Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Submitted by Thomas Stidl

All through my life, I have tried to set aside time for prayer. Even in times of great distress through personal illness, illness and death of loved ones, incredible workloads from my business life, and in my short vacation periods, I would be praying a Rosary and meditating on those mysteries. Once I retired, I discovered more prayers that became part of my daily life. One such prayer is the Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. By the way, the meaning of the word 'efficacious' is effective. This novena is prayed daily, and it is the same prayer as used by Saint Padre Pio, the noted stigmatist (having the five wounds of Jesus) and mystic. All are invited to pray this every day to be united with the prayers of Saint Pio.

The verses are as follows:

O my Jesus, You have said: “Truly I say to you, ask and it will be given you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.” Behold I knock, I seek and ask for the grace of …

O my Jesus, You have said: “Truly, I say to you, if you ask anything in my Father's name, He will give it to you.” Behold, in Your name, I ask the Father for the grace of …

O my Jesus, You have said: “Truly, I say to you, Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Encouraged by Your infallible words, I now ask for the grace of …

After each verse, please state your needs and intentions. Also, pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, and the Glory be to the Father. Add to that a short prayer which is, “
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.”

After all three verses and all additional prayers stated above, pray the following:

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us sinners, and grant us the grace which we ask of You, through the sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Your tender mother and ours.

Next, pray the “Hail Holy Queen”, and finish with:

Saint Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.

I found that praying this prayer for the Church's and my daily needs is a blessing for me. It is not extremely long and wordy. Jesus taught his disciples to pray that way. I sincerely hope this prayerful meditation will be a great blessing for you.

Until next time, Laus Tibi, Christe. Laus Deo. Deo Gratias. See you in Paradise. Amen.