The Catholic Churches of Emmons County , North Dakota

Many of us are familiar with the term Novena.  I’m sure many of you have prayed various novenas.  The word novena comes from the Latin word (novem) for nine.  And so, a novena is simply a nine day period of prayer to obtain a special grace or favor from Almighty God.  Perhaps you have prayed a novena to a patron saint for their intercession in a particular need.  The earliest novena was the nine days spent in prayer by the apostles and our Blessed Mother after the Ascension of the Lord as they awaited the promised Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 1:12-14).

I mention this because of the candidates from our parishes preparing for the sacrament of Confirmation.  At the 8:45am Mass on Sunday, March 21^st, Bishop Kagan will be here to celebrate the beautiful sacrament of Confirmation.  That means there are nine weeks until that day—a wonderful opportunity to join in a nine-week novena with our candidates to pray for an outpouring of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Based on the Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts from EWTN.com, I would encourage you to add a few minutes to your regular prayer time on Sunday and offer this novena for our candidates as they prepare to receive the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of Confirmation.  Instead of nine consecutive days, pray this novena on nine consecutive Sundays.  Copies will be in the back of the church.  COME, O HOLY SPIRIT, COME!!

During this time of pandemic, here are some additional resources for prayer:

• Sunday on EWTN: Rosary 5:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.  Mass 6:00 a.m., 10:00  a.m. and 5:00 p.m.  Divine Mercy Chaplet 1:00 p.m.
• Real Presence Radio: Mass on Sundays at 7:00 a.m. and rosary at 8:30 p.m.  Daily Mass is broadcast at 9:00 p.m.  Chaplet of Divine Mercy is said every day at 3:00 p.m.
• BEK Television broadcasts live the Sunday Mass at 10:30 a.m. from St. Anthony in Linton.
• Fr. Jason Signalness is videoing and streaming daily Mass from his parish at Stanley, ND.  You can access this at: https://holyrosarystanley.com
• Consult the Dioceses of Bismarck's Website at: bismarckdiocese.com. for more resources and information.