Novena to the Virgin Mary for the Assumption - Sanctuary of Lisieux

Posted on 25 July 2022

Let us put ourselves in the school of the Virgin Mary and meditate with Thérèse on the mysteries of the Incarnation and the Child Jesus. May this novena open our hearts to the merciful love of Jesus and may we, accompanied by Our Lady, walk with confidence towards the Kingdom of God.

DAY 1 – Joseph's dream

“Now this is how Jesus Christ was begotten: Mary his mother was given in marriage to Joseph; before they lived together, she became pregnant by the action of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her husband, who was a righteous man, and did not want to denounce her publicly, decided to send her away in secret. As he had formed this plan, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said to him: "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary, your wife, into your home, since the child who is begotten in her comes from the Holy Spirit; she will give birth to a son, and you will give him the name of Jesus (that is to say: The-Lord-saves), because it is he who will save his people from their sins. All this happened to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by the prophet: Behold, the Virgin will conceive, and she will bear a son; he will be given the name Emmanuel, which translates to “God-with-us”. When Joseph awoke, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him: he took his wife into his home, but he did not unite himself to her until she bore a son, to whom he gave the name of Jesus. (Mt 1, 18-25)

On the evening of Love, speaking without a parable
Jesus said: "If someone wants to love me
All his life, let him keep my Word
My father and I will come to visit it.
And of his heart making our home
Coming to him, we will always love him!
Filled with peace, we want him to stay
In our Love!…»
To live on Love is to keep yourself
Uncreated Word, Word of my God,
Ah! you know it, divine Jesus, I love you
The Spirit of Love sets me ablaze with its fire
It is by loving you that I attract the Father
My weak heart guards it without return.
O Trinity! you are a prisoner
Of my Love!…..
Saint Therese Pn 17, 1-2

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Most Holy Virgin Mary, you who are more Mother than Queen, by your glorious Assumption you have shown us the way to Heaven. Teach us, with Thérèse, to walk on this little path of trust and love and to offer ourselves to Merciful Love. Keep us always united to Jesus, we who are your children. Amen.

DAY 2 – The Annunciation

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee, called Nazareth, to a young virgin girl, given in marriage to a man of the house of David, called Joseph; and the girl's name was Mary. The angel entered her home and said, “Hail, O Grace, the Lord is with you. At this word, she was quite upset, and she wondered what this greeting could mean. The angel then said to her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive and bear a son; you will give him the name of Jesus. He will be great, he will be called Son of the Most High; the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father; he will reign forever over the house of Jacob, and his reign will have no end. Mary said to the angel: "How is this going to be since I don't know a man?" The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; this is why the one who will be born will be holy, he will be called Son of God. Now behold, in her old age, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son and is in her sixth month, when she was called the barren woman. Because nothing is impossible with God. ". Mary then said: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let everything be done to me according to your word. Then the angel left her. (Lk 2, 26-38)

To live on Love is to live on your life,
Glorious King, delight of the elect.
You live for me, hidden in a host
I want to hide myself for you, O Jesus!
Lovers need solitude
A heart to heart that lasts night and day
Your look alone makes my bliss I live on Love!…
Living on Love is not on earth
Set up your tent at the top of Tabor.
With Jesus is to climb Calvary,
It is to regard the Cross as a treasure!…
In Heaven I must live of enjoyment
Then the trial will have fled forever
But exiled I want in suffering
Live on love.
Saint Therese Pn 17, 3-4

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...

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DAY 3 – The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to the hill country, to a city in Judea. She entered Zacharie's house and greeted Elizabeth. Now, when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child quivered within her. Then Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and cried out with a loud voice: “Blessed art thou among all women, and the fruit of thy womb is blessed. From where is it given to me that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For when your words of greeting reached my ears, the child leapt for joy within me. Blessed is she who believed in the fulfillment of the words spoken to her from the Lord. (Lk 2, 39-45)

To live on Love is to give without measure
Without claiming wages here below
Ah! without counting, I give being sure
That when one loves, one does not calculate!…
To the Divine Heart, overflowing with tenderness
I gave everything…. lightly I run
I have nothing left but my only wealth
Live on love.
To live on Love is to banish all fear
Any remembrance of past faults.
Of my sins I see no trace,
In an instant love burned everything…..
Divine flame, O most sweet Furnace!
In your hearth I fix my stay
It is in your fires that I sing at my ease:
“I live on Love!…”
Saint Therese, PN 17, 5-6

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DAY 4 – The Nativity

Now, while they were there, the time for Mary to give birth was fulfilled. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; she swaddled him and laid him in a manger, as there was no room for them in the common room. In the same region, there were shepherds who lived outdoors and spent the night in the fields to guard their flocks. The angel of the Lord came before them, and the glory of the Lord enveloped them with his light. They were seized with great fear. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news, which will be of great joy to all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you who is the Christ, the Lord. And here is the sign that is given to you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. (Lk 2, 6-12)

To live on Love is to keep within oneself
A great treasure in a mortal vessel
My Beloved, my weakness is extreme
Ah, I am far from being an angel from heaven!…
But if I fall with each passing hour
Picking me up you come to my aid,
Every moment you give me your grace
I live on Love.
Living on Love is constantly navigating
Sowing peace, joy in all hearts
Pilot Aimé, Charity urges me
Because I see you in the souls my sisters
Charity is my only star
In its clarity I sail without detour
I have my motto written on my sail:
"Live on love."
Saint Therese, PN 17, 7-8

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DAY 5 – The Presentation of Jesus in the temple

When the time prescribed by the law of Moses for the purification was fulfilled, the parents of Jesus brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, according to what is written in the Law: Every first-born of male sex shall be consecrated to the Lord. . They also came to offer the sacrifice prescribed by the law of the Lord: a couple of doves or two little doves. Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon. He was a just and religious man, who awaited the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. He had received from the Holy Spirit the announcement that he would not see death until he had seen Christ, the Lord's Messiah. Under the action of the Spirit, Simeon came to the Temple. At the moment when the parents presented the child Jesus to conform to the rite of the Law which concerned him, Simeon received the child in his arms, and he blessed God saying: "Now, O sovereign Master, you can leave your servant go away in peace, according to your word. For my eyes have seen the salvation which you prepared in the face of the peoples: a light which reveals itself to the nations and gives glory to your people Israel. The child's father and mother were astonished at what was said of him. Symeon blesses them, then he says to Mary his mother: “Behold, this child will cause the fall and the rise of many in Israel. It will be a sign of contradiction – and you, your soul will be crossed by a sword –: thus will be unveiled the thoughts that come from the hearts of many. (Lk 2, 22-35)

Living on Love, when Jesus sleeps
It's rest on the stormy waves
Oh ! do not be afraid, Lord, that I will awaken you
I wait in peace for the shore of heaven….
Faith will soon tear its veil
My hope is to see you one day
Charity swells and pushes my sail
I live on Love!…
To live on Love is, O my Divine Master
Begging you to spread your fires
In the holy and sacred soul of your Priest
May he be purer than a seraph of heaven!…
Ah! glorify your Immortal Church
To my sighs, Jesus, don't be deaf
Me, her child, I immolate myself for her
I live on Love.
Saint Therese, PN 17, 9-10

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...

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DAY 6 – The Recovery of Jesus in the temple

Every year Jesus' parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. When he was twelve years old, they went on pilgrimage according to custom. At the end of the feast, as they were returning, the young Jesus remained in Jerusalem without the knowledge of his parents. Thinking he was in the procession of pilgrims, they traveled a day before looking for him among their relatives and acquaintances. Not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem, continuing to search for him. It was after three days that they found him in the Temple, seated in the midst of the doctors of the Law: he listened to them and asked them questions, and all those who heard him were ecstatic over his intelligence and his his answers. Seeing him, his parents were struck with astonishment, and his mother said to him, “My child, why have you done this to us? See how your father and I have suffered looking for you! He said to them, "How come you looked for me?" Did you not know that I must be with my Father? (Lk 2, 41-49)

To live on love is to wipe your face
It is to obtain forgiveness from sinners
O God of Love! may they come into your grace
And may they forever bless your name…..
Until my heart resounds blasphemy
To erase it, I always want to sing:
“Your Sacred Name, I adore it and I Love it
I live on Love!…”
To live on Love is to imitate Mary,
Bathed in tears, in precious perfumes,
Your divine feet, which she fucks delighted
Wiping them with her long hair...
Then rising, she breaks the vase
Your Sweet Face it embalms in its turn.
Me, the perfume with which I perfume your Face
It's my love !….
Saint Therese, PN 17, 11-12

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DAY 7 – The Holy Family of Nazareth

Joseph got up; in the night he took the child and his mother, and retired to Egypt, where he remained until the death of Herod, to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by the prophet: From Egypt I called my son. Then Herod, seeing that the Magi had laughed at him, flew into a violent rage. He sent to kill all the children up to the age of two years in Bethlehem and in all the region, according to the date which he had been made clear by the Magi. Then was accomplished the word spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: A cry rises in Rama, tears and long complaint: it is Rachel who weeps for her children and does not want to be consoled, because they are no more. After the death of Herod, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said to him: “Arise; take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for they are dead, those who sought the life of the child. Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and entered the land of Israel. But, learning that Archelaus reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee and came to live in a city called Nazareth, so that the word spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: He shall be called a Nazarene. (Mt 2, 14-23)

“To live on Love, what strange madness!”
The world tells me, “Ah! stop singing,
Don't waste your perfumes, your life,
Usefully know how to use them!…”
Loving you, Jesus, what a fruitful loss!…
All my perfumes are yours without return,
I want to sing out of this world:
“I am dying of Love!”
Saint Therese, PN 17, 13

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DAY 8 – The Ascension of Jesus

Thus gathered, the Apostles questioned him: “Lord, is this the time when you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel? Jesus answered them, “It is not for you to know the times and seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you're going to receive strength when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; then you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. After these words, while the Apostles looked at him, he rose up, and a cloud came to remove him from their eyes. And as they were still staring at the sky where Jesus was going, behold, in front of them, stood two men in white clothes, who said to them: “Galileans, why are you standing there looking up at the sky? This Jesus who was taken up to heaven from you will come in the same way as you saw him go to heaven. (Ac 1, 6-11)

To die of love is a very sweet martyrdom
And it's the one that I would like to suffer,
O Cherubim! tune your lyre,
Because I feel it, my exile is going to end!….
Flame of Love, consume me ceaselessly
Live for a moment, your burden is very heavy for me!
Divine Jesus, realize my dream:
To die of love!…
Saint Therese, PN 17, 14

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DAY 9 – The Assumption of Mary into Heaven

A great sign appeared in the sky: a Woman, having the sun for her cloak, the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She is pregnant, she screams, in the pains and torture of childbirth. Another sign appeared in the sky: a great dragon, fiery red, with seven heads and ten horns, and on each of the seven heads a diadem. Its tail, carrying a third of the stars of the sky, precipitated them on the ground. The Dragon came to stand in front of the woman who was about to give birth, in order to devour the child as soon as it was born. Now she gave birth to a son, a male child, the one who will be the shepherd of all the nations, leading them with a scepter of iron. The child was caught up to God and his Throne, and the Woman fled into the desert, where God had prepared a place for her, so that she could be nourished there for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. There was then a fight in heaven: Michael, with his angels, had to fight the Dragon. The Dragon, too, fought with his angels, but he was not the strongest; henceforth there is no place for them in heaven. (Rev 12, 1-8)

To die of love, that's my hope
When I see my bonds breaking
My God will be my Great Reward
I don't want to own anything else.
Of his Love I want to be set ablaze
I want to see Him, unite myself to Him always
Here is my sky…. this is my destiny:
Live on love !!!…
Saint Therese, PN 17, 15

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