NOVENA TO ST.

DOMINIC GUZMAN

(Novena: 30 July - 7 August, Feast: 8 August)

I. INTRODUCTORY PRAYER

O glorious Saint Dominic, you who were a model of mortification and purity, by
punishing your innocent body with scourges, with fastings and with watchings, and by
keeping inviolate the lily of your virginity, obtain for us the grace to practice penance
with a generous heart and to keep unspotted the purity of our bodies and our hearts.

O great Saint, who, inflamed with divine love, did find your delight in prayer and
intimate union with God; obtain for us to be faithful in our daily prayers, to love our
Lord ardently, and to observe His commandments with ever increasing fidelity.

O glorious Saint Dominic, who, being filled with zeal for the salvation of souls, did
preach the Gospel in season and out of season and did establish the Order of Friars
Preachers to labour for the conversion of heretics and poor sinners, pray to God for us,
that He may grant us to love all our brethren sincerely and to cooperate always, by our
prayers and good works, in their sanctification and eternal salvation.

V. Pray for us, Saint Dominic,

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray:
Grant, we beseech you, Almighty God, that we who are weighed down by the burden of
our sins may be raised up by the patronage of blessed Dominic, your Confessor.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
II. REFLECTION AND PRAYER FOR EACH DAY

DAY 1 - JULY 30 : THE FORCE OF GOOD EXAMPLE

1. SCRIPTURE - Sirach 50:6,7

He shone in his days as the morning star, in the midst of a cloud, and as the moon at the
full; and as the sun, when it shines, so did he shine in the temple of God.

2. LIFE OF ST. DOMINIC: LUMEN ECCLESIAE / LIGHT OF THE CHURCH

St. Dominic was born in Spain in 1170. With the dawn of reason his whole soul turned to
God. His childhood was most pious and his youth angelic in purity. In the University of
Palencia he was the model student. At twenty five he became a canon regular at Osma,
and with the religious habit he put on the Lord Jesus and strove in all things to imitate
Him. His time was divided into prayer, study of Scripture, and com­munity duties.
Silence and retirement were his delight; works of penance and tears of contrition his
meat and drink. Going in 1205 to France, he spent many years in every kind of labour
for the conversion of the Albigensian heretics. Like Jesus Christ he passed the day in
apostolic work, the night in prayer. His penance was extreme, but to others he was
gentle, sweet, and kind. Many were converted by his miracles, many by the example of
his holy life. Six times he jour­neyed to Rome, once to Spain, once to Paris, walking
barefoot, praying or singing on the road; preaching in the towns and villages, spending
the nights in contemplation. He founded in 1215 the Order of Friars Preachers for the
conversion of souls. He was a man of truly apostolic heart, a column of the Faith, a
trumpet of the Gospel, the light of Christ to men. He died at Bologna in 1221.

3. PRAYER
O most enlightened teacher of divine truth, Holy Father St. Dominic, who taught what
was profitable for salvation and made yourself all things to all men, that you might win
all to Christ; help us to close our ears and hearts to all false doctrine and whatever may
be harmful to our souls and to open them joyfully to the truths of Holy Church. Through
Christ our Lord. Amen.

DAY 2 - JULY 31 : HUMILITY

1. SCRIPTURE - Philippians 2:5-8

Your attitude must be that of Christ: Though he was in the form of God, he did not deem
equality with God something to be grasped at. Rather, he emptied himself and took the
form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. He was known to be of human estate,
and it was thus that he humbled himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a
cross!

2. LIFE OF ST. DOMINIC: DOCTOR VERITATIS / DOCTOR OF TRUTH

Humility is the foundation of perfection, and in St. Dominic it was deep and strong. So
clear was his knowledge of the great majesty of God and his own nothingness that he
lived always in holy fear and self-distrust. Though most innocent, he considered himself
to be a sinner, unworthy of the least grace. Constantly he prostrated himself before God,
praying for long periods of time.

Before entering a town to preach, he used to kneel down on the road, begging God not to
punish the people for his sins but to make his labour fruitful. When passing an altar or
crucifix he would bow profoundly, in token of his nothingness. Praise and honour he
detested, and three times refused the bishopric. At the General Chapter he said to his
brethren, “I deserve to be deposed from my office, for I am negligent and relaxed.”
When asked where he would be buried, “Under the feet of my brethren,” the saint
responded.

The saints, though great in virtue, look upon themselves as worthless, because they see
themselves in the light of God, and knowing him they know themselves. “Our
righteousness,” St. Dominic would say, “when compared to the righteousness of God, is
mere uncleanness.”

"Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
(Matthew 11:29)

3. PRAYER
O Holy Father St. Dominic, true lover of humility, the greater you appeared in the sight
of men, the more you humbled yourself before God. Be to us a loving guide, that,
following in your footsteps we may be enabled to withstand all the snares of the enemy,
and spending our lives in earnest prayer, self-denial and humility, we may, at the hour
of death, be received with you into heaven. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

DAY 3 - AUGUST 1 : COMPUNCTION OF HEART

1. SCRIPTURE - Sirach 2: 16-18

Those who fear the Lord seek to please him, those who love him are filled with his law.
Those who fear the Lord prepare their hearts and humble themselves before him. Let us
fall into the hands of the Lord and not into the hands of men, for equal to his majesty is
the mercy that he shows.

2. LIFE OF ST. DOMINIC: ROSA PATIENTIAE / ROSE OF PATIENCE

Though so pure that the Holy Church calls him “Ivory of Chastity,” and Christian art
puts a lily into his hands, Dominic was always weeping over sin. His soul being full of
contrition, acts of sorrow were constantly upon his lips. On seeing towns or villages, he
used to weep over the sins committed there against God. But this sorrow was not merely
hidden in the soul; it bore fruit in works of penance. Three times every night he
scourged himself: once for his own sins, once for those of others, and once for the
suffering souls. He had a rule of abstinence, even on journeys never eating meat or food
cooked with meat. His fasts were strict and continual; even when travelling over Europe
on foot, he fasted from September until Easter, though preaching daily. He never had a
room of his own, but slept anywhere: on the ground, a bench, or the altar step. Being a
zealous lover of the rule, he punished faults, but with such fatherly love that penance
was accepted and even desired from his hands.

“If you have no sins of your own to weep for,” St. Dominic would say, “still weep, after
the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, and grieve for the sinners of the world that they
may repent.”

"Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." (Luke
14:27)

3. PRAYER
O zealous preacher of penance, Holy Father St. Dominic, whose ardent desire for the
salvation of souls made you ever ready to endure the greatest labours and fatigues and
even to give your life in order to win them to God, pray for us, that treading in the steps
of Jesus Crucified, the Redeemer and Physician of souls, we may disregard all suffering
and generously sacrifice ourselves for the needs of others. Through the same Christ our
Lord. Amen.

DAY 4 - AUGUST 2 : ST. DOMINIC’S PRAYER

1. SCRIPTURE - Ephesians 5:18-20

Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and inspired
songs. Sing praise to the Lord with all your hearts. Give thanks to God the Father always
and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. LIFE OF ST. DOMINIC

Prayer was the breath of St. Dominic’s life, the light on his path, the staff on his
pilgrimage. He prayed always. In childhood his delight was to serve Mass, to visit the
Blessed Sacrament, and to chant Office. As a student, he learned wisdom more from
prayer than from books. He won more souls by prayer than by preaching or miracles. In
travelling, St. Dominic prayed as he went, sometimes the Veni Creator Spiritus, or the
Ave Maris Stella, or sometimes he recited psalms. He often reminded his companions to
think of God. Many times St. Dominic spent the night in prayer before the altar. His
methods of prayer were various: sometimes he lay prostrate, then stood erect, then knelt
down. For hours he would stand before a crucifix, genuflecting and making fervent
ejaculations. Often he stretched out his arms like a cross, pleading earnestly to God. On
occasion he was seen in rapture by the vehemence of his prayer. “In all labours and
trials, in hunger, thirst, fatigue, his heart turned always to God.”

3. PRAYER
O God, who enlightened your Church by the virtues and preaching of St. Dominic, your
confessor and our father, mercifully grant that by his prayers we may be delivered from
present dangers and ever increase in spiritual blessings. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

DAY 5 - AUGUST 3 : THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER

1. SCRIPTURE - Malachi 2:6

True devotion was in his mouth, and no dishonesty was found upon his lips; he walked
with me in integrity and in uprightness, and turned many away from evil.

2. LIFE OF ST. DOMINIC

As an unbridled tongue destroys a spirit of prayer, Dominic loved silence and
retirement, that he might dwell with God. His intimate friend, William of Montserrat,
said that “Dominic always kept the silence prescribed by the custom and rule of the
Order, abstained from idle words, and always spoke either of God or to God.”

Dominic considered custody of the senses important and fed his soul constantly with
spiritual reading. His books were the Bible and Cassian’s Conferences of the Fathers of
the Desert. The Holy Scriptures he always carried, and ordered his spiritual children
diligently and unceasingly to read them. At dinner one religious used to read aloud, that
the souls of all might be fed on the Word of God.

"If any man offends not in words, the same is a perfect man." (James 3:2)

3. PRAYER
O most Holy Father St. Dominic, who always showed yourself loving to all and never
despised, wounded or offended anyone, obtain for me from our Saviour, the grace to be
severe only to myself and my evil passions and always gentle and loving toward my
neighbour, ever like him, pardoning all who injure or offend me. Through the same
Christ our Lord. Amen.

DAY 6 - AUGUST 4 : DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED SACRAMENT AND THE

MOTHER OF GOD

1. SCRIPTURE - Psalms 84:2-4

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul yearns and pines for the
courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow
finds a home, and the swallow a nest in which she puts her young by your altars, O Lord
of hosts, my King and my God!

2. LIFE OF ST. DOMINIC

The Eucharist and the Mother of God were objects of Dominic’s special devotion. Before
the tabernacle he spent his nights, finding there rest after his labours; and arriving
weary and foot sore from a journey, he always visited the Blessed Sacrament before
refreshing his body. However much fatigued, he always celebrated Mass, and if possible
sang it. During the celebration of Mass tears were often seen flowing down his face,
moving all to devotion.

Of God’s Mother he was always an ardent and reverent lover. His life, his work, his
Order were placed under her protection, and he invoked her in every difficulty and
danger. He began the custom of saying the Hail Mary before preaching. The Blessed
Mother filled him with heavenly favours, watched over him with motherly care, and gave
him the habit of his Order. A tradition cherished in his Order, and supported by the
testimonies of many popes, ascribes to him the first teaching of devotion to the
recitation of the Rosary. His disciples were called “Friars of Mary,” and have carried her
Rosary and scapular to the uttermost parts of the earth.

"I myself am the bread of life. No one who comes to me shall ever be hungry, and no one
who believes in me shall ever thirst." (John 6:35)

I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all
grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come to me, all
you that desire me, and be filled with my goodness. (Sirach 24:19; John 14:6)

3. PRAYER
O most blessed father, St. Dominic, who loved our Lord Jesus Christ in the most perfect
manner and served Mary, His Virgin Mother, with most fervent devotion, pray for us,
your children, that we may ever grow in love of the Sacrament of the Altar, and that,
next to God, we may at all times trust in the protection of the Queen of Heaven, so that
at the hour of death we may be received by her into heaven, and ever abide under the
mantle of her love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

DAY 7 - AUGUST 5 : LOVE OF GOD AND OUR NEIGHBOUR

1. SCRIPTURE - 1 John 3:14-16

That we have passed from death to life we know because we love the brothers. The man
who does not love is among the living dead. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer,
and you know that eternal life abides in no murderer’s heart. The way we came to
understand love was that he laid down his life for us; we too must lay down our lives for
our brothers.

2. LIFE OF ST. DOMINIC

Love is the fulfilling of the law, and Dominic, the preacher of God’s law, was consumed
with the fire of love. In all his actions his love for God appeared and his constant prayer
was that he might have true charity and love God purely for his own sake. From this love
sprang that ardent desire to suffer for God which made him a martyr in spirit. So deeply
was he moved by the love of Jesus Crucified that he longed to die for him. His life of
generous self-sacrifice proved his love sincere. As a youth he sold his only treasure, the
books from which he studied, to feed the poor. His life was entirely devoted to the
hardest apostolic labour, travelling far and wide to seek the lost sheep of the Good
Shepherd and braving every kind of danger. His prayers for souls were continual, and
daily he did penance for sinners. The one object of his Order was the salvation of souls.
Throughout his life he preached to the heathen hoping for martyrdom. He had
compassion for the suffering and misery of others. To all he was gentle, kind and
merciful. The true love of God is proved by the desire to be like Christ, and to labour and
suffer for others.

"Beloved, let us love one another because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten
of God and has knowledge of God. The man without love knows nothing of God, for God
is love." (1 John 4:7-8)

3. PRAYER
O Holy Father St. Dominic, who showed us the way to eternal happiness, and won many
souls to God by founding the Order of Friars Preachers, pray for us, that we may follow
in your footsteps, and ever work for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Through
Christ our Lord. Amen.

DAY 8 - AUGUST 6 : THE DEATH OF ST. DOMINIC

1. SCRIPTURE - Matthew 25:21

Well done, good and faithful servant; because you have been faithful over a few things, I
will place you over many. Enter into the joy of the Lord.

2. LIFE OF ST. DOMINIC

St. Dominic died at Bologna, August 6, 1221, at midday. Father Ventura, prior of
Bologna, was present and thus describes the death of St. Dominic. “Father Dominic
returned from Venice about the end of July. Although very weary with travelling, he
conversed on the affairs of the Order with me till late. I begged him to rest that night,
but he prayed in the Church till Matins at midnight, and then was present in choir.
Afterwards he complained of his head, and his last illness began. Lying on a straw
mattress, he called the novices around him and exhorted them to fervour with cheerful
words and smiling coun­tenance. After being carried to a hill not far off, for better air, he
preached to his brethren and was then anointed. Fearing that he would not be buried
‘under the feet of his brethren,’ he was carried back to the convent. The brethren re­cited
prayers for a departing soul. When they came to the words, ‘Come to his help, ye saints
of God; hasten to meet him, ye angels of the Lord: receive his soul, and offer it in the
sight of the Most High,’ having lifted his hands to Heaven, he gave up his spirit.”

"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered the heart of man to conceive
what God has prepared for those who love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)
3. PRAYER
O most kind father, St. Dominic, by your saintly life and death, bless and guide us in the
path of your holy rule, that persevering until death, we may, through it, attain the
eternal joys of heaven. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

DAY 9 - AUGUST 7 : DEVOTION TO ST. DOMINIC

1. SCRIPTURE - Isaiah 59:21

This is the covenant with them which I myself have made, says the Lord: and my words
that I have put into your mouth shall never leave your mouth, nor the mouths of your
children, nor the mouths of your children’s children, from now on and forever, says the
Lord.

2. LIFE OF ST. DOMINIC

As St. Dominic lay dying just outside of Bologna at St. Mary of the Hills, he requested to
be taken back at once to Bologna that he might be buried “under the feet of my
brethren.” There, having assured his spiritual children that he would be of greater
assistance where he was going, he left them his last will and testament: “Behold, my
children, the heritage I leave you: have charity for one another, guard humility, make
your treasure out of voluntary poverty.”

"Be therefore followers of me, even as I also am of Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1)

V. O wondrous hope that you did give at the hour of death to those who mourned you,
when you did promise to help them even after death.
R. Father, keep your word, and aid us by your prayers.

V. You who did shine by so many signs in the bodies of the afflicted, bear us the help of
Christ and heal our souls in illness and unrest.
R. Father, keep your word, and aid us by your prayers.

V. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
R. Father, keep your word, and aid us by your prayers.

3. PRAYER
O God, who enlightened your Church by the merits and teachings of blessed Dominic,
your confessor and our father, grant through his intercession that it may never be
destitute of temporal help, and may always increase in spiritual growth. Through Christ
our Lord. Amen.
III. NOVENA PRAYER

O renowned champion of the faith of Christ, most holy saint Dominic, who
renounced the honour and dignity of an earthly principality to embrace the poor,
laborious, and mortified life which should distinguish a disciple of Him who has said: "If
any man will come after Me, let him take up his cross and follow Me."

O burning torch, who being yourself consumed with the fire of divine love, did
incessantly labour to enkindle that sacred flame in the hearts of others, look down upon
me from that throne of glory where you enjoy the reward of all your labours, and obtain
that some sparks of that blessed fire may be lighted in my soul, to animate and
encourage me under any crosses or trials with which it shall please the divine goodness
to visit me.

You, O great Saint, regard as nothing all the afflictions you endured, and all the toils you
underwent for the promotion of God's holy cause; obtain, I beseech you, that the same
ardent love which strengthened you, may make sweet to me labours, humiliations,
disgraces, or whatever other mortifications I may have to suffer for the Name of Jesus.

May I ever bear in mind that nothing can happen to me but by the particular
dispensation of a God who is infinitely wise, and therefore knows what is best for my
welfare; infinitely powerful, and consequently able to effect it; and above all, infinitely
merciful and loving, who has laid down His life for my redemption, and continues daily
to give new proofs of His love and bounty.

O tender Father of the poor who, when all other resources were exhausted, offered
yourself for their relief, obtain for me that true spirit of compassion for the suffering
members of Jesus Christ, which shone forth so conspicuously in your holy life.

May I, by charity to those whom Jesus so dearly loves, lay up for myself treasures in
heaven, where you now enjoy that which the eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, nor the
heart of man conceived, but which God has prepared for those who love Him, and who
prove themselves His Disciples by the observance of His Divine precept - love one
another.

I praise and thank God for the high degree of sanctity to which He had raised you, and
the special privileges by which He has distinguished you. I implore you, by that
gratitude with which you shall for all eternity be penetrated for your Divine Benefactor,
implore for me the grace to root out of my heart whatever is not agreeable in His sight,
especially that evil habit by which I most frequently offend Him. Obtain likewise the
favours I request in this Novena, through your powerful intercession.

(Here specify your intentions)

O glorious Mother of God, Queen of the most sacred Rosary, you who loved
Dominic with the affection of a mother, and were most tenderly loved and honoured by
him, look upon me, for his sake, with an eye of pity, deign to join with him in presenting
these petitions to your most Blessed Jesus. I sincerely desire from this moment to love
Him with all my heart, and serve Him with all my strength, and now place myself under
your powerful protection, as a sure means of obtaining all the graces necessary to serve
Him faithfully here, I may eternally rejoice with Him hereafter. Amen.

V. Pray for us, blessed father, St. Dominic

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray:
O God, who has enlightened your Church by the eminent virtues and preaching of Saint
Dominic, your confessor and our father: mercifully grant that by his prayers we may be
provided against all temporal necessities, and daily improve in all spiritual good.
Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

IV. LITANY OF ST. DOMINIC

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, 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.

Holy Mary, Pray for us.

Holy Mother of God, Pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, Pray for us.
Holy Father St. Dominic, Pray for us.
Light of the Church, Pray for us.
Day star of the world, Pray for us.
Preacher of grace, Pray for us.
Rose of patience, Pray for us.
Most zealous for the salvation of souls, Pray for us.
Most desirous of martyrdom, Pray for us.
Evangelical man, Pray for us.
Ivory of chastity, Pray for us.
Man of an apostolic heart, Pray for us.
Doctor of truth, Pray for us.
Example of poverty, Pray for us.
Rich in purity of life, Pray for us.
Burning as a torch for the salvation of sinners, Pray for us.
Trumpet of the Gospel, Pray for us.
Herald of heavenly tidings, Pray for us.
Rule of abstinence, Pray for us.
Shining as the sun in the temple of God, Pray for us.
Enriched with the grace of Christ, Pray for us.
Clothed in heavenly robes, Pray for us.
Resplendent in the choir of virgins, Pray for us.
Father and leader of our Holy Order, Pray for us.
That at the hour of death we may be received into the heavenly kingdom, Pray for us.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

V. Pray for us, O holy father, St. Dominic,

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray:
Grant, we beseech you, omnipotent Lord, that we borne down by the weight of our sins,
may by the intercession of our Holy Father, St. Dominic, be mercifully assisted. Through
the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRAYER OF ST. DOMINIC

PRAYER FOR THE FEAST OF ST. DOMINIC

May God the Father, who made us, bless us. May God the Son, who redeemed us, send
healing into our midst. May God the Holy Spirit, who gives us life, move within us. May
God give us eyes to see God, ears to hear God, and hands to bring God’s work into the
world. May we walk with God and preach the word of God to all. May the angel of peace
watch over us and lead us at last by God's grace to the eternal Kingdom.