The Nine Hours Novena

Nine hours, not nine days, for an urgent need.

When the need will not wait nine days, the tradition offers a novena of nine hours — one round of prayers every hour through a single day. It is associated with the wax image of the Infant Jesus in the Carmelite church in Prague, and is prayed for urgent temporal needs.

The Prayer, Prayed Hourly

O Jesus, who said, Ask and you shall receive,
seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you:
through the intercession of Mary, Your most holy Mother,
I knock, I seek, I ask that my prayer be granted [name it].

O Jesus, who said, All that you ask of the Father in my name He will grant you:
through the intercession of Mary, Your most holy Mother,
I humbly and urgently ask Your Father in Your name
that my prayer be granted.

O Jesus, who said, Heaven and earth shall pass away
but my word shall not pass away:
through the intercession of Mary, Your most holy Mother,
I feel confident that my prayer will be granted.

Divine Infant Jesus, I place my trust in You. Amen.

About This Novena

The image was given to the Carmelites of Prague in 1628 and survived the destruction of the church during the Thirty Years’ War. The devotion travelled with Carmelites and missionaries and is now especially strong in India, the Philippines and Latin America. The prayers quote Christ’s own promises three times, which is where the confidence in the last line comes from.