MAKE HER KNOWN

Clonard
Solemn
Novena

in honour of
Our Mother of
Perpetual Help

1998 Solemn Novena
June 17th to June 25th

Spread the Word

People arrive in their thousands each day from just after 6 in the morning until near to midnight 18 hours later. And this goes on for nine consecutive days in the month of June each year.

The people who come to seek the intercession of our Mother of Perpetual Help come from all walks of life – those who are poor economically, socially, emotionally and spiritually are at the heart of the celebrations during those Summer days. There are Christians too from other denominations and a special feature each year is to have a preacher from another Christian Church speak to the people on one of the days.

A woman also speaks to the people on a chosen topic.

The Solemn Novena has, in a relatively short period of time, become a very real part of the lives of the people of Belfast each year – some even compare it to "key" points in the year like Christmas and Easter.

An extremely important aspect of this annual gathering is that we arrive to pray for each other to our Father in heaven and through the intercession of the Mother of Jesus.

Many who cannot be present join in spirit with those who come to Clonard on their behalf. Indeed many who suffer intensely – in all the sorts of impoverished ways mentioned above – offer those sufferings for others.

And now you – dear friend – are visiting us at Clonard.

You cannot physically be present at our Solemn Novena but you are, nonetheless, present with us now.

Be assured that we will pray for you each day of the Novena.
If you wish to send a request or thanksgiving for special mention at the Novena (anonymously of course) please fill in the Petition form or Thanksgiving form at the end of the Solemn Novena page.

THE NOVENA MOVES OUT:
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Gradually bishops and priests in other part of Ireland started to make requests that the Redemptorist’s conduct the now famous Solemn Novena in their area. Indeed there were requests from such places as Britain, Africa and the US. 1977 saw the Solemn Novena move out of Mount St. Alphonsus:
It was in that year that the Solemn Novena took place for the first time at the Abbey of Holycross, under, the enthusiastic Patronage of the Archbishop of Cashel, Dr. Morris. The spread of the Solemn Novena was under way! Carlow followed as did Longford Cathedral, Tuam Cathedral and other parts of Ireland. Meanwhile, the other Redemptorist churches in Ireland were following the example of Limerick and, like Limerick, had wonderful crowds. Over the next ten years, the Solemn Novena became established as an important part of the Redemptorist Apostolate in Ireland.

We can see the way it was promoted from the start.
Below shows Solemn Novena 1973 - the first ever in Belfast.

Daily Timetable
June  15th-23rd

NOVENA WITH BENEDICTION
3.00 p.m.
NOVENA WITH MASS
6.15 P.M.

Sunday

NOVENA WITH BENEDICTION
4.00 P.M.
NOVENA WITH MASS
7.00 P.M.

REDEMPTORIST CHURCH
CLONARD . BELFAST

PROGRAMME OF
SOLEMN NOVENA
FOR THE FEAST OF
Our Mother of
Perpetual Help
SATURDAY 15TH-SUNDAY 23RD JUNE(incl)
Preacher: Fr. TOM FALKNER CSsR.

THIS WAS WHAT POPE PIUS 1X
TOLD US TO DO

WE HAVEN'T DONE IT YET, HAVE WE?
     WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT IT
     PRAYED ABOUT IT
     SLEPT ON IT. and done..... WHAT?
HAVE YOU MADE HER KNOWN
     IN YOUR OWN PARISH?
     IN YOUR OWN STREET?

You haven't?  Well there's a thought for the
Solemn Novena that is coming up-
There are 5 PEOPLE WAITING FOR YOU to
bring them to the Novena.
                          Find those five and bring them.
They may be different in many things,
but they are all alike in one thing-
                    they all NEED Our Blessed Mother,
though you may have to convince them of that

She offers us-

Christ our courage when we are afraid;
Christ our hope when we despair;
Christ our food when we are weak;
Christ our promise when we die.

---

Search for those 5 people
     who NEED
          Our Blessed Mother
FIND THEM and
     BRING THEM to
          HER NOVENA

(Novena Times  Back Page)

"nine days when people come to pray and  sing in a very happy, joyful atmosphere.
when people bring their problems;
personal or family problems; petitions;
to the shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual
Help and find a renewed ability to cope.
a devotion which has always had a great appeal for young people:
attracting them in very big numbers.
a time when many people make a come-back.
A popular time for people who have been 'away' for years to come back to
God in the sacrament of Confession"

Ceasefires cause for celebration
at 52nd Clonard Novena

Grant this, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Novena Prayer

Mother of Perpetual Help, with the greatest confidence
we come before your holy picture to be inspired
by the example of your life.
We think of you at that moment when, full of faith and trust,
you accepted God's call to be the mother of his Son
Help us, your children, to accept with joy our own calling in life.
When you learned that your cousin Elizabeth was in need,
you immediately wnt to serve her and offer your help.
Help us, like you, to be concerned for others.
We think of you, Mother, at the foot of the cross.
Your heart must have bled to see your Son in agony.
But your joy was great when he rose from the dead,
victorious over the powers of evil.
Mother of Sorrows, help us through the trials and disappointments
of life.
Help us not to lose heart.
May we share with you and your son the joy of having faced
up to all the challenges of life.
Amen.

Petitions

Click here to send in your Petitions or to view actual petitions prayed for today.

O Mother of Perpetual help,
with grateful hearts we join you in thanking God
for all the wonderful things he has done for us,
especially for giving us, Jesus, your Son, as our Redeemer.
O God, our Creator,
We thank you for the gift of life and all the gifts of nature:
our senses and faculties, our talents and abilities.
We thank you for creating us in your image and likeness
and for giving us this earth to use and develop, to respect and cherish.
Despite our failures, you continue to show your love for us today
by increasing the life of your Spirit in us at the eucharistic table.
Finally, we thank you, loving Father, for giving us Mary,
the Mother of your Son, to be our Mother of Perpetual Help.
We are grateful for all the favours we have received through her
intercession.
We pray that those past favours may inspire us to greater confidence
in your loving mercy and to seek the aid of
Our Mother of Perpetual Help.
Amen

Thanksgivings