Pray a Novena
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The novena is a common and spiritually enriching prayer experience commonly used within the Catholic Church. There are a few essential guidelines to keep in mind, but there is no single “right” way to pray a novena.
Contents
Steps
Part One: Novena Basics
- Know what a novena is. A novena is a traditional form of Catholic prayer. Those praying a novena recite a specific prayer or a series of specific prayers with a certain request or intention in mind. This practice continues over the course of nine days or nine hours.
- Understand what a novena is not. A novena is not a magic spell. In other words, praying a novena does not guarantee that a miracle will occur, and the mere words of your chosen novena do not hold any set power alone. It is the act of devotion you display by praying a novena that has spiritual significance.
- Understand what a novena is. The Catholic Catechism even warns against acts of superstition. When a practice or the performance of that practice is deemed magical in some manner, the individual viewing it as such is only looking at the external aspect of it, not its deeper spiritual significance. Novenas are among those acts that have deep spiritual significance but are commonly treated as superstition.
- Trust God. When you pray your novena, say the prayers with faith in God and trust that God will give you the right answer in the right way. Do not pray a novena in the hopes of manipulating God into an answer.
- Know the history of the novena. After Jesus ascended to Heaven, Mary, the Apostles, and other devoted disciples prayed constantly for nine days until Pentecost Sunday. Catholics looked to this example and, from it, derived the practice of praying nine-day novenas.
- Count. The word "novena" comes from the Latin word for "nine," hence the consecutive set of nine prayers.
- Ask yourself why you want to pray a novena. As noted already, a novena is not a magic spell that will answer all your needs and wants. Nonetheless, there are spiritual benefits that can be derived from reciting a novena, and these benefits should not be overlooked.
- Praise God. Novenas, like all prayers, are a means of praising God.
- Express. The novena structure also provides a unique channel to express strong spiritual wants, needs, or sentiments.
- Connect. Novenas spoken as a Church family also keep the individual believer connected to the Christian community.
- Note the four basic categories. Most novenas can be classified within one or more of four categories: mourning, preparation, prayer, and indulgence. Some novenas may fall into more than one category.
- Anticipate. Novenas in the mourning category are said in anticipation of a burial or for similar periods of mourning. The prayers are often recited for the sake of the individual who has passed (when applicable) or for the comfort of those grieving.
- Prepare. Preparation novenas are said in anticipation of a Church feast day, Sacrament, or similar spiritual event. The purpose is to prepare the soul for the significance of that day.
- Plea. Novenas of the prayer category, also known as the "petition" category, are among the most common. These novenas are pleas to God asking for intervention, signs, or other help.
- Pray. Indulgence novenas are those prayed for the remission of sins. In other words, these novenas are prayed as an act of penance for previous wrongdoings. Usually, these novenas are done in conjunction with the Sacrament of Confession and church attendance.
- Determine your intention. As previously noted, novenas are prayers recited with a specific intention in mind. Before you begin your novena, get a clear idea of the intention for which you are praying your novena.
- Analyze your intention. Your intention might be an earnest prayer for direction when you reach a crossroads in your life, or it could be something as simple as an expression of great joy or great sorrow.
- Focus. Regardless of what your intention is, you will need to keep it in the center of your thoughts throughout the novena period, even when you are not actively praying.
- Consider including other spiritual practices alongside your novena. Since novenas are an act of devotion, reciting them while performing other spiritually significant acts of sacrifice and devotion can further emphasize the seriousness of your intention. For instance, consider fasting or meditating throughout the novena period.
- Stay committed. Once you decide to start praying a novena, stick with it. While there are no punishments for quitting halfway through, finishing the practice can be spiritually beneficial, regardless of whether or not your original request has been answered by the end of the novena period.
- Meditate. There is some debate regarding whether or not you need to start over from the beginning if you skip a day or hour of your novena. Tradition holds that you should meditate on your reason for skipping and ultimately start over afterward. If the reason was unavoidable, however—like a sudden and dire illness—the decision to start from scratch may not be so clear. Regardless, the issue is a matter of conscience, so the decision is yours to make based on your own circumstances.
Part Two: Novena Formats
- Pray the standard nine-day novena. The most traditional way to pray a novena is to recite it at least once a day over the course of nine days.
- Choose a time of day to recite your novena prayer. You should pray your novena during the same time each day. For example, if you pray at 9:00 AM the first day, you should pray at 9:00 AM the remaining days.
- Recite your novena once a day for nine consecutive days.
- Reflect. When you are not actively reciting your novena prayer, you should try to reflect and meditate on your chosen intention.
- Seek. Given the fact that this is done over the course of nine days, some distraction is expected. You should seek to minimize that distraction as much as possible, though.
- Use a nine-hour format. A shorter, more concentrated alternative is to pray a novena once every hour over the course of nine hours.
- Prepare accordingly. Let your friends and family know that you will be unavailable for the next nine hours, then turn off your phone and any other potential distractions.
- Choose a time to start. Keep in mind that you will need a full nine hours, and that these hours should be back to back.
- Recite your chosen novena prayer at the start of each hour.
- Spend time meditating on your chosen intention in between prayer times. You can do other activities, like cleaning the house or taking a walk, but your activities should allow you to reflect on your intention instead of distracting you from it.
- Choose a prayer format, as well. There are a range of different novenas with a range of different prayers you can use. Some novenas will call you to recite the same prayer each time, while others will call you to recite a different prayer each time. Even though most novenas use formal prayers, you can also pray informal prayers if doing so has greater meaning to your current circumstances.
- Be vocal in prayer. The only limitation is that your prayer must be a "vocal" one. You do not need to say a prayer out loud for it to be a vocal prayer, though. A vocal prayer is merely a prayer that uses actual words to address God.
- Direct your prayers. The prayers of your novena can either be directed to God or to the one of the Saints.
- Determine whether to pray publicly or privately. Oftentimes, novenas are prayed alone and in private. When a particular intention concerns a larger group of people, though, they may choose to pray the novena together.
- Meet with other like-minded believers. Public novenas are usually organized by a church. They can be spoken for specific purposes or in preparation of specific feast days. Your church may ask you to come to the building during the time the novena is prayed each day, or it may simply ask you to pray the novena at home during a certain time to maintain spiritual unity within the congregation, even though the members are physically apart.
Part Three: Examples
- Recite the Novena to the Sacred Heart. This novena can be said for any consecutive set of nine days but is most often started on the beginning of the Feast of Corpus Christi and ended on the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
- You will recite the same prayer once a day:
- "O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore Thee, I love Thee and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer Thee this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Thy will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in Thee and for Thee. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Thy blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Within Thy Heart I place my every care. In every need let me come to Thee with humble trust saying, Heart of Jesus help me."
- You will recite the same prayer once a day:
- Use the Novena to the Infant of Prague. This novena can be prayed for nine consecutive days but is more commonly prayed over the course of nine consecutive hours during a single day.
- You will recite the same prayer once each hour:
- "O Jesus, who has said ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you, through the intercession of Mary, Thy Most Holy Mother, I knock, I seek and I ask that my prayer may be granted."
- Pause here and mention your intentions.
- "O Jesus, who has said all that you ask of the Father in My Name, He will will grant you, through the intercession of Mary, Thy Most Holy Mother, I humbly and urgently ask Thy Father in Thy Name, that my prayer be granted."
- Pause here and mention your intentions.
- "O Jesus, who has said 'Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but My word shall not pass,' through the intercession of Mary, Thy Most Holy Mother, I feel confident that my prayer will be granted."
- Pause here and mention your intentions.
- You will recite the same prayer once each hour:
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