The efficacious novena to the Sacred Heart that Padre Pio prayed every day

Novena for Impossible Causes (Padre Pio’s efficacious novena)

Three petitions on three promises of Jesus — nine days, for the hardest cases

First petition

O my Jesus, who hast said: "Truly I say to you, ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you", behold, I knock, I seek and I ask for the grace of… (name the grace).

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in thee.

Second petition

O my Jesus, who hast said: "Truly I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you", behold, in thy name I ask the Father for the grace of… (name the grace).

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in thee.

Third petition

O my Jesus, who hast said: "Truly I say to you, heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away", behold, relying on the infallibility of thy holy words, I ask for the grace of… (name the grace).

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in thee.

Conclusion

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us poor sinners and grant us the graces we ask of thee through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, thy tender Mother and ours.

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Saint Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.

Amen.

SourceThe efficacious novena to the Sacred Heart that Padre Pio prayed every day · Three petitions on three promises of Jesus — nine days, for the hardest cases

The history of this prayer

The prayer people call the "novena for impossible causes" is the Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a nineteenth-century prayer that St Pio of Pietrelcina said every day for all who asked to be remembered in his prayers. Its secret is to ask nothing on one’s own merits: each petition rests on a promise of Jesus in the Gospel — "ask and you shall receive" (Luke 11:9), "whatever you ask the Father in my name" (John 16:23) and "my words shall not pass away" (Luke 21:33) — and ends with the act of trust in the Sacred Heart.

It is prayed for nine days in a row, preferably at the same hour, naming the grace one asks for; many also pray it daily, as Padre Pio did. The title "impossible causes" links it to the devotion to St Rita and St Jude, whose litanies are in this same section.

The English is our own rendering; the Hail, Holy Queen is the traditional English text.

Frequently asked questions

How is the Novena for Impossible Causes prayed?

For nine days in a row, the whole prayer is said (the three petitions with the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, the conclusion, the Hail Holy Queen and the invocation of St Joseph), naming in each petition the grace one asks for.

Who wrote the Novena for Impossible Causes?

It is the Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart, by an unknown author of the nineteenth century. It became famous because Padre Pio prayed it every day for those who asked his prayers.

Can I pray the novena for someone else?

Yes. Padre Pio prayed it precisely for others. Simply name, in each petition, the grace you ask for that person.

More prayers: Litanies

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