Spirituality
Praying with Anne Marie Javouhey |
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Prayer for the Canonization of Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey Lord, our God You enabled Blessed Anne-Marie to consecrate herself to the carrying out of your Holy Will in all things and to be ever attentive to Your calls as manifested through the poorest of her brothers and sisters. Grant that we, in the Church of our day may zealously continue the work you confided to her. Through her intercession hear the prayers we address to You ........................................................ In Your goodness grant us the favour of her canonisation for Your glory and to promote Your Reign of love, justice and peace. AMEN |
Prayer for the intercession of Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey
O Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey, whose heart beat only for God and for souls, teach us to love as you loved, to pray as you prayed, to suffer and to pardon, to give ourselves as you did. Obtain for us a heart like yours, loving intensely God's Holy Will, believing in his love in everything, a heart strong and kind, ardent and pure, loyal and faithful, humble and confident, a heart ready for every sacrifice, a heart like to the hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. AMEN |
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Prayer for the intercession of Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey (2) O Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey, who following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, found the nourishment of your soul in the Holy Will of God and the exercise of your zeal in works for the salvation of souls, obtain for us your vivid faith, enabling us to recognise, love and accomplish all that God wills; your heroic confidence and your perfect abandonment to Divine Providence; as well as your intense love of God and of souls. AMEN |
Prayer for the intercession of Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey (3) O powerful and eternal God, who adorned Blessed Anne Marie, your virgin with apostolic virtues, and who by her raised up a new family in your Church, grant to us in your mercy, that by imitating her patience and her charity, we may merit to attain to heavenly glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. AMEN |
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Prayer for the intercession of Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey (4) O glorious and blessed Anne Marie, solidly established in the love and fear of God, obtain for us that same clear-sighted faith in the Providence of God that was your own, and perfect reliance on the sanctity of his Holy Will. Obtain for us the grace to trample on self pity and with patience and long suffering to walk and wait with Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross. Obtain for us light in our minds and determination in our wills, with mercy and compassion in our hearts towards all, especially the ignorant, the poor and the erring. Obtain for us complete docility to the teachings of faith and continual responsiveness to the Holy Spirit of God. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN |
Prayer for the intercession of Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey (5) O Blessed Mother, look down upon us here, in these Caribbean Islands, as we endeavour to serve the Lord and the peoples of these regions. We thank God for the vigour of your example and the challenger of your far-sightedness, which has enabled you to go to the far ends of the world, in loving service and self-forgetfulness. Obtain for us, your children, the ardour and zeal of your acceptance of God's Will in all the events of life and the readiness to assume and carry out whatever tasks and responsibilities are confided to us, so that the Kingdom of the Lord may be established and sustained and spread in the many lands where our Sisters labour and spend themselves. We ask that we too, like you, may watch and pray, labour and serve, spend ourselves and be spent, so that all may come to a loving knowledge of God and a generous self-giving in His service and among His people. Amen. |
Novena in Preparation for theFeast Day of Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey, July 15.
July 6th: The Foundress
"We can justly consider that the future of humanity lies in the hands of those who are strong enough to provide coming generations with reasons for living and hoping." The Church Today God gave Anne Marie Javouhey some quite remarkable gifts, intelligence, breadth of vision, initiative, strength of character. He gave her a mission and to enable her to fulfil it, faith, hope and charity in no ordinary degree. The story of her life as we know it and as reflected in her 1,041 letters, is the story of her use of God's gifts, her correspondence with his grace. She used every ounce of effort her whole life through; at seventy, she was still trying, still making a fresh start. As daughters of Anne Marie Javouhey how have we used our God-given gifts? Are we fulfilling our mission in faith, hope and love?
(Short pause for reflection)
Let us pray: O powerful and eternal God, who adorned Blessed Anne Marie with apostolic virtue, and who by her raised up a new family in your Church, grant to us in your mercy, that by imitating her patience and her charity, we may merit to attain to heavenly glory. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessed Anne Marie, Pray for us.
July 7th: The First Commandment
"Only by the light of faith and by meditation on the Word of God, can one always and every where recognise God in whom we live and move and have our being, seek his will in every event, see Christ in all whether they be close to us or strangers". This statement from the Document of the Apostolate of the Laity, would seem to have been lived out in advance by Mother Javouhey. Her spirit of faith made her recognise God everywhere. God was the beginning and end of all she did: 'If God and religion are not the beginning and end of our actions, we are wasting our time, and we have no merit before God; it is important that all of us be penetrated with this truth'.
(Pause for Reflection)
Let us pray: O God, imbued with the spirit of our Mother Foundress, may we never lose sight of the high motives which prompted us to consecrate ourselves to you and through this congregation, to the service of our fellow men. In the face of the vissicitudes of this life keep us from being discouraged, conscious that heaven is at the end. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Blessed Anne Marie, Pray for us.
July 8th: The Will of God
Union with the Will of his Father was the goal of Jesus' life, from the first moment to the last: This is what he said on coming into the world ...'God, here I am. I am coming to obey your will.' (Heb. 10:3,7). 'Father .... let your will be done, not mine ... ' (Lk.22:42) Anne Marie Javouhey had the mind of Christ in this matter. She dedicated herself wholly to God and to the doing of his Will. Because of this total availability, God led her to become a foundress and a missionary. Today, He is just as ready to 'do great things' for anyone who is united to Him. Devotion to God's Will is the beginning and end of sanctity. But a true devotion must avoid the errors of fatalism and passivity, which unbalanced it somewhat in the 19th century and have laid it open to attack in our day. All that affects us and that does not originate in our will may and should be looked on as coming from God, his will for us.
(Pause)
Let us pray: The only real consolation is to do God's Holy Will: May the Spirit of God inspire us and guide us according to his Holy Will. Let us not put any limit to our submission; let us sincerely say: "May your Holy Will be done in me, by me and in the whole congregation." We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessed Anne Marie, Pray for us.
July 9th: Prayer
All Anne Marie Javouhey's confidence was in God. She wished her sisters to look for the same support through intimate union with God. "God alone can take the place of all. Yes, be always in spirit in his presence by habitual prayer. We need to acquire a spirit of prayer, and a deep interior life. With this two-fold spirit there is no danger any where. Let us then, work with all our strength to attain it, to desire it in the midst of our multiple duties. If we lack this double spirit we lose the merit of our best work; we would all miss the essential without which it is nearly impossible to reach heaven, or to achieve the perfection of our holy vocation."
(Pause)
Let us pray: O God, help us to strive to increase in virtue each day, especially in the spirit of prayer; it is during prayer that you speak to us; it is then that you instruct us; teach us to lovingly accept the crosses of our life instead of fleeing from them; teach us to unite our actions and the troubles inseparable from our lives with hat of Christ who passed through all the sufferings of our lives so as to be our model. Amen.
Blessed Anne Marie, Pray for us.
July 10th: Religious Life
Religious Life was for Blessed Anne Marie primarily a total dedication to God. She wanted her sisters touse all means to advance in holiness, never to lose sight of the obligations of their state, to keep their fervour alive and their motives pure: "You left your families, your friends, your country, to do God's Will; now don't spoil it by clinging to what is not God." "If we put our hand on our heart we might find we have forgotten the aim of our vocation; we have often put ourselves in God's place, and tried to have an easy life, to get personal satisfaction, to get glory for ourselves. Aren't we weak and unfortunate!"
(Pause)
Let us pray: O God, help us to strive to acquire the spirit of our holy state and to inspire it in those whom you have confided to us. Dear God, how easy it is to forger the aim of our vocation. Faults increase, virtues are forgotten, yet death is approaching - may our hands not be empty when we stand before our heavenly Spouse. Amen.
Blessed Anne Marie, Pray for us.
July 11th: The Second Commandment
"Why do you want to put limits to my love when God puts no limit to his graces?" Anne Marie Javouhey's love for her neigbour was of the same degree as her love for God. She extended it to the needy of the whole world, regardless of colour, class or creed. "People have a right to our charity, do not miss any opportunity of showing your love". The first ingredient of her love was respect. Her work for the negroes was successful because she sincerely valued them as she valued herself. such love and devotedness to others means sacrifices. Anne Marie Javouhey was ready for them. Are we?
(Pause)
Let us pray: Let us work at our sanctification and let us remember that we are responsible for the sanctification of those people who are confided to our care - the poor and humble and the well-off. Let us as true daughters of Anne Marie Javouhey do all for the glory of God, shirking no sacrifice and putting no obstacles to his great designs. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessed Anne Marie, Pray for us.
July 12th: Humility
"It is God .. who puts both the will and the action into you." (Ph.2:13). The humble person sees things as they are in truth, he sees God as the creator of all good, and he sees himself as invited by God to co-operate in carrying out his plans. Anne Marie Javouhey saw her congregation as God's work, and herself as merely an instrument in God's hands. Not only did Anne Marie see herself as an instrument, she was a poor instrument, unfit for the work: "How glad I am that God is showing me how much I lack the ability necessary for such a holy and important undertaking!" This view is perfectly accurate. Only when we too have sharpened our spiritual sight to see as she saw, will we be ready to give all the glory of our work to God.
(Pause)
Let us pray: "How good God is to use us, poor little creatures, to do so much for our fellow men!" May we remember that all this is indeed God's work; thank him for using us and give hill all the glory, or we will run the risk of doing everything for this world and nothing for heaven. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessed Anne Marie, Pray for us.
July13th: Confidence
The divine virtue of hope has in it two elements, desire and expectation. It's object is God. We desire to attain to God, to find him, to be united to hin in heaven, and we expect we will with his grace, Undoubtedly, Anne Marie Javouhey had this basic virtue. The confidence she continually preached in her letters is a somewhat different quality though related to it. God was her Father, she was working for him, he was caring for her concerns, his help would always be there. He would work our his plan for the congregation; in the end all would be well. Her confidence bore on great and small matters. She knew God would support his own work.
(Pause)
Let us pray: Confidence in God gives light, R/ It is God's work, let us have no anxiety. Confidence in God gives light, R/ If we have crosses he will be our light and our strength. Have confidence in God, R/ Nothing happens without God's permission and always for our good.
Blessed Anne Marie, Pray for us.
July 14th: The Carrying of the Cross
"If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow Me." (Lk. 9) Christina suffering is an art. To practise it, we need first to understand the place of the cross in the mystery of our Redemption. This is easy enough in theory; when the actual carrying of the cross blots out all understanding, we can remember that Christ suffered for us, trust him to work out his plan for us, whatever it is, and 'offer up' our pains in love. Anne Marie Javouhey had a hard life and she shouldered a wide variety of crosses, great and small: poverty, political upheavals, death and disease, violent persecution by church leaders ... Wise woman that she was, Anne Marie Javouhey saw the place of the cross in her life, its power, its blessings: "Don't be discouraged, the cross strengthens us in God's work, it is by it that He shows us a great proof of his love, let us not lose courage."
(Pause)
Let us pray: Anne Marie accepted the troubles of life from the hand of God as she accepted its joys ... peacefully, thankfully, with courage and happiness, with patience as a penance, often with a laugh. Grant that we who follow her, may be like her in our acceptance of God's designs for us. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessed Anne Marie, Pray for us. |
Litany to Blessed Anne Marie
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