{"id":167721,"date":"2026-07-05T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carfundacion.roymo.info\/blog\/que-es-una-novena-y-como-rezarla\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T15:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T13:58:08","slug":"que-es-una-novena-y-como-rezarla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/que-es-una-novena-y-como-rezarla\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Novena and How to Pray It"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Catholic Church doctrine teaches that the saints and the Virgin Mary \u00abnever cease to intercede for us before the Father\u00bb and that \u00abtheir brotherly care is of great help to us in our suffering\u00bb (Lumen gentium 49). Novenas help us in our prayer when they are properly understood within the context of sound doctrine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the Middle Ages, Spain and France introduced the \"novena of preparation\" for the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/expertos\/como-vivir-la-navidad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Christmas<\/a>. for&nbsp;<strong>remembering the nine months of Our Lady's pregnancy<\/strong>. In Spain, the Council of Toledo in 656 transferred the feast of the Annunciation to December 18 (<em>within the ninth<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For this reason&nbsp;<strong>the novena took on a sense of anticipation and preparation for a feast.<\/strong>. The best models of preparation are Jesus and Mary, preparing for the birth. We prepare ourselves in this world for eternal life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From the novena of preparation arose the custom, which began in France and Belgium, of doing <a href=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/novena-a-la-virgen-maria\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">novenas to the Virgin Mary<\/a> and the saints for various intentions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the\u00a0<strong>seventeenth century the Church formally granted the first indulgence to a novena<\/strong>\u00a0in honor of St. Francis Xavier, awarded\u00a0<strong>by Pope Alexander VII.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, the Church believes that the structure of the nine repetitions refers to the nine days between the <a href=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/?s=ascensi%C3%B3n\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/?s=ascensi%C3%B3n\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ascension<\/a> y <a href=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/pentecostes-llegada-de-un-amigo\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/pentecostes-llegada-de-un-amigo\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pentecost<\/a>. In the Bible, this period is, for Jesus\u00ab disciples and his mother, a time of waiting that they spend in prayer. \u00bbThey all devoted themselves to prayer with one accord.\u201d&nbsp;<em>Acts 1: 14&nbsp;<\/em>at the end of which they received the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we too can<strong>&nbsp;to live the novena as a time of prayer in expectation of a grace.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"que-es-una-novena\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is a novena?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The novena, from Latin \"<em>novem<\/em>\u00bb, nine.\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As explained in the teachings of the Catholic Church, <a href=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/novena-a-la-inmaculada-concepcion-de-maria\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the novena<\/a> It is a series of nine. The sequence of nine may refer to consecutive days (e.g., the nine days leading up to a liturgical feast) or to nine specific days of the week or month (e.g., the first nine Fridays).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some have a long tradition associated with devotion to a saint or with entrusting a particular intention or grace to God (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), <a href=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/novena-a-la-inmaculada-concepcion-de-maria\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to the Virgin Mary<\/a>, the angels, and the saints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The novena has a spiritual meaning. It is directly related to the act of devotion that is demonstrated by praying it. Like all prayers, these are a way of praising God. Mary encouraged the apostles to pray for nine days to receive the Holy Spirit. That act of the mother of Jesus teaches the faithful the importance of constancy of faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"como-rezar-una-novena\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How should we pray, and when should we do so?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is a special way to pray because<strong>\u00a0allows us to take time for prayer, bringing quality to our engagement<\/strong>. In fact, when <a href=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/oracion-en-familia-como-aprender-a-orar\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/oracion-en-familia-como-aprender-a-orar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">our prayer<\/a> is accompanied by a deep desire to open our hearts to God in order to experience his real presence and place ourselves in his hands, the Lord can act and humbly make us understand his will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is no need to wait for a specific date to begin a novena:&nbsp;<strong>the best moment is undoubtedly when we feel the need or the desire to do it.<\/strong>. Every major prayer intention we have and every major discernment we have to make is a potential opportunity to begin a novena.&nbsp;<strong>The key is consistency.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The content of each one is different, but\u00a0<strong>most of them offer at least one daily meditation,<\/strong>\u00a0often written from a Bible passage or spiritual book,\u00a0<strong>and a prayer<\/strong>often addressed to God through the intercession of a saint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is also good to present our prayer by placing ourselves in the presence of the Lord with the sign of the cross and a word. And conclude it, for example, by reciting the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"461\" src=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/como-rezar-una-novena.webp\" alt=\"Como rezar una novena\" class=\"wp-image-230647\" style=\"aspect-ratio:2.169228906911996;width:718px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/como-rezar-una-novena.webp 1000w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/como-rezar-una-novena-300x138.webp 300w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/como-rezar-una-novena-150x69.webp 150w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/como-rezar-una-novena-768x354.webp 768w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/como-rezar-una-novena-18x8.webp 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are many and varied reasons to pray a novena. In addition to those that we can do at any time of the year according to the events that affect our life, the tradition proposes to pray a novena before the feast of a saint or a great Christian feast.  In this case, the novena begins 8 days before, so that the last day falls on the date of the feast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the <a href=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/novena-a-la-virgen-maria\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/novena-a-la-virgen-maria\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">novenas<\/a> Some of the most common annual observances include, for example, the feast of St. Joseph, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, fasting during Lent, and the feast of the Holy Spirit in preparation for Pentecost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"objetivos\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">A wonderful variety of novenas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Preparation:<\/strong>\u00a0These are the prayers recited in preparation for a Church holiday, or before a sacrament or for some other spiritual reason. Their purpose is to prepare the soul for this important day. They are recited for the sake of the deceased and to comfort their family and friends. With the focus on a great Christian feast, this is an excellent way to prepare our hearts to rejoice fully!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><strong>From <\/strong>Preview:\u00a0<\/strong>There are several types; the most popular is the mourning novena, which is prayed before or after a funeral to pray for the repose of the deceased or to ask for comfort for those grieving the loss of a loved one.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><strong>From <\/strong>request:<\/strong>\u00a0These are requests we need to bring before God, and to do so, we must trust that they will be heard. We can also say a novena to pray for others: a loved one, priestly vocations, or even the souls in purgatory.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><strong>From <\/strong>indulgence:<\/strong>\u00a0are those that are prayed for the remission of sins. They are prayed as an act of penance for sins committed. These novenas are prayed in conjunction with the sacrament of confession and attendance to the<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><strong>From <\/strong>Discernment:<\/strong>\u00a0\"Give your servant an attentive heart so that he may know (...) how to discern between good and evil.\"\u00a0<em>1 Kings 3: 9<\/em>. Doing the will of God is only possible by entrusting to him, through prayer, our need for discernment. Therefore, we must ask God to inhabit our intelligence and our intuitions, to guide our reasoning and to give us \"the ability to understand, (...) the lucidity to interpret\" events with wisdom (St. Thomas Aquinas). Patience and detachment are essential graces for making decisions in accordance with God's will. Let us not hesitate to accompany our big and small discernment with novenas of prayers, which give the Lord time and space to speak to our heart and to our intelligence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Remember<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rest assured that the Lord answers all our prayers. \u00abWhatever you ask in my name, I will do.\u00bb\u00a0<em>John 14:14<\/em>The fruits of a novena sometimes take very concrete forms and sometimes they are not visible, but in any case the novena has an impact on us \"everything contributes to the good of those who love God\".\u00a0<em>Romans 8:28<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this life, we all go through difficulties. But the strength we Christians have is to know that Christ, being that he himself suffered, supports us in each of these trials: \"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.\"&nbsp;<em>Matthew 11:28<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"novena-de-la-sagrada-familia-del-papa-francisco\"><strong>To Pope Francis's Holy Family<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Pope recommended a simple and effective way to offer it to the Holy Family: to pray the same prayer with great fervor for nine consecutive days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><br>Jesus, Mary and Joseph<br>in you we contemplate<br>the splendor of true love,<br>to you, with confidence, we turn.<br>Holy Family of Nazareth,<br>also make our families<br>place of communion and cenacle of prayer,<br>authentic schools of the Gospel<br>and small domestic churches.<br>Holy Family of Nazareth,<br>that there will never again be episodes in families<br>of violence, closed-mindedness and division;<br>that whoever has been injured or scandalized<br>be soon comforted and healed.<br>Holy Family of Nazareth,<br>that the forthcoming Synod of Bishops<br>to raise everyone's awareness<br>of the sacred and inviolable character of the family,<br>of its beauty in God's plan.<br>Jesus, Mary and Joseph,<br>hear, receive our supplication, Amen!\"<br>Discover more prayers for the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Bibliography:<br><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/opusdei.org\/es-es\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/opusdei.org\/es-es\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Opusdei.org<br><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/es.aleteia.org\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/es.aleteia.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Aleteia.org<br><\/a>Catholic.net<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><p><strong>Table of Contents<\/strong><\/p><nav><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#que-es-una-novena\">What is a novena?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#como-rezar-una-novena\">How should we pray, and when should we do so?<\/a><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#objetivos\">A wonderful variety of novenas<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Prayer to the Virgin Mary\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fzVxUUIuhl8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jesus Christ taught us how to pray. He asked the Apostles to prepare themselves in prayer for the coming of the Holy Spirit. This is the inspiration behind the novena. Before Pentecost, they spent nine days waiting for Him. During those nine days, a group of people gathered together with Our Mother Mary and the Apostles. Historically, this was the first Christian novena.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":230646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[7,6],"class_list":["post-167721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-oracion","tag-vida-cristiana"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167721"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":231185,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167721\/revisions\/231185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}