|
|
|
|
Novena Blessed John of vercelli
FIRST DAY:
John Garbella was born in Vercelli, a town of northern Italy,
in 1205. He was a very bright, studious boy, and because of his
great
promise, he was sent to the University of Paris where he eventually
gained the Doctorate in law. He remained there as a teacher, and later
returned to Vercelli to begin a university in his home town. His love of
learning and constant study prepared him well for his future as a leader in
the Church.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, source of all Truth, You sent your divine
Son into the world to share with us the truth that makes us free -
free to
seek You with quiet minds and joyous hearts. Through the
intercession of
Blessed John of Vercelli, grant us a deep love of sacred truth, and
a
growing desire to know You more clearly and love You with greater
ardor.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son, our Lord, who lives and
reigns
with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
SECOND DAY: When Blessed John was about 25 years old, and busy at his
teaching in Vercelli, there came to that town the head of the
newly-founded Order of Preachers, or Dominicans, as they were called
because of Dominic, their founder. This successor of the great
preacher,
Dominic, preached so movingly that the young professor, John
Garbella, was
touched by God's grace to ask for admittance to the new Order of
Preachers. Blessed Jordan of Saxony, the Dominican Master General,
gave
him the habit of the Friars Preachers, and sent him to the city of
Bologna
to begin his preparation for the priesthood, and for an outstanding
career
in the history of the Order and the Church.
Let us pray: Lord, our God, You have planted deep in the
heart of man a
thirst for the truth, and a desire to attain union with You in love.
As
the young John of Vercelli sought the truth, and surrendered himself
lovingly to your vocation to a great apostolate, grant that we, too,
may
seek You with constancy, and serve You with all our hearts. Through
the
intercession of Blessed John, we ask in particular that You attract
the
hearts of many young people to your gospel, your love, and a
vocation of
service in your Church as priests and religious. We ask this in the
name
of Jesus, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the
Holy
Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
THIRD DAY: After 15 years of sacred study and very
successful preaching
in the university city of Bologna, John was sent back to his home
town of
Vercelli to establish a Dominican priory there. He was made its
superior.
The small states of those times were wracked with war between the
Germanic
emperor and the papal states. John's remarkable gift of peace-making
became evident, and he was sent to Venice to reconcile that
city-state
with its former enemies. He succeeded so well at this, that for the
rest
of his life, the Popes made use of his sanctity, prudence, and
diplomacy
to
establish peace between warring rulers and states.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, You have revealed yourself
to us as a God
of peace, justice, and unity. Through the grace of your divine Son,
the
Prince of Peace, bring peace to our divided world, justice for all
men,
unity to the human family. Through the intercession of Blessed John,
help
us root out of our own hearts the pride, selfishness, and
indifference to
others that lie at the root of discord and disunity. Make us truly
peacemakers, as befits those who call themselves Christians. We ask
this
in the most Holy Name of Jesus, your Son, our Lord, who lives and
reigns
with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
FOURTH DAY: God's grace continued to bear much fruit in the life of
Blessed John. His religious superiors sent him as official visitator
to
the newly established houses in Hungary; he was elected Prior of the
large
priory in Bologna; he was likewise appointed spiritual guide of the
Dominican nuns in that city. At the age of 52, he was elected
Provincial
of the province of Lombardy, and in that position, had to fight the
heresies that had sprung up in northern Italy. In all of his works,
he
turned to God through prayer and the sacraments as his source of
remarkable success in the vineyard of the Lord.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, You gave to each of us a mission - a
task in
your kingdom. And you likewise prepare for us the graces we need to
accomplish our tasks with success, so as to contribute to the
extension of
your kingdom, and our own sanctification. Let us imitate Blessed
John in
turning constantly to You, for the strength, the wisdom, and the
resources
to do your holy will and thus attain our salvation. We ask this in
the
most Holy Name of Jesus, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns
with You
and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
FIFTH DAY: In the year 1264, at the age of 59, Blessed John was elected
Master General of the Dominican Order, the fifth successor of St.
Dominic
himself. He did not believe himself worthy of the great trust. He
wrote to
his brethren: "My fears at my inability should be yours as
well, wherefore
I beg you to give me the help of your prayers so that divine mercy
may
supply that which I lack in my own strength". As Master
General, he
combated the growing spirit of competition between the nations, so
as to
establish a truly catholic spirit within the spreading Order. He
provided
a uniform way of celebrating the sacred liturgy for the entire
Order, thus
ensuring the dignity and beauty of divine worship, and he counseled
his priests and brothers constantly to be men of prayer and penance.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, Your divine Son commands us
to "seek first
the kingdom of God and His holiness". Make us truly men and
women of
prayer, frequenting the sacraments, loving God and our neighbor, and
conforming ourselves to Christ, our savior. Through the intercession
of
Blessed John, grant that we may always give to you the first
priority in
our lives, and love You with our whole heart, our whole mind, our
whole
strength. We ask this in the most Holy Name of Jesus, your Son, our
Lord,
who lives and reigns, with You and the Holy Spirit, forever and
ever.
Amen.
SIXTH DAY: Pope Clement IV had such admiration for Blessed John, and
depended so heavily upon his wisdom and counsel that the Pope
requested
that John go to live in Viterbo, where the papal court was then
located.
Blessed John remained with the Pope until Clement died. A number of
cardinals wished to elect Blessed John, but he had no such ambition,
and
was destined to govern his own Order, until his death. Again, he was
called upon to make peace between the feuding states of Venice and
Genoa,
and between France and Castille. He wrote to his priests and
brothers:
"Watch the little things. He who grows careless in little
things, little
by little falls. He who does not push himself to make progress, goes
backward."
Let us pray: Lord, our God, grant us the generosity to
seek opportunities
for doing good; the prudence to do it wisely and well; and the
humility to
rely upon God for all that we need, and to trust in Him
unquestioningly.
In imitation of Blessed John, help us to be true apostles of Jesus,
our
Lord, and faithful followers of His gospel of peace and humility. We
ask
this in the most Holy Name of Jesus, your Son, our Lord, who lives
and
reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
SEVENTH DAY: In April, 1273, Pope Gregory X announced an
ecumenical
council to be convoked in May, 1274, in the city of Lyons in
southeastern
France. Among the acts of that council, in which Blessed John
actively
participated, was a decree that greater reverence, should be paid to
the
Holy Name of Jesus by all Christian people. Pope Gregory entrusted
Blessed
John with the leadership of this renewed devotion to the Holy Name
of
Jesus throughout Europe. In his letter to Blessed John, Pope Gregory
wrote: "Let them honor with special reverence that Name which
is above all
names, the only Name given by heaven to men for their salvation,
which is
the Name of Jesus, who saved His people from their sins".
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, by the message of an
Archangel, You
instructed both Mary, the Mother of the Savior, and St. Joseph, his
foster-father, that his name was to be JESUS, meaning "God is
Savior".
Grant us a deep reverence for this HOLY NAME of JESUS, and a
constant
gratitude to our Divine Savior for the graces of redemption, which
He has
lavished upon us by his life of sufferings, death, and resurrection.
We
ask this in that Most Holy Name of Jesus, your Son, our Lord, who
lives
and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
EIGHTH DAY: Upon receipt of Pope Gregory's commission to spread devotion
to the Holy Name of Jesus throughout Europe, Blessed John
immediately
wrote to all Dominicans as follows: "Desirous of protecting the
honor of
God, of obeying this apostolic command, and of promoting in our
neighbor
an increase in devotion, we beseech you to stir up your zeal to the
end
that you personally see to it that this request of the Holy Father
receives full compliance by having your subjects preach with
convincing
arguments and with scrupulous diligence the need for reverencing the
Holy
Name". Confraternities of the Holy Name were founded in every
Dominican
church; altars were dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. As the
movement
spread and gathered momentum, it coalesced into the Holy Name
Society as
we know it today, brought into being by an ecumenical council and
nurtured
and spread by Blessed John of Vercelli.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, give to all of us a
warm, loving reverence
for the Holy Name of Jesus, your divine Son, our Lord. Bless
and prosper
the work of the Holy Name Society throughout the world. As it
has existed
and functioned for seven centuries, grant that its purpose of
spreading
reverence and respect for the Name of Jesus may continue and
grow to your
glory and the good of souls. We ask this in that most Holy
Name of Jesus,
your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns, with You and the
Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.
NINTH DAY: In the year 1276, Blessed John had the great happiness of
seeing one his own brethren, Peter of Tarentaise, elected as the
first
Dominican Pope. Two years later, when John was 73 years old, Pope
Nicholas
III appointed him to be Archbishop of the city of Jerusalem. Besides
his
basic modesty which shied away from the honor of the episcopacy, his
prudence dictated that a man of his years and declining health was
not up
to the job of governing a diocese wracked by war between Christian
crusaders and Moslems. He begged to be released from that
appointment, and
to be allowed to retire as Master General of his Order. The Pope
acceded
to his first request, but left to the Dominican brothers the
decision as
to his retirement. They would not hear of it, and he thus served his
brethren as their General until his death in 1283, at the age of 78.
His
Dominican brothers, and all who know him, realized that a saint had
gone
to his eternal reward. In 1903, Pope St. Pius X officially inscribed
the
name of John of Vercelli among the Blesseds of the Church; we await
the
day when he will be accorded the full recognition of canonization.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we give you thanks and
praise for the life,
the accomplishments, and the virtues of Blessed John. Through his
intercession, we commend to your love and your protection the Order
of
Preachers to which he devoted his life, the Holy Name Society, which
he
founded, and the devotion to the most Holy Name of Jesus, which he
promoted with such great zeal. We pray in that most Holy Name of
Jesus,
your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy
Spirit, one
God, forever and ever. Amen.
|
|
