Question re: the memorare prayer

[DoodleLove]

I am a fairly new Catholic. I have a family member (teenager with health problems) in very serious need right now. I have been praying a novena memorare (9 times) every day for several weeks and I’m starting to notice some improvement in his condition.
My question: should I say 9 novenas in thanks? Is it too soon to do this? Or should I continue to pray these every day. Also. Should I be stating my intentions before each prayer or just once at the beginning. Sorry this is long and possibly complicated. Feel free to ask questions for clarification.

 

[Polyphony]

It’s hard to tell, but I think you may just be slightly formulaic in your approach here. But not to worry! I’m sure you simply want to please God as well as you can, and you want to help your family member.

Those are wonderful intentions, but you need not be worried that a prayer needs to be said this many times within so many days in order for God to hear it. It’s not the prayer itself that has power, but God.

What Jesus wants is for you to approach Him with love and with trust. You can practice any devotion you want to that end, and novenas, for example, are beautiful … as is praying a novena of daily Memorares, as Blessed Mother Teresa did.

But we need to separate a beautiful devotion from the idea that not following the devotion in precisely this or that manner will lead to failure. That’s kind of a form of superstition, and we should always strive to develop piety without veering off into superstitious practices.

So yes, keep praying! But most important, keep loving and trusting. And don’t feel bound by your devotions or prayers. Use them to get closer to God, but not as a replacement for His mercy, His love, or His will.

Does that make sense?

 

[Jon_S_1]

It’s hard to tell, but I think you may just be slightly formulaic in your approach here. But not to worry! I’m sure you simply want to please God as well as you can, and you want to help your family member.

Those are wonderful intentions, but you need not be worried that a prayer needs to be said this many times within so many days in order for God to hear it. It’s not the prayer itself that has power, but God.

What Jesus wants is for you to approach Him with love and with trust. You can practice any devotion you want to that end, and novenas, for example, are beautiful … as is praying a novena of daily Memorares, as Blessed Mother Teresa did.

But we need to separate a beautiful devotion from the idea that not following the devotion in precisely this or that manner will lead to failure. That’s kind of a form of superstition, and we should always strive to develop piety without veering off into superstitious practices.

So yes, keep praying! But most important, keep loving and trusting. And don’t feel bound by your devotions or prayers. Use them to get closer to God, but not as a replacement for His mercy, His love, or His will.

Does that make sense?

Awesome Post! I agree wholeheartedly. Sometimes people take the novenas, rosary, other prayers of the church, and act as if it is some magical incantation that they must say perfectly for it to work. That is horribly superstitious.

God cares about your prayer because you are putting him first and asking for his help. He couldn’t care less if you say it by some certain way, as long as you are putting your heart out there for him.

 

[Billycourty]

I fear I will get flamed here but:

I think it is very important in our modern rushed world that novenas and their set days and hours are kept correctly.

Time is one of the most precious things we have, so if busy people take time out of their schedule to pray it means more than just slotting prayers into bits and bobs of time that might be left after all the “important” stuff is done.

I think it devalues people who try so hard and sacrifice a lot to finish a novena to say novenas are superstition.

The world needs novenas and a bit of superstition.

It’s not the time to go about discouraging that.

There is power in prayer and novenas prove that.

Without the novena, it is hard to prove that prayer helped (for unbelievers).

Novenas help unbelievers to believe. Do not so readily discredit them or suggest that the time or days needed to say them are so easily dispensed with. With whose authority to you dispense these requirements?

 

[Jon_S_1]

I fear I will get flamed here but:

I think it is very important in our modern rushed world that novenas and their set days and hours are kept correctly.

Time is one of the most precious things we have, so if busy people take time out of their schedule to pray it means more than just slotting prayers into bits and bobs of time that might be left after all the “important” stuff is done.

I think it devalues people who try so hard and sacrifice a lot to finish a novena to say novenas are superstition.

The world needs novenas and a bit of superstition.

It’s not the time to go about discouraging that.

There is power in prayer and novenas prove that.

Without the novena, it is hard to prove that prayer helped (for unbelievers).

Novenas help unbelievers to believe. Do not so readily discredit them or suggest that the time or days needed to say them are so easily dispensed with. With whose authority to you dispense these requirements?

I think you misunderstand the critique.

Yes novenas are powerful prayers. Setting aside time to do things as prescribed is edifying of course. Showing devotion to God by doing so and prioritizing things with God in mind is fantastic.

What is problematic is when people, often victims of scrupulosity, think that God ignored them because they missed a Hail Mary, or that the novena “doesn’t count” (i.e. Is worthless) because they did something differently.

That is superstitious nonsense.

 

[Polyphony]

I think it devalues people who try so hard and sacrifice a lot to finish a novena to say novenas are superstition.

I love Novenas, and I think that they’re absolutely wonderful.

I just don’t want people to be afraid of God, and I don’t want them to think their prayers don’t count.

When someone is praying desperately, they perhaps want to ensure they’re doing things as correctly as possible. I just want to be sure that such a person doesn’t rely on themselves too much, or on the way they pray, but that they put their love and trust in Jesus, because He cares so much for us. And I think it pleases Him to know we trust.

 

[mh2007]

I believe your prayers for help are truly heard. I believe acceptance of God’s will is achieved through prayer. By all means ask, and you shall receive.