Novena Prayer to St. Agnes
O singular example of virtue, glorious Saint Agnes, by the living faith which animated thee from thy tenderest years, and rendered thee so pleasing to God that thou didst merit the martyr's crown: obtain for us the grace to keep our holy faith inviolate within us, and to profess ourselves Christians sincerely in word and work; may our open confession of Jesus before men cause Him to bear a favourable witness to us before His eternal Father.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.
O invincible Martyr, Saint Agnes most renowned, by thy confidence in God's help, when, being condemned by the impious Roman prefect to see the lily of thy purity stained and trampled in the mire, thou didst not despair, still trusting firmly in the God who giveth His angels charge over them that trust in Him: we beseech thee by thine intercession to obtain for us from Almighty God the forgiveness of all our sins and the sure confidence that He will bestow upon us life everlasting and the means necessary to merit it.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.
O courageous maiden, Saint Agnes most pure, by the burning love with which thy heart was on fire, and which preserved thee from harm in the midst of the flames of passion and of the stake, where the enemies of Jesus Christ sought to destroy thee: obtain for us from Almighty God that every unclean flame may be extinguished in us and only that fire, which Jesus Christ came to enkindle upon the earth, may burn within us; so that, after spending a blameless life in the practice of this fair virtue, we shall be worthy to have a share in the glory thou didst merit by the purity of thy heart and by thy martyrdom.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.
(Indulgence of 300 days)
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Prayer in Honor of St. Agnes
O Sweetest Lord Jesus Christ, source of all virtues, lover of virgins, most powerful conqueror of demons, most severe extirpator of vice! deign to cast Thine eyes upon my weakness, and through the intercession of Mary most blessed, Mother and Virgin, and of Thy beloved spouse St. Agnes, glorious virgin and martyr, grant me the aid of Thy heavenly grace, in order that I may learn to despise all earthly things, and to love what is heavenly; to oppose vice and to be proof against temptation; to walk firmly in the path of virtue, not to seek honors, to shun pleasures, to bewail my past offenses, to keep far from the occasions of evil, to keep free from bad habits, to seek the company of the good, and persevere in righteousness, so that, by the assistance of Thy grace, I may deserve the crown of eternal life, together with St. Agnes and all the saints, forever and ever, in Thy kingdom. Amen.
(Indulgence 100 days, Pius IX, 1854)
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Prayer of Petition to St. Agnes
O sweet Saint Agnes, I earnestly implore thy compassion and commend myself to thy prayers. O noble virgin, thou didst despise all earthly things and prefer the love of Christ to the glory of the world. Death was welcome to thee, and the holy angels were waiting for thy soul to convey it into the joys of Paradise, where, adorned with the martyr's palm, thou didst arrive at the nuptials of the heavenly Spouse. I too seek Him; deign to intercede for me that He may grant me health of mind and body, restrain the temptations of the devil, extinguish the desires of the flesh, give me time for true repentance and amendment of life, grant me the remission of all my sins, together with grace to make a good end and a happy death. Amen.
(Thomas A Kempis)
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Prayer in Honor of St. Agnes
O sweetest Lord Jesus Christ, source of all virtue, lover of virgins, most powerful conqueror of demons, most severe extirpator of vice! Deign to cast thine eyes upon my weakness, and through the intercession of Mary most blessed, mother and virgin, and of Thy beloved spouse, St. Agnes, glorious virgin and martyr, grant me the aid of Thy heavenly grace, in order that I may learn to despise all earthly things, and to love what is heavenly; to oppose vice and to be proof against temptation; to walk firmly in the path of virtue, not to seek honors, to shun pleasures, to bewail my past offences, to keep far from the occasions of evil, to keep free from bad habits, to seek the company of the good, and persevere in righteousness, so that, by the assistance of thy grace, I may deserve the crown of eternal life, together with St. Agnes and all the saints, for ever and ever, in thy kingdom. Amen.
(Indulgence of 100 days--Pius IX.)
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St. Agnes, Her Second Feast
January 28th
Five days after the martyrdom of the Virgin Emerentiana, the parents of the glorious Saint Agnes visited the tomb of their child, during the night, there to weep and pray. It was the eighth day since her martyrdom. Whilst they were thinking upon the cruel death, which, though it had enriched their child with a Martyr's palm, had deprived them of her society--Agnes suddenly appeared to them: she was encircled with a bright light, and wore a crown on her head, and was surrounded by a choir of virgins of dazzling beauty. On her right hand, there stood a beautiful white lamb, the emblem of the Divine Spouse of Agnes.
Turning towards her parents, she said to them, "Weep not over my death: for I am now in heaven, together with these virgins, living with Him, whom I loved on earth with my whole soul."
It is to commemorate this glorious apparition, that the holy Church has instituted this Feast, which is called Saint Agnes' Second Feast. (Sanctae Agnetis secundo.) Let us pray to this fervent spouse of the Divine Lamb, that she intercede for us with Him, and present us to Him in this life, until it be given to us to possess Him face to face in heaven.