Day 4 Novena commemorating the stigmatta impression
September 11, day 4 of a novena commemorating the impression of the stigmatta of our Seraphic father St. Francis of Assisi
Every year, on September 17, the Franciscan Family celebrates the feast of the Stigmata of Saint Francis, remembering the marks and the manifestation of the wounds of the Passion of Jesus on the body of Saint Francis.
INITIAL PRAYER
On Mount Alvernia, Francis is totally immersed in an Easter dynamic of cross and resurrection, love and pain, death and life; The stigmata, a sign of pain, are also a sign of the recognition of the Risen Lord, the glorious wounds, the wounds that have become the mature sign of the fulfillment of an Easter journey that the Spirit undertook in Francis, through all the events, the interior and exterior vicissitudes by which the saint meekly allowed himself to be modeled.
The stigmata are the clear sign that the love of Christ is an incarnate love, which touches the body, changes it, configures it and conforms it to its own. The Christian faith is faith of incarnation.
From this event arises one of the most beautiful prayers in all of Christianity: praise to the Most High God, perhaps the highest text that came from the heart and pen of Francis, a heart pierced by the paschal mystery of Christ.
It is a prayer that is poured out in a contemplative gaze on the Lord, a gaze that communicates a deep intimacy between Francis and Christ, within a wonder that is expressed in words that run one after another, almost trying to tell the mystery, but never capture and define it. A long litany of "You are...": finally now the center of Francisco's life and heart is that "YOU" who is love even to the gift of himself in death.
You are holy, Lord,
the only God,
and Your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong.
You are great.
You are the Most High.
You are Almighty.
You, Holy Father
are King of heaven and earth.
You are Three and One,
Lord God, all Good.
You are Good,
all Good, supreme Good,
Lord God, living and true.
You are love.
You are wisdom.
You are humility.
You are endurance.
You are rest.
You are peace.
You are joy and gladness.
You are justice and moderation.
You are all our riches,
and You suffice for us.
You are beauty.
You are gentleness.
You are our protector.
You are our guardian and defender.
You are our courage.
You are our haven and our hope.
You are our faith,
our great consolation.
You are our eternal life,
Great and Wonderful Lord,
God Almighty,
Merciful Saviour.
READING
Brief description of Mount Verna. Mount Alverna was gifted to Saint Francis in 1213 by Count Orlando. The Count described the mountain as a perfect and ideal place for contemplation in the middle of nature. (…) «Mount Alverne is truly isolated and wild and is perfect for those who want to do penance in an isolated place or for those who want to live in solitude. If you wish, I will give it to you and your followers for the salvation of my soul.” A hermitage was established on the mountain that became the favorite place for Francis and his followers to spend long periods of meditation and prayer. Francis first climbed the mountain in 1214 and returned to Alverna at least four or five times: in 1215, 1216, 1217, 1221 and 1224. Francis's last stay on Mount Alverna was in 1224, when he was already tired and sick. This last stay was probably Francis' longest in the mountains, and the most memorable, as it was then that he received the stigmata on September 17, 1224.
PETITIONARY PRAYER
Oh, my Father Saint Francis, I come to ask you for all those past, present and future pains. My hands are not completely empty, but they are united with those of all the Franciscan souls who before us shed their blood for the faith of Christ.
Seraphic Father, intercede for this particular intention...
By the merits of the Precious Blood of Jesus, by the blood of your stigmata and that of all the martyrs, bless us and always watch over us, your children. Amen.
Other days of the novena: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 -9
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