So the disciples and Mary waited together, praying for the Holy Spirit to guide them. Finally, nine days later , the Holy Spirit came down on them. When the disciples prayed together for nine days for the coming of the Holy Spirit, they modeled the novena prayer method that is so popular today.
Many saints and other holy people have had novenas revealed to them by Christ or the Virgin Mary. For example, Christ revealed the Surrender Novena to Father Dolindo Ruotolo — , now a candidate for beatification , to guide us in growing our trust in God — to surrender to Him. Mary revealed the 54 Day Novena to a young girl suffering from an illness thought to be incurable; this day prayer is actually comprised of 6 novenas. Other novenas have been prayed for centuries with no author attributed to them, such as the Holy Spirit Novena.
This Novena is traditionally prayed for the nine days before Pentecost, praying for the descent of the gifts of the Holy Spirit: holy fear, piety, fortitude, knowledge, understanding, counsel, wisdom, and the Fruits of the Spirit. There is a wide variety of novenas to pray: with saints , to grow closer to God, or for a particular intention on your heart. We pray novenas in anticipation before or after a funeral, praying for the soul of the person who has passed away and asking God to be close to those who mourn them.
We hope to prepare ourselves for the nine days leading up to a sacrament or another important day with these novenas. Countering that tendency, the repetitive form of the novena can serve to intensify and reinforce our prayer life. It forms a habit of persevering prayer in those of us who, left to our own devices, may fall away from prayer despite the best intentions. Fallen human beings also tend toward rebellion. We balk at being told what to do.
But following a divine prescription such as a novena can be the perfect remedy for such rebelliousness. In praying a prescribed set of prayers, for a prescribed length of time, we are drawn out of ourselves and our vanities and into prayerful concentration and obedience.
In this way, our prayer time is kept on track, becoming more focused by observing a set form. A novena can also release us from a false attitude that we are somehow in control of a situation and its outcome through our prayers for a desired result. With its repeated appeal to divine aid, the novena recognizes that we are helpless without God, and that control of the situation is squarely in His hands. To suggest that with a novena we relinquish rather than make a play for control may contradict popular perceptions.
Of course, such instructions always tacked on anonymously are little more than superstition. Novenas are not magic and cannot manipulate the Divine Will. After praying in a specific way for a specific number of days, we are no more in control than we were at the start. Instead, we receive from God a result of His own choosing.
Did I do something wrong? As you are carrying your cross, Jesus is carrying you in His hand. Who is the Patron Saint of… All of the holy men and women in Heaven are good intercessors for any intentions, but here are the patronages of some of the more popular intentions and saints: Impossible Causes: St.
Jude , St. Rita , St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Looking for a job: St. Joseph , St. Anne Discerning a vocation: St. Therese of Lisieux The youth, children: St. John Bosco , St. Maria Goretti , St. Dymphna , St. Therese of Lisieux Cancer Patients: St. Monica , St. Anne , St. Gerard Majella Healing: St. Peregrine Alcoholics: St. Monica Addicts: St. Francis of Assisi Athletes: St. Sebastian Death: St. Michael , St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, St. Joseph Lost items: St. Anthony Military members: St. Joan of Arc Parish priests: St.
Cajetan, the patron Saint of job seekers, or St. If your intention feels particularly thorny, convoluted, or desperate, a novena to ask for the intercession of St. For the practical aspect of remembering and praying novenas, there are some great tools out there for helping you begin—and stick with—a novena. Pray More Novenas is a site created by one of our own Blessed is She writers, Annie, and her husband. It was designed to help Catholics—you guessed it—pray more novenas! They choose different novenas to pray as a community.
You can sign up to get daily emails to remind you to pray. I know that I typically spend some time scrolling in the evening after my kids are in bed. Say two prayers the next day, or just call it a wash and keep going. God is merciful. A sincere heart and our best effort is what He asks of us! I missed a day! Often, I find His answers are always better than anything I could have imagined or hoped for, anyway. Let us, as a sisterhood, walk together as we grow more consistent and persistent in prayer.
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