![Tolton Novena for the Spiritual Welfare of the Black American Community (July 1-July 9) [124th Anniversary of Tolton’s Death] Begins Today! – Day 1](https://i0.wp.com/theblackcatholic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-01-at-9.51.57-PM.png?resize=466%2C468&ssl=1)
Tolton Novena for the Spiritual Welfare of the Black American Community (July 1-July 9) [124th Anniversary of Tolton’s Death] Begins Today! – Day 1
Today is the beginning of the Ven. Fr. Augustus Tolton Novena for the Spiritual Welfare of the Black American Community!
It starts from today, July 1, and runs till July 9, the 124th anniversary of the death of Fr. Tolton, the first recognized African-American Catholic priest in U.S. history. Tolton lived from April 1, 1854 and died on July 9, 1897, and his life in between was one of remarkable and faithful service to both his people and his Church, a Church that during his time contained members that neither wanted him nor his priesthood, yet he stayed true. More on his life will be provided below. According to the Novena’s official website: “The Novena for the Spiritual Welfare of the Black American Community is a special time of prayer in which people all over the world call to God through the intercession of Venerable Augustus Tolton, Servant of God, for the Spiritual Welfare of the Black American Community.” “A Novena is a period of public or private prayer lasting either nine days, weeks, or hours consecutively, to mark an important occasion, obtain a particular grace, or prayer for a special intention. The prayers are often directed to the intercession of a Saint or a particular virtue of Christ. The model for all Novenas is the celebration of the nine days traditionally observed between Ascension and Pentecost when Mary and the apostles waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit.” Each day of the Novena focuses in on a specific intention for the Black community. This novena is for the purposes of both commemorating Tolton and obtaining his intercession for the Black community (and you are also free to add your own intentions). There are three ideal times to pray this novena, and one of those times is the nine days leading right up the day before (July 8) or including Tolton’s death (July 9), in commemoration of his passing on to eternal life. I have done this Novena before through my apostolate when I let it on my FB page and Twitter for nine days leading up to and including Juneteenth.
You can participate in this Novena in one of two ways or a mix of both. The time for the first day has already passed but you can still join in for the rest of the days through a Zoom link provided by the Tolton Ambassadors on Thursday, July 1, 2021 through Friday, July 9, 2021 at 7pm EST. There you can pray with others for the days of the Novena. Or you can pray the Novena privately on your own. In addition to providing the link to the Novena’s website, I will be posting the prayers and the day’s specific intention for the Black community on my social media (FB/ Twitter) and my website each day so you can follow along with me.
So, let us begin our novena!
The Novena for the Spiritual Welfare of the Black American Community – Day 1
Begin each Prayer with:
One Our Father
One Apostle’s Creed
Three Hail Mary’s
FIRST PRAYER: FOR THE SPIRITUAL ANCHORING OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY
O’ Father Augustus Tolton, whose faith was grounded in Christ Jesus at an early age, pray the same for all of the Black community in America, so that together they might be unified in one faith, one Lord, one Baptism, and God. Pray Father Tolton for the Black community to find and to love that same fullness of their faith that you found through the Catholic Church, and that Church would find a deeper fullness of itself in that community. Pray Father Tolton for the Holy Eucharist to become the source and summit of Christian life in the Black community and for that unique Presence of Christ Jesus to work to conform all peoples into His image before God the Father. Amen.
(And if you would like to add the official prayer for Tolton’s canonization, I have provided it below:O God, we give you thanks for your servant and priest, Father Augustus Tolton, who labored among us in times of contradiction, times that were both beautiful and paradoxical. His ministry helped lay the foundation for a truly Catholic gathering in faith in our time. We stand in the shadow of his ministry. May his life continue to inspire us and imbue us with that confidence and hope that will forge a new evangelization for the Church we love.Father in Heaven, Father Tolton’s suffering service sheds light upon our sorrows; we see them through the prism of your Son’s passion and death. If it be your Will, O God, glorify your servant, Father Tolton, by granting the favor I now request through his intercession (mention your request) so that all may know the goodness of this priest whose memory looms large in the Church he loved.Complete what you have begun in us that we might work for the fulfillment of your kingdom. Not to us the glory, but glory to you O God, through Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are our God, living and reigning forever and ever. Amen)
Link to register and pray it with the Tolton Ambassadors and others on Zoom from Thursday, July 1, 2021 through Friday, July 9, 2021 at 7:00pm EST: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUoc-yqrj0sH9UDMj7Rs7g6QvcCyxUKznGj?fbclid=IwAR1RrEItWKUpKlWRouQvvWXTWGqJxjfRFJ_NCcwY_9jt96feaZJbDHb2VT0
Tolton Novena’s Website: http://www.toltonnovena.org/novena/
More about Tolton: