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Portion of Christmas novena prayed by Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine, FL


What is a Novena?

This afternoon following Evening Prayer the Sisters of St. Joseph will begin to pray their Christmas novena, and continue praying it daily through Dec. 24th in preparation for the celebration of Christmas.

If you are a Catholic of a certain age, you have probably prayed a novena in your life. However, if you are a young Catholic, or not a Catholic, you may not know what a novena is. 

In the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults (2006) published by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, a novena is defined as the following in their glossary of terms: "Nine days of prayer, usually invoking the intercession of the Virgin Mary or a saint. The novena traces its development to the scriptural nine days of prayer by Mary, the Apostles, and disciples asking for the gift of the Holy Spirit after the Ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven." (p. 521)


Nativity in Motherhouse chapel in 2018

Another source on the web, Wikipedia, said a novena "(from Latin: novem, "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks." It goes on to say that "Novenas are most often prayed by members of the Roman Catholic Church, but also by Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and Lutherans." 

Why do we pray a Christmas novena in our congregation? It may have been  brought over with our first Sisters from France. According to another source, Catholic Straight Answers, "In the Middle Ages, particularly in Spain and France, novenas of prayers were offered nine days before Christmas, signifying the nine months our Lord spent in the womb of the Blessed Mother." 


Nativity set displayed at 2017 Nativity Open House at our Villa Flora, St. Augustine, FL


Our Congregation also prays a novena to the Holy Spirit in the days between Ascension and Pentecost. This year, due to the special Year of St. Joseph, we will be producing a retreat/novena to St. Joseph to be viewed before the Feast of St. Joseph on March 19th. More to come on it.

May your Advent and Christmas season be filled with peace and joy in the midst of this year of a pandemic. Know that we are praying for all of our Dear Neighbors.  Merry Christmas!





 

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