CHRISTMAS (NATIVITY OF OUR LORD) NOVENA: DAY 3 (DECEMBER 18) – For singles seeking the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony

INTRODUCTION

The Nativity through St. Joseph's eyes

On this third day of the Novena, in which we prepare for Christmas, the liturgy presents us with the text of the Annunciation to Joseph, a passage full of theological significance and personal dignity. The testimony of this just and noble man is eloquent and, at the same time, compelling. It is a life project to imitate your personal nobility and your docility of spirit to allow yourself to be led by the action of the Spirit in your life. May Joseph’s testimony help us to look at our attitude in marriage and family, and may he help us draw closer to the Lord.

OPENING PRAYER

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Fr. Chinaka: Our help is in the name of the Lord
Participants: who made heaven and earth

Fr. Chinaka: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
Participants: As it was, in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be world without end. Amen.

God of infinite goodness, who loved us so much and who gave us in your Son the best offer of your love, so that, incarnated and made our brother in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, we would be adopted as sons and daughters of God. We give you thanks for such an immense benefit, and we offer you back, Lord, the sincere effort to make this your world and ours, a fairer world, more faithful to the great commandment to love one another as brothers and sisters. Grant us, Lord, your help to be able to accomplish it. We ask that this Christmas, a feast of peace and joy, be a stimulus for our community so that, living as brothers and sisters, we seek more and more the paths of truth, justice, love, and peace. (You may add your private petitions here) Amen.

SCRIPTURAL READING/MEDITATION: Matthew 1: 18-24

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfill the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’ When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home.

The Gospel of the Lord

POINTS FOR MEDITATION

Go deeper into today’s gospel text, see José’s attitude, his internal conflict, his interests, his search, his reverence, and unworthiness to have Mary, and his docility to God’s word.

PRAYER TO THE PREGNANT VIRGIN & SAINT JOSEPH

An Expectant Mary – TheologyisaverbOh Virgin Mother, we are beginning to prepare for your Son’s Nativity. We want to be with you to accompany you in these last days of your pregnancy. To share with you the joy that you feel in these moments, and thus learn from you how to correspond to the Lord, how to act according to his will, so that we may find joy, peace, and fulfillment in your Son, of the life that only He can give us. O Blessed Virgin and Mother, intercede for each one of us, ask your Son to help us live these days with the joy that you had in those moments of your Son’s birth. Amen. Important Lessons for Christmas from “The Sleeping Saint Joseph” – The Best Catholic

Blessed Saint Joseph, husband of Mary and father of the Baby Jesus, you were chosen by the Almighty Father to be the Father and Guardian of His choicest Treasure, Christ our Redeemer, in the home of Nazareth. Help the fathers of families; may they always be in the home the image of the heavenly father, following your examples; may they fulfill the great responsibility of educating and forming their children, giving them, with a continuous effort, the best of themselves. Help children to understand and appreciate the unselfish efforts of their parents. Saint Joseph, husband, and father, intercede for us. Amen.

Pray 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, and 1 Glory be, seeking the intercessions of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, while at the same time, contemplating on their “YES” in the mystery of Salvation (cf. Luke 1:26-38 and Matthew 1:19-24)

LITANY OF THE INFANT JESUS

(Short invocations)

Divine Baby Jesus, Bless us
Our Judge, forgive us
Well of Kindness, Feed Our Faith
Our hope, Sustain us
Our Protector, Defend us
Source of Our life, Refresh us
Alpha and Omega, stay with us
Divine Baby Jesus, in you we trust

LET US PRAY: Lord Jesus Christ, Your mother, who conceived You by the work of the Holy Spirit, carried You inside her with all love after saying “YES” to God’s plan, but this caused Joseph, Your protector, to feel hurt by this situation knowing that the Child is not from him, and in the face of incomprehension, he thought of putting her aside. Baby Jesus, in this time of preparation for Your birth, we ask You to pour out Your blessing on couples who are in difficulty; help them to know how to talk, listen to each other, to make room for dialogue and forgiveness. Baby Jesus, pour out Your grace on these people so that they love each other again as they did in the beginning and now they love each other even more with You. Amen

CONCRETE ATTITUDE (Christmas Challenge)

– Make some concrete gesture or attitude during this period, helping other couples in difficult situations; be an instrument of peace and reconciliation for others.

CONCLUDING PRAYER/BLESSING

A Prayer to Jesus in the MangerDear Baby Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour, You are descended from David, from Abraham; You have assumed our history, forming part of it. In the fullness of time, You wanted to be born of a woman and be one of us, to show us the great and beautiful value of having a Mother, a family, people of the same bloodline, with whom to share life, being loved and supported. Dear Baby Jesus, you who had a family, we beseech you to bless ours and grant that parents have feelings of self-giving, of love and affection, of interest and sensitivity, that they love each other and live for each other, and may this love be showered on the children at all times. Baby Jesus, bless every family and fill them with love and tenderness, as you had from your Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. Amen.

Fr. Chinaka: The Lord be with you
Participants: And with your Spirit

Through the intercessions of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, may the Baby Jesus (Christ Our Lord) born in a stable at Bethlehem, bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Fr. Chinaka: Peace be with you
Participants: And with your Spirit

Shalom!
©Fr. Chinaka Justin Mbaeri, OSJ
Paroquia Nossa Senhora de Loreto, Vila Medeiros, São Paulo, Brazil
nozickcjoe@gmail.com / fadacjay@gmail.com

___________________________________

PS: Have you prayed your Rosary today? 

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Chinaka Justin Mbaeri

A staunch Roman Catholic and an Apologist of the Christian faith. More about him here.

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Amakabelle
Amakabelle
1 year ago

Amen

Ebubechukwu
Ebubechukwu
1 year ago

Amen

Amakabelle
Amakabelle
1 year ago

May our joy be complete in Christ amen

Amakabelle
Amakabelle
1 year ago

May the sacrament of marriage continue to be honored and filled with grace Amen

Maureen
Maureen
1 year ago
Reply to  Amakabelle

AMEN

Lina Omagbitse
Lina Omagbitse
1 year ago

May God answer all our petition . Amen

Christie Dada
Christie Dada
1 year ago

Amen. Thank you Fr all these Novena prayers and meditations. May the good Lord answer our prayers and give us more testimonies through Christ our Lord. Amen

Maureen
Maureen
1 year ago
Reply to  Christie Dada

Amen

Ayaka Daniel
Ayaka Daniel
1 year ago

Amen and Amen, may the Baby Jesus our Lord help in our difficult moments.

Tee-Marie
Tee-Marie
1 year ago

May “Emmanuel” God-is-with-us remain within, around and in us @ all times. Amen

Perpetua Ngosoo Chia
Perpetua Ngosoo Chia
1 year ago

The attitude of SJoseph of not wanting to disgrace Mary . Father cause me to be considerate, kind, loving, respecting other members of the family and keeping matters secret to ponder upon instead of broadcasting. Help me to find time to listen to you and do your bidding just like Joseph did. Amen

Nkechi
Nkechi
1 year ago

Amen

Engr. Chilaka Camillus Okuh
Engr. Chilaka Camillus Okuh
1 year ago

Lovely Prayers. May the good Lord continue to answer our prayers. Amen

Akoje Mary
Akoje Mary
1 year ago

An interesting prayer, it has helped in making me become conscious of my spiritual life. Thank you fr. Chinaka

Ify
Ify
1 year ago

May today’s prayer bring me marital settlement in Jesus name Amen

Hwange Francisca
Hwange Francisca
1 year ago

Amen

Leticia Otomewo
Leticia Otomewo
1 year ago

Dear Father, thank you very much for these Novenas that continue to uplift me spiritually… may God Almighty bless you for the good works, Amen!

Colette
Colette
1 year ago

Baby Jesus, bless every family and fill them with love and tenderness, as you had from your Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. Amen.

Miriam Akaakase
Miriam Akaakase
1 year ago

Amen

Bibiana
Bibiana
1 year ago

May the good Lord strength our faith and grant our good desires and shower us with His blessings that comes with the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, now and always. Amen

Clement
Clement
1 year ago

May the baby Jesus, our Lord, grant us the grace to be docile to God’s word and the Holy spirit, just like St. Joseph. Amen.

Juliet Chinenye
Juliet Chinenye
1 year ago

Amen

Hwange Thaddeus
Hwange Thaddeus
1 year ago

May we always take our problems or issues to God whenever we are in the state of confusion as Joseph did when he found out that his betrothed wife was pregnant. Lord ! Help us, give us the wisdom to always seek your face.

Francis Dominic Enimil Ashun
Francis Dominic Enimil Ashun
1 year ago

Hear our prayers O Lord, for singles seeking the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. Amen

Maureen Obiageli ldiegbe
Maureen Obiageli ldiegbe
1 year ago

Thank you Padre for all the Novenas. Many souls have been touched.

Miriam Chigbu
Miriam Chigbu
1 year ago

St Joseph, Husband and Father, Pray for me

Chibbs
Chibbs
1 year ago

May the petitions of this novena be answered through Christ our Lord. Amen!

Amakabelle
Amakabelle
1 year ago

May all couples looking for the fruit of the womb,be blessed with children.

I pray for peace and understanding to reign in homes where conflicts have stolen their joy

Chinwe Ibe
Chinwe Ibe
1 year ago

Thank you Fr Chinaka, all the novenas are very impactful

Lawrence Okonofua
Lawrence Okonofua
1 year ago

Divine Baby Jesus, bless our homes!?

Ngozi
Ngozi
1 year ago

Baby Jesus…bless us!

Joseph Sunday
Joseph Sunday
1 year ago

Amen

Vivian Oyih
Vivian Oyih
1 year ago

Infant Jesus, have mercy on us

Comfort
Comfort
1 year ago

Amen, thanks so much dear Fr, for another day out with the Lord. Warm compliments

Agatha
Agatha
1 year ago

Amen

Anny
Anny
1 year ago

May our Mother reunite broken homes this Christmas and bless young ones with good life partners. Amen.

Eunice Emmanuel
Eunice Emmanuel
1 year ago

Amen! Thank you Padre for this novena, may the Lord continue to enrich you.

Njideka ihionu
Njideka ihionu
1 year ago

Thank you infant Jesus for All you did you are doing and what you do
Amen

Mabelmary
Mabelmary
1 year ago

This pray really cut deep for me… I pray that God in his infinite mercy will heal my marriage (home) and restore permanent love, peace, fidelity and abundant blessings upon every marriage going through difficulty. Amen

Cathy-MarieJ
Cathy-MarieJ
1 year ago

O Blessed Virgin and Mother of Christ Jesus, intercede for each one of us, ask your Son to help us live these days with the joy that you had in those moments of your Son’s birth. Amen.

Adaeze
Adaeze
1 year ago

Amen

Nansat Clinton
Nansat Clinton
1 year ago

Amen

Stella Ogbakpah
Stella Ogbakpah
1 year ago

Amen. For all the infant Jesus prayers, especially for journey mercy, for all of us traveling during this festival period in Jesus name, Amen.

Maureen
Maureen
1 year ago

Amen.
Help us Lord to apply these virtues to our daily living. Accepting ur WILL in our lives

Mary Uche
Mary Uche
1 year ago

Amen

Miriam Akaakase
Miriam Akaakase
9 months ago

Holy family of Nazareth be the model for our families Amen

Celestina Ihayere
Celestina Ihayere
9 months ago

Baby Jesus, in this time of preparation for Your birth, we ask You to pour out Your blessing on couples who are in difficulty. Amen

Grace Orpin
Grace Orpin
9 months ago

Amen.

Somito
Somito
9 months ago

Divine Baby Jesus, in you we trust

Mrs. Olachi Peters
Mrs. Olachi Peters
9 months ago

Our Alpha and Omega stay with us, Amen.

Aondover Demvihin scholarstica
Aondover Demvihin scholarstica
9 months ago

O Infant Jesus, pray for us and grant healing to my husband.

Blessing Adzaagee
Blessing Adzaagee
9 months ago

May our blessed Virgin Mary and St Joseph continue to pray for us.Amen.

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