PREPARATORY PRAYER
Almighty and
eternal God! With lively faith and reverently worshiping Thy
divine Majesty, I prostrate myself before Thee and invoke
with filial trust Thy supreme bounty and mercy. Illumine the
darkness of my intellect with a ray of Thy heavenly light
and inflame my heart with the fire of Thy divine love, that
I may contemplate the great virtues and merits of the saint
in whose honor I make this novena, and following his example
imitate, like him, the life of Thy divine Son.
Moreover, I beseech Thee to grant graciously, through the
merits and intercession of this powerful Helper, the
petition which through him I humbly place before Thee (the
restoration to full health of David Walters) devoutly
saving, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Vouchsafe graciously to hear it, if it redounds to Thy
greater glory and to the salvation of my soul. Amen.
PRAYER IN HONOR OF SAINT BLASE
O GOD,
deliver us through the intercession of Thy holy bishop and
martyr Blase, from all evil of soul and body, especially
from all ills of the throat; and grant us the grace to make
a good confession in the confident hope of obtaining Thy
pardon, and ever to praise with worthy lips Thy most holy
name. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
INVOCATION OF SAINT BLASE
Saint Blase,
gracious benefactor of mankind and faithful servant of God,
who for the love of our Saviour didst suffer so many
tortures with patience and resignation; I invoke thy
powerful intercession. Preserve me from all evils of soul
and body. Because of thy great merits God endowed thee with
the special grace to help those that suffer from ills of the
throat; relieve and preserve me from them, so that I may
always be able to fulfil my duties, and with the aid of
God's grace perform good works. I invoke thy help as special
physician of souls, that I may confess my sins sincerely in
the holy sacrament of Penance and obtain their forgiveness.
I recommend to thy merciful intercession also those who
unfortunately concealed a sin in confession. Obtain for them
the grace to accuse themselves sincerely and contritely of
the sin they concealed, of the sacrilegious confessions and
communions they made, and of all the sins they committed
since then, so that they may receive pardon, the grace of
God, and the remission of the eternal punishment. Amen.
My LORD and
my God! I offer up to Thee my petition in union with the
bitter passion and death of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, together
with the merits of His immaculate and blessed Mother, Mary
ever virgin, and of all the saints, particularly with those
of the holy Helper in whose honor I make this novena.
Look down upon me, merciful Lord! Grant me Thy grace and Thy
love, and graciously hear my prayer. Amen