Questions about Novenas

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findingfaith

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As a 21 year old college student I have recently started to take baby steps back into my faith after years of struggling with depression/anxiety and not understanding why God would want me to feel these awful things.

I grew up in a private catholic school system but I’m afraid that a lot of my knowledge has been forgotten. My biggest questions concern the praying of Novenas. I understand that they are prayers to be said for 9 days in a row however can you say a novena more than once a day for 9 days in a row? I have found that prayer does relax my anxiety and gives me a sense of peace with my depression. My second question is why as Catholics do we say novenas at all and how are they different than say a normal prayer to a patron saint or to our God?

Thank you to those who can help educate me on my continuous rediscovery of my faith. May the Lord bring many blessings to you!
 
You can say a Novena more than once a day for 9 days in a row.
However, given that there are thousands of prayers and forms of prayer out there, if you have additional time to pray after you’ve finished your Novena for the given day, it might be better to say some of the other prayers available. Some options would be:
  • attending daily Mass
  • reading some Scripture, especially the Gospels
  • saying the Rosary, or if that’s too much, saying 3 Hail Marys. Many people find the Rosary very calming to pray.
  • saying the Divine Mercy Chaplet
  • going to Adoration and sitting with Our Lord for a short time
  • just talking in our own words, either out loud or mentally, to God and telling him our troubles
etc.
 
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