CHRISTMAS (NATIVITY OF OUR LORD) NOVENA: DAY 8 (DECEMBER 23) – For the unemployed and progress at work for the employed

INTRODUCTION

On the eighth day of our preparation for Christmas, on the eve of the Happy Night, the liturgy introduces us to the birth of John the Baptist. It is a passage that helps us to see the attitude of Zechariah and Elizabeth, who tried to be faithful to what the angel had commanded them, naming their son John. Just as Zechariah was dumb at the angel’s apparition, now his tongue is released to praise and bless 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: Luke 1: 57-66

The Gospel of the Lord

POINTS FOR MEDITATION

Go deeper into today’s gospel text, observe the attitude of Elizabeth and Zechariah, in obeying the Lord and then praising Him.

PRAYER TO THE PREGNANT VIRGIN & SAINT JOSEPH

Oh 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.

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, Lord, seeing how You gave Zacariah and Elizabeth the grace to generate life, to be parents in their old age, and how they knew how to respond to the invitation You made to them. I ask You to bless every father and mother of families. May every father have the strength that Zacariah had, the faith and commitment of Joseph, and the disposition and openness of heart to be your instrument at all times, so that the children see an example and testimony in their parents. Also, Lord, fill the heart of every woman who is a mother, so that with Your tenderness and Your love, they can transmit the love You have for us. Make Lord, that our children find joy and happiness in the joy of Your children. May each family be a reflection of Your Family. May there be peace, love, joy, and happiness in all, as there was in yours. Amen.

CONCRETE ATTITUDE (Christmas Challenge)

– Make some gesture or attitude of sensitivity and generosity with a family that will be alone or aged with no one to take care of them, or that will lack a member. Invite them to pray tomorrow or to Christmas Mass. Be a presence for them.

CONCLUDING PRAYER/BLESSING

Dear 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