Novena to St. John the Baptist

Novena to St. John the Baptist

This is the Traditional novena to St. John the Baptist with 3 parts reflecting the 3 phases of his life: time in the wilderness, his preaching, and finally his martyrdom.

1. O glorious Saint John the Baptist, greatest prophet among those born of woman, although thou wast sanctified in thy mother's womb and didst lead a most innocent life, nevertheless it was thy will to retire into the wilderness, there to devote thyself to the practice of austerity and penance; obtain for us of thy Lord the grace to be wholly detached, at least in our hearts, from earthly goods, and to practice Christian mortification with interior recollection and with the spirit of holy prayer.

1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be

1. O most zealous Apostle, who, without working any miracle on others, but solely by the example of thy life of penance and the power of thy word, didst draw after thee the multitudes, in order to dispose them to receive the Messias worthily and to listen to His heavenly doctrine; grant that it may be given unto us, by means of thy example of a holy life and the exercise of every good work, to bring many souls to God, but above all those souls that are enveloped in the darkness of error and ignorance and are led astray by vice.

1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be

1. O Martyr invincible, who, for the honor of God and the salvation of souls didst with firmness and constancy withstand the impiety of Herod even at the cost of thine own life, and didst rebuke him openly for his wicked and dissolute life; by thy prayers obtain for us a heart, brave and generous, in order that we may overcome all human respect and openly profess our faith in loyal obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ, our divine Master.

1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be

V. Pray for us, Saint John the Baptist R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

O God, who hast made this day to be honorable in our eyes by the commemoration of blessed John the Baptist, grant unto Thy people the grace of spiritual joy, and direct the minds of all Thy faithful into the way of everlasting salvation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Birth of John the Baptist by Francesco Solimena 1690

Background and Feast Day

John the Baptist is the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth.  The birth of both John the Baptist and Jesus were both heralded by the Angel Gabriel. In Elizabeth’s case the Angel tells Zechariah that Elizabeth will have a son even thought she is no longer of child bearing age. The name chosen for this baby is John which is a hebrew name meaning “graced by God”. 

The Feast of the Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist is on June 24th and is fast approaching.  As John the Baptist is a particularly special Saint to our family and the children's rosary the children and I decided to pray a rosary in honor of John the Baptist each of the 9 days leading up to His Feast.  We decided to pray the luminous mysteries as the first luminous mystery is the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. We are praying for our children’s rosary intention which we will include below.    If you decide to remember the Feast of John the Baptist through the above novena or special prayers consider adding our children’s rosary intention.  We thank you with our whole heart!

MAY THE CHILDREN’S ROSARY, THEIR FAMILIES, THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH THE CHILDREN’S ROSARY INCLUDING OUR PRIESTS, OUR BISHOP AND OUR HOLY FATHER THE POPE BE THE EXTENDED HANDS OF OUR BLESSED MOTHER AND HER SON.  MAY WE GATHER A GREAT MANY SOULS ESPECIALLY YOUNG PEOPLE FOR THE LORD.  MAY WE EXPERIENCE RENEWAL OF FAMILY PRAYER AND SPREAD IT ACROSS THE GLOBE. IN A SPECIAL WAY WE ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT TO GUIDE EACH ONE OF US ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD.

To become a member of the children's rosary one only has to tell the Lord in their heart of their desire to be a part of our group.  You will then be included in all the novenas being said and all of the rosaries being prayed daily.