St. Scholastica Novena
Contents
Show HideSt. Scholastica’s feast day is February 10th but you can pray the St. Scholastica Novena for any reason that you want, so go ahead and start praying!
St. Scholastica was St. Benedict’s twin sister. St. Gregory wrote this beautiful line about her, comparing her to her brother: “she who loved more, did more.” This novena will focus on asking for St. Scholastica’s intercession that we may grow in the virtue of love.
About St. Scholastica
St. Scholastica was born in Nursia, Italy around 500 AD. She was dedicated to God as an infant and became a nun. What is known of her comes from what St. Gregory wrote about her. While he was Pope, he wrote Dialogues, which highlighted the miracles of holy men and women of the time to inspire the people and remind them that God is still at work in the world.
The story St. Gregory tells is of the last time St. Scholastica visited St. Benedict. They met at a place that was not far from his monastery. They spent the day together speaking of spiritual matters and praising God. When it got dark, Benedict was ready to leave, but his sister begged him to stay. He denied her request, because he was obedient to the Rule that he had written for his monastery regulating what time he was to rest. In response, St. Scholastica folded her hands, placed them on the table, and rested her head on them in prayer. The skies that had previously been clear filled with clouds, resulting in a storm that kept Benedict from returning to the Abbey. As St. Gregory put it, “The holy Nun, having rested her head on her hands, poured forth such a flood of tears on the table, that she transformed the clear air to a watery sky.”
St. Benedict said to her, “God forgive you, what have you done?” to which she replied, “I desired you to stay, and you would not hear me; I have desired it of our good Lord, and he has granted my petition. Therefore if you can now depart, in God’s name return to your monastery, and leave me here alone.” Not being able to leave, Benedict continued his conversation with his sister through the night. In elaborating on the competing desires of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, St. Gregory explains “[St. Benedict] found, however, that a miracle prevented his desire…she who loved more, did more.”
Three days later, from his cell, St. Benedict saw the soul of his sister ascending into Heaven in the form of a dove. He had the monks bring her body to the Abbey and had her buried in his grave. St. Gregory wrote, “By this means it fell out that, as their souls were always one in God while they lived, so their bodies continued together after their deaths.”
St. Scholastica Novena Prayers
St. Scholastica Novena - Day 1
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica, God granted your request because of your great love. I ask now that you turn to God with my request out of your great love for Him and your great love for me.
(State your intentions here)
Love is patient (1 Cor. 13:4). Through God’s grace, help me, St. Scholastica, to grow in love by becoming more patient.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:7-8). St. Scholastica, you were a great witness to this truth. Help me to believe it more fully and to live it out each day.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica Novena - Day 2
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica, God granted your request because of your great love. I ask now that you turn to God with my request out of your great love for Him and your great love for me.
(State your intentions here)
Love is kind (1 Cor. 13:4). Through God’s grace, help me, St. Scholastica, to grow in love by becoming more kind.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:7-8). St. Scholastica, you were a great witness to this truth. Help me to believe it more fully and to live it out each day.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica Novena - Day 3
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica, God granted your request because of your great love. I ask now that you turn to God with my request out of your great love for Him and your great love for me.
(State your intentions here)
Love is not jealous (1 Cor. 13:4). Through God’s grace, help me, St. Scholastica, to grow in love by becoming more grateful, and by overcoming my disordered desires for the goods or traits of my neighbor.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:7-8). St. Scholastica, you were a great witness to this truth. Help me to believe it more fully and to live it out each day.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica Novena - Day 4
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica, God granted your request because of your great love. I ask now that you turn to God with my request out of your great love for Him and your great love for me.
(State your intentions here)
Love is not pompous or inflated (1 Cor. 13:4). Through God’s grace, help me, St. Scholastica, to grow in love by becoming more humble.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:7-8). St. Scholastica, you were a great witness to this truth. Help me to believe it more fully and to live it out each day.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica Novena - Day 5
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica, God granted your request because of your great love. I ask now that you turn to God with my request out of your great love for Him and your great love for me.
(State your intentions here)
Love is not rude (1 Cor. 13:5). Through God’s grace, help me, St. Scholastica, to grow in love by becoming more courteous in mind and speech.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:7-8). St. Scholastica, you were a great witness to this truth. Help me to believe it more fully and to live it out each day.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica Novena - Day 6
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica, God granted your request because of your great love. I ask now that you turn to God with my request out of your great love for Him and your great love for me.
(State your intentions here)
Love does not seek its own interests (1 Cor. 13:5). Through God’s grace, help me, St. Scholastica, to grow in love by seeking God’s will and the interests of others before my own.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:7-8). St. Scholastica, you were a great witness to this truth. Help me to believe it more fully and to live it out each day.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica Novena - Day 7
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica, God granted your request because of your great love. I ask now that you turn to God with my request out of your great love for Him and your great love for me.
(State your intentions here)
Love is not quick-tempered (1 Cor. 13:5). Through God’s grace, help me, St. Scholastica, to grow in love by gaining greater control over my emotions.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:7-8). St. Scholastica, you were a great witness to this truth. Help me to believe it more fully and to live it out each day.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica Novena - Day 8
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica, God granted your request because of your great love. I ask now that you turn to God with my request out of your great love for Him and your great love for me.
(State your intentions here)
Love does not brood over injury (1 Cor. 13:5). Through God’s grace, help me, St. Scholastica, to grow in love by more readily forgiving those who have hurt me.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:7-8). St. Scholastica, you were a great witness to this truth. Help me to believe it more fully and to live it out each day.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica Novena - Day 9
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Scholastica, God granted your request because of your great love. I ask now that you turn to God with my request out of your great love for Him and your great love for me.
(State your intentions here)
Love does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth (1 Cor. 13:4). Through God’s grace, help me, St. Scholastica, to grow in love by honoring the good in others and never celebrating another’s shame.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:7-8). St. Scholastica, you were a great witness to this truth. Help me to believe it more fully and to live it out each day.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Patronages
St. Scholastica is the patron saint of:
- School
- Tests
- Books
- Reading
- Convulsive children
- Nuns
- Invoked against storms and rain
- Le Mans
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