Day Five of the Double Novena
Two great men each died on November 3. Charles Borromeo passed away on that day in 1594, and exactly 45 years later, on a different continent, Martin de Porres died in 1639. Their lives overlapped by 15 years, but they never met; most likely neither one ever heard of the other. Here are the prayers for Day One, Day Two, Day Three, and Day Four.
Scroll further down to find today’s novena prayers.
“There were only a few… who could remember the plague, which fifty-three years before had ravaged the greater part of Italy and particularly the Milanese provinces where it was – and still is – called ‘the plague of St. Carlo.’
”Such is the power of charity! It could make the memory of one man stand out over the varied and solemn memories of a general disaster, because it inspired that man with feelings and actions more memorable even than the evils themselves: it could stamp him on people’s minds as a symbol of all their misfortunes, because it had urged and thrust him forward into all of them as their guide, help, example, and voluntary victim; it could turn a general calamity into almost a personal triumph for him; and name it after him as if that calamity had been a conquest or a discovery.”
[Alessandro Manzoni, The Betrothed, page 477]
This coming Sunday, November 1st, in honor of All Saints’ Day, we will begin releasing the videos from the 2020 Festival of Friendship. We will host a watch party for our first two videos, “Like a Boss: Presentation on St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, and St. Teresa of Calcutta” and “A Cloud of Witnesses: Gracie Morbitzer’s Icons of Modern Saints.” We hope that by making these videos available through our youtube channel, our friends in other time zones will be able to enjoy the extraordinarily convivial experience of our Festival.
The Prayers:
St. Charles Borromeo
Day Four:
Listen, and I will tell you. If a tiny spark of God’s love already burns within you, do not expose it to the wind, for it may get blown out. Keep the stove tightly shut so that it will not lose its heat and grow cold. In other words, avoid distractions as well as you can. Stay quiet with God. Do not spend your time in useless chatter.
[Charles Borromeo, Homily]
You, Lord, who have the power to renew the heavens, the earth, and all things, give to all of us that new heart, that new spirit which you promised us through the mouth of your prophet: And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you (Ezekiel 36:26). Bestow it upon us, Lord, with such abundance that it will produce in us, efficaciously and constantly, new resolutions, new customs, a new way of life, and in the end, that eternal renewal which the new Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ, already came into the world to bring us. With this help, our heart shall be enlarged, reforms will no longer seem hard, nor your service burdensome. But the yoke will be sweet and the weight of your holy commandments light to us. We ask this through your son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.
[Charles Borromeo, “Booklet of Reminders”]
Preserve in the midst of your people,
we ask, O Lord, the spirit with which you filled
the Bishop Saint Charles Borromeo,
that your Church may be constantly renewed
and, by conforming herself to the likeness of Christ,
may show his face to the world.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Our Father, Mail Mary, Glory Be
St. Martin de Porres
Day Five:
“Saint Martin, always obedient and inspired by his divine teacher, dealt with his brothers with that profound love which comes from pure faith and humility of spirit. He loved people because he honestly looked on them as God's children and as his own brothers and sisters.”
[St. John XXIII]
Blessed is the man who is found without fault,
who does not make gold his life's object,
who does not put his trust in wealth.
- His future will be secure in the Lord.
Who is this man that we may praise him,
for he has done wonders in his life?
- His future will be secure in the Lord.
O God, who led Saint Martin de Porres
by the path of humility to heavenly glory,
grant that we may so follow his radiant example in this life
as to merit to be exalted with him in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
[Collect for the Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Roman Missal]
Our Father, Mail Mary, Glory Be
