Novena Prayer
A novena (from the Latin novem, nine) is in the Catholic Church a private or public devotion of 9 days, intended to obtain specific graces, to ask God for special prayer requests or petitions. The novena combines mourning and hope, it is imbued with sigh and prayer. We can see, as a model, the nine days separating the Ascension of Jesus into heaven and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, during which “All were assiduous in prayer, with some women including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with the brothers of Jesus “. “The number nine in Holy Scripture marks suffering and sorrow”.
The novena is permitted, even recommended by ecclesiastical authority, but has still not found its exact place in the Church’s liturgy. Nevertheless, it has been increasingly appreciated and in use among the faithful. We can distinguish four kinds of novenas: novenas of mourning, preparation, prayer and indulgenced novenas, although such a distinction is not exclusive.
Oh, Immaculate Mary, Virgin most Powerful
Oh, Immaculate Mary, Virgin most Powerful, I beseech you, through that immense Power which you have received from the Eternal Father, obtain for me Purity of heart, – Strength to overcome all the enemies of my soul; -and the special favor I implore in my present necessity.
(Name It)
Mother most pure! Forsake me not, despise not my prayer, graciously hear me for God’s glory, your honor, and the welfare of my soul.
To obtain this favor I honor your Power by reciting:
Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death.
Amen.
Oh Virgin Mary, My Mother
Oh Virgin Mary, My Mother, through that ineffable Wisdom bestowed upon you by the Incarnate Word of God, I humbly beseech you, obtain for me Meekness and humility of heart; – a perfect knowledge of the divine Will and strength to accomplish it always.
Oh Mary, Seat of Wisdom; as a tender Mother lead me in the path of Christian Virtue and perfection; enlighten and enable me to do what is most pleasing to your beloved Son. and obtain my petition.
To obtain this grace I honor your Wisdom by reciting:
Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death.
Amen.
Oh, Mother of Mercy, Mother of penitent sinners
Oh, Mother of Mercy, Mother of penitent sinners, I stand before you sinful and sorrowful, beseeching you through the immense Love given to you by the Holy Spirit for us poor sinners, obtain for me true and perfect contrition for my sins, which I hate and detest with all my heart, because I love God.
Mother most Merciful, help me in my present necessity.
Turn, then those eyes of Mercy toward us, Oh Clement, Oh Loving oh Sweet Virgin Mary!
To obtain this precious gift, I honor Your Loving Mercy by reciting:
Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death.
Amen.
Mourning novena
Saint Augustine advises Christians not to imitate this pagan custom of which Sacred Scripture gives no example. Subsequently, the Pseudo-Alcuin repeats the same advice9, invoking the authority of Saint Augustine and, even more clearly, John Beleth10 in the 12th century. Even Bishop Durandus in his Rationale (Naples, 1478), writing on the Office of the Dead, remarks that “some did not approve of it, so as not to appear to ape pagan customs”.
Despite everything, in Christian funeral celebrations, we find that of the ninth day with those of the third and seventh. The Constitutiones Apostolicae already talk about it. The custom existed mainly in the East, but it was also found among the Franks and Anglo-Saxons. Even though it was linked to an earlier pagan practice, it still contained no trace of superstition.
Nine days of mourning with daily mass was naturally a luxury, which only the higher classes could afford. The princes and the rich ordered such a ceremony for themselves in their wills; and such orders are found even in the wills of popes and cardinals. Already in the Middle Ages, the novena of Masses for popes and cardinals was used. Subsequently, the funeral celebration for the cardinals never ceased to be simplified, until it was finally regulated and fixed by the Constitution Praecipuum of Benedict XIV, on November 23, 1741.
For the deceased pontiffs the mourning of the nine days was retained, which thus came to be called quite simply12. The custom has continued and consists mainly of a novena of Masses for the deceased. A rescript of the Sacred Congregation of Rites of April 22, 1633 informs us that such mourning novenas, officia novendialia ex testamento, were known and generally authorized in the churches of religious.
Read also: Our Father Prayer (Lord’s Prayer)
History
The novenas are in agreement with the Bible in that it is known that between the Resurrection and the Ascension there are 40 days; and there are nine days between Ascension and Pentecost; time in which the apostles and other Christians gathered remained in prayer, although they are only connections created by theologians, it could be more than just a coincidence, or not, and be just that; 3 are also inspired by certain customs of the Greek and Roman cultures that celebrated nine days of mourning for the deceased or to appease the gods. Jesus Christ taught to pray with insistence (Luke 18:11) and asked the Apostles to prepare in prayer for the coming of the Holy Spirit, after hisAscension to Heaven (Acts 2, 1-41). From this ecclesial experience arises the Pentecost novena . Although the first Christians followed the custom regarding the number of days, the content of the novenas was completely new and consisted of fervent Christian prayers carried out, in principle in communal form. Pope Alexander VII grants the first indulgence to a novena, in honor of Saint Francis Xavier .
Saint Augustine warned Christians not to fall into pagan customs during the novenas. Saint Jerome said that the number nine indicates suffering and pain in the Bible.
In the Middle Ages it was said that Jesus Christ died in the ninth hour and that, thanks to Holy Mass , the deceased would be raised to heaven on the ninth day. The preparation novenas also appear at this time, inspired by the Virgin’s nine months of pregnancy, which are celebrated during the nine days prior to an important holiday, for example, Christmas.
Sources: PinterPandai, Global Catholic Network, Catholic Tradition
Photo credit: Walpaperuse
