Novenas offer peace

When it comes to times of stress, anxiety or fear, the first thing Catholics will do is pray … and ask others to pray. For some it means praying the rosary and for others it means praying a novena. The word “novena” comes from the Latin word for “nine” or “novem.” It is a prayer, or set of prayers, prayed for nine days, hours, weeks or months.

Novenas offer peace as well as hope to Catholics who turn to them during their time of need. Traditionally, nine-day novenas are available for any number of intentions but likely one of the most popular is the St. Jude Novena, which is offered for hopeless causes. St. Jude is the Catholic’s go-to guy in times of stress, whether it’s life-threatening or facing a week of final exams.

Other popular novena prayers are to Jesus, Mary, St. Joseph, St, Anthony, St. Therese and St. Anne. Novenas usually consist of a brief scripture passage, a novena-specific prayer that is repeated every day, a litany or petition response prayer and a canticle or hymn. There are four main types of novenas:

Novenas of mourning.

Novenas of preparations for celebrations such as Christmas, Easter and feast days.

Novenas of petitions.

Novenas of penance.

Scripturally, novenas take their origin from the nine days of prayer before Pentecost.  In fact, it was Jesus who, after his ascension into heaven, instructed his disciples to return to Jerusalem and gather in prayer. Nine days later, the Holy Spirit appeared to the disciples in tongues of fire, which parted and came to rest on each of them. The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues on what was the first Pentecost.

Thus, the novena is an imitation of the Lord’s command to the apostles when they prayed for nine days in anticipation of the coming of the Holy Spirit. In May 1897, in his Encyclical on the Holy Spirit, Pope Leo XIII decreed that every year the whole church renew its devotion by praying a Novena to the Holy Spirit in the nine days leading up to Pentecost.

It remains the only novena prescribed by the church and is a powerful plea for the strength and love needed by all people.

Prayer for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, before ascending into heaven, didst promise to send the Holy Ghost to finish Thy work in the souls of Thy Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me, that He may perfect in my soul the work
of Thy grace and Thy love.
Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal,
the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Thy divine truth,
the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining Heaven,
the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with Thee, and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose
my salvation,
the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints,
the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet
and amiable,
the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God, and may dread in any way to displease Him.
Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Thy true disciples and animate me in all things with Thy Spirit.
Amen.