Why novena prayer

With its repeated appeal to divine aid, the novena recognizes that we are helpless without God, and that control of the situation is squarely in His hands. To suggest that with a novena we relinquish rather than make a play for control may contradict popular perceptions. Of course, such instructions always tacked on anonymously are little more than superstition. Novenas are not magic and cannot manipulate the Divine Will. After praying in a specific way for a specific number of days, we are no more in control than we were at the start.

Instead, we receive from God a result of His own choosing. Our part is simply to demonstrate faithfulness in our commitment to prayer.

They certainly are, as is any faithfully attended prayer. A novena may even lead to miraculous results. In short, novenas work, and we should pray them because they are a valuable form of conversation with God and His saints.

They flow from faith, and God always attends to the prayers of His faithful. We may or may not get what we want.

But as we pray novenas, we are praising, preparing, waiting and trusting. And again, like the first disciples, we will not be disappointed. Anthony Messenger, Shutterstock Advertisement. Karen Edmisten. March 13, pm March 13, Jesus had instructed His followers to pray, and they obeyed. But is it possible that their prayers were actually formulaic like the OurFather, the novenas we now pray and liturgical prayer?

If so, what formulaic prayers could have they used and how similar was it to the Jewish formulaic prayer of the time? God bless, Luis Angel. I've tried praying Novenas a couple of times, but I either forget or so wrapped up with responsibilities, I forget a day and that's the end of it. Andrew S. This was prevalent in both Greek and Roman culture. And there are other parallels Indeed, as you say, it is hard to imagine that the Jewish Apostles would wholly abandon the ritual methods of prayer.

Peter and the Apostles conducted the important business of beginning the Apostolic Succession by selecting St. Matthias to take Judas Iscariot's vacant position? This would have been the first Mass. When does the Church say the first Eucharistic Liturgy after the Ascension was offered by the Apostles? I'm praying the novena, thank you, Father! God bless you. Michelangelo, Yes, it was during these days that St. Matthias was chosen. Thanks for mentioning that! As far as the Mass I am not certain.

They could have offered the Mass -- for they were indeed priests. But I am not sure whether or not they did. In many ways, it would seem most likely that they did offer Mass together concelebrating , at least on Sunday. To my knowledge, there is no official teaching on this point. Great question, sorry I don't have a fuller answer! Father, what would be some of the differences between the way the Greeks and the Romans kept nine days in remembrance of the dead and our novena for the dead?

I am interesting in knowing the intentions behind their practice. By intention I mean to say did they feel that keeping these nine days was a way to appease the gods? Did they keep these nine days because they felt that their were aiding the soul in thethe afterlife? If so, what wasis their viewpractice of thethe afterlife? Also, what exactly did they pray and what rituals did they engage in during this time?

I appreciate any answers or information regarding these questions. It would be helpful to know how to explain to others how our novena for the dead is different from the Greek and Roman nine day observances for the dead.

Thank you for the great post! Luis Angel, I don't know too much about the pagan practices Get Novena prayers delivered to your inbox! Feel the power of praying together with thousands of people! Never forget to finish a Novena again!

Click to Join us in Prayer! First name. How to Pray a Novena What is a Novena? How do I pray a Novena? What if I miss a day? If you a miss a day, you can do one of a few things… You can either: 1 skip the day you missed altogether, 2 say two of the daily prayers in one day to catch up, or 3 say the prayer of the day you missed and just be one day behind everybody else. Should I have the same intention for all 9 days or should I have a different intention for each day?

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