A Novena to St. Dominic on His Nine Ways of Prayer
By Ms. Gerri Sorrentino, O.P.
St. Dominic de Guzman
Dear St. Dominic, as your brothers watched you in intense prayer—praying with your body—your love of God was manifested with gestures and cries to heaven. As you taught them humility and patience, please intercede for me that I may learn the meaning of these ways of devotion.
Day 1 – Deep Bow
St. Dominic, teach me to humble myself before our crucified Lord, who humbled Himself for me and my sins.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Day 2 – Outstretched on the Floor
St. Dominic, teach me to pray for God’s mercy and love and to pray for others in need of His mercy and love.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be...
Day 3 – Self-Discipline (Taking the Discipline)
St. Dominic, teach me to understand the importance of self-discipline and self-denial in my actions as an act of repentance for my sins and the sins of others.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Day 4 – Genuflecting
St. Dominic, as I kneel before the altar, teach me to know the true meaning of kneeling before the crucified Lord as I pray: “Giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 5:20).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Day 5 – Hands in a Reading Gesture or Folded Together in Prayer, or Raised Hands as in Liturgy
St. Dominic, teach me to understand that through Baptism we received the gifts of priest, prophet, and king. We bring the truth of God to others through our word and deed and our intercessory prayer.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Day 6 – Outstretched Arms in the Form of a Cross
St. Dominic, as you prayed aloud with arms outstretched, “I have cried to you, Lord, all the day long; I have stretched out my hands to you” (Ps. 87:10), teach me to remember our Lord’s words as He cried aloud to His Father: “Forgive them, for they know not what they do,” so that I may be able to forgive.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Day 7 – Stretched Straight Up Like an Arrow
St. Dominic, teach me to raise to heaven all those dear to me and all those in need of prayer. Truly, your brothers were like arrows in your hand: “Indeed, the sons of youth are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. O the happiness of the man who has filled his quiver with these arrows!” (Ps. 127).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Day 8 – Reflective Reading
St. Dominic, teach me to love the Word of God so I can live the Truth and my true Dominican spirituality: “To contemplate and to give to others the fruits of contemplation” (St. Thomas Aquinas). You said that without study, prayer, and meditation, the preacher has nothing to offer.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Day 9 – Praying on the Journey
St. Dominic, thank you for the “Ave Maria.” Help me to relive the mysteries of our faith with an ardent love of the Rosary. As the Rosary gave you strength when presented to you, please pray that I can find the same strength as I pray the Rosary for peace in the world, the reparation of sin, and the conversion of sinners.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
