How to pray a novena

A novena is nine days of prayer for one intention. The word comes from the Latin novem, "nine." Catholics pray novenas to prepare for a feast, to ask for help with a specific need, or to give thanks, and the practice is simple enough to begin tonight with a few quiet minutes.

What is a novena?

A novena is a devotion in which the same prayer, or the same pattern of prayer, is offered on nine consecutive days for a single intention. It can be addressed to God directly, or it can ask Mary or one of the saints to pray with you and for you.

The old Catholic Encyclopedia gives this definition: "A nine days' private or public devotion in the Catholic Church to obtain special graces" (Catholic Encyclopedia, "Novena"). It distinguishes novenas of mourning for the dead, of preparation before a feast, and of prayer for a particular need.

Where does the novena come from?

Tradition points to the nine days between Jesus' Ascension and Pentecost, when the apostles gathered in Jerusalem with Mary and prayed until the Holy Spirit came. That wait became the model for every novena since.

After the Ascension the apostles returned to the upper room. "All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus" (Acts 1:14). When the day of Pentecost came, "they were all together in one place" (Acts 2:1). The Catholic Encyclopedia calls this "the first Pentecost novena" and the "best model and example" for novenas of preparation and of prayer (Catholic Encyclopedia, "Novena").

The Church's Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (2001) agrees, quoting Acts 1:14: the Pentecost novena "emerged from prayerful reflection on this salvific event" (Directory, 155).

In 1897 Pope Leo XIII ordered that "a Novena shall take place before Whit-Sunday, in all parish churches," every year (Divinum Illud Munus 13). Whit-Sunday is the old English name for Pentecost.

How do you pray a novena, step by step?

Choose one intention, choose a novena that fits it, set a fixed time each day, and pray the same prayers for nine days in a row. If you miss a day, continue the next day or start again. There is no official rule about missed days.

1. Choose an intention. Name one thing, as concretely as you can: healing for a named person, work, a good decision, the soul of someone who has died. Write it down, because nine days is long enough for an intention to drift. Thanksgiving is a good intention too.

2. Choose a novena. If a feast is coming, pray the novena that belongs to it. If your intention has a natural patron, pray a novena to that saint; see our guide to choosing a patron saint. If nothing fits, use the simple daily pattern below.

3. Pick a time. Attach the novena to something you already do every day, such as morning coffee or going to bed. If the novena belongs to a feast, count back nine days so that it ends on the eve of the feast or on the day itself.

4. Pray all nine days. Pray with attention. If your mind wanders, return to the intention and keep going. A dry day finished is still a day of prayer.

5. If you miss a day. There is no official rule. Novenas belong to popular piety, which the Directory calls "properly optional" (Directory, 11). The sensible practice is to continue the next day and finish a day late, or to start again from day one if you want nine unbroken days. Either choice is reasonable.

What does one day of a novena look like?

Most novenas follow a simple pattern: the Sign of the Cross, your intention, the day's novena prayer, then an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be. A day takes five to ten minutes.

Opening. "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Intention. In your own words, for example: "Lord, for these nine days I ask you for [your intention]. Give me what is good, and the trust to accept your answer."

The day's prayer. Pray that day's prayer from the novena you chose. Without one, read a short Scripture passage connected to your intention or the coming feast. Before Pentecost, Acts 2:1 to 4 is the natural choice.

Our Father. "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen."

Hail Mary. "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

Glory Be. "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen."

Closing. For a novena to a saint, add a short request such as "Saint Joseph, pray for us." End with the Sign of the Cross.

A novena to Mary or a saint is a request for their prayers, addressed in the end to God. The Catechism says of the saints: "We can and should ask them to intercede for us and for the whole world" (CCC 2683). Our post on whether Catholics worship Mary explains the difference.

Which novenas do Catholics pray most often?

The best-known novenas prepare for major feasts: Pentecost, Christmas, the Immaculate Conception and Divine Mercy Sunday. Many Catholics also pray novenas to a patron saint before the saint's feast, a novena for the dead before All Souls' Day, and the longer 54-day Rosary novena.

The Pentecost novena. The original novena traditionally runs from the Friday after Ascension Thursday to the Saturday before Pentecost and asks for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Directory asks that it reflect "the liturgical themes of the days from Ascension to the Vigil of Pentecost" (Directory, 155).

The Divine Mercy novena. From the diary of St. Faustina Kowalska, it runs from Good Friday to the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, with a different group of people to pray for each day. Many add the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

The Christmas novena. It runs December 16 to 24, through the last days of Advent. The Directory says it "began as a means of communicating the riches of the Liturgy to the faithful who were unable easily to grasp it" (Directory, 103).

The Immaculate Conception novena. It runs November 29 to December 7, ending on the eve of the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The Directory singles it out among Advent devotions and asks that it highlight the prophecies from Genesis 3:15 to Gabriel's greeting of Mary as "full of grace" (Directory, 101 to 102).

Novenas to a patron saint. These usually end on or just before the saint's feast, such as March 19 for St. Joseph. The Directory notes that "a feast day is frequently preceded by a preparatory triduum, septinaria or novena" (Directory, 189).

The novena for the dead. The Directory mentions "the novena for the dead in preparation for the 2 November" (Directory, 260), which runs October 24 to November 1 and leads into All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.

The 54-day Rosary novena. A popular devotion built from six novenas back to back: the Rosary every day for 54 days, the first 27 in petition and the last 27 in thanksgiving, whatever the outcome.

Do novenas work?

Novenas work the way all prayer of petition works. God hears every prayer and answers as a Father, giving what is truly good, which may or may not be the thing asked for. Nine days of asking also change the person who asks, and the Catechism treats that change as the first answer.

The Catechism says that in petition "we express awareness of our relationship with God," and adds: "Our petition is already a turning back to him" (CCC 2629). Jesus grounds that trust in how parents treat children: "how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him" (Matthew 7:11).

The Catechism contrasts a God treated as "an instrument to be used" with "the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (CCC 2735). It then quotes the monk Evagrius: "Do not be troubled if you do not immediately receive from God what you ask him; for he desires to do something even greater for you, while you cling to him in prayer" (CCC 2737).

So a novena that ends without the requested outcome has still been heard. "Transformation of the praying heart is the first response to our petition" (CCC 2739).

What makes a novena superstitious?

A novena becomes superstitious when someone treats its words, its number of days or the act of copying it as the thing that produces the answer. Warning signs include a guaranteed result, a threat if the chain is broken, and a demand to publish or distribute the prayer.

The Catechism names the problem exactly: "To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition" (CCC 2111). A novena is a lawful practice. Treating it as a mechanism is what corrupts it.

Chain novenas are the common modern form: a prayer passed on by text message or left in a pew, promising that the request will be granted by the ninth day, often with orders to copy it or publish a thank-you. Jesus named the instinct behind them: the Gentiles "think that they will be heard for their many words" (Matthew 6:7).

If someone hands you one, the prayer itself may be sound. Pray it, and drop the guarantee and the instructions. Thanking a saint in public is a harmless custom on its own; making publication the price of an answer turns prayer into a transaction.

Do Catholics have to pray novenas?

No. Novenas are devotions that Catholics are free to pray or leave aside. The Church values them as an extension of the liturgy into daily life and asks that they lead people toward the Mass and the sacraments, which remain the center of Catholic worship.

The Directory says pious exercises carry no obligation, "notwithstanding their worthiness or their widespread diffusion," and gives Sunday Mass as the example of a real obligation (Directory, 11).

The Catechism says devotions "extend the liturgical life of the Church" and should be drawn up so that they "harmonize with the liturgical seasons" and "lead the people to" the liturgy (CCC 1675). Their exercise is "subject to the care and judgment of the bishops" (CCC 1676).

The Church's handbook of indulgences grants a partial indulgence to anyone who devoutly takes part in a public novena, naming those before Christmas, Pentecost and the Immaculate Conception as examples (Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, concession 22); our post on purgatory explains indulgences.

A novena needs one intention and a few minutes a day. Over nine days it builds the habit Jesus taught in a parable: that his disciples "ought always to pray and not lose heart" (Luke 18:1).