novena

 

(nōvē'nə) [Lat.,=a group of nine], in the Roman Catholic Church, primarily a series of public or private prayers extending over nine consecutive days, especially nine days preceding a feast. They often carry an indulgence. More rarely, a novena extends over any nine days, as nine consecutive Mondays or nine first Fridays of the month. By extension, especially in America, the term is used for a regular series of prayers, e.g., a “perpetual novena” occurring every Friday. Novenas are made especially in honor of the saints to ask their intercession for certain benefits. They are frequent in honor of the Virgin Mary (under her various aspects, e.g., Our Lady of Sorrows), of St. Joseph, of St. Anne, of St. Anthony, and of other saints whose cults are popular, and they are said for the repose of the souls in purgatory. Widespread public novenas are those of Pentecost (beginning the Saturday after Ascension), of the Assumption (Aug. 7–15), of the Immaculate Conception (Nov. 30–Dec. 8), and the “novena of grace,” in honor of St. Francis Xavier (Mar. 3–11). Public novenas must be approved by the church authorities. The practice of novenas is very ancient in the Western Church, and the idea was probably borrowed from Roman paganism.

For the town in Singapore, see Novena, Singapore.

The word Novena is the feminine form of the Medieval Latin word, "novenus", "ninth", which is the ordinal number from novem, nine.

In the Catholic Church, a novena is a devotion consisting of prayer said (most typically) on nine successive days, asking to obtain special graces. These may consist of small prayer books, recitation of the Rosary, or small prayers through the day.

The practice of saying novenas is derived from Scripture. After Jesus' Ascension into heaven, he told his disciples to pray together in the upper room and devote themselves to constant prayer (Acts 1:14). The Apostles, Blessed Virgin Mary, and other followers of Jesus prayed together for nine consecutive days, concluding in the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

Though the novena is primarily a devotion used by members of the Catholic Church, it has spread to the Orthodox, Anglican, and even some Lutheran churches.

External links

• A collection of Novenas in English
• Novena from the Catholic Encyclopedia
• Novenas from EWTN
• Novena for the repose of the soul of John Paul II .pdf file

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