Why Pray A Novena Or Rosary?

[Lil Red]

[b][u]What is a novena?[/u][/b]

Novenas are very popular to Catholics. It is a traditional Catholic prayer method. A novena is when a series of prayers are given for nine days straight.

The novena is offered as a sacrifice to God. God sees a novena as a sign of devotion especially when the person saying the novena asks for a specific reason.

Many people might think this is some kind of magic, but it isn't. They are just there to help people talk to God. Novenas are usually very private, but sometimes at church.

Several novenas have been approved and Indulgenced by the Holy See. Novenas are created as preparation for feasts. In the early days, a novena was a prayer for the repose of the soul of a dead person. [url="http://catholicism.about.com/cs/novenas/a/novena.htm"](source)[/url]


[b][u]Why pray a novena?[/u][/b]

Nevertheless, novenas still hold a legitimate place in our Catholic spirituality. The Enchiridion of Indulgences notes, "A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful, who devoutly take part in the pious exercise of a public novena before the feast of Christmas or Pentecost or the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary." Here the Church is again emphasizing that the novena is a pious, spiritual exercise to bolster the faith of the individual, and that the individual should be truly devout, always remembering the goodness of the Lord who answers all of our prayers according to His divine will. [url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/NOVENA.htm"]source[/url]


[b][u]How to say a novena[/u][/b]

Novenas are very popular for Catholics. It's a traditional Catholic prayer method. A novena is when a series of prayers are given for nine days straight for a special intention. The novena is offered as a sacrifice to God. God sees a novena as a sign of devotion especially when the person saying the novena asks for a specific reason. There are many novenas to choose from to different saints.

Here's How:

1. Decide on an intention. You can decide a very specific intention or something general. Decide on something that is important to you or someone you care about.

2. Look through novenas to find one that you'd like to say.

3. Say all of the prayers that are listed and required. Don't forget to state your intention.

4. Repeat step 3 for nine days straight or longer if the novena requires longer days.

5. You can say novenas as often as you'd like. You can say them for your intentions and others.

6. Be thankful even if your intention hasn't been answered immediately. God listens to all of our prayers even if He doesn't respond as we like. You can repeat the novena again for that particular intention too.

Tips:

1. Set a certain time everyday you want to say the novena so you won't forget.

2. Be open to hear God especially if it's something you might not want to know or hear.

3. Educate others about novenas and tell them how they help you.

What You Need:

Intentions
Novenas
Open heart
Few minutes a day

[url="http://catholicism.about.com/cs/novenas/ht/how2saynovena.htm"](source)[/url]

[Lil Red]

[b][u]What is a rosary?[/u][/b]

In short, the Rosary is an ancient, beautiful, and powerful prayer of devotion to God through devotion to Mary by means of a series of prayers and meditations on the life of Jesus and Mary. In it we find all that life offers: pains and joys, but also always the hope that only a loving, protecting, saving Father can truly give. The Rosary is a prayer of hope. ([url="http://www.virtualrosary.org"]the Virtual Rosary Page[/url])

The Rosary is a special form of devotion to Mary. One takes a set of beads, divided into five sections, each section consisting of one large bead and ten small beads. Holding the large bead, one says the Our Father, and on each of the small ones, the Hail Mary. Between each section or decade the Gloria is said. Whilst saying the prayers, one meditates or thinks of the joys, or sorrows, or glories of Christ's life and of that of His Mother. The Rosary is a Bible for the Blind and the unlearned. In the so-called Dark Ages which were indeed the Ages of Faith, the Church taught the great masses, who could not read, the mysteries of the Bible through the meditations of the Rosary. ([url="http://www.catholicapologetics.net/virgin_and_statue_worship_quizze.htm"]From Traditional Catholic Apologetics[/url])


[b][u]Why pray a rosary?[/u][/b]

Prayer to Mary is memory of the great mysteries of our faith (Incarnation, Redemption through Christ in the rosary), praise to God for the wonderful things he has done in and through one of his creatures (Hail Mary) and intercession (second half of the Hail Mary). The latter is addressed to Mary not as to a vending machine but a support person helping us to discern the will of God in our lives. Mary is a volunteer, highly recommendable and recommended, but not a mandatory and inescapable passage. [url="http://www.udayton.edu/mary/questions/faq/faq17.html"]from the University of Dayton's FAQ about Mary page[/url]


[b][u]How to pray the rosary[/u][/b]

Here's How:

1. Make the sign of the cross and recite the Apostle's Creed.

2. Say the prayer the Our Father.

3. Say three Hail Mary's.

4. Say the Glory Be to the Father.

5. Depending on the day, see step 11, announce the First Mystery then say Our Father.

6. Say ten Hail Mary's while meditating the mystery.

7. Say the Glory Be to the Father.

8. Announce the Second Mystery; then say the "Our Father." Repeat 6 and 7 and continue with Third, Fourth and Fifth Mysteries in the same manner.

9. After you say the Rosary, recite the Hail Holy Queen.

10. After each decade say the following prayer requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of your mercy."

11. As suggested by the Holy Father the Joyful mysteries Joyful mysteries are said on Monday and Saturday, the Luminous on Thursday.

12. The Sorrowful on Tuesday and Friday, and the Glorious on Wednesday and Sunday (with this exception: Sundays of Christmas season - The Joyful; Sundays of Lent - Sorrowful)

Tips:

1. Pray this daily.

2. Get your family involved in praying the Rosary.

[url="http://catholicism.about.com/cs/rosary/ht/sayrosary.htm"](source)[/url]

[Lil Red]

[b][u]But isn't praying a rosary or novena "vain and repetitious prayer"?[/u][/b]

No, and here are some Biblical passages to back this up: [url="http://www.scripturecatholic.com/vain_and_repetitious_prayer.html"]Courtesy of Scripture Catholic[/url]

[i]Matt. 6:7[/i] - Jesus teaches, "do not heap up empty phrases" in prayer. Protestants use this verse to criticize various Catholic forms of prayer which repeat phrases, such as litanies and the Rosary. But Jesus' focus in this instruction is on the"vain," and not on the "repetition."

[i]Matt. 26:44[/i] - for example, Jesus prayed a third time in the garden of Gethsemane, saying the exact same words again. It is not the repetition that is the issue. It's the vanity. God looks into our heart, not solely at our words.

[i]Luke 18:13[/i] - the tax collector kept beating his breast and praying "God be merciful to me, a sinner." This repetitive prayer was pleasing to God because it was offered with a sincere heart.

[i]Acts 10:2,4[/i] - Cornelius prayed constantly to the Lord and his prayers ascended as a memorial before God.

[i]Rom. 1:9[/i] - Paul says that he always mentions the Romans in his prayers without ceasing.

[i]Rom. 12:12[/i] - Paul commands us to be constant in prayer. God looks at what is in our heart, not necessarily how we choose our words.

[i]1 Thess. 5:17[/i] - Paul commands us to pray constantly. Good repetition is different than vain repetition.

[i]Rev. 4:8[/i] - the angels pray day and night without cessation the same words "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty." This is repetitious prayer that is pleasing to God.

[i]Psalm 136[/i] - in this Psalm, the phrase "For His steadfast love endures forever" is more repetitious than any Catholic prayer, and it is God's divine Word.

[i]Dan. 3:35-66[/i] - the phrase "Bless the Lord" is similarly offered repeatedly, and mirrors Catholic litanies.

[url="http://www.catholicapologetics.net/virgin_and_statue_worship_quizze.htm"]From Traditional Catholic Apologetics:[/url]

Vain repetition in the manner of heathens is forbidden, but not useful repetition which is not in the manner of heathens. Vain repetition relies mechanically upon the mere number of prayers or formulas uttered. But Catholics do not rely on the mere repetition of prayers, nor upon their multiplication, but on the intrinsic worth of each prayer and upon the fervor and earnestness with which it is said. Two prayers said well, one immediately after the other, are as good as the same two prayers said well with twenty-four hours between them. Time is nothing to God, in whose sight 1,000 years are but as a day. He does not mind whether there be two seconds between our prayers or two years; the prayers themselves are just as pleasing to Him. If you take the principle behind your objection, and push it to its full conclusion, you could say the Our Father but once in your life. If you said it once each year, it would be repetition. How often may you say it? Once a month? Once a week? Once a day? If daily, what would be wrong with saying it hourly? If you have just concluded one Our Father, why may you not begin it again at once? Does it suddenly become an evil prayer?

Your Bible has a faulty translation of these words, "Use not vain repetitions as the heathens do." The Greek verb "battologein" of the original does not mean such a thing at all. The Douay version translates correctly when it says, "speak not much." St. Mattthew wanted action and less talk.

[Lil Red]

For more information on the rosary, go here: [url="http://www.udayton.edu/mary/rdrquest.html#chaplets"]http://www.udayton.edu/mary/rdrquest.html#chaplets[/url]


If you have more questions about Mary, or the rosary or Novenas, or anything Catholic, please visit our reference section: [url="http://phorum.phatmass.com/index.php?showforum=21"]http://phorum.phatmass.com/index.php?showforum=21[/url]