Society Facts and Tips

A novena is usually prayed for nine consecutive days. The word “Novena” originated from the Latin word “novem” which means nine. It is usually done to pray for a special or urgent prayer intention or in preparation for a great feast day.

Not all novenas, however, are done on nine consecutive days as there are others which are prayed weekly for nine weeks. The day of the week when the novena is prayed depends on the day associated with a devotion to a particular saint. A good example is a weekly novena to St. Joseph which is usually done on a Wednesday since this is the day traditionally allotted for devotions to him.

Some novenas are also spread over nine months, with each day of the Novena being on a First Friday. Likewise, there is an hourly novena which is prayed for nine consecutive hours such as the Novena to the Infant Jesus of Prague.

Moreover, there are novenas which are not limited to nine hours, days, weeks or months. Some are prayed for 30 days like the 30-day novena to St. Joseph.

Saying novenas was derived from Sacred Scriptures. In Acts 1:14, Jesus told His disciples to pray together in the upper room so the apostles, our Blessed Mother and other followers of Jesus prayed for nine consecutive days, ending in the Descent of the Holy Spirit or Pentecost.

It is not hard to pray a novena. The instructions are simple. There are lots of novena cards or prayer booklets and many novenas can also be found online. Some novena prayers are so simple and all you have to do is pray a short prayer and at the end state your prayer intention.

Other novenas contain long prayers. There is usually an opening prayer and a different prayer for each day or week of the novena. Some novenas also prescribe the praying of the Lords Prayer, Hail Mary and Glory Be a certain number of times.

Because of its simplicity, anyone who wants to can say a novena. The popular novenas are those of the Mother of Perpetual Help and the Sacred Heart. A lot of prayers are said to have been granted after or during the praying of the aforementioned novenas. But remember that whatever novena you’re praying, pray it from the heart. God looks inside our hearts and answers prayers in His own time, in His own way.

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