Day 1 - Novena to the Saints in Heaven for the saints on earth

Day 1 Novena Reflection

All Christians are called to be saints and to live in the Communion of Saints, beginning now and opening, into all eternity.

First, let us consider the word saint. It means holy ones.

We are all "saints" in the sense of having been set aside for the Lord to live holy lives and called into communion with Him, and through Him, with one another for the sake of the world. (See Catholic Catechism, # 946 - 952)

Novena to the Saints in Heaven

Through our Baptism, we have been incorporated into Jesus Christ, becoming members of His Body, the Church. We now live in the Church, because we live in Christ and He lives in us.

However, there are some Christians among us who excel in love.

From the earliest centuries of the Church, those Christians who lived lives of extraordinarily intimate communion with the Lord and demonstrated heroic virtue; those who reflected the radiance of Christ were honored, both during life, and after they entered into eternal communion with the Lord. They were given a place of honor within the "communion of Saints."

This is the fertile field from which the practice of canonizing some of those members of the Body of Christ began. The Catholic Catechism explains:

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Novena to the Saints in Heaven

"By canonizing some of the faithful, i.e., by solemnly proclaiming that they practiced heroic virtue and lived in fidelity to God's grace, the Church recognizes the power of the Spirit of holiness within her and sustains the hope of believers by proposing the Saints to them as models and intercessors.

"The Saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the Church's history." Indeed, "holiness is the hidden source and infallible measure of her apostolic activity and missionary zeal." (CCC #828)

All Saints of God, Pray for us

Novena Prayer to the Saints in Heaven for the saints on earth

Beloved Father, through the life, death and resurrection of your only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ, we have become your adopted sons and daughters.

Through Baptism we are now members of His Body, the Church, which is Your family.

Our Savior Jesus taught us that whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother. We thank you that promise includes each one of us.

As members of the family of Jesus we are now reunited to you, in Him. Through Baptism we have become adopted sons and daughters in your Beloved Son.

Novena to the Saints in Heaven

We now turn to you in prayer, through Him, with Him and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit as OUR FATHER, ABBA.

We pray that, by the power of your Holy Spirit, you would raise up in our midst holy men, women and children, in every Nation, culture and walk of life.

Men, women and children who are so conformed to your Son Jesus that they make Him known by their words, deeds and life of love and sacrificial service.

Men, women and children who are saints for this urgent hour.
Men, Women and children who manifest the power of heaven on earth. Who continue the ministry of Jesus, your Son and our Savior, through signs of the kingdom to come.

Novena to the Saints in Heaven

May these holy men and women multiply - providing leaders and servants for a New Missionary Age of the Church.

And, we pray for ourselves and our families, that we could grow closer and closer to you, every day, that we would be transformed by your grace and our free cooperation with your grace - Empowered by your Holy Spirit to become new creations in Jesus Christ.