Novena to St. Elizabeth and St. Zachary the Parents of John the Baptist - Patrons of Childless, Pregnant and Peace - with Benedictus Prayer of Zachary


Novena to St. Elizabeth and St. Zachary the Parents of St. John the Baptist. This is a powerful prayer to be said for 9 days. St. Elizabeth is the patron Saint of the childless, pregnant and expecting mothers while St. Zachary is the patron Saint of peace. Their feast day is November 5th but these prayers can be said anytime during the year. 
Prayer: O Glorious St. Elizabeth and St. Zachary, after many childless years of marriage, in your old age your faith in God was rewarded with the birth of a very special son — St. John the Baptist. Help me, dear saints, to be patient and trust in the will of God, knowing he knows what is best for me. O God, You chose St. Elizabeth to play a central role in our Redemption. Their openness to Your Will is a model for us. May we follow you as faithfully as St. Elizabeth and St. Zachary did. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. (Say 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary and 1 Glory Be each day of the 9 days)

Benedictus Prayer of St. Zachary from the Bible:
The Benedictus (or Song of Zechariah or Canticle of Zachary), is found in the Gospel of Luke 1:68–79. The Benedictus was the song of thanksgiving prayed by Zechariah when his son was circumcised, John the Baptist.  The canticle is named after its first words in Latin ("Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel", “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel”). It is recited everyday at morning prayer or Lauds in the Divine Office or Breviary. 
Prayer:
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of His people And hath raised up an horn of salvation to us, in the house of David his servant: As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning: Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us: To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy testament, The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us, That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear, In holiness and justice before him, all our days. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways: To give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins: Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us: To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace. Amen. (from the Douay-Rheims version of the Bible)

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