Perpetual Novena

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Is it okay to say a novena prayer for longer than a novena?
I’m saying that I’d like to pray the Novena Rose Prayer to St. Therese forever or at least as long as I can remember!
Would it be considered a perpetual novena if you keep praying it longer than 9 days, weeks, months?
 
From the EWTN website:
“A novena is a nine-day period of private or public prayer to obtain special graces, to implore special favors, or to make special petitions. (Novena is derived from the Latin “novem”, meaning nine.) As the definition suggests, the novena has always had more of a sense of urgency and neediness.”

IMHO, if you were to start saying the prayers associated with a traditional Novena, every day, then it would become more of a routine or devotional prayer, and would lose the characteristic of it being a Novena. There’s probably nothing wrong with doing that if you want to say the prayer every day, but I don’t think it could be considered to be a “Novena” anymore. So, if you really wanted to say it to obtain special graces, you might want to reconsider saying it every day as part of your regular devotions. But, that’s just my opinion on the subject. I could be wrong.
 
So I think then it would be better to find another prayer to ask for St. Therese’s intercession daily and say the novena when in need and for the 9 days.
 
Footprints said:
So I think then it would be better to find another prayer to ask for St. Therese’s intercession daily and say the novena when in need and for the 9 days.
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That sounds like a good plan. 😉

BTW… I LOVE St. Therése! 😃
 
@Telstar I was pointed towards her because Of my struggle with scruples! I’ve always thought she was awesome and the more I read, it confirms that! I can relate to some of her annoyance and she’s really inspiring regarding doing every little thing for the Love of God!
 
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@(name removed by moderator) I didn’t know about that.
 
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Footprints said:
Is it okay to say a novena prayer for longer than a novena?
I’m saying that I’d like to pray the Novena Rose Prayer to St. Therese forever or at least as long as I can remember!
Would it be considered a perpetual novena if you keep praying it longer than 9 days, weeks, months?
Click to expand...
I don’t think it matters , @Footprints , what it is called.

If you want to pray the Novena Rose Prayer to St. Therese forever , then go ahead .

I am sure St Therese will be delighted .

There is something not quite right with this rigid concern about numbers of days .
 
She has always held a very special place in my heart, ever since I was little. I think I read “The Story of a Soul” when I was in my early teens. Her “little way” has always seemed to fit me well. I can’t really do any “big things”, so I just try to do the “little things” the best way I can, and offer them up to Jesus. He can make all of those “little things” into “much bigger things”.
 
@Telstar I’d really like to read her autobiography! I’m hoping to do so as soon as I finish a book I have about St. Francis Xavier by Louis de Wohl.
The “Little Way” is really great to remind us that we don’t have to do huge things!
 
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It’s fine. I too have been saying a daily novena to St. Therese since last November. I said it for 9 days and then decided to just keep going.
 
@Fauken I think I read about them a long time ago! I’ll give that article a read to jog my memory!
 
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