INSPIRING NOVENA TO SAINT CECILIA (VIRGIN & MARTYR), PATRON SAINT OF MUSIC AND MUSICIANS: DAY 9

O God, come to my aid+
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

—Pause for an “Examination of Conscience”—

I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,
(strike breast) through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

Daily Prayer to St. Cecilia

St. Cecilia, I confide in your intercession because you generously offered your life as a sacrifice for the love of Jesus, to whom you were devoted with your whole heart and soul. Jesus will not refuse your prayers. Beg Jesus to grant me this favour: [Mention your need(s) here…] For the sake of Jesus Christ, who filled your heart with pure and heroic love, who crowned you with the glorious crown of martyrdom, who permitted your body to remain incorrupt through these many centuries, and who willed that your memory be praised by the Church at every Holy Day Mass, I earnestly ask you to intercede for me. I resign myself entirely to the Holy Will of God. Help me to imitate your faith and love of God, that I may be ready to make any sacrifice for my Catholic faith. Through your prayers may I someday reach heaven and praise with you the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the loving Spouse of your soul and mine. Amen.

Short Meditation
(Life of Saint Cecilia)

Day 9

(FROM THE “OFFICE OF THE READINGS” [DIVINE OFFICE] ON THE FEAST OF ST. CECILIA)

A commentary of St Augustine on Psalm 32

Sing to God in jubilation:
Praise the Lord with the lyre, make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song. Rid yourself of what is old and worn out, for you know a new song. A new man, a new covenant; a new song. This new song does not belong to the old man. Only the new man learns it: the man restored from his fallen condition through the grace of God, and now sharing in the new covenant, that is, the kingdom of heaven. To it, all our love now aspires and sings a new song. Let us sing a new song not with our lips but with our lives.

Sing to him a new song, sing to him with joyful melody. Every one of us tries to discover how to sing to God. You must sing to him, but you must sing well. He does not want your voice to come harshly to his ears, so sing well, brothers!

If you were asked, “Sing to please this musician,” you would not like to do so without having taken some instruction in music, because you would not like to offend an expert in the art. An untrained listener does not notice the faults a musician would point out to you. Who, then, will offer to sing well for God, the great artist whose discrimination is faultless, whose attention is on the minutest detail, whose ear nothing escapes? When will you be able to offer him a perfect performance that you will in no way displease such a supremely discerning listener?
See how he himself provides you with a way of singing. Do not search for words, as if you could find a lyric which would give God pleasure. Sing to him “with songs of joy.” This is singing well to God, just singing with songs of joy.

But how is this done? You must first understand that words cannot express the things that are sung by the heart. Take the case of people singing while harvesting in the fields or in the vineyards or when any other strenuous work is in progress. Although they begin by giving expression to their happiness in sung words, yet shortly there is a change. As if so happy that words can no longer express what they feel, they discard the restricting syllables. They burst out into a simple sound of joy, of jubilation. Such a cry of joy is a sound signifying that the heart is bringing to birth what it cannot utter in words.

Now, who is more worthy of such a cry of jubilation than God himself, whom all words fail to describe? If words will not serve, and yet you must not remain silent, what else can you do but cry out for joy? Your heart must rejoice beyond words, soaring into an immensity of gladness, unrestrained by syllabic bonds. Sing to him with jubilation.

Responsory
℟. My lips speak your praise, your glory all the day long.* When I sing to you, my lips shall rejoice.
℣. I will rejoice in you and be glad, and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.* When I sing to you, my lips shall rejoice.

Let us pray.
Lord God, in your mercy, listen to our prayers,
which we offer you under the patronage of Saint Cecilia.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
(one) God, forever and ever.
Amen.

Pause and reflect for a moment…

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

DAY 9 PRAYER

O glorious saint and beloved martyr of Christ, you chose to die instead of denying your King and divine bridegroom, we pray you to help us as His fair praise we sing. We know that you were a musician and we are told that you heard angels sing. Inspire musicians today to gladden the hearts of people by filling the air with God’s gift of music and reminding them of the Divine Musician Who created all beauty. And while we sing, we should remember that to sing is to doubly pray. At once in our hearts and in our tongues we offer double prayer sent heavenward on winged notes to praise God dwelling there. While in our hearts and tongues we try with song to praise God twice, we ask you o dear saint, as we round up with the novena on this day, help us be united close to Christ always even amidst the storms and challenges of life.

We seek your prayers for…(Mention your intentions here…) St. Cecilia, we ask for your intercession because you generously offered your life for the love of Jesus, who you were devoted to with your heart and soul. Graciously hear our prayers. Amen.

Our Father…3 Hail Marys…Glory be…

LITANY OF ST. CECILIA

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us. (repeat after each line)
St. Cecilia,
St. Cecilia, wise virgin,
St. Cecilia, whose heart burned with the fire of divine love,
St. Cecilia, apostle by your zeal and charity,
St. Cecilia, who converted your spouse and procured for him the crown of martyrdom,
St. Cecilia, who by your pleadings moved the hearts of pagans, and brought them into the true Church,
St. Cecilia, who did unceasingly see your guardian angel by your side,
St. Cecilia, who mingled your voice with the celestial harmonies of the virgins,
St. Cecilia, who by your melodious accents celebrated the praises of Jesus,
St. Cecilia, illustrious martyr of Jesus Christ,
St. Cecilia, who during three days suffered most excruciating torments,
St. Cecilia, consolation of the afflicted,
St. Cecilia, protectress of all who invokes you,
St. Cecilia, patroness of holy canticles,
St. Cecilia, special patroness and advocate of all singers, musicians, authors, and students, Pray for us.

We salute you, O Virgin, who gave your blood for the defence and faith of Jesus Christ!

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

God glorified St. Cecilia, And He crowned her virtues.

Let us pray: O Eternal God, who gave us in the person of St. Cecilia, a powerful protectress and patron of music, grant that after having faithfully passed our days like herself, in innocence and holiness, we may one day attain the land of beatitude, wherein concert with her, we may praise you and bless you forevermore in eternity. Amen.

St. Cecilia, we ask for your intercession because you generously offered your life for the love of Jesus, who you were devoted to with your heart and soul. Graciously hear our prayers! Amen.

Saint Cecilia, pray for us!

(If possible, kindly accompany this novena with the Holy Rosary at any hour of the day, either 5 or 10 or 15 or 20 decades…)

May the Divine assistance remain always with us, and may the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

Blessing+
Through the intercession of Saint Cecilia (Virgin & Martyr), may the Lord bless + us, keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Great job praying Day 9! May the good Lord hear our humble prayers through the intercession of St. Cecilia. Amen.

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