Day ThreeDecember 18
Prayer for Every Day
Most gracious God of infinite charity, who so loved mankind that you gave us in your Son the greatest pledge of your love, so that, made man in the womb of a Virgin, he might be born in a manger for our salvation and remedy. I, in the name of all mortals, give you endless thanks for so sovereign a benefit. In return I offer you the poverty, humility, and other virtues of your Son made man, begging you by his divine merits, by the hardships with which he was born, and by the tender tears he shed in the manger, to dispose our hearts to profound humility, to burning love, and to such contempt for all that is earthly, that the newborn Jesus may find in them his cradle and dwell there forever. Amen.
(Pray “Glory be to the Father” three times.)
Reflection
Thus the incarnate life of the Child Jesus began. Let us consider the glorious soul and the holy body he had taken, and adore them profoundly.
First, admiring the soul of this divine Child, let us consider in it the fullness of his sanctifying grace and his beatific knowledge by which, from the first moment of his life, he saw the divine essence more clearly than all the angels and read the past and the future with all their hidden mysteries. He never learned by gradual acquisition anything he did not already know by infusion from the first moment of his being; yet he accepted all the infirmities of our nature to which he could fittingly submit, even if not necessary for the great work he was to accomplish. Let us ask him that his divine faculties may make up for the weakness of ours and give them new strength: that his memory teach us to remember his benefits; his understanding to think of him; his will to do only his will—what he wants and in his service.
From the soul of the Child Jesus let us pass now to his body, which was a world of wonders, a masterpiece of God’s hand. It was not, like ours, a burden to the soul; rather, it was a new element of holiness. He willed it to be small and weak like that of all children and subject to all the inconveniences of infancy, to resemble us more and share in our humiliations. The Holy Spirit formed that little body with such delicacy and such capacity to feel that it could suffer to the extreme in order to accomplish the great work of our redemption. The beauty of that body of the divine Child surpassed all that has ever been imagined; and the divine blood that began to circulate in his veins from the moment of his Incarnation is the blood that washes away all the stains of the guilty world. Let us ask him to wash ours in the sacrament of penance, so that the day of his Nativity may find us purified, forgiven, and disposed to receive him with love and spiritual profit.
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sovereign Mary, who by your great virtues and especially by your humility deserved that God himself should choose you as his Mother, I beg you to prepare and dispose my soul, and the souls of all who make this novena at this time, for the spiritual birth of your adored Son.
O sweetest Mother! Share with me something of the deep recollection and divine tenderness with which you awaited him, so that you may make us less unworthy to see him, love him, and adore him for all eternity. Amen.
(Pray the Hail Mary nine times.)
Prayer to Saint Joseph
O most holy Joseph, spouse of Mary and putative father of Jesus! I give infinite thanks to God for choosing you for such lofty ministries and adorning you with every gift suited to so excellent a dignity. I beg you, by the love you had for the Divine Child, to inflame me with fervent desires to see him and receive him sacramentally, while in his divine essence I see and enjoy him in heaven. Amen.
(Pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be.)
Aspirations for the Coming of the Child Jesus
My sweet Jesus, my adored Child,
Come into our souls!
Come, do not delay so long!
O highest Wisdom of the sovereign God, who to a child’s reach yourself humbly bend! O Divine Child, come to teach us the prudence that makes true sages indeed!
Come into our souls!
Come, do not delay so long!
O mighty Adonai, who speaking to Moses to Israel’s people gave the commandments! Ah, come swiftly to rescue us, and let a feeble Child show his mighty arm!
Come into our souls!
Come, do not delay so long!
O holy Root of Jesse, who on high to the world presents your fragrant blossom! O sweetest Child, called the lily of the valleys, fair flower of the field!
Come into our souls!
Come, do not delay so long!
Key of David, who opens to the exile the closed doors of the royal palace! Lead us out, O Child, with your spotless hand, from the gloomy prison built by sin!
Come into our souls!
Come, do not delay so long!
O Dawn’s Radiance, Sun of eternal rays, let us see your splendor amid the darkness! Most precious Child, delight of the Christian, let the smile of your sweet lips shine!
Come into our souls!
Come, do not delay so long!
Spotless Mirror, Holy of holies, peerless image of the sovereign God! Blot out our faults, save the exile, and, as a Child, give the wretched shelter!
Come into our souls!
Come, do not delay so long!
King of nations, bright Emmanuel, Israel’s longing, Shepherd of the flock! Child who guides with gentle staff both the stubborn sheep and the meek lamb!
Come into our souls!
Come, do not delay so long!
Let the heavens open and from on high rain down life‑giving dew like holy watering! Come, beautiful Child, come, God made man! Let the fair star shine, let the flower of the field spring forth!
Come into our souls!
Come, do not delay so long!
Come, for Mary prepares her arms, that soon she may see her Child! Come, for Joseph, with holy longing, makes himself ready to be the shrine of your love!
Come into our souls!
Come, do not delay so long!
Help of the weak, comfort of the afflicted, consolation of the sad, light of the exile! Life of my life, my beloved Lord, my constant friend, my divine brother!
Come into our souls!
Come, do not delay so long!
May my eyes see you, with love for you! Let me kiss your feet, let me kiss your hands. Prostrate on the earth, I stretch out my arms, and more than my words my tears speak to you.
Come into our souls!
Come, do not delay so long!
Come, our Savior, for whom we sigh!
Come into our souls!
Come, do not delay so long!
Prayer to the Child Jesus
Remember, O sweetest Child Jesus, that you said to the venerable Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament, and in her person to all your devotees, these words so consoling for our poor afflicted and suffering humanity: “Whatever you wish to ask, ask it through the merits of my childhood and nothing shall be denied you.” Full of confidence in you, O Jesus, who are Truth itself, we come to lay before you all our misery. Help us to live a holy life so as to obtain a blessed eternity. Grant us, through the infinite merits of your Incarnation and your childhood, the grace we so greatly need.
(Brief pause for a silent petition.)
We give ourselves to you, O almighty Child, certain that our hope will not be disappointed and that, by virtue of your divine promise, you will graciously receive and answer our supplication. Amen.