A novena is nine consecutive days of prayer for a particular intention or in preparation for a feast. The pattern comes from the Acts of the Apostles: after the Ascension, the apostles with Mary and the disciples devoted themselves to prayer in the upper room for the nine days before Pentecost. The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy recognises novenas as a legitimate form of popular devotion when they draw the faithful toward the liturgy and the sacraments, and warns against treating them as a formula that binds God. The nine days are a school of persevering prayer, nothing more and nothing less.

What you need

• A novena text approved for use, from a prayer book, the parish or a trusted Catholic publisher
• A clear intention, or a feast you are preparing for
• Five to ten minutes a day for nine days
• A reminder — a note on the calendar or an alarm — so the days are not lost

When to pray it

Any nine days, but traditionally the nine days ending on the eve of a feast, or beginning on the feast itself. The same hour each day helps.

Steps

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   Step 1: Understand what a novena is

   The word comes from the Latin novem, nine. A novena is nine days of prayer, most often for a particular intention or in preparation for a feast, following the example of the apostles gathered with Mary between the Ascension and Pentecost (Acts 1:14). It is not a magic number or a bargain with heaven; it is a form of the persevering prayer that Jesus asked for when he told the parable of the widow and the judge. Whatever is asked is asked in trust that God answers every prayer in the way that is best.

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   Step 2: Choose a novena

   There are novenas to the Holy Spirit, to the Sacred Heart, to Our Lady under her many titles, to Saint Joseph and to the saints, each with its own daily prayer. Choose one that fits your intention or the feast you are preparing for, and use a text from a reliable source: a parish leaflet, a standard prayer book, or a text that carries a bishop's approval. A good novena is built from Scripture, a short meditation, the traditional prayers and a prayer of petition; anything that reads like a chain letter should be set aside.

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   Step 3: Fix the nine days

   Count backward from the feast so that the ninth day falls on the day before it: a novena to Saint Joseph, for example, begins on March 10 and ends on March 18 for the feast on the 19th. Some novenas instead begin on the feast day itself, and a novena for a private intention may be prayed on any nine consecutive days. Write the dates down. Decide the hour, too, and keep it: after morning prayer, at lunch, or before bed.

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   Step 4: The daily structure

   Each day, make the Sign of the Cross▾ and state your intention simply before God. Pray the novena's prayer for that day, reading the meditation slowly if it has one. Add the Church's basic prayers as the text directs — usually an Our Father▾, a Hail Mary▾ and a Glory Be▾, sometimes a litany or a decade of the Rosary. Close with the invocation of the saint or mystery ('Saint Joseph, pray for us'; 'Come, Holy Spirit▾') and the Sign of the Cross▾. Five minutes done every day is better than half an hour done twice.

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   Step 5: If you miss a day

   Simply pray the missed day's prayer when you remember, and continue. The novena is not spoiled, because God is not counting days; you are. If you miss several days, either pray them together on one day or begin again, whichever helps you pray better. What matters is the perseverance of the heart, not an unbroken sequence.

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   Step 6: The novenas the whole Church keeps

   Three novenas belong to the Church's own calendar. The novena to the Holy Spirit is the original one, prayed on the nine days between the Ascension and Pentecost; the Veni Creator Spiritus▾ or the Come, Holy Spirit▾ is its natural prayer. The Christmas novena runs from December 16 to 24, and from December 17 to 23 it is joined by the O Antiphons sung at Vespers before the Magnificat. The Divine Mercy novena begins on Good Friday and ends on the Saturday before Divine Mercy Sunday, praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy each day for a different group of souls. Praying these with the Church is the best introduction to the novena as a form.

Tips

• Choose a novena whose prayers you can pray with a whole heart. The best novenas are mostly Scripture and the Church's own prayers.
• Pray for a specific intention, but end each day by asking that God's will, not yours, be done.
• Go to Mass, and if possible to confession, during the nine days. A novena is meant to lead to the sacraments, not to replace them.
• Avoid any novena text that promises a guaranteed result or asks you to leave copies in a church. The Church calls that superstition, not devotion.