nine day novena

[lourdes00]

hi

i was just wondering i read somewhere that you can do a nine day novena in one day only but nine times, is this possible?

can a person do a novena in just one day??
is this the same as doing it for nine consecutive days?

thank you in advance

 

[LilyM]

There are at least two novenas I know of that are called ‘emergency novenas’ - one to the Infant of Prague (send me a PM if you’re interested) and the other being Mother Teresa’s practice in an emergency of reciting the Memorare prayer nine times in a row.

If you don’t HAVE nine days in which to pray for your petition - if it’s something that will come up sooner - I’m sure it’s perfectly acceptable to make any novena a ‘novena of hours’ (pray every hour for nine hours) or even pray it nine times in a row if you’re so inclined.

 

[Sir_Knight]

A Novena means to preserve in prayer for a specific period of time. Traditionally nine days are used to imitate the Apostles who prayed for nine days from the time of Jesus ascended to heaven to the time that the Holy Spirit came upon them.

However, it does not have to be nine days. It could be nine hours, nine weeks, etc. Additionally, there is nothing magical about the number “9”. Again, it is merely used to imitate the Apostles’ acts of prayer.

Also, keep in mind that God exists outside of Time and it has been said that God can use prayers that you WILL say in the future and apply them to an earlier event.

So, you can still do a 9-day novena even if what you are praying for is to happen sooner because God can use your future prayers.

Also, if your request is granted, you can turn your Novena from one of Petition to one of Thanksgiving. All too often we forget to thank God for favors received. We should put AT LEAST as much prayer into thanking God as we di in petitioning Him.