Novena Prayer Booklet

[Walda Caesar]

Like John-Paul and Annie Deddens, co-authors of the book, Pocket Guide to Novenas, I also spent much time after college kneeling down in front of Our Lord praying for my future spouse. Like Annie, I also prayed the Saint Anne Novena, among others. And, like her, I truly believe that those prayers are what allowed me to meet my husband, although it took much longer for me to meet my husband than it did for her; he was a year behind me and a thousand miles away. However, I now know that when I was praying those novenas for him, he was making the fateful decision about whether or not his faith would become his life, or his social activity on Sundays. Thankfully for both of us, he chose well and is an incredibly holy man now, not in small part to the prayers on my behalf from Saints Anne and Monica, who patiently endured an inordinate number of novenas from my youthful self.

For those not familiar with novenas, the explanations and FAQ succinctly and clearly explain the whys and wherefores. Each novena is preceded by a page of history about the saint involved so that the reader can make a good choice. After all, not every friend is best for every need, and the saints are no exception. They are all our friends, but some are more suited to certain tasks than others. The brief history of each novena, as well as the introductory explanation for the prayers, makes choosing a novena simple even for a first-time experience.

Kate Moreland is a graduate of Franciscan University who spends her time homeschooling her five sons. Writing is her way to share her many opinions with someone other than her very patient husband. When not teaching or cleaning up after various people and animals, she enjoys grocery trips alone and frequently-interrupted discussions about family, parenting, and faith. Find her at her LinkTr.ee @kate.more.land.

Companion in Illness from Catholic Book Publishing is designed for those dealing with sickness in their lives. A beautifully illustrated book, this comforting resource provides spiritual counsel, prayers, and meditations. A wonderful aid for all who are sick and in need of healing, Companion in Illness also contains the Rite of Anointing the Sick outside Mass and Rite of Penance.

Favorite Novenas to The Holy Spirit is a helpful, illustrated booklet filled with the most popular Novenas honoring the Holy Spirit. Purse- or pocket-sized and printed in two colors for anywhere, anytime prayer, Favorite Novenas to The Holy Spirit, by popular Catholic Book Publishing author Rev. Lawrence Lovasik, S.V.D., is a 64-page, easy-to-use source of inspiring Novenas to the Holy Spirit.

In Forgiving Mother, Fenelon deftly explores the ways the Blessed Virgin can provide comfort and healing if you truly desire it. Drawing from personal experience as well as wisdom from Church documents, Scripture, and the saints, Fenelon sketches a path from despair to peace. She offers concrete steps and prayers to help you deal with the painful memories, emotions and fears that are rooted in your past.

Part memoir, part spiritual guide, Forgiving Mother is a workbook for healing even the most deeply rooted pain. It also includes a novena, which you can pray alongside each chapter or as a final step in the healing process. You will likely find solace from going through the novena again and again, as you'll find healing is a cyclical process--not a linear one.

You are a child of Mary and she loves you tenderly. She really, truly is your mother--given to you by our Lord as he hung dying on the cross. Jesus wants you to accept his mother as your own and to develop a deepening relationship with her so that she can fill the void that the past has left inside of you. And in her kind, motherly way, she will. What's more, she will lead you to her son who, as God, is the ultimate source of all healing and peace.

Pray through it, meditate on it, and let Mary's love sink into your heart and soul. Above all, be gentle with yourself. This is your healing process, and no one else's. With the Blessed Mother's help, you can become the whole, healed and truly cherished person you were meant to be.

The Litany of the Sacred Heart from Catholic Book Publishing is a deeply spiritual collection of thirty-three invocations with accompanying commentaries on the Sacred Heart and Person of Jesus. Compiled and edited by Mario Collantes, this book offers readers a clearly delineated path to nurturing and expressing their love for Jesus, who is the source of all salvation and hope. This full color, 96-page book with a reverently-illustrated, flexible cover, will bring readers closer to Our Lord in every way.

Published by Miraculous Lady of the Roses, the original classic edition, Pieta, with traditional Catholic prayers, including the Rosary, Chaplet of Divine Mercy, Chaplet of Saints, Way of the Cross, and more.

The Pocket Book of Catholic Novenas from Catholic Book Publishing is an important volume in the St. Joseph Edition Pocket Book Series. Designed to help the reader pray frequently and more fully accept the rich resource of God's grace, the Pocket Book of Catholic Novenas contains many of the most widely prayed novenas, including those to the Sacred Heart, Miraculous Medal, St. Joseph, and St. Theresa. This highly affordable and portable book has a flexible cover for easy and repeated use. Pocket Book of Catholic Novenas also feature full-color illustrations that enhance the reader's prayerful experience. Novenas included in this title are:

Through His Wounds We Are Healed from Catholic Book Publishing provides a profound spiritual experience by exploring the importance of the Way of the Cross. In this book, author Vojtech Kodet, O. Carm., leads us on a journey of spiritual awareness, demonstrating how the Way of the Cross can be a great way to unite ourselves and the difficulties we face more intimately with Christ in His sufferings. Through His Wounds We Are Healed awakens us to how we can, in this new understanding and unity with Christ, experience His healing power. This deeply comforting book is a tremendous resource for anyone experiencing challenges, illnesses, or any form of suffering.

-St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, c. 180

In 1700, German painter Johann Schmittdner captured this beautiful task visually as "Maria Knotenlserin," or "Mary, the Undoer of Knots." Almost 300 years later, an Argentinean priest named Jorge Mario Bergoglio was deeply moved by the image, and on his way to becoming the future Pope Francis, Fr. Bergoglio brought back to his native country what has since become a worldwide movement.

Learn the story behind this burgeoning devotion, see the original painting that inspired it, and pray the prayers and novena that have come from it. Inspired by the service and humility of Pope Francis, this new novena to the Undoer of Knots could very well change your life by first changing your heart.

NIHIL OBSTAT:

Alan Schreck, Ph.D.

Censor Librorum

IMPRIMATUR:

+Most Reverend Jeffrey M. Monforton

Bishop of Steubenville

-32 Pages

-Printed in the U.S.A. on glossy paper

-4-1/4" x 5-7/8"

Click here to view a special preview in your browser!

Notes from the author:

While the idea of the Blessed Virgin Maryuntying spiritual knots has several points of origin, a novena prayer to her under this title is a fairly recent development. We have, in part, the efforts of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., better known today as Pope Francis, to thank for this, as well as the many devoted faithful who have put their faith in the Virgin's intercessory prayer under this title. There is, at the time of this composition, no official church-designated novena prayer to Mary, Undoer of Knots, nor has one ever been given by divine revelation. What exists in booklet form, then, are several novena prayers authored in countries like Brazil and Argentina, composed by laypeople and intended for use by the whole Church in its ministry of healing. This is just such a novena.

While the Knots novena prayers currently in circulation tend to focus on the healing and intentions of the individual praying, this particular novena is intended to redirect our focus away from ourselves. As Pope Francis continues to exhort all Catholics to stop looking to their own needs, but instead to go out into the streets and serve the poor, witness to those who disdain the faith, and in general repent of pride and self-centeredness, the need for a deep conversion of one's mindset and perspective becomes evermore gravely apparent. Pope Francis is telling us that it is our own knots that need to be undone.

Service sanctifies us. Just as the water flowing through a river is made pure by its outward flow and movement, so too are we human beings made holier when we reach out to others. This is particularly true of people or groups for whom we as individuals struggle to love or forgive-the harder it is for us to be as Christ to someone, the more our efforts to be so will sanctify us. It is only fitting, then, that a novena prayer seeking the Virgin Mary's intercession to untie the knots in our own lives should be effective by bringing us to help untie the knots of others through service and prayer.

May God open your heart to humility, compassion, and, thus prepared for it, healing.

Your brother in Christ,

--Kevin Nelles

"Pope Francis loves praying to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots. His devotion to her has inspired novenas, asking Our Lady to undo the knots in our lives due to our sins, flaws, and weaknesses. The Steubenville Press version of this novena uniquely unites our hearts to Mary's, leading us to pray for the unraveling of the knots in others' lives. Scott and I highly recommend the Steubenville Press version of this novena. We use it in our hermitage dedicated to Our Lady under the title 'Undoer of Knots.'"

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