# Third day of the novena to merciful love
*2016-02-04*

> Bill Young leads the third day of the Novena to Merciful Love by Venerable Mother Speranza of Jesus, focusing on the petition 'Hallowed be Thy name.'

## The Feast of St. Blaise

Good afternoon. This is Bill Young, and welcome to the Prayer N Lunch podcast. Today is February 3rd, the feast day of St. Blaise. We know St. Blaise as the protector of the throat, and we often have our throats blessed on this day. However, he was also a courageous saint and a martyr who lived in the third century and died in 316.

## Opening Prayers

Today we continue with the novena of Venerable Mother Speranza of Jesus. We begin by asking the Lord for aid and making the Sign of the Cross. We join together in the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Apostles' Creed, affirming our faith in God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

## The Novena Prayer and Meditation

In the introductory prayer for the third day, we acknowledge the sorrow of having offended Jesus and thank Him for His fatherly forgiveness. We turn to His merciful love with confidence, asking for the grace to change our behavior and to bear witness to our faith through our works, living according to His precepts and burning with the fire of His love.

Our meditation today focuses on the words of the Our Father: 'Hallowed be Thy name.' This is the first thing we must desire and the first thing we must ask for in prayer. This intention should guide all our works and actions: that God may be known, loved, served, and adored, and that every creature may submit to His power.

## Petition and Intercession

We ask Jesus to show clemency and let His goodness triumph in love and mercy. We place ourselves in His hands, asking Him to do with us as He pleases for His glory and the good of our souls. In this time of personal petition, I offer my prayers for my family—my wife and my son—that they may get ever closer to our Lord Jesus and His mother, Mary.

## Closing Prayer

We conclude by asking Jesus to open the door of His mercy and mark us with the seal of His wisdom. We pray to be free from disorder and affliction, serving Him with love, joy, and sincerity. Comforted by the divine word and His commandments, we strive to grow in virtue. We close with the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be.

*The primary intention of our lives and prayers should be that God's name be hallowed—that He be known, loved, served, and adored by all.*