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Day 3 - Novena of Prayer for Families

Day 3 - Novena of Prayer for Families

Celebrating family life

Please join our community around the world in praying this novena for your family and all families. We do this for the nine days leading up to Venerable Patrick Peyton's anniversary of birth on January 9 in gratitude for his memory and timeless message to all families, "The Family That Prays Together Stays Together."

Glorious Mysteries

On Sundays, we pray with the Glorious Mysteries. As you begin, pray the Daily Opening Prayer, read today's opening meditation, and then proceed to the reflections and prayers for each mystery. Read one mystery and reflection at each Our Father and spend a few quiet moments reflecting on it.

Today's prayers and meditations are included below. You can also access a PDF version of the full text of the novena here:

Download Novena Booklet 

 

Opening Prayer

O Jesus, as Mary stood at the foot of the Cross, You entrusted Her to us as our Mother.

The Holy Spirit inspired Mary’s faithful servant, Father Patrick Peyton, to proclaim throughout the world the power and promise of family prayer. He believed and testified that “The Family That Prays Together Stays Together.”

Through Mary and Father Peyton’s intercession, we ask this favor for our family ____________________. Lord Jesus, we beseech You to help our praying of the Rosary unite our family in love and joy. Amen.

 

Meditation

The Glorious Mysteries testify to the victory of love over the power of sin and death. The tremendous suffering Jesus endured before His Resurrection is the price that God was willing to pay in order to make us capable of inheriting eternal life. God desires our happiness, but He knows that our true happiness will be to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. This is why He gives us Mary to be the Mother of our souls. She will form Jesus in us and give us the grace we need to live for eternity. Her intercession and example enable us to say “yes” to God in everything we do.

 

The First Glorious Mystery: The Resurrection

"Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." (Luke 24:5)

Blessed Mother, even during the darkest moments of the Passion, when Your Son hung on the Cross and finally gave up His Spirit, You knew by faith that His love would triumph. Teach our family to place our confidence in His love and to help each other to remain faithful in times of hardship.

 

The Second Glorious Mystery: The Ascension

When He had said this, as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. (Acts 1:9)

Blessed Mother, You must have experienced such joy to see Your Son return to His Father for all eternity! But You remained on earth to be a Mother to the Church. We thank You for making this sacrifice for us, and we ask You to continue to intercede for the Church so that she might teach families how to pursue holiness in their daily lives.

 

The Third Glorious Mystery: The Descent of the Holy Spirit

There appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:3-4)

Blessed Mother, You, the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, were present with the disciples at Pentecost so that You could teach them to have a living relationship with Your Spouse. We likewise received the Holy Spirit at Baptism and Confirmation. Please teach us to become responsive to the gift of His presence in our souls.

 

The Fourth Glorious Mystery: The Assumption of Mary

Arise, O LORD, and go to Your resting place, You and the ark of your might. (Psalm 132:8)

Blessed Mother, how You must have rejoiced to be in the presence of the Blessed Trinity forever! Now You are in Heaven, interceding for Your children who remain under the burden of sin on earth. We thank You for being our Mother and for interceding for us before the throne of God.

 

The Fifth Glorious Mystery: The Coronation of Mary

A great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. (Revelation 12:1)

Blessed Mother, after many quiet and hidden years on earth, You received the honor of being crowned Queen of Heaven. Your Son had the joy of exalting You so that the whole world could see the love that radiated from Your humble heart. Grant us the grace to serve each other in humility so that we, too, will be prepared to praise God in Heaven for all eternity.

 

Prayer for the Beatification of Venerable Patrick Peyton

Dear Jesus, Father Peyton devoted his priestly life to strengthening the families of the world by calling them to pray together every day, especially the Rosary. His message is as important for us now as it was during his life on earth. We beg You, therefore, to hasten the day of his beatification so that Your faithful people everywhere will remember his message that The Family That Prays Together Stays Together, will imitate him in his devotion to Your Mother and ours, and will be inspired by his holy life to draw ever closer to You with childlike confidence and love. Amen.


Thank you for praying with us! 

About Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C.

Father Wilfred J. Raymond, C.S.C. (Father Willy), a native of Old Town, Maine, is the eighth of 12 children. He joined the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1964 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Stonehill College in 1967 and a master’s in Theology from the University of Notre Dame in 1971. He served in ministry at Stonehill College (1979-1992), Holy Cross leadership (1994-2000), National Director of Family Theater Productions, Hollywood (2000-2014), and President of Holy Cross Family Ministries (2014-2022). In addition to English, he is conversant in French and Spanish. He remains a diehard fan of the Boston Red Sox, even though he has served as Chaplain for the Los Angeles Dodgers.