Deepen Your Faith — Novena

Beginning on St. Andrew's feast day, November 30, the following prayer is recited 15 times a day until Christmas Eve. This prayer helps us focus and meditate on the true meaning of Christmas, and prepares our hearts for His coming. St Andrew Novena:Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was bornof the most pure Virgin Mary,at midnight, in Bethlehem,in the piercing cold.In that hour vouchsafe, O my God,to hear my prayers and grant my desires,(mention your intentions).Through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ,And of His blessed Mother.Amen. St Andrew Christmas chaplets can...

Have you ever found yourself in an emergency with no time to pray a full nine-day novena? When Mother Teresa faced urgent situations, she would pray an "Emergency Novena" - nine Memorares in petition, followed by a tenth in thanksgiving. This is also referred to as an Express or Flying novena. Similar to the rosary, you can count the prayers on your fingers, but using a chaplet makes the experience more focused and intentional. Memorare:Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known, that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession, was left...

After I was newly confirmed into the Catholic church, I started to learn who the saints were and how they could be a part of our lives.  Not long after, when I was pregnant with our fifth child, I learned about St Jude, patron saint of hopeless and desperate cases. It was getting close to my due date, and our toddler was having some terribly sleepless nights.  I was exhausted, and worried how I would cope with a new baby. So in desperation, I began a novena to St Jude. And the results shocked me! Our toddler, who hadn't yet...