Nine Day Novena to St. Paul, The Apostle of Love


St. Paul is respected, admired and studied like no other writer in history. Christians draw truth and knowledge from his inspired writings. From the First Century to the 21st Century, his missionary efforts have provided a model for servants of the Gospel. Within the Catholic community, noted for its devotion to the saints, however, St. Paul is seldom invoked in prayer. Other saints have large and enthusiastic followings. St. Jude, St. Francis, St. Anthony, and St. Terese of Lisieux are examples of saints whose intercession is sought by millions of Catholics. Each of these popular saints is known for helping people with their everyday struggles. St. Jude the patron of hopeless cases, St. Francis the gentle lover of nature, St. Anthony the finder of lost articles and other miracles, and St. Terese who promised to spend her eternity doing good on Earth.

What can we expect, however, when we say, “St. Paul pray for us”? What happens when we invite St. Paul to join in our earthy pilgrimage? What happens when we move from simply admiring St. Paul to actually loving him? Perhaps, this small novena will help a person discover the answer to these questions. Our devotion to St. Paul will bring us closer to the crucified and risen savior. The graces we receive will exceed our greatest expectations.

St. Paul was an apostle of action but his energy grew out of a profound prayer life. His success as a missionary was ultimately depended on the depth of his soul that was so united with Christ that by the end of his life Christ was truly alive in him. This should be the goal of every disciple of Jesus and St. Paul can help us in pursuit of this noble goal.

The prayers in this novena and the requests we make to St. Paul will be based on what he prayed for during his life. This novena will be based on what he saw as the indispensable spiritual needs of the early followers of Jesus.

Each day of the Novena ends with praying an Our Father ( the prayer Jesus taught his disciples in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount), a Hail Mary (the words of Gabriel and Elizabeth) and finally a Glory Be, to honor the trinity.

This Novena is meant to be celebrated within the context of receiving the sacrament of reconciliation and a devout reception of the Eucharist.

















Day One
Special request: an increase of faith and our urgent human needs.

Background

St. Paul knew people in Rome and he mentions them in his Letter to the Romans. At the time of the writing of this epistle, he had not yet visited the city. This Letter was an introduction to people who had heard of Paul but by and large had not met him personally. He used this inspired letter to explain his faith and to strengthen the belief of the Christians in Rome. Reading this Letter can also make us wiser today then we were yesterday and wiser still tomorrow.

Paul’s own Prayers and thoughts in the Letter to the Romans

Romans 1:8-11 “First of all, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because of your faith that is being proclaimed throughout the world. God is my witness – Whom I serve with my spirit by proclaiming the good news of his Son – that I continually mention you in my prayers and ask that somehow by God’s will I’ll finally manage to come to you and to share with you some spiritual gift in order to strengthen you, that is so we may be mutually encouraged by one another’s faith, both yours and mine.”

Romans: 15:13 “May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace through your belief in Him, so that you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:30-33 “I beg you, my brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle so that I may be delivered from unbelievers … and that my service in Jerusalem will be acceptable to the saints so that God willing, I’ll come to you full of joy and find rest with you. May God who gives peace be with you all. Amen.”

Prayer

St. Paul from your place in heaven we ask you continually to pray for us in the manner you prayed for the Romans. May our faith and love of the Gospel bring light into our families, parishes, community and the entire world. May our witness even be a cause for increasing the joy of the angels and saints who surround you. We, however, are surrounded by unbelievers and are assailed on every side. May you come to us with some spiritual gift in order to strengthen us. May we on earth encourage one another in the faith. May we be strong even though we feel so weak and inadequate. So often we know the right thing to do but find ourselves doing just the opposite (Rom 7:20) yet you assure us that ultimately nothing can separate us from Christ (Rom 8:35). When you were in this world you sought to address the human as well as the spiritual needs of people. You aided the poor of Jerusalem in powerful and practical ways knowing the physical aid you brought them would make it easier for them to have faith and trust in the God of love. With confidence we ask you to help us with our urgent natural obligations and our needs of food, shelter, clothing and health. More then that, however, we ask you to draw us closer to Jesus, crucified and risen who is the way, truth and life for the world. In this way, we will be filled with peace, joy and that hope that comes from God, which the world can never understand or destroy.

Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be


For the Complete Novena go to http://www.stpauls.us/NOVENA-TO-ST-PAUL-THE-APOSTLE-OF-LOVE-P9969C0.aspx . Tell your pastors about it!