Novena to the Holy Infant of Good Health

We were waiting on the website for the shrine of the Holy Infant in Mississippi to get the novena posted, but they haven't done so (as of 4/13/20). So, here are the novena prayers! If you begin today, you will complete the novena on April 21 - the feast of the Holy Infant of Good Health.

Novena to the Holy Infant of Good Health

Say the Prayer for the day:

The First Day:

Oh, Divine Child Jesus of Good Health, through the infinite love with which You became man in the virginal womb of Mary, all for our health and eternal happiness, I ask You for the salvation of my soul by Your grace, and for the favor I am asking in this novena, always resigned with whatever Your Will may be. Amen

The Second Day:

Oh, Jesus, most beautiful Child, Who was born of Your Immaculate Mother as the sun is born at dawn, and Who, with immense love suffered for our redemption, the poverty of the manger and inclemency of the weather, melt the coldness of my heart with the fire of Your Love and grant me (Petition) if it may be Your Will. Amen.

The Third Day:

Oh Child Jesus, Sun of True Justice, Who with Your rays enlighten the souls and minds of mankind: You, Who love the simple souls, the little souls, give me the grace of simplicity and humility that You like so much, and grant me the favor that I ask. Amen.

The Fourth Day:

Oh, Child Jesus, Only Treasure of Heaven and Earth, attracting all souls with the irresistible power of Your incomparable humility, teach me to despise the passing riches of this world, and all that stand in the way of finding You, and let me be like the three kings who came to the manger from faraway lands to adore You. Grant me, my Jesus, the grace that I ask. Amen.

The Fifth Day:

Oh, Child of Good Health, my Jesus, Who shortly after Your birth had to suffer persecution and exile, show me with Your grace the virtues I need to endure the persecutions of this life. I deserve punishment for all my sins. You Innocent and Blessed Child, Who had to go to Egypt in the arms of Your worried Mother and Your foster father, St. Joseph, to escape the cruel Herod, grant that I may always flee from the infernal spirits that want to ruin my soul, so that I may be worthy of the favor that I tearfully ask before Your Blessed Image. Amen.

The Sixth Day:

Child Jesus, my Love, only in Your do I find the consolation I need in the trials that besiege me. By the sorrow that Your Most Holy Mother suffered in the prophecy of Holy Simeon, I beg You to pour on my sorrowful spirit the sweetness of Your Divine consolation. My heart grows weak under the weight of the sorrows that afflict my soul. One glance from Your Divine Eyes will heal my sufferings. Look at me. Child Jesus, and grant me the help I ask and conform me to Your will. Amen.

The Seventh Day:

Child Jesus, dear Treasure of my soul, in the Three days that You were away from Your Holy Parents, they were filled with anguish because You were lost, even when it was not their fault. Oh, Rich Treasure of Heaven, let me be diligent in always keeping close to You, avoiding all sin, which is the only cause for my losing You. Knowing the sorrow that brings me before Your Image, Oh Child of Good Health, grant me the grace that I ask, if it is best for the salvation of my soul. Amen.

The Eighth Day:

Oh, Incarnate Wisdom, Child of Good Health, Who astonished the doctors of the law with Your wise discourse, speak to me, Oh Lord, in the words of eternal life that I may be free of the ignorance that causes the ruin of the soul. Give me the willing obedience that I need to be Your disciple, together with the grace I ask. Amen.

The Ninth Day:

Child Jesus, Model of Humility and Obedience, after caring for the work of Your Holy Father, You returned with Mary and Joseph to the humble home in Nazareth, and You were subject to them as the most obedient son. Oh Child Jesus, awaken in the children of our time, Your sublime childhood virtues, and grant that the parents of this age may not neglect the careful education of their children according to the rules of our Catholic Faith, and grant me the grace that I ask. Amen.

Then offer your petition to the Holy Infant.

Then pray:

Jesus, Compassionate and Merciful Child, hear my prayers and remedy my affliction!

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

Sweetest Hope of those who suffer, I place my sorrows before Your Sacred Heart!

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

Secure Refuge of the needy, at Your Divine Feet I shed the tears of my afflicted heart!

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

Universal Consoler, Who in Your untiring mercy welcome all of us sinners who have recourse to You, have mercy and hear me!

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

Health of our souls, Divine Healer, do not despise my supplications, but grant me the graces that I implore!

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

Then, this Act of Contrition:

Oh, Sweetest Child Jesus, Who through Your miraculous image desire to inculcate devotion in our souls to Your Sacred Childhood, I kneel before You, repentant of my sins; I am profoundly sorry for having offended You. I do not want to sin again, and since You were born in a desolate manger for my love, please be born by Your grace in my soul. Give me sincere contrition for my sins, so that I may receive absolution for them in the tribunal of penance, through Your infinite mercy. Divine Child Jesus, make me worthy, by a sincere confession, of the graces that I implore at Your feet, and above all that I may gain eternal salvation. Amen.

Then, this Prayer (Every Day of the Novena):

Divine Child, loving Little Shepherd, Who came from heaven looking for Your dear sheep, not caring how arduous and tiring the work of saving souls would be, and giving Your last drop of blood to accomplish the task of our redemption, open the ears of my soul, that I may respond to Your Grace, and that I may listen to Your loving inspirations. I promise to surrender to Your call, and to avoid all things that may endanger my salvation, being certain that I was not merely created for the pleasures of this life. My destiny is most noble, for You have created me for greater happiness, And to think that so often I have looked for the passing riches of this life! By Your infinite mercy, forgive my stubborn resistance to Your call, my persistence in sin, and my despicable weakness in not persevering in the resolutions that I so often promised and did not carry out. Help me, Lord Jesus, not to sadden Your Divine Heart again. I promise to amend my life and to seek the intercession of the ever-Virgin Mary, Your Mother, whom You gave us for Our Mother on the cross. Amen.

Then, the Daily Prayer to Our Blessed Mother:

Immaculate Mother of the Child Jesus, Sweetest Virgin Mary, Our Mother, deign to present our supplications to your Divine Son. We, who are sinners, do not deserve to be heard. But you, who are the Refuge of Sinners and Mother of Mercy, have never sent away those who seek your maternal protection; and always full of tenderness and clemency you comfort the afflicted. You are the Universal Mediatrix of all graces. Your prayers to the Divine Child are always heard because in you there was never a stain of sin. Take pit on us who are sinners, and for the love which you bear the Divine Child, obtain from His Divine Heart the graces that we need. Mother of God, pray for us, poor exiled children; look down on us with your eyes of mercy, and keep us very close to your Immaculate Heart. Amen.

Conclude with the Hail Holy Queen each day.

The Peace of Christ

Sr. Connie Boulch

Peace be with you!

These days of isolation and quarantine give us the opportunity to focus our lives more intensely on the high holy days of our Christian life. These days leading up to the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus are filled with a tension that we have not experienced before.

Some are living in fear for their families and even their own lives. As Christians we must unite our anxiety and uncertainty about the future with that of Jesus, with His Apostles, with all His followers and even His Mother. All that they had placed their hopes in seemed to be disappearing before their eyes. It was a very stress-filled time. Their lives were turned upside down and they were going to have to change. Nothing would be the same without Jesus.

The followers of Jesus were right. Nothing would be the same without Jesus and for us it is the same. Nothing is the same without Jesus. There will be no parish Mass, no big family gatherings, no Easter egg hunts or civic events. So, we turn these days to Jesus Himself to set things right, to bring life into proper perspective and to bring peace to our troubled minds and hearts.

At Christmas we hear that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. The Angels sang, “Peace on earth to men of good will.” Jesus said, “I bring a ‘Peace’ the world cannot give.” Now is the time for that ‘Peace’ to become a reality. As Christians we know that death is not the end. It was not for Jesus and it will not be for us. Jesus rose from the dead on Easter and we will rise also with Him on the last day. He promised. Do you believe it? If you do you will find that ‘Peace’ He spoke of.

He offers us this rose which symbolizes His Passion, His Death and His undying Love for us. He has taken our burdens and our fears to transform them into new life. Watch for the “Son rise” on Easter. Life is not the same for...

He is risen! He is truly risen!

The Holy Infant of Good Health

In early sixties, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Eucharist were given a statue of the Infant Jesus. We received him through our chaplain at the time, Fr. John Knoebber. Fr. John had two sisters who were Benedictines of Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison. They were working as missionaries in Mexico where a devotion to this statue was growing. He’s called the Holy Infant of Good Health, and he is known for working miracles of healing. The devotion to the Holy Infant of Good Health began when a woman in Morelia, Mexico prayed one night before this statue and in the morning found that it had grown in size. Then her sister got ill, and the woman prayed before the statue for healing for her sister. Again, overnight, the woman’s sister was healed. Eventually the family placed the statue in a front window, and their friends and neighbors began stopping by to pray for the intercession of the Infant. Soon it was well known in Morelia that if you needed healing, the Infant of Good Health could help you.

Eventually this devotion received ecclesiastical approval from the Archbishop of Morelia. Six replica statues were created. One was given to Pope St. John XXIII. One was placed in the same window of the family home because the original was moved to a church built in its honor. One ended up in the Diocese of Biloxi, in a town called Clermont Harbor. The Benedictines in Atchison also have one. And we received one, because of our Chaplain, Fr. John. We’ve cherished this little statue for a long time. It used to be the statue we carried in procession during our Christmas Novena. As we (and the Infant) have aged, we no longer feel comfortable processing with the Statue, but we still rely on his protection.

In January, we moved the Infant of Good Health Statue from the entry-way to the inside of Our Lady of the Angels Chapel. We had one sister facing a major procedure, another mid-way into a course of Chemo, and many others coping with the general aches and pains of aging. This turned out to be very providential. When the diocese announced that public gatherings of the faithful had to be cancelled, including public Masses, we placed a petition at the feet of the Holy Infant of Good Health asking him for protection from the Coronavirus and peace of mind. We are continuing to ask God through the intercession of the Holy Infant of Good Health for protection for everyone and for an end to the spread of the virus. We invite you to pray with us.

The Feast of the Infant of Good Health is one month away, on April 21. We will be praying a Novena to the Holy Infant leading up to the feast, and we will post the novena prayers here and on facebook so you can join with us, if you wish.

Prayer to the Holy Infant:

Little Infant Jesus of Good Health, God of love born to suffer for me! In You above all do I find the courage and strength I need in the trials and troubles that weigh so heavily upon me.

By the sorrows of Your Most Holy Mother, I implore You to lighten the burdens of my soul with Your holy consolations and to relieve my bodily infirmities with your Merciful Kindness, if it so pleases the will of our Father in Heaven. Amen

If you would like to learn more about the infant, you can check out the website for the shrine in Mississippi, which includes a tab with prayers to the Holy Infant, here: https://holyinfantofgoodhealthinmississippi.com/devotion/the-story/

(NOTE: the story about the statue's growth is something that has been "passed down" in our community. We cannot find any external confirmation for this detail...)