Some Fond Return of Love: Praying to Saint Gabriel

Novena to Saint Gabriel of the Addolorata
February 18 — 27, 2007

The liturgical memorial of Saint Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother falls quite suitably at the beginning of Lent on February 27th. I am very fond of Saint Gabriel. The affection I have for him goes back to my boyhood. The Passionist Fathers often preached missions in my home parish. At some point I must have been given a popular life of Saint Gabriel written for young lads. If I remember rightly, it was called “Boy in a Hurry.” (Terry N. would know, or Father Gregory O., or Father Martin F. They probably read it too.) On the morning of February 27, 1862, Saint Gabriel died of tuberculosis. He was twenty-fours years old; although a professed Passionist, he was not yet ordained a priest
It occurred to me that some of the readers of Vultus Christi might want to join me in making a novena to Saint Gabriel from February 18—27. Here are two possibilities. The first prayer is suitable for everyone, but especially for parents and grandparents who want to recommend their children and grandchildren to him. The second set of prayers (antiphon, reading, litany, and collect) is inspired by the liturgical texts for Saint Gabriel’s feast. Saint Gabriel is a wonderworker. There is no doubt about that. The miracles obtained through his intercession are too many to be counted.

Prayer for the Novena to Saint Gabriel of the Addolorata
O angelic young Gabriel,
who, filled with burning love for Jesus Crucified
and with tender compassion for His Sorrowful Mother,
gave us an example of childlike simplicity
and purity of heart,
we seek thy intercession with confidence.
Thou knowest what dangers assail young people from every side.
Thou knowest the treachery of the Evil One
who seeks to lure them into the unhappiness of sin
and the darkness of a life without faith and without hope.
Watch over our children, we beseech thee;
ask the Mother of God to keep them safe beneath her protecting mantle.
To all young men and women show thyself a brother and a friend.
True devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary filled thy life with joy
and gave thee peace of heart at the hour of thy death;
teach us to love the Mother of Jesus as thou didst love her:
with constancy, with tenderness, and with trust.
Glorious Saint Gabriel,
thou hast worked great miracles in the past,
magnifying the Lord by the power of thy intercession.
Intercede for us now, we beseech thee,
and attend to the particular needs we lay before thee.
Pray, dear Friend and Brother, that the sacred Passion of Christ
and the Sorrows of His Virgin Mother
may be engraved in our hearts as they were in thine,
that together with thee,
we may praise the mercy of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Another Form for the Novena:
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Saint Gabriel, converted by the gaze of the Sorrowful Virgin, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel, true son of Saint Paul of the Cross, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel, drawn to the side of Jesus Crucified, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel, hidden in the sacred wounds of Christ, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel, zealous for the honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel, tender in thy devotion to the Mother of Sorrows, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel, friend of all who seek to love Mary, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel, graced with the presence of Mary in life and at the hour of thy death, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel, lover of chastity, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel, childlike and humble, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel, faithful in little things, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel, glorious worker of miracles, pray for us.
V. How can a young man keep his way pure?
R. By guarding it according to Thy word.
Let us pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst teach the blessed Gabriel to dwell continually
upon Thy sweet Mother’s sorrows,
and through her didst exalt and glorify him by his miracles and holy life,
grant us, by his intercession and example,
to share her tears of compassion
that we may be healed and saved by her motherly protection.
Thou who art God, living and reigning with God the Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever.