10/16/2026
Infant King Novena, October 17 - October 25!
Submit your intentions today: https://infantkingoffering.org/infantking/
Candles and flowers will be placed at the altar of the Infant King as visible signs of your prayer intentions! Holy Mass will be offered for your intentions on Sunday, October 25.
Monthly Meditation:
In the humble crib of Bethlehem, the Kingship of Christ shines forth not in pomp or power, but in the profound mystery of His infancy and littleness. As the prophet Isaiah foretold, and as Pope Pius XI recalls in his encyclical on the kingship of Christ Quas Primas, “For a Child is born to us and a Son is given to us, and the government is upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the World to Come, the Prince of Peace.” Here, the Eternal King enters the world as a fragile Infant, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, yet already bearing the weight of dominion. The Magi, guided by a star, seek Him with the question, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2), recognizing in this little One the sovereign whose kingdom shall have no end, as the Archangel announced to Mary: “The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David His father, and He shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever” (Luke 1:32-33).
Saint Francis de Sales contemplated this paradox with tender love, declaring that he would “a hundred times rather see the dear Jesus in His Crib, than all the kings of the world on their thrones.” In choosing littleness, Christ the King reveals a reign founded not on force, but on the gentle attraction of divine humility. As St. Francis observed, the Eternal Word first appeared among men as an Infant precisely to win our hearts, for “thus would He be born, Who willed to be loved and not feared.” His silence, His dependence, His acceptance of cold and poverty become the throne from which He draws all creation, teaching that true sovereignty is exercised through self-emptying love. Thus, in the Infant King’s littleness, we discover the path of our own submission to His gentle rule. Quas Primas reminds us that, though Master of all creatures, Christ “gave Himself the example of humility and made humility, joined to the precept of charity, His principal law.” Contemplating Him in the manger, we are invited to cast aside the shackles of pride and allow ourselves to be drawn, whether hard as iron or light as straw, to this heavenly Child. In His infancy, Christ’s kingship is manifested most purely: a dominion of peace that multiplies without end, inviting every heart to enter the kingdom by becoming little as He is little, and finding therein the sweetness of His yoke.
Infant King Novena Prayer
O Divine Infant Jesus, I have recourse to Thee. Please, through Thy Blessed Mother, assist me with this necessity (Give Him your intentions). Because I firmly believe that Thy divinity can help me, I hope with confidence to obtain Thy holy grace. I love Thee with all my heart and with all the strength of my soul. I repent sincerely of my sins, and I beg Thee, O good Jesus, to grant me the strength to triumph over them. I resolve nevermore to offend Thee, and I come to offer myself to Thee with the intention of enduring everything rather than to displease Thee. Henceforth, I desire to serve Thee with fidelity, and for the love of Thee, O Divine Infant, I will love my neighbor as myself. All-powerful Infant, O Jesus, I implore Thee again: assist me with this need. Grant me the grace of possessing Thee eternally with Mary and Joseph and of adoring Thee with the angels in the heavenly court. Amen.
Photo: Blessing of the Creshe at Christmas Midnight Mass at St. Francis de Sales Oratory, the Institute of Christ the King in St. Louis, MO
