Novena to St. Patrick

O BLESSED Apostle of Ireland! glorious St. Patrick! who didst become my Father and Benefactor long before my birth, receive my prayers and accept the sentiments of gratitude and veneration with which my heart is filled towards thee. Thou wert the channel of the greatest graces to me; deign then to become also the channel of my grateful thanksgivings to God for having granted me, through thee, that precious gift of faith, which is dearer than life. O most blessed Father, and patron of my country! do not, I beseech thee, despise my weakness. Remember, that the cries of little children were the mysterious invitation thou didst receive to come among us. Listen, then, to my most humble supplications; I unite them to the praises and blessings which will ever follow thy name and thy memory throughout the Irish Church; I unite them to the prayers of the multitude of my ancestors, who now enjoy eternal bliss, and owe their salvation, under God, to thy zeal and charity. They will eternally share thy glory, because they listened to thy word and followed thy example. Ah! since I am descended from saints, may I blush to differ from them; may I begin from this moment to love God with all my heart, and serve him with all my strength. For this end I most humbly beg thy blessing, O great St. Patrick! and thy particular intercession, for obtaining whatever grace thou seest to be most necessary for me, and also the particular intentions of this Novena. (Name them.)

O charitable Shepherd of the Irish Flock! who wouldst have laid down a thousand lives to save one soul, take my soul, and the souls of all Christians under thy special care, and preserve us from the dreadful misfortune of sin. Thy zealous preaching provided us the blessing of religious instructions which we now enjoy; obtain that none of us may receive them in vain. Thou didst teach our ancestors how to connect the pursuit of virtue with that of science; deign also to take my studies under thy protection, and to obtain for me the grace to sanctify them by a pure motive of pleasing God and my superiors. I most humbly recommend to thee this country, which was so dear to thee while on earth. Protect it still; and above all, obtain for its pastors, principally for those who instruct us, the grace to walk in thy footsteps, that they may share in thy eternal bliss.