Novena to St. Ann
Opening Prayer
Glorious St. Ann, you are filled with compassion for those who invoke you
and with love for those who suffer.
Heavily laden with the weight of my troubles,
I kneel at your feet
and humbly beg you to take my present needs under your special protection.Please recommend my intentions to your daughter,
the Blessed Virgin Mary,
and lay them before the throne of Jesus.Please keep praying for me until my requests are granted.
Above all, obtain for me the grace to one day meet God face to face,
with you and Mary
and all the angels and saints,
praising Him through all eternity.Amen.
First Day
Great Saint Ann,
engrave indelibly on my heart and in my mind
the words that have reclaimed and sanctified so many sinners:
“What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world
if he lose his own soul?”
May this be the principle fruit of these prayers
by which I will strive to honor you during this novena.
At your feet I renew my resolution to invoke you daily,
not only for the success of my temporal affairs
and to be preserved from sickness and suffering,
but above all, that I may be preserved from all sin,
that I may gain eternal salvation
and that I will receive the special graces I seek.
O most powerful Saint Ann, do not let me lose my soul,
but obtain for me the grace of heaven,
there with you, your blessed spouse, and your glorious daughter,
to sing the praise of the Most Holy and Adorable Trinity forever and ever.
Amen.
Second Day
Glorious Saint Ann,
how can you be otherwise than overflowing with tenderness toward sinners like myself,
since you are the grandmother of Him who shed His blood for us,
and the mother of her whom the saints call advocate of sinners?
To you, therefore, I address my prayers with confidence.
Please commend me to Jesus and Mary so that,
at your request,
I may be granted remission of my sins,
perseverance,
the love of God,
charity for all mankind,
and the special grace for which I stand in need at the present time.
O most powerful protectress, let me not lose my soul,
but pray for me that through the merits of Jesus Christ
and the intercession of Mary,
I may have the great happiness of seeing them,
of loving and praising them with you through all eternity.
Amen.
Third Day
Beloved of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
mother of the Queen of Heaven,
take us and all who are dear to us under your special care.
Obtain for us the virtues you instilled in the heart of her
who was destined to become Mother of God,
and the graces with which you were endowed.
O model of Christian womanhood,
we pray that we may imitate your example in our homes and families
and we ask you to listen to our petitions.
Guardian of the infancy and childhood of the most Blessed Virgin Mary,
obtain the graces necessary for all who enter marriage,
that imitating your virtues
they may sanctify their homes
and lead the souls entrusted to their care to eternal glory.
Amen.
Fourth Day
Glorious Saint Ann, I kneel in confidence at your feet,
for you also have tasted the bitterness and sorrow of life.
Please tend to my need, the cause of this novena.
Good Saint Ann,
you suffered much during the twenty years that preceded your glorious maternity.
I pray that through all of your sufferings and humiliations, you will grant my prayer.
I pray to you, through your love for your glorious spouse Saint Joachim,
through your love for your Immaculate child,
and through the joy you felt at the moment of her happy birth not to refuse me.
Bless me, bless my family, and bless all who are dear to me,
so that some day we may all be with you in the glory of heaven, for all eternity.
Amen.
Fifth Day
Great Saint Ann, how far I am from resembling you.
I so easily give way to impatience and discouragement,
and so easily give up praying when God does not at once answer my request.
Prayer is the key to all heavenly treasures,
but I cannot pray because my weak faith and lack of confidence
fail me at the slightest delay.
O my powerful protectress, come to my aid, listen to my petition.
Make my confidence and fervor,
supported by the promise of Jesus Christ,
increase as the trial to which God in His goodness subjects me is prolonged,
that I may obtain like you more than I can venture to ask for.
In the future I will remember that I am made for heaven and not for earth;
for eternity and not for time;
that consequently I must ask, above all, the salvation of my soul
which is assured to all who pray faithfully and who persevere in prayer.
Amen.
Sixth Day
Glorious Saint Ann, mother of the Mother of God,
I beg your powerful intercession for the freedom from my sins
and the assistance I need in my troubles.
What can I not hope for if you take me under your protection?
The Most High has been pleased to grant the prayers of sinners
whenever you have been charitable enough to be their advocate.
Therefore, I beg you to help me in all spiritual and temporal dangers,
to guide me in the true path of Christian perfection,
and finally to obtain for me the grace of a happy death,
so that I may contemplate your beloved Jesus and your daughter Mary
in your loving companionship throughout all eternity.
Amen.
Seventh Day
O Good Saint Ann, so justly called the mother of the infirm,
the cure for those who suffer from disease,
look kindly upon the sick for whom I pray.
Alleviate their sufferings;
cause them to sanctify their sufferings
by patience and complete submission to the Divine Will;
and finally, seek to obtain health for them
and with it the firm resolution to honor Jesus, Mary, and yourself
by the faithful performance of their duties.
Merciful Saint Ann,
I ask you above all for the salvation of my soul
rather than for bodily health,
for I am convinced that this fleeting life is given us
solely to assure us of a better one.
I cannot obtain that better life without the help of God's graces.
I earnestly beg them of you for the sick and for myself,
especially the petitions for which I am praying in this novena.
Through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through the intercession of His Immaculate Mother,
and through your effective and powerful mediation, I pray.
Amen.
Eighth Day
Remember, O Saint Ann,
you whose name signifies grace and mercy,
that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection,
implored your help,
or sought your intercession was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence, I fly to you,
good and kind mother;
I take refuge at your feet, burdened with the weight of my sins.
O holy mother of the Immaculate Virgin Mary,
despise not my petition,
but hear me and grant my prayer.
Amen.
Ninth Day
Most holy mother of the Virgin Mary, glorious Saint Ann,
I, a miserable sinner, confiding in your kindness,
choose you today as my special advocate.
I offer all my interests to your care and maternal solicitude.
O my very good mother and advocate, please accept me and adopt me as your child.
O glorious Saint Ann,
I beg you, by the passion of my most loving Jesus,
the Son of Mary, your most holy daughter,
to assist me in all the necessities both of my body and my soul.
Venerable Mother, I beg you to obtain for me the favors I seek in this novena.
I also beg for the grace of leading a life perfectly conformed in all things to the Divine Will.
I place my soul in your hands and in those of your kind daughter.
I ask for your favor in order that,
appearing under your patronage before the Supreme Judge,
He may find me worthy of enjoying His Divine Presence in your holy companionship in Heaven.
Amen.
Concluding Prayers
- Our Father
- Hail Mary
- Glory Be to the Father
Pray for us, good Saint Ann,
that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Plural version
Glorious St. Ann, you are filled with compassion for those who invoke you
and with love for those who suffer.
Heavily laden with the weight of our troubles,
we kneel at your feet
and humbly beg you to take all of our present needs under your special protection.Please recommend our intentions to your daughter,
the Blessed Virgin Mary,
and lay them before the throne of Jesus.Please keep praying for us until our requests are granted.
Above all, obtain for us the grace to one day meet God face to face,
with you and Mary
and all the angels and saints,
praising Him through all eternity.Amen.
Links
- Source: Pray More Novenas, edited to suit my taste.