Q: What is a Novena?
A: The word "Novena" comes from the Latin word "Novem" which means 9. It represents the days an individual will spend in prayer to a particular Saint. Once you have decided which Saint you are going to prayer to, you figure out when their Feast Day is and you begin your Novena 9 days prior. I am saying my Novena to St. Rita, her Feast Day is May 22, so I began my Novena today.
Q: What is a Feast Day?
A: A Feast Day is the day that we celebrate and honor specific Saints and it will almost always fall on the day that they died, not their birthday. Technically, everyone will become a Saint when they are in Heaven, but only a precious few are celebrated by the church as a whole. But you don't become a Saint until you die and go to Heaven. So that is why we celebrate them on their day of passing and not their birthday.
Q: Why are you praying to a Saint in the first place?
A: Okay, let me start by saying that my definition is going to be completely simplified. If you need a more detailed explanation you will need to Google it, but here is the way that I see it. First of all, Catholics do not hold Saints on the same level as God and Jesus. We do not worship them on the same level at all. Saints are like friends that are already up in Heaven and sitting right next to God, so they are just a little bit closer to him then we are. Also, they have been through the things that we struggle with so it is sometimes nice to go to them asking for guidance. It in no way replaces our time spent praying to God, it is just in addition. It is as if you are an alcoholic, you are struggling with your addiction and yes it is important to lean on your best friend and confide in them, but it is nice to also confide in fellow alcoholics.
Q: How long does it take to pray a Novena?
A: On average it takes me about 30 - 45 minutes to pray the Rosary and praying a Novena is that plus additional prayers. So it can take 45 - 60 minutes but today it took me about 40. I was rushing though because I was going to see Dark Shadows with my mom since it is Mother's Day (it was only alright).
Q: What does a Novena entail?
A: Well, each day of a Novena will vary but there are specific prayers that you will pray each day.
- The Rosary. This involves praying the Apostles' Creed, 6 Our Fathers, 6 Glory Be's, 5 Fatima Prayers, and 53 Hail Mary's.
- Each day you pray over a reading that reflects over different qualities your particular Saint was known for. Mine are Faith, Hope, Love, Prayer, Patience, Strength, Abandonment, Forgiveness, and Good Will.
- Then you pray a Litany which is the long list calling on God, Mary, Rita and others to have mercy or to pray for us. You may have heard it prayed in movies or something, but it is when you say the whole "God our Father in Heaven, Have mercy on us. Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us." and the lines for Rita include "Saint Rita, example of obedience Pray for us. Saint Rita, heroic in suffering Pray for us. Saint Rita model of mothers, Pray for us." and so on. All in all there are 38 lines in the Litany used during a St. Rita Novena.
- Then there are three additional prayers all about a paragraph long that are said to St. Rita.
Q: Why are you praying this Novena to St. Rita?
A: In a nutshell it is because St. Rita is the Saint that I was confirmed into the Catholic church under. But I figure I'll go into more detail about her later this week.
Okay, those are the only questions I can think of to answer right now. If you have any others let me know and I will answer what I can. Tomorrow I will share all about St. Rita. She's awesome!
Praying a Novena is not as physically challenging as the marathon, but it will be just as mentally challenging. It is hard to go from not praying consistently at all, to finding a way to carve out an hour of your day, everyday, to sit quietly and focus on prayer. And because it means a lot to me, it isn't the kind of thing I want to save until the end of the day, right before bed, when I can barely keep my mind focused and my eyes open. To be present and aware and to mean deeply what you are saying is kind of the whole point, so I can't do this half-heartily.
Hey, her feast day is my birthday! Coincidence? I think not! ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm completely fascinated and also impressed. I had no idea that praying the Rosary was so involved. I go to the kind of church where the pastor wears the jeans the music has drums and electric guitars.
ReplyDeleteGood luck on your novenas! And thanks for all the info - it's cool to learn what goes into them!
ReplyDeleteI am really impressed by this. My mom was catholic until she married my dad so I know a bit more than the average person about Catholicism and this kind of dedication is very impressive.
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