Growing up, novenas weren’t a significant part of my prayer practice. But in the year 2020, I decided to pray the Saint Andrew Christmas Novena. I’ll be honest, I don’t think I completed all twenty-five days that first year, but I returned to this novena the following year, and then the next, and the next.
Over the past five years, praying this novena has taught me that it’s so much more than tedious and repetitive words. It’s a pathway for our hearts to walk down, in order to recenter our souls during Advent. It has been a source of consolation and hope, especially during more challenging Advents tinged with pain, grief, or longing. Because it guides us to the manger in Bethlehem, where Light was born in the darkness. Through this novena, we get to rest in the love of the Holy Family, as we await the celebration of Christ’s birth.
The Saint Andrew Christmas Novena has changed the way I approach and experience the Advent season, and I hope it can do the same for you.
A Gentle Invitation
I want to be transparent and share that I’ve wrestled with novenas many times. I’ve heard countless testimonies of people receiving what they’ve prayed for, yet I didn’t always receive what I wanted.
Sister, if you’re in a similar boat, I see you and completely understand your frustration. I gently encourage you to enter into the Saint Andrew Christmas Novena with the expectation that the Holy Family will take care of you and your intentions, even if it doesn’t look the way you expect. Will you allow them to love you and guide you this Advent season?
Traditionally, this novena begins on November 30, the Feast of Saint Andrew, and lasts until December 24. It is recited fifteen times a day. However, if you don’t say it fifteen times, you are not a failure, you are simply human. Be assured that the Holy Family still holds you and your intentions deeply in their hearts. Please let any and all pressure fade away. The graces from this novena are abundant, so if you miss a day, just strive to pray the whole set the next day. The Lord will offer you graces as you pray for them. The Holy Family loves you and desires to walk with you on this Advent journey.
Recentering Our Hearts
During the chaos of the holidays, with finals, family gatherings, and school activities crowding our calendars, it is easy for our hearts to wander away from the holy season of Advent. Sometimes, it might seem impossible to silence the “noise” that surrounds us this time of year.
The Saint Andrew Christmas Novena gently guides us back to the Holy Family. While reciting it fifteen times a day might seem monotonous, this novena truly invites us to re-engage our hearts and refocus our attention on what we're anticipating this Advent season. It brings us back into the “manger” of our hearts, where Jesus dwells.
I recommend having an image of the Holy Family nearby as you recite this novena, whether it’s a painting, a statue, or even a mental image. Sacred art can be a beautiful companion, helping us to enter into prayer more deeply.
A Source of Consolation
The Saint Andrew Christmas Novena can be a source of deep consolation, especially during challenging Advents, both spiritually and emotionally.
Sometimes, Advent doesn’t look the way that we expect it to. This time of year can bring forth many different emotions, including loneliness, grief, rough family dynamics, longing, and even jealousy.
Similarly, Mary and Joseph’s journey was likely not what they expected. Their journey was long. They faced constant rejection from innkeepers. Mary gave birth in a humble stable. While far from ideal, Mary and Saint Joseph demonstrate how something miraculous can take place, even in unexpected circumstances or shattered expectations.
The Holy Family is your family, and the stable where they remain is your safe haven. You are safe in their embrace and free to open your heart to them. The Holy Family fully receives you, and all that you bring to them.
Hope for the Weary
Hope is a theme beautifully expressed in the Saint Andrew Christmas Novena. After many Advents reflecting on the Nativity, I have come to see how the greatest miracle unfolded in darkness. This novena is a constant reminder that such a miracle is always possible. The Hope that was born in the stable in Bethlehem can also be born within our hearts.
The birth of Christ can bring light into the darkest places in our lives and hearts. This Hope is for you, too, friend. This wasn't just an event that occurred thousands of years ago; it’s an event that’s meant to take place in our hearts, now and forever.
Let Us Pray
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen.
Walk with Us this Advent
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