrive, it is enough for good people to do nothing. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, help us to learn how to really love. May we be healed of our passivity and selfishness and prove our love in practical action. Help us learn that it is a more blessed thing to give than to receive. Lead us from greed to generosity. Remind us of your Son s great love and self-giving. Woman of love, pray for us. Day Four: Woman of Service The angel had greeted Mary as full of grace. The saviour of the world dwells in her womb. And in the goodness of his Heart he has already chosen her to dispense his gifts. In answer to the plans of his divine Heart the blessed virgin does not hesitate to undertake a long and difficult journey. She leaves with haste, says the holy gospel. No matter that the road she has to take is mountainous. The love in the Heart of Jesus urges her on; she does not want to cause any delay. Weariness is nothing for her; the will of God is everything. Do we have the same zeal as Mary to do the good that is within our power? How many excuses we make to avoid doing a service to our neighbour! (From the writings of Fr.Chevalier.) Scripture: Luke 1:39-45 (the Visitation) Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zachariah s house and greeted Elizabeth. 5

6 6 Meditation: Though it had just been announced to Mary that she was to be the mother of the messiah, she selflessly travelled to visit Elizabeth who was pregnant at an advanced age. She thought of others and generously reached out to Elizabeth in her need. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, help us to learn how to really love. May we be healed of our passivity and selfishness and prove our love in practical action. Help us learn that it is a more blessed thing to give than to receive. Lead us from greed to generosity. Remind us of your Son s great love and self-giving. Woman of service pray for us. Scripture: Jn 19:25-27 (Mary at the foot of the Cross) Meditation: Real commitment to God, to another person or to a cause is admirable. Still more admirable is faithful commitment that calls for selflessness, hard work, suffering or even death. We are inspired by truly dedicated people. Our Baptismal vocation calls us to follow Jesus. With Mary, we continue to be committed disciples of Jesus...in our families, the Church, and in the wider society. All: Mary, thank you for your example of being a true and faithful disciple of Jesus. Thank you for the constancy of your love for Jesus. Your dedication was severely tested but particularly so on Calvary. Teach us how to be dedicated and committed people of God. Woman, faithful follower of Jesus, pray for us. 7 Day Five: Woman, Faithful follower of Jesus When all the disciples fled, Mary was left alone on Calvary with some faithful friends, giving proof of her enduring love and commitment. She heard her Son forgive his torturers, and promise heaven to the compassionate thief. She heard him ask for water, thirsty from loss of blood. She saw the soldiers gambling for the seamless robe. She heard Him exercise his duty as her son by asking John to take care of her. She came to understand that she should mother his followers as her children when he was gone. She heard her son, the son who wanted to stay in his Father s house cry out: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? She heard him whisper: It is done, and with a loud cry, bow his head and die. In our grieving and dying we can be sure of Mary s understanding and healing presence. She brings us to peace again and enables us to be compassionate to others. (From the writings of Fr.Chevalier and Brother Joe Tesar MSC) Day Six: Woman of the Family From his childhood Our Lord could have made his way in the world...but he did not want to. He preferred to live forgotten, silent, apart; and to do this up to the age of thirty. In this haven he obeyed Mary and Joseph meticulously in everything: he was obedient to them. God hungers and thirsts to give himself and does this especially by grace. Mary s greatest need and deepest desire is to assist God s outpouring of himself, by communicating grace. God is an infinitely abundant spring desiring only to pour out its water. Mary is a blessed channel, desiring only to further this outpouring; and she wants this out of love for us. Human beings are made to live the life of God; and so throughout our whole being there is this hunger for God that God alone can satisfy. And so, what a need in Mary to give God to us and to give us to God. (Jules Chevalier, Notre Dame du Sacré-Coeur)