I hadn’t posted this earlier:
If one were to make a Novena to the Sacred Heart, is it better to have it culminate on the 27th or on the 29th?
In a sort of theory, it can be any day, but because you’re probably thinking of a preparatory novena for a reasonably public celebration, since Sacred Heart itself falls on the 27th, the novena should end on or before that date–as others have said.
I’m posting on this subject mainly to mention a variant.
There exists a venerable precedent of ending a “timed” novena on the day before an observance. (For example, the prototypical novena between traditional Ascension and Pentecost exclusive–yes, this novena begins very soon–starts on a Friday and ends on the day, a Saturday, before Pentecost. The Divine Mercy novena also begins on a Friday, Good Friday, and ends on the day before Divine Mercy Sunday.)
As I like to follow that general pattern, I’ll probably begin the novena on Wednesday, June 18, and end on Thursday, June 26.
This precedent isn’t terribly binding, though, and you may end the novena on the 27th if you prefer.
Of course, should anyone utterly forget to begin the novena until it’s “too late,” I’d generally encourage any of you to begin the novena anyway, if saying the novena (even if it’s “late”) is better than not saying it.
Funny, in a way it looks like Saints Peter and Paul actually trumps Sacred Heart in the calendar this year. Weird little quirk.
Others have already mentioned Saints Peter and Paul on June 29, as I was going to mention, but then again I also thought that if not for this occurrence this year, the majority of parishes would have the otherwise-impeded Sunday on the 29th anyway, not the Sacred Heart.
I was going to bring up the apostles’ day, then, mainly to suggest yet another novena.
