Novenas. Nine days (or nine hours, or if you're in dire straits, nine repetitions one after another) of prayer.
This popular Catholic devotion is modeled after the nine days that Mary and the Apostles prayed in the Upper Room, between the Ascension and coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
A novena prepares us to celebrate a special feast with more intensity. It can also help us to soak up and "expand" the graces of a feast after we've celebrated it.
It can be a way to express gratitude and love to a particular saint. Or a way to grow in some aspect of the spiritual life.
There are a number of novenas in our archives, but today we highlight these 12, one for each month of the year:
February, to Our Lady of Lourdes.
March, a "pray boldly" novena to St. Joseph.
April: Novena to the Holy Spirit.
May, Our Lady of Fatima.
In June, try this Novena to the Sacred Heart through Jesus' 5 Wounds.
For July, when we celebrate the siblings Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, a novena for family harmony offered to the Holy Family.
August: Immaculate Heart of Mary.
September: Our Lady of Sorrows.
In October, take time to remember your Guardian Angel with a novena.
In November, we remember the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
In the joyous month of December, we join St. Andrew for the Christmas Novena.
And we begin the year again, praying for the protection of the dignity of all human life.
