Since the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church has fostered the novenas of masses for different circumstances. Shortly after, prayer novenas appeared, which quickly became popular among the faithful. Even today many Christians do novenas to entrust a particular intention to God Y ask for a grace through the intercession of the Virgin or a saint.
Novena-Immaculate Conception: learn to say YES with Mary
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The novena of masses consists of do a mass every day, for nine consecutive days for a particular intention. In the middle Ages, very often a novena of mass was celebrateds in two circumstances: when an important person dies and to prepare for Christmas.
Novena for the dead
The novena for the dead is a novena of masses dedicated to a deceased person. Previously, nine consecutive masses were celebrated after the death of the pope, a cardinal, a prince or another important person. The number nine recalls the death of Christ, who, according to the Gospel, died at the ninth hour: “Towards three in the afternoon, Jesus exclaimed in a loud voice: «Elí, Elí, lemá sabactani», which means: «My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?». Some of those who were there, hearing it, said: “He is calling Elijah.” Immediately, one of them ran to take a sponge, soaked it in vinegar and, putting it on the end of a reed, gave him a drink. But the others told him: “Wait, let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” Then Jesus, crying again with a loud voice, gave up his spirit.” (Matthew 27:46-50).
Christmas Eve
The Christmas Eve, also known as novena de Aguinaldos, is a novena that spread in the Middle Ages, especially in Western Europe. In fact, traces of clear instructions from the clergy of the time have been preserved, encouraging lthe celebration of nine masses during the nine days preceding Christmas; The purpose of these nine masses is commemorate the nine months that Jesus spent in the womb of Mary.
The prayer novenas: origin and popularization
From the novena of preparation to the novena of prayer
Towards the end of the first millennium, some religious orders organized novenas of masses to prepare the feast of its holy founder. In these, the saint was especially honored and his intercession before God was specifically requested.
Shortly after, the faithful also began to pray to the saints in the form of novenas: for nine consecutive days, the faithful asked the saint to intercede for them to obtain a particular grace and generally, the saints were invoked according to their own charisms.
The Novena of prayer today
Currently there are many novenas of prayer. In fact, this way of praying is quite encouraged by the Church. To make sense of the number 9, we often remember that the apostles of Jesus and Mary spent 9 days in prayer between Ascension and Pentecost, before receiving the Holy Spirit: “All of them, intimately united, devoted themselves to prayer, in the company of some women, Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” (Acts 1:14).
Among the most popular novenas today, there are some that are used to prepare the main liturgical festivals and the feasts of the saints. For example, the Novena to the Holy Spirit is very popular and allows you to prepare for Pentecost. In addition, the Novena to the Immaculate Conception, which is celebrated on December 8, and the Novena to Saint Joseph, which is celebrated before March 19, are also well-known novenas.
There are other novenas that allow everyone to pray for their intentions at any time of the year. For example, some novenas, such as that of the Virgen Desatanudos or that of Santa Rita, have many followers and others allow people to pray to find a job, discern their vocation, have a child, pray for the deceased, etc.
Pray a novena in !
gives you many novenas online and they allow you to receive quite nutritious content for nine consecutive days. By registering, you will be able to pray to a saint and/or entrust a particular intention. For example, today we suggest you register for this novena to Saint Joseph or discover this novena to the Holy Spirit. If you wish, you can join today!