St. Francis Novena, Day Nine

As you remember your personal intentions, please pray for all those suffering with mental illness and for their families.

Fr. Frank Jasper, OFM

Toward the end of his life, St. Francis was anxious and concerned about the direction that the Brothers were heading. He thought they were deviating too far from his dream and the call of the Gospel. He and Br. Leo retired to a hermitage where they devoted themselves to prayer and contemplation to calm their fearful spirits.

At times, I find myself being anxious about many things, like Martha in the Gospel. I’ll occasionally wake up at night worrying about these things that have happened or things that might happen. I toss them over in my mind again and again and again trying to come to some resolution. Then, when I wake up in the morning, the problems aren’t really that big and I am able to put them in perspective and calm my fears.

A few minutes of prayer and quiet can help calm our spirits, too. As we approach the feast of St. Francis, you can join us in putting aside our fears and anxieties by spending a few minutes with the Lord. Then we can sleep soundly since we have turned them over to the Lord ahead of time.

Fr. Frank

(Frank J. Jasper, OFM, is the Guardian of St. Clement Friary in St. Bernard, Oh. and an accomplished photographer.)

Pray the Novena to Francis of Assisi

Read by Fr. Murray Bodo, OFM

“At last, when all of God’s mysteries were fulfilled in him, the blessed man fell asleep in the Lord. One of his brothers and disciples saw his soul under the appearance of a radiant star being carried aloft in a shining cloud over many waters on a direct path into heaven,” writes St. Bonaventure in his Life of St. Francis. Post your prayer intentions to St. Francis on our Prayer page.

The Novena to St. Francis of Assisi

Day Nine

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Poor and humble St. Francis, through your kind intercession we seek to love God above all things. We seek the faith, hope, and love that moved you to joyfully renounce honors and riches and to radically follow our Lord Jesus Christ.

Pray for us that we come to see the privilege of suffering with and for the poor after the example of Jesus. Help us to be always grateful for all the blessings we have received and give us the strength to overcome our most pressing concerns.

(Include your personal intentions now.)

Almighty Father, through the kind intercession of St. Francis, we humbly ask for the grace to be free of the fears and anxieties that beset us.

St. Francis, help us to continue praying for the grace to truly repent and change our hearts by actively seeking reconciliation with God and all those we have offended or hurt in any way. May the blessings we receive through your intercession deepen our faith and inspire us to store up treasures in heaven, where we hope to spend eternity with our loving God.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen.

St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,

Amen.

Post your prayer requests on our Prayer Page.

Give alms on our Donation Page. Light a candle or offer a Mass here.

Fr. Murray Bodo, OFM, is a writer and poet. His book, Surrounded by Love: Seven Teachings from St. Francis, is published by Franciscan Media.

Videos and articles on St. Francis at Franciscan Media.

We follow Jesus in the footsteps of St. Francis, learn more at Franciscan.org