Novena
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What is a Novena?
The Catholic Church has many ways to pray and show our devotion to God. There are all kinds of prayers that the Church prays together throughout history. One of these ancient, yet still beloved devotions is the practice of praying novenas.
A novena is a nine day period of private or public prayer to obtain special graces, to implore special favors, or make special petitions. (Novena is derived from the Latin novem, meaning nine.) As the definition suggests, the novena has always had more of a sense of urgency and neediness.
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9 Days for Life is a multi-faceted novena for the respect and protection of human life. Each day, a different intention is accompanied by a short reflection, suggested actions, and related information.
SELECT HERE for the 9 Days For Life Novena VIEW HERE each day's reflection
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What is the Origin of a Novena?
The practice of praying novenas is an ancient prayer practice that goes back to the time of the Apostles. We find the biblical reference from the book of Acts of the Apostles:
"When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. (Acts of the Apostles 1:13-14)
Here they prayed for 9 days in anticipation of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Later, in chapter two of the book of Acts of the Apostles, it says that the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost. Pentecost is a greek word that means the 50th day. (This was the name hellenistic Jews gave to the Feast of the Harvest referenced in Exodus 23:16)
Jesus ascended to heaven after the 40th day. Which leaves 9 days in between.It’s not clear from history when exactly the practice of praying novenas began. However, we know that it was modeled after these 9 days.
The Church emphasizes that the novena is a spiritual exercise to bolster the faith of the individual, and that the individual should be truly devout, always remembering the goodness of the Lord who answers all of our prayers according to His divine will.
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How to pray a novena?
Simply pray the novena prayer that corresponds with each day for nine days straight. Some novenas repeat the same prayer each day (those are great ones to start with!), while others have a specific prayer for each day of the novena.
- Bring one specific prayer intention into the novena. In a world where far too much is clamoring for our attention, a novena can bring clarity and laser-focus to your prayer life.
- Focus on one thing every day for nine days. Reflect on the prayer and your prayer intention.
- If you miss a day, simply catch up on the next day of prayers
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