#novena — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #novena, aggregated by home.social.
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https://www.europesays.com/es/481151/ Bruno Lemes gana la novena etapa de la Vuelta del Uruguay y Pablo Bonilla es nuevo líder – Esciclismo #argentino #bonilla #brasileno #Ciclismo #ciclista #competicion #Cycling #Deportes #desde #domingo #el #ES #España #etapa #gaday #gano #importante #la #lemes #lider #lideraba #lucas #martin #mas #novena #nuevo #pablo #país #pasado #prueba #ruta #Spain #Sports #sudamericano #superar #uruguay #uruguayo #viernes #vuelta
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https://www.europesays.com/es/399265/ Tizona Burgos – Caja Rural CB Zamora: Asalto a «El Plantío» y novena victoria para los zamoranos (93-101) #asalto #Baloncesto #Basketball #Burgos #caja #CajaRural #cb #CBZamora #Deportes #ES #España #novena #plantio #PrimeraFEB #rural #Spain #Sports #tizona #victoria
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https://www.europesays.com/es/322697/ Mathieu van der Poel saca músculo en Zonhoven y asalta el liderato de la Copa del Mundo de Ciclocross – EsCiclismo.com #alpecin #aplastante #belga #campeon #celebrada #Ciclismo #ciclista #ciclocross #circuito #cita #copa #Cycling #demostrar #Deportes #der #dio #dominador #domingo #el #ES #España #gran #mathieu #moderno #mundo #Neerlandés #novena #opcion #poel #premier #Qué #rivales #Spain #Sports #tech #van #victoria #vigente #vuelto #zonhoven
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St. Joseph Novena 2025: Introduction
To the land of Egypt you must quickly go.
Joseph, this very night, depart in silence.Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
Like Mary, Joseph too received an annunciation. In fact, at every pivotal moment of his life, it is God who speaks. Usually, God’s word initiates a dialogue; for Joseph, it is indeed a dialogue with his God, but his response is silent—he speaks through his actions. The word of God sets the rhythm of his life; he is accustomed to it, and he always begins by listening. This is his way of worshiping the Lord and belonging to Him. In this way, he instinctively assumes the posture of a servant, expressing his submission in advance, without a word.
Yet he knows from experience that the word of God draws him ever more deeply into mystery. He is astonished by what happens to him, but he immediately hides in silence every event whose significance escapes him. Mystery enters his life, just as it enters ours, but he welcomes it without trying to deny, diminish, or eliminate it—waiting only for God to give it meaning through a new word. Without letting any part of the mystery be lost, he gives his yes in advance to the liberating word that will inevitably come.
And when that word does come, it demands even greater faith: “Do not be afraid,” says the Lord. Yet, from a human perspective, there was so much to fear—such as Herod’s threat! “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt!” (Mt 2:13). Flee, Joseph!—But for how long, Lord?—“Until I tell you…” Until another word comes!—But then, it won’t be final? I won’t be able to plan the future for Mary or the child?—“Stay in Egypt until I tell you.”—So I won’t be able to settle there?—“Joseph, your true place is wherever Jesus lives, wherever you accompany Mary…”
And Joseph rises, because the word of God, despite the night of faith, is stronger than all opposing evidence. He takes the child and his mother by night—the child who sleeps and the mother who shivers—and he sets out.
As for us, we are willing to take Jesus and Mary, but not if it means entering the night, not if it means walking into exile, not if it means continuing our exodus—from Nazareth to Bethlehem, from Bethlehem to Egypt, and from Egypt to God knows where—because we have our own ideas about the life that suits us.
Everything rests in the hand of God, and all initiative belongs to Him. At the same time, Joseph remains completely free, yet his listening already signals his consent. “Here I am,” say the men of the Bible. Joseph, for his part, places himself before God; he listens, and that is enough. His yes is not only immediate but already contained within his listening. The word of God gives rhythm to his entire existence and enables him to pass through dangers and dead ends with serenity. He is open to receiving everything from the hand of his God.
This is the attitude we need!
Father Jean Lévêque, o.c.d.
2017 Carmelite Online Retreat (excerpt)
PRAY EACH DAY WITH ST JOSEPH
Day One — Service
Day Two — He looks
Day Three — Workman
Day Four — God’s heart
Day Five — He knows
Day Six — If you knew
Day Seven — Happiness
Day Eight — Pleasing to God
Day Nine — Mercy
NOVENA PRAYER
Remember, O most pure spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
my great protector, Saint Joseph,
that no one ever had recourse to your protection,
or implored your aid without obtaining relief.
Confiding therefore in your goodness, I come before you.
Do not turn down my petitions, foster father of the Redeemer,
but graciously receive them.(Mention your prayer requests)
Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory Be…
V./ Pray for us, holy Father St. Joseph
R./ That we may become worthy of the promises of Christ.Father,
you entrusted our Savior and his holy Mother
to the care of St. Joseph.
By the help of his prayers
may your Church continue to serve its Lord, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
Amen.Tribute to Frère Jean Lévêque, OCD (1930–2024)
Frère Jean Lévêque, a distinguished Discalced Carmelite friar of the Paris Province, passed away on June 11, 2024, at the age of 93. Born on August 30, 1930, he entered the Carmelite Order in 1955, dedicating nearly seven decades to a life of contemplative prayer, scholarly pursuit, pastoral care, and musical composition.
Renowned for his profound biblical scholarship, Frère Jean held degrees in Oriental studies and theology, including a doctorate focusing on the Book of Job. He taught Old Testament exegesis and Oriental languages, primarily at the Institut Catholique de Paris from 1974 to 1990.
In addition to his academic and pastoral contributions, Frère Jean was an accomplished musician. His musical sensibility led him to compose hymns and liturgical offices, enriching the celebration of the liturgy within the Carmelite community and beyond.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
of Lisieux, T 2008, The Plays of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: “Pious Recreations”, translated from the French by Conroy S and Dwyer D J, ICS Publications, Washington, DC.
Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Featured image: Detail from Saint Joseph’s second dream, stained glass window in the Basilica of Saint Clotilde, Paris, France. The photographer, Zvonimir Atletić, is the renowned Croatian photojournalist who first met St. Teresa of Calcutta in 1977, capturing images of her work in Calcutta. Over the years, he accompanied her on several occasions, documenting her mission in Croatia and India. Atletić is considered one of the photographers who had the most opportunities to capture Mother Teresa’s dedication to the poor and abandoned. His black-and-white images, described by the Croatian Photography Center as enveloped in a “sacred silence,” open a space for dialogue with the Creator.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Edith Stein and St. Joseph.
#inspiration #intercession #novena #PiousRecreation #prayer #StJoseph #StThereseOfLisieux
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St. John of the Cross Novena, Day 5: Trust
Reading
In tribulation, immediately draw near to God with trust, and you will receive strength, enlightenment, and instruction.
Sayings of Light and Love, 66
Scripture
Have mercy on me, God, men crush me;
they fight me all day long and oppress me.
My foes crush me all day long,
for many fight proudly against me.When I fear, I will trust in you,
in God whose word I praise.
In God I trust, I shall not fear:
what can mortal man do to me?All day long they distort my words,
all their thought is to harm me.
They band together in ambush,
track me down and seek my life.You have kept an account of my wanderings;
you have kept a record of my tears;
are they not written in your book?
Then my foes will be put to flight
on the day that I call to you.This I know, that God is on my side.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not fear:
what can mortal man do to me?I am bound by the vows I have made you.
O God, I will offer you praise
for you rescued my soul from death,
you kept my feet from stumbling
that I may walk in the presence of God
and enjoy the light of the living.Meditation
Oh, blessed tribulation, that sure sign that God is madly in love with you.
Tribulation is a word that is no longer part of our daily vocabulary. It appears in word puzzles and still makes its way into Hollywood film scripts, although it sounds more appropriate coming from the lips of the revered British actor Charles Laughton, whose King Herod once posed the legendary rhetorical question: “Why does the prophet visit me with worse than the tribulations of Job?”
Saint Teresa of Jesus understood what Saint John of the Cross meant when he was writing about tribulation because she had seen her fair share of it in her lifetime. Here’s just one example from Testimony 53 written in Seville, 8 November 1575:
On the octave day of All Saints I spent two or three very troublesome days over the remembrance of my great sins and because of some fears of my being persecuted that had no foundation, except that false testimony was going to be raised [She had been falsely accused before the Inquisition of Seville]. And all the courage I usually have for suffering left me. Although I wanted to encourage myself, and I made acts and reflected that this suffering would be very beneficial to my soul, all these actions helped me little. For the fear didn’t go away, and what I felt was a vexing war. I chanced upon a letter in which my good Father [Jerome Gracián, Discalced Carmelite and Apostolic Visitor] refers to what St. Paul says, that God does not permit us to be tempted beyond what we can suffer (1 Cor 10:13). That comforted me a lot, but it wasn’t enough. Rather, the next day I became sorely afflicted in seeing I was without him, since I had no one to whom I could have recourse in this tribulation. It seemed to me I was living in great loneliness, and this loneliness increased when I saw that there was no one now but him who might give me comfort and that he had to be absent most of the time, which was a great torment to me.
On the next night, while reading in a book a saying of St. Paul which began to console me, I was thinking of how present our Lord had previously been to me, for He had so truly seemed to be the living God. While I was thinking about this, He appeared in an intellectual vision, very deep within me, as though on the side where the heart is, and said: “Here I am, but I want you to see what little you can do without Me.”
I felt reassured right away, and all my fears were gone. While I was at Matins that same night, the Lord, through an intellectual vision so intense it almost seemed to be an imaginative one, placed Himself in my arms as in the painting of the fifth agony. This vision caused me great fear. For it was so clear, and He was so close to me that I wondered if it was an illusion. He told me: “Don’t be surprised by this, for My Father is with your soul in an incomparably greater union.”
This vision has so remained up till now. What I said of our Lord lasted more than a month. Now it is gone.
Now, we may not be falsely accused before the Inquisition, but in our daily lives, we see plenty of tribulation. And Saint Teresa makes it clear that if we are seeking to make love our ambition, to grow in that untiring love of which St. John of the Cross speaks, then we will be blessed with tribulation.
Blessed with tribulation?
“It is clear that since God wants to lead those whom He greatly loves by the path of tribulation—and the more He loves them the greater the tribulation—there is no reason to think that He despises contemplatives, for with His own mouth He praises them and considers them His friends.” (Way 18:1)
But what if I don’t want to be a contemplative?
For the faithful, this truly is not an option if we desire to be united with Christ in heaven, where we will be contemplatives for all eternity! St. Paul writes, “and we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18).
The Catechism reminds us:
Because of his transcendence, God cannot be seen as he is, unless he himself opens up his mystery to man’s immediate contemplation and gives him the capacity for it. The Church calls this contemplation of God in his heavenly glory “the beatific vision.”
Citing St. Cyprian, the Catechism continues:
How great will your glory and happiness be, to be allowed to see God, to be honored with sharing the joy of salvation and eternal light with Christ your Lord and God, . . . to delight in the joy of immortality in the Kingdom of heaven with the righteous and God’s friends. (CCC 1028)
To be able to contemplate Christ for all eternity, the tribulation is worth it.
We notice that a great Saint and Doctor of the Church like Our Holy Mother Teresa was not immune from tribulation and anxiety. She was suffering terribly: there were “very troublesome days” and fears of being persecuted. She had lost her courage, and every remedy, every action that normally helped in past situations didn’t help at all. She was stuck in her fears and left with what she calls a guerra desabrida… a rather unsavory war—fruitless, vexing, and pointless. Even reading a letter from the priest who meant more to her than any other friar in the world couldn’t console her; his advice was to read St. Paul, but she admitted that it “comforted me a lot, but it wasn’t enough.”
Poor St. Teresa, she was really in emotional distress and in a spiritual bind. The next day she became even more upset because Father Gracián wasn’t there to encourage and console her in her anxiety. “I had no one to whom I could have recourse in this tribulation” and for her, the loneliness seemed to be the worst part.
St. John of the Cross says that it’s in times like these that we must “immediately draw near to God with trust” and that is exactly what St. Teresa did. She didn’t give up praying, seeking, and hoping, and she didn’t abandon God. Quite the opposite: she continued to draw near to God, even though He seemed distant or hiding. It seems that she may have had difficulty praying with peace, so she turned to spiritual reading instead.
Now, the Lord made himself known to St. Teresa at that moment through a mystical experience. However, that may not necessarily be the path the Lord chooses for each one of us. What St. John of the Cross explains is that if we draw near to God with trust, then we will receive “strength, enlightenment, and instruction.”
St. Elizabeth of the Trinity gives the following advice to ordinary folks like you and I for how best to draw near to God when troubled or anxious in those moments that St. John and St. Teresa called “tribulation”:
You must build a little cell within your soul as I do. Remember that God is there and enter it from time to time; when you feel nervous or you’re unhappy, quickly seek refuge there and tell the Master all about it.
Ah, if you got to know Him a little, prayer wouldn’t bore you anymore; to me it seems to be rest, relaxation. We come quite simply to the One we love, stay close to Him like a little child in the arms of its mother, and we let our heart go (Letter 123).
Prayer
O St. John of the Cross
You were endowed by our Lord with the spirit of self-denial
and a love of the cross.
Obtain for us the grace to follow your example
that we may come to the eternal vision of the glory of God.O Saint of Christ’s redeeming cross
the road of life is dark and long.
Teach us always to be resigned to God’s holy will
in all the circumstances of our lives
and grant us the special favor
which we now ask of you.Mention your request
Above all, obtain for us the grace of final perseverance,
a holy and happy death and everlasting life with you
and all the saints in heaven.
Amen.Let’s continue in prayer
Day 1 — Self-trust
The Escape of St John of the Cross
Day 2 — Self-giving
Day 3 — Cleansing
Day 4 — Walking in love
Day 5 — Trust
Day 6 — Prayer
Day 7 — Humility
Day 8 — Eternal Silence
Day 9 — Silent love
18th c. French
Oil on canvas, 1768
Carmel of Pontoise
© Ministère de la Culture (France), Médiathèque de l’architecture et du patrimoine, Diffusion RMN-GP. Used by permission.The novena prayer was composed from approved sources by Professor Michael Ogunu, a member of the Discalced Carmelite Secular Order in Nigeria.
John of the Cross, St 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, rev. edn, Kavanaugh, K & Rodriguez, O (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Teresa of Avila, St 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Kavanaugh, K & Rodriguez, O (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, Nash, A (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.
#anxiety #doctorOfTheChurch #elizabethCatez #enlightenment #icsPublications #inquisition #instruction #johnOfTheCross #letter #letters #loneliness #novena #persecution #psalms #sabeth #sanJuanDeLaCruz #stElizabethOfTheTrinity #stJohnOfTheCross #stTeresa #stTeresaOfAvila #stTeresaOfJesus #strength #teresa #tribulation #troubles #trust #wayOfPerfection #worries
