Novenas: 9 Days to Draw Closer to God

By Caitlin Bootsma
Consultant to the VIRTUS_^® Programs

Many people are not familiar with novena prayers, but it is a devotion that has a long history in the Church. The practice derives from the tradition that Mary and the Apostles waited nine days in the Upper Room until the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost. This was undoubtedly a time of intense prayer, leading to the many graces received at the first Pentecost.Today, novenas are considered to be a set of prayers that are said over a period of nine days. Sometimes, like the novena to the Holy Spirit, novenas are said directly to God. Other novenas are said asking for the intercession of Mary or the saints. While novenas can be prayed individually, many Catholics around the world will begin to pray a novena on the nine days leading up to a saint's feast day. These prayers are often said with a particular intention in mind, but, of course, you can pray them even without praying for anything specific!

Novenas can be a great way of praying for those to whom that you minister. Additionally, if you teach children (or adults!), you may consider sharing this time-honored tradition of the Church with them.

In honor of the nine days novenas are prayed, I offer nine reasons you may want to consider praying a novena.

1. Revive your prayer life: Praying a set of prayers for a set length of time may just be the reminder you need to start praying daily again.
2. Practice spiritual discipline: You might not think it is difficult to pray for nine days in a row, but it can be. Remembering to keep the prayers with you and to pray them consistently will strengthen you in the virtue of perseverance.
3. Become familiar with new saints: There are many novenas out there. Often the prayers include details about the saints and their path to holiness. By praying for their intercession, you may just find a new friend in heaven.
4. Live out the liturgical year: Praying novenas in anticipation of Feast Days is a great way to enrich your participation in the liturgical year. How much richer will your celebration of the Nativity be if you are praying for the nine days leading up to Christmas?
5. Share the faith with others: Novenas are a great way to pray with your family; students or those to whom you minister. By praying novenas together, you can unite as a group for a single intention that is important to all of you.
6. Spend time discerning: If you are in the midst of making an important decision, a novena can be the perfect way to ask God to make His will known for your life. People have prayed novenas about job offers, marriage proposals and where to move.
7. Grow closer to the Church: The practice of novenas is universal. When you pray a novena, you are joining with men and women around the world.
8. Receive graces: The Lord wants to shower us with graces. When we dedicate time to praying novenas, we ask humbly for those gifts that God has in store for us.
9. Increase in holiness: If our ultimate goal in life is to reach heaven, then what could be more important than growing in a relationship with God? Praying novenas signals your openness to spending time with Him.
   

Interested in finding out about different kind of novenas? You can find a very comprehensive list here.

Or, if you are really ready to start praying more novenas, you can sign up for www.praymorenovenas.com, a website that delivers novena prayers right to your email account.

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