Lilypie

Monday, January 21, 2008

My First Novena

Finally I went for Novena! Ever since attending church and getting baptised and confirmed, I have yet to attend Novena. After hearing accounts of how prayers do get answered after attending Novena for nine weeks, I decided to go ahead. Besides, it is also in tuned with my resolution of being more spiritually active.

Most of the petitions and requests are what I am praying for too! Of course besides the normal prayers for family and friends, we have our own requests. When the priest read this out, "I have had a few relationships. Now I want to settle down with the right person. Please let me meet the right man with your blessings", I feel a sense of deja vu!

And another one, "Ever since leaving a teaching career, I have not had a steady job. Recently I managed to find a good job which I think is my calling. Now I am thirty-four, please let me meet the right man to settle down with." It seems that I am not the only one with requests like these!

My own request is a bit different. I did not write my request on paper to drop into the petition box. I just prayed for my own intentions on my own. My request was (is actually, since it will be the same request for the next eight weeks), "Please bless my family and friends, that they will be happy and may all their wishes come true. Please help them in their lives, that they may undertake whatever they set out to do with your blessings.

"Please help [name] that he may fulfil his dreams and goals and that he will have a happy life. Please bless [my best friend and her husband] in their first steps to couplehood, that they will have a wonderful and special life together.

"I have finally found the best person for me. With Your blessings, may things work out, in Your time. Send me a sign if it is meant to be. Confirm to me that he is the one. If it is not meant to be, find each of us someone better. Reaffirm the person You deem is best for me.

"With Your guidance, let me be a better person. Let me be more caring and considerate to people around me. Let me be less temperamental and emotional, guide me in doing the right things and behaving the right way. Grant me the serenity to change the things I cannot change, courage to change those I can, and wisdom to know the difference."

Hopefully by the end of the nine weeks preceding to Easter, I can finally find my direction in life!

3 comments:

Richard said...

Which particular Novena are you doing? There are many in the Catholic Church.

When I was younger, I have done the First Nine Friday's. This is to attend mass on the first Friday of every month for 9 months. It is believed that we have Our Lady's promise that we will not die without receiving the final sacraments.

Another Novena, popular among the French over here is to go to a different church each Friday for 9 weeks.

I hope this will help you to find peace. And, of course, you are no different from anyone else. Gee, just randomly pick people's blogs and you will find that about half of them contain relationship anguish and angst. Surprisingly, with over 6,000,000,000 people on this planet, it seems that it is almost impossible to meet a suitable candidate.

juphelia said...

The Novena I'm attending now is the Easter Novena, which started last Saturday, for nine weeks, ending the week before Good Friday and Easter.

My friend recommended this Novena as he said it may be more effective since it is the special Easter Novena. Nevertheless, it is never a bad thing spending more time with God.

Richard said...

Agreed

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