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Praying a Novena

by: BabesTan-Magkalas
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What is a Novena and how do you pray it? The word "Novena" was derived from the Latin word "novem", which is translated in English as nine. Hence, it is usually prayed for nine consecutive days to prepare for a feast day or for an urgent or special prayer intention.

However, a novena can also be spread over nine weeks, with each day of the Novena being said on any day depending on when the day of a particular saint or devotion falls. For example, Wednesday is the day traditionally associated with devotions to St. Joseph so a weekly novena in his honor is usually done on a Wednesday.

There are also novenas which are done over nine months, and usually on the First Friday of each month. Some novenas are even hourly and a good example is the novena to the Infant Jesus of Prague which is prayed for just a day for nine consecutive hours.

There are also novenas which are not restricted to 9 hours, days, weeks or months. Some are 30-day novenas like the 30-day novena to St. Joseph.

Praying novenas has its reference in the Holy Bible. In Acts 1:14, Jesus told His followers to pray together in the upper room and so the apostles along with the Blessed Mother and other disciples of Jesus prayed for nine consecutive days until the day of 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.

There are also long novenas, containing an opening prayer and a different prayer for each day or week of the novena. Some also include the Lord's Prayer (Our Father), Hail Mary and Glory Be, and other traditional Catholic prayers.

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.

About the Author

For various novenas and prayers, visit St. Joseph's Site. If you're wondering why inspite of praying novenas and other types of prayers, still your prayers are not granted, click here to know why and what to do for your prayers to be granted.

Praying a Novena

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