Join us at 5:15 p.m. on weekdays during Thy Kingdom Come.

Two options to participate: 1) In person in the boardroom, second floor of Cathedral Memorial Hall 2) Online via video conference. Check the Cathedral web calendar event to connect. Download or view the NOVENA reflections.

The word novena is taken from “novem,” the Latin word for nine. A novena is usually made up of nine days of prayer and meditation.

Novenas are an ancient tradition that goes back to the days of the Apostles. Jesus told his disciples to pray together after his ascension into heaven, so they went to an upper room along with the Blessed Virgin Mary, (Acts 1:14) and joined constantly in prayer for nine days. These nine days of constant prayer by the Apostles at the direction of Jesus led up to Pentecost. This is when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples as “tongues of fire” (Acts 2:1-4). This pattern of 9 days of prayer is the basis of the novenas we pray today.

Thus, the novena is an imitation of the Lord’s command to the Apostles when they prayed for 9 days in anticipation of the coming of the Holy Spirit.