Hello Dana,
A novena is prayer for nine consecutive days and is usually chosen for a specific need that can be either personal or for someone else. It would depend on the need which novena you choose because the words are directed in accord with your prayer purpose. You don’t need to use a composed formula available in many prayer books, but one’s own words are suitable as well, but prayed for nine days.
We need to guard against the superstition that ‘my novena’ will be answered after the ninth day, to the affirmative, and if it is not, there will be deep disappointment and loss of faith in novenas altogether.
There are a good many written novenas to help us form our intention and stay focused for our petition. Our parish is presently involved in one to St. Anne, mother of Mary, since her feast is on July 26th. The Altar Society at our church has chosen her for their patroness, so each year they publicly pray for special needs. I would guess that there is more than one composition for a novena to St. Anne, but the one they use is a little archaic and sentimental, so I am not inclined to pray it with them. If I were to invoke her intercession, I would use my own words or look for another novena.
Many novenas are prayed nine days before a certain feast day celebrated in the Church, as I noted with St. Anne. Our Blessed Mother is often invoked prior to her feasts, and so is the Holy Spirit just before Pentecost, for a couple of examples.
I hope this is helpful for you.
