How do you pray a novena? The word novena comes from the Latin “novem”, which means nine. That is why a novena is made up of nine days of prayer and meditation, generally to ask God for requests through prayer. Praying a novena is not complicated.
Novenas are often used to ask the saints to pray for us. For example, The Novena of Saint Jude is prayed to ask Saint Jude to intercede on behalf of a particularly serious request.
Novenas are an ancient tradition that dates back to the time of the Apostles. On one occasion, Jesus told his disciples to pray together after his ascension to heaven, so they went to an upper room with the Blessed Virgin Mary (Acts 1:14) and joined together constantly in prayer for nine days. days.
These nine days of constant prayer by the Apostles, under the direction of Jesus, led to the beginning of the celebrations known today as “Pentecost,” when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples like “tongues of fire” (Acts 2:1 -4). This 9-day prayer pattern is the basis of the novenas we pray today.
Thus, the novena is an imitation of the Lord’s command to the Apostles when they prayed for 9 days awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit.
- How to pray a novena step by step
- What happens if I miss a day?
How to pray a novena step by step
Are you wondering how to pray a novena? On our website you can find the steps to pray a novena: novena to Saint Jude Thaddeus, novena to the Virgin of Guadalupe, novena of prosperity and the daily prayers of the 9 days of the novena.
It is important to pray daily prayers with a sincere heart. It is not necessary to be rigorous about praying at the same time every day, forcing yourself to fast, or praying the rosary together with the novena, as many people suggest.
When to make a novena?
There are many reasons to pray a novena, let’s look at some cases below:
Preparation novenas: These are those that are prayed in preparation for a Church holiday, or prior to a sacrament or other spiritual reason. It aims to prepare the soul for this important day. They are recited for the good of the deceased and to console his family and friends. With the focus of a great Christian holiday, this is a great way to prepare our hearts to fully rejoice!
Anticipation novenas: There are several types, the most popular is the mourning novenas, which are prayed before a funeral or after it with the aim of asking for the good of a deceased person or to ask for the consolation of those who are afflicted with the loss of a loved one.
Petition novenas: These are petitions that we need to bring to God’s ears; this requires trust that they will be heard. We can also make a novena to pray for others: a loved one, priestly vocations, or even souls in purgatory.
Indulgence novenas: these are those prayed for the remission of sins. They are prayed as an act of penance for sins committed. These novenas are performed together with the sacrament of confession and attendance at Holy Mass.
Novena of Discernment: They are prayed to ask God to inhabit our intelligence and our intuitions, to guide our reasoning and to give us the ability to understand and the lucidity to interpret events with wisdom.
Novenas are not magical incantations that guarantee the desired results. God is the one who controls the universe and we certainly do not control God. He is not a genie in a bottle, but a loving Father in heaven.
This means that no matter what 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 prayer that circulates, that contains guaranteed results and that threatens the misfortune of those who do not dedicate themselves to it, is simply a chain letter; these should be ignored.
However, Jesus reminds us in the Gospel that we must be persistent in prayer and a novena is a great help to do just that.
What happens if I miss a day?
It’s okay, it happens! If you miss a day, you can do one of the following:
- Skip the day you completely missed
- Say two of the daily prayers in one day to catch up
- Say the prayer of the day you missed and only be one day behind everyone else.
It’s up to you, and whatever you choose to do is fine. The novenas are flexible and there are no “consequences.” God is forgiving and merciful!