Novena for Deacon Paul Lacombe

Begin Novena on Wednesday, May 31

Day 1—In Gratitude for Deacon Paul’s Generous Response to God’s Call

He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. -Luke 10:2
O Lord, you have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. Pour forth your spirit upon Deacon Paul, who, throughout many years, has discerned his calling to the priesthood. As he is approaching his ordination, free him from temptations so that his mind and heart may be fixed on the One who called him.
Let us pray:
Open his heart to embrace the crucified and risen Lord as the response to his search for love, personal meaning, and happiness. Enlighten his mind to understand that the Lord is the beginning and end of every personal story, the focal point and the center of life, the joy of every human heart, and the answer to all questions and yearnings. Help him to see that when God calls, he gives everything and takes nothing away – nothing that makes life complete, beautiful, and great. May the voice of Christ echo in the silence of his heart. May the gaze of Christ reach the depths of his very being
to discover that his calling in life is only found in the Eucharistic Lord. Don’t let fear prevail over him. Dispel from his heart all discouragements and doubts. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of Christ the high Priest and the Mother of all priests and seminarians. Amen.

(June 1st)

Day 2—The Priest, A Son of Mary

We must ask Mary especially for the grace of knowing how to accept God’s gift with grateful love, fully appreciating it as she did in the Magnificat—the grace of generosity in self-giving, in order to imitate her example as a generous mother; the grace of purity and fidelity in the obligation of
celibacy, following her example as the faithful Virgin; the grace of burning, merciful love, in the light of her witness as the Mother of Mercy. – John Paul II
Let us pray:
Mary, we entrust Deacon Paul to you in a special way as he approaches his priestly ordination, in which he will become one with Christ, your Son. Take him under your mantle; adopt him as your son as you did St. John at the foot of the Cross. Guide and encourage him in his priestly ministry; fill him with confidence in God; teach him to love Jesus as you do. Mother, be his model of surrender, trust, and love. You said yes to the will of God, embracing his plan without knowing where he would lead you. It was a yes that you renewed each day, in every trial, joy, and sorrow. May Deacon Paul learn to seek your companionship and entrust to you his hopes and worries. You, who were the first disciple of Christ, help him to proclaim, bear witness, and give Christ to the world. Mary, Mother of Priests, pray for us! Amen.
 

(June 2nd)

Day 3—The Need For the Priesthood

If we had not the Sacrament of Orders, we should not have Our Lord. Who placed Him there, in that tabernacle? It was the priest. Who was it that received your soul, on its entrance into life? The priest. Who nourishes it, to give it strength to make its pilgrimage? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, by washing that soul, for the last time, in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest — always the priest. And if that soul comes to the point of death, who will raise it up, who will restore it to calmness and peace? Again the priest. You cannot recall one single blessing from God without finding, side by side with this recollection, the image of the priest.  -St. John Vianney, patron saint of priests
 Let us pray:
Lord, your death granted us forgiveness for our sins, and your resurrection opened the gates of Heaven to us. We thank you for this most undeserved gift. May Christ’s Paschal Mystery always be at the center of Deacon Paul’s mind, heart, and soul; inspiring every aspect of his
ministry. Instill within him a heart of gratitude for the great gift to which he has been called. Help him always to reflect upon the pearl of great price that is the priesthood, which is more precious than any worldly temptation. Keep him faithful to those promises that he has made, and give him the grace to grow in love and understanding of those promises throughout his life. May he follow the example of the many faithful priests who have gone before him and spend himself entirely for the salvation of souls. Throughout his lifetime he will welcome souls to the Church through Baptism, reconcile them with you in the sacrament of Confession, confirm them in their faith, unite them in the sacrament of Matrimony, and
prepare them for their final encounter with you in death. May he always consider himself a bridge between God and man, a sign of the Father’s unconditional love that goes in search of the lost sheep. We ask this through Jesus Christ, the High Priest whose priesthood they share. Amen.
 

(June 3rd)

Day 4—For a Zealous Missionary Heart

Day after day, it’s necessary to learn that I do not possess my life for myself. Day by day, I must learn to abandon myself; to keep myself available for whatever he, the Lord, needs of me at a given moment, even if other things seem more appealing and more important to me: this means giving life, not taking it. -Pope Benedict
Let us pray:
Holy Spirit, fill the heart of Deacon Paul with a love for Christ that drives him to proclaim the message of salvation in all that he does. May his ministry reveal your presence in the world. Put your word on his lips and your love in his heart, to bring good news to the poor and
healing to the brokenhearted. When he preaches, give him the courage to proclaim the truth of the Gospel, even if it is demanding. Keep strong in him the desire to be a shepherd with the “smell of the sheep”, a shepherd who dwells among his flock, who makes himself the servant who washes the feet of his beloved friends, willing to lay down his very life for them. As the Apostles went to the ends of the earth to proclaim the message of salvation, give him the same burning zeal that all would come to know you. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
 
(June 4th)

Day 5—The Eucharist, Source and Summit of the Priest’s Life

Truly, Truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. -John 6:52-56
Let us pray:
Grant we pray for Deacon Paul to have an increased love for the Holy Eucharist, the “source and summit” of God’s covenant of love. May this great miracle, made present by the hands of your holy priests upon the altar, fill his heart with the earnest and unending desire to continue to lay down his own life for the service of your Holy Church. Increase his faith, Lord. Pour upon him your infinite grace, so that from consecration to adoration, he may never grow weary of serving you. May he always be rooted in an unwavering and indispensable love for the Eucharist, a love that compels him to bring this Sacrament to all God’s people, so that all may experience the Risen Christ and know his unending love and mercy. We ask this through Mary our blessed Mother, all your holy saints and angels, and through your Son, Christ our Lord. Amen.
 
(June 5th)

Day 6—The Sacrament of Reconciliation, An Encounter with Christ’s Merciful Heart

Only those who have known the Father’s tender embrace, as the Gospel describes it in the parable of the Prodigal Son—’he embraced him and kissed him’ (Lk 15:20)—only they can pass on to others the same warmth, when after receiving pardon themselves they administer it to others.  -John Paul II
Let us pray:
Lord, you have called Deacon Paul to be your minister of mercy through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. May he himself constantly discover your forgiveness through his own confession, and turn to share that forgiveness with every person he encounters within this Sacrament. May he always see himself as a bridge between God and man, as an open door for anyone who seeks reconciliation with you. Give him the gift of counsel and discernment, to find the right words of comfort and guidance for all who seek light in the confessional. May he reflect your mercy and help to bring many souls back to you, who live and reign forever and ever. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us! Amen.
 
(June 6th)

Day 7—The Priest as a Spiritual Father

When each of you was called to the priesthood, God remade you in persona Christi.  The more fully you live that truth, the more truly you radiate it to the people you encounter who are searching for God, the more profoundly you’ll draw others to share in the same joy.  And that’s how the renewal of the Church and the remaking of the world can begin. -Cardinal Raymond Burke
Let us pray:
Father in Heaven, in calling Deacon Paul to the priesthood, you have given him the gift of being a spiritual father to the many people he will meet throughout his life. Help him to live out this calling with love and generosity: giving example of a virtuous life, guiding and correcting his spiritual sons and daughters in a firm but gentle way, and providing for their spiritual needs with untiring generosity. We thank You for choosing him from among us, so that he may understand us as we understand him, suffer with us and rejoice with us, worry with us and trust with us, accompanying us in the joys and sorrows of this life. Allow both him and the people he serve to mutually benefit from this unique relationship and grow ever closer to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Help him to mend the brokenhearted with fatherly love and tender compassion. May his life be a constant reminder that we are made to rest with you for all eternity in our heavenly homeland. Amen.

(June 7th)

Day 8—For Strength in the Struggles they will
Endure

Keep them I pray Thee, dearest Lord, Keep them, for they are Thine; Thy priests whose lives burn out before Thy consecrated shrine. Keep them for they are in the world though from the world apart; When earthly pleasures tempt, allure— shelter them in Thy Heart. Keep them, and comfort them in hours of loneliness and pain, When all their life of sacrifice for souls seems but in vain. Keep them, and remember, O Lord, they have no one but Thee. Yet they have only human hearts, with human frailty. Keep them as spotless as the Host, that daily they caress.Their every thought and word and deed, deign, dearest Lord, to bless.  Amen. -Anonymous
Let us pray:
Lord, we entrust Deacon Paul to you as he prepares to commit himself to follow you closely throughout the rest of his life. You have chosen him, a weak and sinful man, to be your priest. Help him to remember that without you, he cannot do anything. May he encounter you each day in prayer, seeking your grace and strength as he faces the challenges of daily life. In his loneliness, comfort him; in his frustration, help him to purify his love for you. Show him that he is needed by the Church and by souls in the work of redemption. May he find encouragement in his community life, meaning in his apostolate, and consolation in intimacy with you. We ask you to please bless all priests, especially those who are suffering or struggling. May their suffering be a path to a deeper relationship with Christ. May Deacon Paul learn to place all his struggles before you, trusting in the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the angels and saints, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
 
(June 8th)

Day 9—For the Souls he will Help with the Sacraments  
The Beautiful Hands of a Priest