Posted by Rebecca Teti in Just me on Saturday, November 29, 2008 5:00 PM
Do you pray the St. Andrew novena for Advent?
So-called because it starts on the feast of St. Andrew, which --sometimes, as is the case this year--coincides with the First Sunday of Advent?
The pious practice is to say it 15 times a day to receive a special grace, but I confess we don’t do that. We just say it together once as part of our family prayer during Advent.
I do think of it often during Advent and at other times during the year when I want to meditate on the mystery of the Incarnation. There’s something about the wording that helps me “enter in” to that mystery right away.
The version I have committed to memory runs: “Hail and Blessed be the hour and moment when the Son of God was born of the Most Pure Virgin Mary at midnight in Bethlehem in piercing cold. By that hour vouchsafe, O Lord, to hear my prayers, and grant my request through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ and of his Most Holy Mother, Amen.”
Image: Two Hearts Design.
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Rebecca, Yes, I LOVE this prayer & have said it 15 times a day during Advent for the past few years...woke up this morning waiting for tomorrow so I could “start”! God bless your Advent!!!
I am so happy you posted this. I did not know about it, but our 18 month old son is Andrew, so we will now pray this novena with his patron saint. Thank you!
I will be offering this novena for my godson, Andrew. Thank you for posting it!
I love this novena, Rebecca! I’ve prayed it every year for the past four years, for a different special intention. And a few years ago when we were praying for a baby I said the novena and was pregnant less than two months later!
Rebecca, I have a different question for you. I found your articles at NCR about the Jesse tree craft swap. The instructions include 28 ornaments but only 24 readings. Where can I get the last readings? Thanks!
Sara, thanks for your question --I have gotten loads of email all year long asking the same thing.
The readings are all there, but my friend Jolene did something quite clever when she put the booklet together, because the number of days in Advent varies from year to year.
You’ll notice some numbered days (9, 11, 19) are broken down into a-b-c readings. The years Advent is longest, there’s a reading for every day if you do one reading/day. (That is, reading 9a on day 10, 9b on day 11, etc.) If you follow the numbers strictly, the readings correspond to the shortest possible Advent season. Isn’t that smart?
In the middle years, you have to plan it out and decide what to skip or combine, but at least two years in the cycle you don’t have to think about it.
I hope my explanation makes sense!
My husband and I are praying this novena for a very special intention. What a beautiful prayer!
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