9 Day Novena of Saint Mother Theresa & Litanies

This prayer is good to say after your every day rosary.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Day 1 - Know the living Jesus

Do you really know the living Jesus, not from books but from being with him in your heart? Am I convinced of Christ's love for me and mine for Him? This conviction is the rock upon which holiness is built. What must we do to have this conviction? We must know Jesus, love him and serve him. Knowledge will make you as strong as death. We know Jesus through faith: through his Word in the Holy Scriptures, listening to him as he speaks through his Church and through an intimate union in prayer. Look for him in the tabernacle. Fix your eyes on him who is the light. Place your heart close to his Divine heart and ask for the grace to know him.

Meditation of the day:

Do not look for Jesus in distant lands; it's not there. It is close to you, it is inside you.

Seek the grace of knowing Jesus intimately.

The prayer of Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta

To pray every day during the 9 day Novena

Blessed Theresa of Calcutta, you allowed the passionate love of Jesus on the cross to become a living flame within you, to become the light of his love for all. Bring me the grace from the heart of Jesus... (Mention here the grace you want to pray for). Teach me to allow Jesus to penetrate inside me and take power over my being, in such a complete way that my life also radiates from his light and love for others. Amen!

Immaculate heart of Mary, cause of our joy

- pray for us.

Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta - pray for us.

Day 2 - Jesus loves you

Am I convinced of Jesus' love for me and my love for him? This conviction is like the light of the sun that makes the lymph of life grow and makes the buds of holiness bloom. This conviction is the rock upon which holiness is built.

The devil can use the wounds of life, he sometimes uses our mistakes to make us think that it is impossible that Jesus loves us and really wants to be with us. This is a danger for all of us. This is so sad because it is in complete contradiction with the desire of Jesus who is waiting to say... He always loves you, even when you don't feel worthy. Jesus loves you tenderly, you are precious to him. Turn to Jesus with great faith and let him love you. The past belongs to his mercy, the future to his trial, the present to his love.

Meditation of the day:

Don't be afraid - you are precious to Jesus, He loves you. Ask for the grace to be convinced of the unconditional and personal love of Jesus for you.

The prayer of Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta like the first day

Day 3 - Listen to Jesus saying "I thirst"

In his agony, in his suffering, in his loneliness, he said very clearly: "Why have you forsaken me?" On the cross he was terribly alone and abandoned in suffering... the people who were there thought he had an ordinary "physical" thirst, and immediately gave him vinegar; but that was not his thirst - He was thirsty for our love, for our kindness, for that intimate connection with him and for that fellowship in his suffering. It is strange that he used that word. He says "I am thirsty", instead of saying: "Give me your love"... The thirst of Jesus on the cross is not imagination. He expresses himself with the words "I'm thirsty." Listen as he tells me and you... this is truly God's gift.

If you listen with your heart, you will hear it, you will understand it... until you have inside yourself, deep down, the experience that Jesus is thirsty for you, you will not begin to know what He wants to be for you or him that He wants you to be for him.

Walk in his footsteps looking for souls. Bring him and his light to the homes of the poorest, especially the souls who are most in need. Spread the love of his heart wherever you go, that way you will quench his thirst for souls.

Meditation of the day:

Are you aware?! God is thirsty so you and I offer ourselves to quench his thirst. Ask for the grace to understand his call: "I am thirsty".

The prayer of Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta like the first day

Day 4 - Our Lady will help you

How much we need Mary to teach us what it means to quench the love that thirsts for us, which Jesus came to show us! She did this for beauty. Yes, Mary allowed God to take complete control of her life through her purity, obedience and faithful love... Let's try under the guidance of our heavenly Mother, that in us, in our soul, these three important internal behaviors grow , which give joy to God's heart by allowing him to join us, in Christ, through Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Imitating Mary, our mother, we will allow God to take full power over our being. God, in this way, through us, can reach with his passionate love all those we meet, especially the poor. If we stay close to Mary, she will give us her spirit of benevolent faith, complete abandonment and joy.

Meditation of the day:

How close should we be to Mary, to understand the depth of the Divine love which appeared to her when at the feet of the cross she heard the cry of Jesus: "I am thirsty!" Ask for the grace to learn from Mary to quench the thirst of Jesus as she did.

The prayer of Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta like the first day

Day 5 - Have blind faith in Jesus

Have faith in the good God who loves us, takes care of us, sees all things, knows them and acts for my good. Love with faith without turning your head back, without fear. Give to Jesus without sparing anything. He will use you to accomplish great things, provided that you believe more in his love than in your weakness. Have faith in him. Lean on him with blind and absolute faith because he is Jesus.

Jesus never changes... have faith in him with kindness, have faith in him with a big smile, always believing that he is the way to the Father, he is the light in this world full of darkness.

We have to look up and say "I can do everything in what gives me power". With this expression of St. Paul, you must have a great faith in the development of your work - or better, to work for God - so you will bear great and abundant fruits with Jesus and for Jesus. Convince yourself that you cannot do anything alone, you have nothing but sin, weakness and poverty; that is, all the gifts of nature and grace that you have received from God.

Even Mary has shown this complete trust in God by accepting to be a tool for his plan of salvation. She knew that she was nothing herself, but she also knew that Almighty God could do great things in her and through her. There was faith. After she said "Yes" in front of Him... Everything ended. He didn't doubt anything.

Meditation of the day:

Faith in God can achieve anything. Our emptiness and smallness are the things that God needs, not our fullness. Ask for the grace to have an unbreakable faith in God's power and love for you and for everyone.

The prayer of Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta like the first day

Day 6 - True love is abandonment

The word "I thirst" has no meaning if I do not give everything to Jesus through complete abandonment.

How easy it is to win God! We give ourselves to God and in this way we possess God. God belongs to us more than anything, because if we pray to Him we will own Him as He owns His Life, so we will live His life. The reward with which God repaid our donation is himself. We become worthy of having it when we rely on it in a supernatural way. True love is abandonment. The more we love, the more we give of ourselves.

You often see electrical wires next to each other: small or large, new or old, high-priced or low-priced. Until electricity passes through them, there will be no light. This electric wire is you and it is me. Electricity is God. We have the power to allow electricity to pass through us, to use us, to give light to the world: Jesus; or not let him use us to spread the darkness. Our Lady is the most perfect wire. I allow God to fill it completely, by means of her submission - "be with me as your word is" - she became gracious; and of course when she was filled with this electricity, by the grace of God, she hurriedly went to Elizabeth's house to connect the electric wire, John, to the current of electricity; Jesus.

Meditation of the day:

Allow God to use you even without asking. Seek the grace of abandonment to God throughout your life.

The prayer of Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta like the first day

Day 7 - Jesus loves those who give with joy

To bring joy to our soul, the good God gave himself to us... Joy is not simply a fact of time. By serving God and the souls, we are always looking for a reason that is more difficult, something more to master and grow in our hearts. Prayer is joy, strength is joy, loving another is joy. Joy is the net of love that catches many souls. God loves those who give with joy. Give more to the one who gives with joy. If you meet difficulties at work and accept them with joy, with a big smile, then and in any other case, others will see your good deeds and give glory to the Father. The best way to show your gratitude to God and others is to accept everything with joy. A joyful heart is the natural outcome of a heart aflame with love. Without joy there is no love, and love without joy is not true love. That's why we need to give this love and joy in today's world.

Joy was Mary's strength. Mary is the first missionary of love. She first accepted Jesus physically and brought him to others; she did this in a hurry. Joy gave her the strength and speed to go and do the maid's work.

Meditation of the day:

Joy is a sign of union with God. Joy brings us into the presence of God. Joy is love, it is the natural result of a heart inflamed by love. Ask for the grace to preserve the joy of the lover and share this joy with all those you meet.

The prayer of Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta like the first day

Day 8 - Jesus became the bread of life, the hungry

Jesus showed his love by giving us his life, his whole being. Although he was rich, he became poor, for you and for me. He gave himself completely, he died on the cross. But before he died, he became the bread of life to quench our thirst for his love. He said: "If you do not eat my flesh and drink my blood you will not have the eternal life". The greatness of such love lies in this: He became hungry when he said: "I was hungry, give me something to eat", and if you don't give something to eat, you will not enter the next life. This is Christ's way of giving. God continues to love the world even today. He continues to send you and me to prove that he loves the world, that he still feels compassion for the world. We must be his love and mercy in today's world, but to be loved we must have faith, because faith in action is love, and love in action is service. This is why Jesus has become the bread of life, so that by raising him we can live and see Him in the disfigured face of the poor.

Our life must be woven with the Eucharist. From Jesus in the Eucharist, we learn how thirsty God is to love us and how thirsty he is, to exchange this with our love for souls. From Jesus in the Eucharist we get the light and strength to quench his thirst.

Meditation of the day:

Do you believe that Jesus is under the duke of bread, that he is in the hungry, the naked, the sick, the one that no one wants, the homeless, the vulnerable and the desperate? Ask for the grace to see Jesus in the bread of life and to serve him in the disfigured face of the poor.

The prayer of Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta like the first day

Day 9 - The holiness of Jesus that lives and works in me

Our works of love are nothing but the fullness of our love for God in our depths. Therefore, He who is more united with God loves his neighbor even more.

Our activity is truly apostolic only to the extent that we allow Him to act in us and through us - with His strength - with His desire - with His love. We must become holy not because we want to feel holy but because Christ must be able to fully live his life in us.

To consume ourselves with Him and for Him. Let Him see with your eyes, speak with your tongue, work with your hands, walk with your feet, think with your mind and love with your heart. Is this not a perfect union, a continuous prayer? God is our good Father. Let the light of your love shine, so that (by force) people see your good deeds (work, cleaning, cooking, love for your husband and children) and give glory to the Father.

Be holy. Holiness is the best way to quench Jesus' thirst, his for you and yours for him.

Meditation of the day:

Mutual love is the sure way to great sainthood. Ask for the grace to become holy.

Litanies of Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta

Lord, have mercy on us! 

Lord, have mercy on us!

Christ, have mercy on us!

Christ, have mercy on us!

Lord, have mercy on us!

Lord, have mercy on us!

Christ, hear us!

Christ, hear us!

Christ, graciously hear us!

Christ, graciously hear us!

God, the Father of heaven,

have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the World,

have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit,

have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God,

have mercy on us.

Mother Teresa, Missionary of Love,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, missionary zealot,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, mother of friendships,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, visionary of eternity,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, visionary of peace,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, rooting out racism,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, mystic of the Eucharist,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, brave orderly,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, founder of the Missionaries of Love,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, example of living faith,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, example of patience,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, deceiver of the devil's traps,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, example of obedience,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, beloved of all the poor,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, mistress of time,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, destroyer of weariness,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, the support of resting prayer,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, the embodiment of Jesus' love for the poor,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, God's pencil,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, bride of Christ,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, beggar of the poor,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, rest of the poor,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, the refuge of those abandoned by all,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, the cry of unborn children,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, the awareness of those who do not believe,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, the hope of the broken-hearted,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, dedication to social equality,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, mother of all the saints,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, chanter of the hymns of the Hours,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, beauty of the virgins,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, bearer of the Good News,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, adorer of the devouter,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, servant of all,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, golden heart of the Church,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, testament of love for the poor,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, discoverer of the Divine,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, unquenchable flame,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, strengthening our faith in God,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, the embodiment of Divine virtues,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, house of prayer,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, example and encouragement from the life of virtues,

pray for us.

Mother Teresa, window of Heaven,

pray for us.

Christ, hear us!

Christ, hear us!

Christ, graciously hear us!

Christ, graciously hear us!

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

have mercy on us.

Let us pray: O God, almighty and eternal, grant that, through the intercession of the blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who served you among the poorest of the poor and deeply honored you in the Eucharistic presence, we may also gain strength and zeal to 'honored especially to the poor and to always be a constant arm of the repentant and despised and to honor you forever in the mystery of the Eucharist. Amen!

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!