Novenas being prayed
Our collection of Catholic novenas
Learn more about this beautiful Catholic tradition
What is a novena?
The word novena is taken from “novem”, the Latin word for nine.
A novena is made up of nine days of prayer and meditation, usually to ask God for special prayer requests or petitions.
Novenas are often used to ask specific saints to pray for us. The St. Jude Novena, for example, is prayed to ask St. Jude to intercede on behalf of a request that seems especially dire.
The origin of Catholic novenas
As novenas são uma tradição antiga que remonta aos tempos dos Apóstolos. Jesus disse a Seus discípulos para orarem juntos após Sua ascensão ao céu, então eles foram para um cenáculo junto com a Bem-aventurada Virgem Maria (Atos 1,14) e se uniram constantemente em oração por nove dias.
Esses nove dias de oração constante pelos apóstolos sob a direção de Jesus levaram ao Pentecostes. Foi quando o Espírito Santo desceu sobre os discípulos como “línguas de fogo” (Atos 2,1-4).
Este “padrão” de 9 dias de oração é a base das novenas que rezamos hoje, e é por isso que chamamos a novena de Pentecostes como a “mãe de todas as novenas”.
As novenas estão enraizadas nas práticas litúrgicas da Igreja. Elas são uma forma de devoção popular que complementa as celebrações e rituais da Igreja. As novenas podem ser realizadas em diferentes momentos litúrgicos, como preparação para festas católicas importantes ou como uma forma de preparação espiritual para uma ocasião especial.
How do I pray a novena?
All you need to do is say the daily prayers with a sincere heart.
It is not necessary to pray at the same time every day (although you can), or to fast, or to pray the rosary in addition to the novena; however, you can still do all of these things besides praying, but they are not mandatory.
Novenas should not be seen as magical incantations that guarantee the desired results.
God controls the universe and we certainly do not control God. He is not a genie in a bottle, but rather a loving Father in heaven. This means that whatever good intentions we pray for, we must accept the fact that God knows what is best for us, whether we understand His divine intention or not.
“Thy will be done” is the proper posture of all Christian prayer. Any so-called novena that circulates around with guaranteed results and that threatens misfortune for those who do not dedicate themselves to it is just a chain; these should be ignored.
However, Jesus reminds us in the Gospel to be persistent in prayer and a novena is a great help in doing just that!
What happens if I forget to pray one day of the novena?
That’s OK, it happens! If you miss a day, you can do one of a few things…
You can: 1) skip the day you missed completely, 2) pray two of the daily prayers in one day to catch up, or 3) pray the prayer for the day you missed and stay just one day “behind.”
It’s up to you, and whatever you choose is okay. There are no “rules” and there are no “consequences” either. God is forgiveness and mercy!