NOVENA TO ST BAKHITA

DAY 1
Dear St Bakhita, you were taken from your family at an early age and lost your entire identity.
We pray for all those children who have been abducted and for their parents and families who
suffer not knowing what has become of them. May they be comforted,
and may they one day be reunited.

Say 1 Our Father...Say 1 Hail Mary...Say 1 Glory Be... or a hymn to Bakhita

O God our Father, Liberty for the oppressed and Comfort for the poor, you called men and women from all nations
to experience the blessedness of freedom and faith. Inflame the hearts of your children with the desire to reach the
same holiness with which you filled Saint Josephine Bakhita, virgin, and grant that, faithful to your commandments,
we too, may serve you with the same purity of heart. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint Josephine Bakhita, Pray for us.

DAY 2
Dear St Bakhita, you knew what it was to be a slave, to have no rights, to have lost even your name. We pray for the
victims of people traffickers and all those in any kind of slavery.
May this evil be wiped out from our world.

Say 1 Our Father...Say 1 Hail Mary...Say 1 Glory Be... or a hymn to Bakhita

O God our Father, Liberty for the oppressed and Comfort for the poor, you called men and women from all nations
to experience the blessedness of freedom and faith. Inflame the hearts of your children with the desire to reach the
same holiness with which you filled Saint Josephine Bakhita, virgin, and grant that, faithful to your commandments,
we too, may serve you with the same purity of heart. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint Josephine Bakhita, Pray for us.

DAY 3
Dear St Bakhita, one of your ‘owners’ had your whole body scarred. You knew this terrible pain. We pray for all
victims of torture. Help them to heal in body, mind and spirit. May all governments abandon this practice.

Say 1 Our Father...Say 1 Hail Mary...Say 1 Glory Be... or a hymn to Bakhita

O God our Father, Liberty for the oppressed and Comfort for the poor, you called men and women from all nations
to experience the blessedness of freedom and faith. Inflame the hearts of your children with the desire to reach the
same holiness with which you filled Saint Josephine Bakhita, virgin, and grant that, faithful to your commandments,
we too, may serve you with the same purity of heart. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint Josephine Bakhita, Pray for us.

DAY 4
Dear St Bakhita, even in the terrible suffering of your life, you saw beauty in the world and believed there must be
God because of that beauty. May we too have something of your love for beauty and the natural world.

Say 1 Our Father...Say 1 Hail Mary...Say 1 Glory Be... or a hymn to Bakhita

O God our Father, Liberty for the oppressed and Comfort for the poor, you called men and women from all nations
to experience the blessedness of freedom and faith. Inflame the hearts of your children with the desire to reach the
same holiness with which you filled Saint Josephine Bakhita, virgin, and grant that, faithful to your commandments,
we too, may serve you with the same purity of heart. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint Josephine Bakhita, Pray for us.

DAY 5
Dear St Bakhita, when the family which had rescued you wanted you to leave the Canossians, you had the courage to
refuse, even though you were truly grateful to them. We pray that through your intercession, we may put God’s will
above all things, even above our natural affections.

Say 1 Our Father...Say 1 Hail Mary...Say 1 Glory Be... or a hymn to Bakhita

Sr Shanti
Novitiate 2012
O God our Father, Liberty for the oppressed and Comfort for the poor, you called men and women from all nations
to experience the blessedness of freedom and faith. Inflame the hearts of your children with the desire to reach the
same holiness with which you filled Saint Josephine Bakhita, virgin, and grant that, faithful to your commandments,
we too, may serve you with the same purity of heart. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint Josephine Bakhita, Pray for us.

DAY 6
Dear St Bakhita, you were so grateful to know God and to be part of his Church that you often kissed the baptismal
font. We pray that we never take for granted the faith we have been offered and give us something of your humility
and gratitude for all God does.

Say 1 Our Father...Say 1 Hail Mary...Say 1 Glory Be... or a hymn to Bakhita

O God our Father, Liberty for the oppressed and Comfort for the poor, you called men and women from all nations
to experience the blessedness of freedom and faith. Inflame the hearts of your children with the desire to reach the
same holiness with which you filled Saint Josephine Bakhita, virgin, and grant that, faithful to your commandments,
we too, may serve you with the same purity of heart. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint Josephine Bakhita, Pray for us.

DAY 7
Dear St Bakhita, your sufferings gave you a great compassion for others and you were constantly smiling and always
open to those who came to you, no matter how inconvenient it was. St Bakhita, may we have something of your
sweetness and openness, something of your joy.

Say 1 Our Father...Say 1 Hail Mary...Say 1 Glory Be... or a hymn to Bakhita

O God our Father, Liberty for the oppressed and Comfort for the poor, you called men and women from all nations
to experience the blessedness of freedom and faith. Inflame the hearts of your children with the desire to reach the
same holiness with which you filled Saint Josephine Bakhita, virgin, and grant that, faithful to your commandments,
we too, may serve you with the same purity of heart. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint Josephine Bakhita, Pray for us.

DAY 8
Dear St Bakhita, in your last painful illness you relived your slavery, begging the nurse to loosen your chains. We
pray for all those who are weighed down by pain, and we ask that we too may enter the sufferings of our lives in
faith and knowledge that God has not abandoned us.

Say 1 Our Father...Say 1 Hail Mary...Say 1 Glory Be... or a hymn to Bakhita

O God our Father, Liberty for the oppressed and Comfort for the poor, you called men and women from all nations
to experience the blessedness of freedom and faith. Inflame the hearts of your children with the desire to reach the
same holiness with which you filled Saint Josephine Bakhita, virgin, and grant that, faithful to your commandments,
we too, may serve you with the same purity of heart. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint Josephine Bakhita, Pray for us.

DAY 9
Dear St Bakhita, your last words were “Our Lady, Our Lady”. May we too know the comfort of the Mother of God,
now and at the hour of our death.

Say 1 Our Father...Say 1 Hail Mary...Say 1 Glory Be... or a hymn to Bakhita

O God our Father, Liberty for the oppressed and Comfort for the poor, you called men and women from all nations
to experience the blessedness of freedom and faith. Inflame the hearts of your children with the desire to reach the
same holiness with which you filled Saint Josephine Bakhita, virgin, and grant that, faithful to your commandments,
we too, may serve you with the same purity of heart. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint Josephine Bakhita, Pray for us.

Sr Shanti
Novitiate 2012