Novenas are a popular form of Catholic prayer. It refers to spending nine days in a row praying for a particular intention. They may have a set prayer, a set of reflections, or another practice along with it (eg, giving up something for the time period or doing some work of mercy each day during the novena). Usually a novena is prayed in preparation for some specific feast day. It’s almost like a little mini-Lent. I personally have gained a lot of fruit from this devotion and have certain novenas that I pray every year.

However, I think that often people do not know that the origin for the practice is very Biblical! – not just some crazy thing Catholics made up :). It comes from the days of prayer that the disciples spent in preparation for Pentecost. Jesus spent forty days with his disciples after the Resurrection speaking to them about the Kingdom of God, and then before ascending into heaven gave the Great Commission for them to go out and preach the Gospel to all nations. But, Jesus did not instruct them to immediately begin the work. First, he told them to wait and pray in Jerusalem until they received the “promise of the Father” (see Acts of the Apostles 1:3-4). This promise was fulfilled just over a week later when the disciples received the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost (a word that means “fiftieth day”). This meant there had been nine days of prayer between the Thursday of the Ascension and Pentecost.

A novena can be as simple or involved as you desire. May the Lord create within us the space to receive the gift he desires to give!