Monday 15 December 2008

The Christmas Novena

In many countries today is the beginning of the Novena in preparation for Christmas. The Novena starts today and continues for nine days till the 23rd December.
A Maltese tradition is to take the image of the baby Jesus to be blessed as in the photograph above.
These nine days of prayer remind us of the immediate preparation for the first Christmas: the nine months of pregnancy of Our Lady. So by its very nature this Novena unites us with Mary in waiting for the arrival of our Redeemer. Can we have a better companion as we wait for Jesus?
In an earlier post I placed some suggested prayers for these nine days. Let Mary help us as we prepare our hearts to become a manger-throne for Jesus to be born afresh this Christmas. Enjoy the Novena.
Below is a photo of the Vicarage crib eagerly waiting the arrival of Jesus, may He find our lamps burning bright when He arrives.

1 comment:

FrEdBakker said...

Blessings Father Ivan,

The Saint Peter's London Docks site, seems to have disappeared?

Advents blessings

The Reverend Deacon Ed Bakker.SSM
TAC New Zealand