NOVENA

TO
St. Anthony Mary Claret

IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER,

AND OF THE SON,
AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN.

CONTRITION OF SIN

My Lord Jesus Christ, true God and

true Man, who created and ransomed
me; I am heartily sorry for having
offended You, and I detest all my sins,
b ecause I dread the loss of heaven,
and the pains of hell; but most of all
because they offend Thee, my God,
Who are all good and deserving of
all my lo ve. I firmly resolve, with the
help of Your grace, to confess my sins,
to do penance, and to amend my life.

xvi
Have mercy on me for You alone can
take away my sins, You alone know
everything and there's no other, so
I trust that You will grant me Your
mercy. Amen.
he was still on earth , and be one with
him in praising You, so t hat we may
also share in Your glory in heaven .
Am en.

INTRODUCTORY PRAYER

0 merciful God, the source of all

graces, You who gave sanctity and glory
to all Your saints, so that they may
become our intercessors .. . through
the intercession of St . Anthony Mary
Claret during this nine-day reflection
of his life, we earnestly ask You to
help us, as we do our best to imitate
the great virtues which were lived out
by St . Anthony Mary Claret, and grant
us the blessings we need, especially

So that we may be able serve You like

the way St. Anthony Claret did while

2 3
 St. Anthony Mary Cla ret was raised
in a family rooted with the Christian
teachings and at an early age, he
already grasped the purpose why we
exist on earth . When he was only five
years old, he was already thinking
about eternal life. "I can remember
date back;' he said, "when I went to
bed, instead of sleeping - I never have
been much of a sleeper - I used to
think about eternity. I would think
'forever, forever, forever: I would try
to imagine enormous distances and
pile still more distances on these and
realize that they would never come
to an end. Would they have to go on
suffering? Yes, forever and forever they
have to bear their pain!" And to avoid
the eternal suffering, and share the
eternal happiness with God in heaven,
the young St. Anthony Mary Claret
started to live a heavenly way of life
6 7
and not a worldly one. Everyday, he
prays t h e holy rosa ry an d at t ends t h e
Holy Mass. He rarel y played with other
chi ldr en and if he does, he oftenly
leave t hem behind playing because
acco rding to him, he seemed to hear
the voice of the Blessed Virgin Mary
call ing him t o go t o t he Ch u rch.
His pa ren t s cannot remem ber a
tim e when St. An t hony Mary Claret
di sp la yed a negative behavior even
once. They know that St. An t hony
Mary Claret never com p lains no r
being choosy . Wheneve r he will
be asked of his needs, he usually
an swers his mother, "wh at ever you
give me is what I like best of all: ' His
grand father , Juan Claret likened him
like a little sain t. Since t he poor old
man's eyesight was failing, the young
St. Anthony Mary Clare t guided him
through the obstacles with such
patience and kindness that is why he is
his grand father 's source of joy. During
the war of independence in Spain, the
people of Salient were so frightened
of the French - and that everyone fled
when they heard the news that the
French invaders were on their way near
the birth place of St . Anthony Mary
Claret. In the middle of such situation,
St. Anthony Mary Claret had not run
off when he saw his grandfather being
left behind. He accompanied him and
looked for a hiding place. That is how
the young St. Anthony Mary Claret
lived his childhood.
Po in ts to Ponder:
Do you see any similarity on how you
lived out your childhood?
At present, what are the good deeds
that you have shown your parents
and those who are older than you?
8 9
Do you really know and remember
your responsibilities toward God...
especially your role about life eternal?
You reflect on what you ought to do.
Also, ask yourself about the good
things t hat will make you happy and
praying that it may be granted during
this nine-day novena.
(Pause for a while in moments of silence)
SO THATTHE FAVORS AND GRACES
THAT WE ASK MAY BE GRANTED,
LETUS PRAYTHREE
"OUR FATHER," " HAIL MARY,"
AND "GLORYBE."
OUR FATHER
Our Father,
Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy Will be done,
on earth as it is in Heaven.
 Give us t his day ou r daily bread,
and forgive us our t respass es,
as we forgive those who trespass
against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
HAIL MARY
Hail Mary, full of Grace,
th e Lord is with Thee.
Blessed art Thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
ofThy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of death.
Am en.
10
GLORYBE
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
CON CLUD IN G PRAYER
V. 0 Most loving St. Anthony Mary
Claret, pray for us.
R. So that we may be made worthy
of the promises of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
0 blessed St . Anthony Mary Claret,
through your faithfulness to the
divine grace, you were able to receive
th e virtues and the wondrous gifts of
holiness. It is our joy that in faith we
11
believe that you dwell in God's glory, DAYTWO
and that you are our strong protector.
(BEGIN WITH THE SIGN OF THE CROSS,
Look down on us from heaven. Protect THEN PRAY THE CONTRITION OF SIN,
us from all the things that make us AND FOLLOWED BY THE INTRODUCTORY PRAYER)
sin and help us in all our needs. You
are a great Apostle of faith, keep us REFLECTION
and fill us with your wisdom and
divine trust. You have been flamed ST. ANTHONY MARY CLARET,
by the fire of God's love and to his AN INDUSTRIOUS WORKER
people, make our hearts be inflamed
by your holiness and mercy. You who
are ardently devoted to the Blessed
Virgin Mary, intercede for us to have
a fervent devotion to our heavenly
mother. May her maternal protection
be experienced by us, so t hat we too
share and dwell with you in glory.
Amen.

IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON,

AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN.

12
 The father of St. Anthony Mary
Claret was not a wealthy man. But
his father owns a small factory where
he manufactured thread and cloth
and there he gets his livelihood to
support and sustain the needs of his
big family . St . Anthony Mary Claret
was set by his father to work in the
factory when he was around thirteen
years old, he obeyed and work as hard
as he could never spent an idle, half-
hearted day thus, he displayed quality
of work than anyone else in the shop.
When St. Anthony Mary Claret was
eighteen years old, his father sent
him to Barcelona for further training
for textile industry for him to develop
his knowledge in manufacturing
techniques and skills. He became
adept with regard to manufacturing
that even some rich people were
insistent and asked his father to form
14
a bigger company and the factory
will be entrusted to St. Anthony Mary
Claret for him to manage. They really
like his dedication and skills regarding
this kind of business. St. Anthony
Mary Claret spends the whole day
and even cont inu e through the night
in studying and conceptualizing on
how to responsibly accomplish a
positive outcom e of the work being
entrusted to him. He claimed that
even when he is inside the Church,
he cannot help but to think of ways
and means on how to effectively do
his job. He was so preoccupied by
his concern for his work, so much so
that he focused more on his business
than things about the concern for
his soul. Bu t t h ere was a time when
St . Anthony Mary Claret though t of
shifting his interest towards helping
the poor which he believed to be
15
pleasing to God. After few years, he
would mention that at some point
in time, he almost lost his concern
for the work for the soul because he
was preoccupied by other things like
his work in the factory. Despite this
situation, he was able to regain his
passion to serve God and be a model
for the conversion of Christians. And
it is by God's grace that whenever he
goes from town to town, a number
of people will experience Christian
conversion through him. St. Anthony
Mary Claret never went to participate
in any worldly satisfactions. Every
Sunday and in other holy days, St.
Anthony Mary Claret goes to Mass. He
often undergo confessions. He does
not only pray the rosary everyday,
but he encourages his companions
to join him in praying the Holy rosa ry.
16
He received praises because he did
not keep his abilities only for himself
nor he used his knowledge to belittle
others. In fact, his co-workers had
noticed that his dedication became
deeper and stronger, which made
them happy because no one can
be compared to him, or that could
surpass him, or at least being at par to
his passion to his work.
Points to Ponder:
How about you, do you have the
same passion and dedication for
work like that of St. Anthony Mary
Claret?
Do you also think of God? Do you
share some goodness and give due
resp ect that your fellows deserve?
(Pause for a while in moments of silence)
17
 SO THAT THE FAVORS AND GRACES DAYTHREE
THAT WE ASK MAY BE GRANTED,
(BEGIN WITH THE SIGN OF THE CROSS,
LETUS PRAYTHREE
THEN PRAY THE CONTRITION OF SIN ,
"OUR FATHER," "HAIL MARY,"
A ND FOLLOWED BY THE INTRODUCTORY PRAYER )
AND "GLORY BE".

(pray theConcluding Prayer,

REFLECTION
and end with the Sign of the Cross)

18
 St. An t hon y Mary Claret may have
become famous and rich through the
textile business. But one day, while he
was at Mass, he was tormen ted with a
strong challenging idea from the words
of our Lord Jesus Christ when He said:
"What does it profit a man if he gain
the whole world and suffer the loss of
his soul?'; and this words impressed
him deeply and went like an arrow to
his heart, thus, the warmth of piety and
devotion reawakened in him. His eyes
were opened and he decided to leave
behind a worldly kind of life for him to
embrace a life of service to God with
all his abilities and str ength s. There
was even a time when he resolved to
enter the monastery and become a
Carthusian monk. Yet, God made him
feel that a monastic life is not the will
of God for him. So, St. Anthony Mary
Claret did not push t hrough this kind of
20
life but inst ead, he entered the priestly
life. When he became a priest, he
served as coadj ut or and late r on held a
pos t as a parish priest. An d yet, he has
tha t p assion t o sp read the good news
to places where the Word of God must
be preached. He was convinced to hold
two high posit ions : fi r st as b eing the
Arch bishop of Cuba, and aft er which
he became the Confesso r of Isabel
II, t he Queen of Spain . Bu t in spi t e of
these p restigious positions, he did not
desire for his own personal sat isfact ion
bu t for the greater glory of God and
for the good of his fellows. Because of
this reason, he usually does not want to
rest, and when people tell him to take
rest, his response is, "I will take rest in
h eaven:' What moves him to act this
way is reflected in his motto which he
put in his emblem as Archbishop which
goes: "Caritas Christi Urget Nos" which
21
means, "the love of Chris t moves us
on:' Indeed, the love of Christ moves
us in all our works. And this same
love keeps his flame alive thr ough
his fervent prayers. When he was still
young, he t old himself that prayer is
not just an ordinary thing but prayer
is essential to Christian life. When
he offered his whole self to the Lord
God, his prayer life became stronger.
One cannot surmise that despite his
many works, he can still manage and
find time to pray. To ensure a longer
time for prayer, his sleeping time does
not exceed three hours, and there are
nights when he kneels the whole night
in front of the Blessed Sacramen t. He
really does not tire to pray! Most of
the time he experiences deep state of
consciousness while in prayer as if he
elevates. God has blessed St. Anthony
Mary Claret for his perseverance in
22
communicating with Him through
prayer which he made as a constant
venue to be with God. Throughout
the remaining nine years of the life of
St. Anthony Mary Claret, God made
him a living Tabernacle through his
obedience and his wholehearted
commi tm ent to the Blessed Host. This
is one of the unique characteristics of
St. Anthony Mary Claret that he wills to
live a life of holiness in God's presence.
Points t o Ponder:
How about you, do you have an urge
to pray?
Do you always go to Mass?
Maybe, you no longer pray the
rosa ry, are you not ashame? Reflect,
and t hink of the good things that
you can do.
(Pause for a while in moments of silence)
23
 SO THAT THE FAVORS AND GRACES
THAT WE ASK MAY BE GRANTED,
LETUS PRAYTHREE
"OUR FATHER," " HAIL MARY,"
AND "GLORY BE."
(pray the Concluding Prayer,
and end with the Sign of the Cross)
24
DAY FOUR
(BEGINWITH THE SIGN OF THE CROSS,
THEN PRAY THE CONTRITION OF SIN,
AND FOLLOWED BY THE INTRODUCTORY PRAYER)
REFLECTION
ST. ANTHONY MARY CLARET,
WITH GREAT DEVOTION TO THE
BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
 The love of St. Anthony Mary
Claret to the Blessed Virgin Mary has
deepened just like his love for his own
mother who gave birth to him. When
he was a little boy, he never tired of
being in church and knelt before the
image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and
he does not move even a bit like an
angel. In the course of time he came
to know something about the Blessed
Virgin Mary. He has learned this from
the Christian Doctrine or Catechism
that what he sees in the altar is just
an image of what really is in heaven.
He used to imagine a sort of wire
running from the image in front of
him to its heavenly original. He talked
and prayed so trustingly that he was
quite sure that in heaven, the Blessed
Virgin Mary was listening to him. He
cannot explain how attentive, fervent
and devout he was at prayer then.
26
E veryday, he recites the Holy rosary;
every time the sound of the church's
bell rings, he exults the Blessed Virgin
Mary by praying "Hail Mary:' One of
his greatest joys was when he and his
sister Rose made frequent visits to the
shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary which
was seven kilometers away from their
hometown. In turn the Blessed Virgin
Mary granted favors to his prayer of
petitions because of his unwavering
trust on her. When he was studying in
Barcelona, he went to the seashore to
wash his feet. Then suddenly, a huge
wave engulfed him and carried him
into the depths of the sea. He saw
that he was far from shore and he was
amazed to see that he was floating on
the surface, although he did not know
how to swim. He called out to the
Blessed Virgin Mary for help then, he
found himself on the shore, without
27
 having swallowed even a drop of
water, and his clothes were dried up.
The Blessed Virgin Mary has shown her
maternal protection to the living soul
of St. Anthony Mary Claret. When he
was still a seminarian, St. Anthony Mary
Claret suddenly had the most terrible
and blasphemous temptation he has
felt in his whole life. He struggled to
fight the temptation hoping that the
temptation would go away, when
suddenly he saw the Blessed Virgin
Mary and in her arms he saw a huge
garland of the most beautiful roses.
Then the Blessed Virgin Mary spoke to
him and said, "Anthony, this crown is
yours if you overcome:' Immediately,
his evil thoughts disappeared and
from then on, he was never bothered
by such evil thoughts. With these and
other wondrous things that happened
to him made the devotion of St.
28
Anthony Mary Claret to the Blessed
Virgin Mary even stronger. No action
that he did which are not attributed
to the Blessed Virgin Mother. He does
not miss a chance to proclaim the
glory of the Blessed Virgin Mother.
Everywhere he preaches, he never
ceases to proclaim the greatness of
the Blessed Virgin Mary. His Diocese
was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin
Mary. He wrote many books and seven
of those were all about the Blessed
Virgin Mary. The core messages that
he preached about the Blessed Virgin
Mary were the same core messages
of the past apparitions of Our Lady of
Fatima, namely: the Holy Rosary, the
redemption of the Sacred Body of our
Lord Jesus Christ, most especially the
reparation of sins in accordance with
Will of God and the Immaculate Heart
of Mary.
29
Points to Ponder: DAY FIVE
When you hear these kinds of (BEGINWITH THE SIGN OF THE CROSS,
teachings, do you pay attention to THEN PRAY THE CONTRITION OF SIN,
them? AND FOLLOWED BY THE INTRODUCTORY PRAYER}

Do you pray the Holy Rosary every

day? REFLECTION

Do you always make resolutions? ST. ANTHONY MARY CLARET,

A ZEALOUS WORKER FOR THE
Do you distance yourself from sins? SALVATION OF SOULS
Reflect and think of the good action
that you will do...
(Pause for a while in moments of silence)

SO THATTHE FAVORS AND GRACES

THAT WE ASK MAY BE GRANTED,
LET US PRAY THREE
"O UR FATHER," "HA IL MARY,"
AND "GLORY BE."

(pray the Concluding Prayer,

and end with the Sign of the Cross)
.-- ·· - -- . ...,._ _ . · -
.... ..J """.-.--.:-..-., •.

30
.
-',- ._----
ii;? -------------------------------------- '-
,_,._,_;._.,;,...
 Inhis autobiography, St. Anthony
Mary Claret wrote: "ever since I lost
the desire to become a Carthusian
- which God had used to uproot me
from worldliness - I not only thought
about becoming holy myself, but I
was continuously trying to imagine
what I could do to save the souls of
my neighbors:'"! tell you quite frankly;'
he said in his autobiography: "that
whenever I see sinners, I grow restless,
I cannot quiet down, I cannot be
consoled, my heart goes out to them.
To give you an idea of how I feel, I'll
draw a comparison. If a loving mother
saw her child in danger of falling from a
high window or into an open fireplace,
wouldn't she run and shout: 'Look out,
baby, you are going to fall'... wouldn't
she run up behind the child and take
hold of him and pull him back if she
could? My brothers and sisters, you
32
should know that grace is stronger and
braver than nature. Charity urges and
impels me; it makes me run from town
to town shouting, "Sinner, my child,
look where you're heading; you're
about to fall into hell:" St. Anthony
Mary Claret cannot just simply keep
quiet especially when he knows that
many souls are lost and about to fall
into hell because of their sins. There
were days when he preached as many
as twelve or thirteen sermons in a
day. His companions estimated that
throughout his lifetime, he delivered
twenty-five thousand homilies or
sermons. During those times, he would
walk for five hours in the morning and
another five hours in the afternoon.
Sometimes he had to traverse rough
roads and walk through rain, other
times through snow, or under the
broiling sun of a summer's day. When
33
he arrives home, despi t e his tiredness,
he felt that he has not done enough
to preach the teachings of Jesus
Christ, not to mention the books he
wrote and distributed them to the
people for free. So besides preaching,
he dist ributed t hou sand copies of
leaflets, pamphlets, and books. He
wrote around one hundred fourteen
books. St. Anthony Mary Claret has a
distinctive organizing skills and most
of these groups were organized to help
him spread the Ch ristian teachings
and con t inue the missionary works
even he will be gone unto this life. He
also built a library which was open
to the public where they can bor row
books, he also organized Academia de
San Miguel, a group to be promoters
of Religion and God, the Cong regation
for nuns and he built them houses,
he founded the CONGREGATION
34
OF THE MISSIONARY SONS OF THE
IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY,
a group called, the CLARETIAN
FATHERS. For St . Anthony Mary
Cla ret, these works were too little
con tribu t ion in building the Kingdom
which Jesus Christ is trying to build
for the conve rsion of sinn ers and the
salvation of souls. He had to suffer not
only heat and cold, snow and mud,
rain and wind, rivers and seas, but the
demons as well, who persecuted him
terrib ly. "I of ten ask God" he wrote,
"Lord, let me stand at the gates of
hell so that I could warn sinne rs fr om
entering, by telling each of them. 'Turn
back! Make a good confession and
save your souls:"
Points to Ponder:
Do you have that kind of passion and
commitment to help save souls?
35
What do you do to prevent you and DAYSIX
your fellows from sinning?
/BEGIN WITH THE SIGN OF THE CROSS,THEN PRAY
(Pause for a while in moments of silence) THE CONTRITION OF SIN,
AND FOLLOWED BY THE INTRODUCTORY PRAYER)
SO THAT THE FAVORS ANO GRACES
THAT WE ASK MAY BE GRANTED, REFLECTION
LET US PRAY THREE
"OUR FATHER," " HAIL MARY," ST. ANTHONY MARY CLARET,
AND "GLORY BE." A DEFEN DER OF THE POOR
(pray the Concluding Prayer,
AND THE OUTCASTS
i J f,11 "'· , .
t •::--
.- ..
' ;
·
;
and end with the Sign of the Cross) /. V:-:: :: .( : :..;·:?;_/
--.......- ....._ . . . . ; , - .. It'' F,1 ,.tl'··- .
t
'f:. ,.,
. ···•/.!".: - -: ·-.% t< i'· .
. ·.,
"'!"' ,.:§ ...... T •.l i
t -:

36
 When he was the Archbishop of
Cuba and the confessor of Isabel II,
the Queen of Spain, St. Anthony Mary
Claret could not avoid but to mingle
with people of high positions in the
entire domain. In his encounter with
them, he has shown good deeds
befitting a learned person. Likewise,
he showed them his strong character
of being a representative of the Lord
Jesus Christ by correcting the evils of
the society and inculcating incessantly
the Christian way of doing good.
Moreover, it was dearer to his heart
the care of the abandoned people and
to them he showed an unparalleled
predilection. When he went to preach
in Catalonia and the Canary Islands, he
went on foot and he liked spending
time with the rural folks, and in that
way, according to St. Anthony Mary
Claret himself that he can easily learn
38
the attitude of the poor people and
come to know their needs. He talked
to them things concerning God
and Religion unmindful that he had
already walked thus far. He was not
able to give them money because
he was not bringing any. One time, a
beggar invited St. Anthony Mary Claret
to eat with him and they both shared
over a bowl of cooked vegetables
because the beggar took pity on the
poor preacher who was so exhausted
and wet with sweat and did not have
even a penny to buy for little amount
of food to eat. When he became
Archbishop and confessor of the
Queen, he had plenty of money but
nothing was left because immediately
after he received the money he gave
it to the beggars. It could be found in
the Palace records that his expenses
were given mostly to charities than
39
spending for his personal benefit s and
for his companions in t he royal palace.
When he was in Madrid, a poor person
approached him begging for money
he needed for his medical expenses.
But during that time, he had no
money to give so, the holy Archbishop
gave the beggar his pect oral cross for
that person to sell and defray of the
expenses he badly needed. That was
the second time he did such similar
act . In Cuba , he did t he same t hing out
of his will to do something for the good
of the forsaken people. He concretely
did t hese things to the black people,
the inhabi t ant s of the place whose
color of t hei r skin is no t white, and
to the people who live in povert y.
To help them, he made a decree
allowing people of different colors
whether black or white to receive t he
sac ramen t of mar riage. He vehemently
40
denounced t he abuses of the rich
peo ple. He built schools and founded
savings bank and other things that can
help improve the welfare of the poor.
one day, St. Anthony Mary Claret wen t
to a certain rich Patron who punished
the black people by treating them like
sla ves. St . Anthony Mary Claret burned
white and black papers then he mixed
their ashes and told the rich man. "Can
you now distinguish the ash of the
whit e paper from the ash of the black
paper? We are like that in front of God,
whether the color of our skin is black
or white we are all equal:'
Po ints to Ponder:
And you, in what way and how do
you love your fellows?
Examine yourself.
(Pause for a while in moments of silence)
41
 SO THAT THE FAVORS AND GRACES DAY SEVEN
THAT WE ASK MAY BE GRANTED,
(BEGIN WITH THE SIGN OF THE CROSS,
LETUS PRAYTHREE
THEN PRAY THE CONTRITION OF SIN,
"OUR FATHER," " HAIL MARY,"
AND FOLLOWED BY THE INTRODUCTORY PRAYER)
AND "GLORY BE."

(pray the Concluding Prayer, REFLECTION

and end with the Sign of the Cross)
ST. ANTHONY CLARET,
BEING PERSECUTED
BY EVIL-DOERS

42
 Jesus Chris t said t hat no d isciple
or st ud ent is greater than his master
or teacher. If they persecut ed and
tried to dest roy the repu tation of our
Lord Jesus Chris t no wonder if t his
bitter predicamen t will also befall St.
An t hony Mary Claret, who did not
only offer his very self to become a
disciple of Chris t , but also sacrificed
his entire life because of his zeal to
proclaim the Good News of Crucified
Holy One . There were incidents where
in the devil had intervened in order
to destroy the good outcome of his
preaching. One day, while St. Anthony
Mary Claret was preaching, suddenly,
he heard the whisking sound of a
whip. The saint was mum and for a
while interrupted his sermon and said .
"Fear not my children . The devil had
just whipped me. He does not want
me to do something for the good of
44
your soul, but, he will not succ eed:' It
also happened t hat the devil scra tch
St . An t hony Mary Clare t with his finger
so that he will not be able to continue
his preaching. Bu t that desi re of the
devil failed because the Blessed Virgi n
Mary healed those wounds inst an t ly so
t hat he could continue his preach ing.
There are other tactics which t he
devil employed in order to dist ract St .
Anthony Mary Claret from preach ing
such as: a sudden outcry for help as
if there is fire, mimicking the howling
of dogs, or a creation of a sudden
typhoon . But the frequent sources of
St. Anthony Mary Claret's defamation
are the wicked ones who have no fear
of God, those who make a living out of
evil means. Those who were deluded
by the pleasures of the flesh were hur t
by the conscientious preaching of
St. Anthony Mary Clare t. Some were
45
politicians who heard from St. Ant ho ny
Mary Claret a condemnation of the evil
and malice of their corrupt activities
or their manner of thinking and their
lifestyles which go agains t the will of
God . All these kinds of people planned
on how to kill the Holy Archbishop or
destroy his reputati on so that people
will not believe or listen to what he
was saying. There were fourteen
unsuccessful attempts to assassinate
him. The most notable was when he
was t he Archbishop of Cuba . He was
wounded in the face and should er by a
man who pretended to kiss his ring but
as he was about to do it, he swung the
shaving razor in his hand that almost
cut the t hroat of th e Archbishop had
he not been rest rained by the people
standing beside him. Frightening
calumnies were also infl icted on him
that spr ead all over Sp ain th rough
46
newspapers and journals and ot her
forms of lite rature, in the market place,
in gatherings and meetings and even
on the cover of match boxes. But God
did not abandon St. Anthony Mary
Claret and made the Saint's good
reputation known. St. Anthony Mary
Claret bore all these things patiently
with the strength of the will and wrote,
"If they only knew the good that
their works had brought me, they will
refrain from persecuting me ... I pity
them.For me, these things that I do are
in line with God's goodness. Through
these poundings and beatings, the
surface of the wood is made smooth
and clean:'
Points to Ponder:
Can you also patiently bear like St.
Anthony Mary Claret all the slanders
coming from your fellows?
47
Did you stop doing something right DAY EIGHT
and Godly for fear of being criticized (BEGIN WITH THE SIGN OF THE CROSS,
or rejected by others? THEN PRAY THE CONTRITION OF SIN,
AND FOLLOWED BY THE INTRODUCTORY PRAYER)
Examine yourself ... then do what
you think is right and just .
REFLECTION
(Pause for a while in moments of silence)
ST. ANTHONY MARY CLARE T,
SO THATTHE FAVORS AND GRACES AN ANGEL OF CHASTITY
THAT WE ASK MAY BE GRANTED,
LET US PRAYTHREE
"OUR FATHER," "HAIL MARY,"
AND "GLORY BE."

(pray the Concluding Prayer,

and end with the Sign of the Cross)

48
 In this modern time, the practice
of the virtue of continence/chastity
is gradually fading and weakening.
St. Anthony Claret had shown us how
precious this virtue is. Wild plants,
according to a spiritual writer and
director, will thrive in all places while
rare and precious varieties can only
grow on special kind of soil. It goes
the same with the virtues. There are
virtues that are attainable to people
who do not even belong to any
religion. There are virtues, however,
which can only grow in the soul of
a person who is nourished by the
blood of the crucified Body, aided by a
constant watchfulness of feelings and
wrapped by a sincere intention for the
well-being of the soul. With the grace
of God, this virtue of continence/
chastity may thrive abundantly in the
church of God. An example of this
50
virtue is St. Maria Gorreti, a twelve
year old girl who showed that virginity
is of greater value by choosing to
die a martyr's death. And here is St.
Anthony Mary Claret, a man of many
accomplishments that because of his
mini st ry, he could not avoid but to
mingle with people of all sort and still
managed to guard his chastity like an
angel. Those who were not pleased
with him hated him. They tarnished
his reputation with the dirtiest of
calumny but the beauty and scent of
the virtue of chastity are more than
enough to console his beleaguered
soul from those false accusations.
While bad people ridiculed him, on the
one hand, good people, on the other
hand, through their constan t dealing
with him, have gradually recognized
his being a saint. As he wrote in his
Autobiography (which was written
51
not for his own glorification) that the
virtue of chastity is something he
painstakingly practiced since he was
a child. When he was a young boy,
his companions could not resist from
uttering dirty words in front of him.
When he was an adolescent, there
was a lady who wanted to test St.
Anthony Mary Claret's chastity. But
he ran away from that lad y. He felt the
seemingly irresistible seduction of the
flesh which nearly caught St. Anthony
Mary Claret towards evil. We have
already seen, (read the reflection of
the fourth day of this novena) that the
Blessed Virgin Mary has strengthened
St. Anthony Mary Claret from those
temptations through the apparition
of the Blessed Virgin holding a garland
of flowers saying. "Anthony, this crown
(garland of flowers) will be yours if
you overcome:' Since then, he was not
52
bothered by any temptations against
chastity. God has showered his graces
upon him extraordinarily which he
in turn cultivated these same gifts
ext raordinarily. He safeguarded his
feelings with the enabling strength
of the will. He did not mingle with
ladies in an empty, wasteful, and
purposeless manner. He did not look
at the ladies and other people in the
face. He looked at them with eyes
downcast . So that he will be in control
against the seduction of the flesh, he
did not sleep more than three hours.
He did not drink wine except during
the Mass. As for his nourishment, he
ate very little and he kept always in
himself the feeling of hunger. In spite
of these, his face was always peaceful
and calm,... always shining with the
heavenly brightness of the virtue of
chastity.
53
Points to Ponder:
How about you, do you strive to
always remain chaste?
How does your will handle the
desires of your heart in terms of your
physical cravings.
Examine yourself!
(Pause for a while in moments of silence)
SO THATTHE FAVORS AND GRACES
THAT WE ASK MAY BE GRANTED,
LETUS PRAYTHREE
"OUR FATHER," " HAIL MARY,"
AND "GLORY BE."
DAY NINE
(BEGIN WITH THE SIGN OF THE CROSS,
THEN PRAY THE CONTRITION OF SIN,
AND FOLLOWED BY THE INTRODUCTORY PRAYER)
REFLECTION
ST. ANTHONY MARY CLARET,
GLORIFIED BY GOD WHILE
STILL LIVING ON EARTH AND
AFTER HIS DEATH
,m·n-n rrm,m
,

(pray the Concluding Prayer,

and end with the Sign of the Cross)

54
 St. Anthony Mary Claret, who was
slandered bitterly by those who hated
him, was honored and glorified by
God not only after his death but even
while he was still alive. The power of
God was always at work with him.
It was witnessed and felt by the
people most especially by those who
slandered and ridiculed him. Many
had regretted for having ridiculed
him and for not believing to all that
he preached. Some suffered terrible
misfortunes for ignoring his message.
A poor laborer once ridiculed Fr. Claret
saying: "Father, are you not going to
hear the confession of my horse?""You
must be the one to go to confession
since it had been seven years already
since you last made it:' This was the
polite and humble response of the
saintly priest. The man was profoundly
awakened by the words and intuition
56
of the saint because that was the
first time they met but Fr. Claret was
able to sense the condition of his
soul. Right there and then, the man
repented and begged the Saint to
hear his confessions. There is another
sad story of a man who was not able
to repent. The man wanted to meet St.
Anthony Mary Claret in private with a
plan in mind to kill him. He pretended
to be very ill and ask for the saint to
listen to his confession. But before Fr.
Claret arrived, something tragic had
happened. He found the man lying
dead on his bed with a dagger in his
hand unable to carry out his evil plan.
The power of God was manifested
in various ways through miraculous
deeds performed by St. Anthony Mary
Claret. In his desire to help a very poor
farmer, he made beans out of tobacco.
He cured the a blind person. He also
57
rest o red movements to a paralyzed
person. One day, the house of a certain
Don Jaime Bofill was ravaged by a fire
that people could not contain . St.
Anthony Mary Claret went around the
house. He had the house blessed and
the fire was extinguished. Those who
witnessed it were unable to hold their
emotions as they exclaimed: Miracle!
Miracle!
In Cuba, he stopped an earthquake
by touching the ground with his hands.
After his death, countless graces and
miracles were granted through the
intercession of St. Anthony Mary Claret.
The Holy Catholic Church had proven
that St. Anthony May Claret is a saint and
a powerful intercessor. The Holy Father
Pius XII elevated Claret to the Altar on
May 7, 1950. Msgr. Mariano Madriaga,
Bishop of this Diocese of Lingayen and
Msg r. Juan Sison, Auxiliary Bishop of the
58
Diocese ofVigan, who is and who comes
from the Diocese of Lingayen witnessed
in Rome t he canonization of St. Anthony
Mary Claret by the Holy Father. In t he
Diocese of Lingayen, Muni cipalit y of
Santa Barbara, Province of Pangasinan,
there were also five missionary
priest s b elongin g to the Missionary
Sons of Immaculate Heart of Mary , a
congregat ion which was founded by
St . Anthony Claret. In the t own of St a.
Barbara, Pangasinan , there exists an
Altar of St . An t hon y Mary Claret.
(Pause for a while in moments of silence)
SO THATTHE FAVORS AND GRACES
THAT WE ASK MAY BE GRANTED,
LET US PRAY THREE "OUR FATHER",
" HAILMARY," AND "GLORY BE."
(pray the Concluding Prayer,
and end with the Sign of the Cross)
59