Many Catholics are familiar with the practice of “novenas.” nine days of prayer for a particular intention. The traditional practice is based on the nine days that the earliest disciples spent praying in the Upper Room after the Ascension of Jesus, as they waited for the gift of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1-2).
This year we are invited to begin an unusual novena: Pentecost 2033 marks the two thousandth anniversary of the first Pentecost, and the faithful are invited to pray for the next nine years for a new and ongoing outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. From Pentecost 2024 (May 19, 2024) to Pentecost 2033 (June 5, 2033), you are encouraged to pray for a renewal of the Spirit’s presence in the world today.
The nine-year novena, which I plan to participate in (somehow), is an initiative of Pentecost Today USA, a leadership organization of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the United States. There is no official prayer that you have to say or practice that you have to undertake to be a part of the novena. Participants are invited to personally consider ways, through prayer and action, to bring themselves and others into a deeper encounter with the Holy Spirit.
For example, I plan to add the Veni Creator hymn/prayer to my daily prayer, and I’ll be thinking about other ways to participate.
If you’ve ever tried a nine-day novena, you know that it can be difficult. It’s not uncommon to lose your motivation or simply to forget about the novena halfway through. I’ve found that it’s important both to persevere and to be patient with myself: When unmotivated, I challenge myself to pray anyway; when I forget to pray for a day or find that my prayers are half-hearted, I trust that God understands my weakness and ask for the grace to pick up the novena with renewed fervor.I’ve found that novenas are extremely effective in deepening my relationship with God. Novenas are not meant to be exercises in legalism (i.e., if I do this thing, then God is contractually obligated to do that thing.) Rather, novenas are opportunities to be more intentional about opening oneself up to God’s grace through practices like prayer and fasting.
Participating in a nine-year novena may seem next to impossible. Despite the daunting length of this marathon stretch of prayer, I’d highly encourage you to participate: The world needs the presence of the Holy Spirit, and God is waiting for intercessors who, in imitation of Jesus, will call down that Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit!