A Novena for Peace
Simon Toad
Shipmate
in All Saints
A shipmate and I are almost finished praying the Our Lady of Peace Novena, using a broad set of intentions from personal and domestic violence to the suffering in Israel and Palestine.
A novena is a ritual where a group of people agree to say a prayer each day for nine days with a specific intention.
Is anyone interested in an ecumenical version? I'd like to draft a set of prayers with shipmates, as the heart of the Novena, each of the nine prayers including a general prayer for peace and then a focus for the day, like domestic violence one day, economic violence the next, gun violence, and then a focus on particular conflicts. The themes can be discussed and agreed on in the drafting process.
If people are interested please respond below. There are plenty of prayers around, but I like the idea of creating the themes and the central prayers together. The process itself promotes prayerful reflection I reckon.
A novena is a ritual where a group of people agree to say a prayer each day for nine days with a specific intention.
Is anyone interested in an ecumenical version? I'd like to draft a set of prayers with shipmates, as the heart of the Novena, each of the nine prayers including a general prayer for peace and then a focus for the day, like domestic violence one day, economic violence the next, gun violence, and then a focus on particular conflicts. The themes can be discussed and agreed on in the drafting process.
If people are interested please respond below. There are plenty of prayers around, but I like the idea of creating the themes and the central prayers together. The process itself promotes prayerful reflection I reckon.
Comments
Nine themes for prayer intentions:
violence in the home
violence in care settimgs
economic violence
gun violence
victims of war in Israel and Palestine
victims of war in Ukraine
violence in justice systems
violence in conflicts that we don't hear about on the news
Astute shipmates will note that there are eight themes above. We could add specific conflicts, like in Cameroon, or state violence (against women in Iran for instance).
We could also fold the concept of economic violence into different categories like elder abuse, in care settings, domestic violence etc.
What do people think?
For the last category what about people of all ages who are forced to depend on institutions that may be dehumanizing and / or inadequately protective, such as foster children.
welcome!!! I like your suggestion. Novenas are a new thing for me too.
I'll leave the suggestions open for a few days and see what folk come up with.
Lord we come to you in our bare human need.
We accept our incapacity to control ourselves, and to control others.
We recognise our personal failures.
We recognise the failures of the systems and societies into which we were born.
All our plans have come to naught.
We come to you defeated.
[Today we mourn violence in the household.
Violence against partners, violence against children, violence against all who live with us.
Where can our children feel safe, Lord, if they don't feel safe with those who are supposed to shield them? How can our children create safe places for themselves and their households when their childhood experiences leap out at them from the corners of their minds?
Only by your grace, Lord.]
Lord, let your peace radiate afresh from your inner being.
Let the purest love generated within you spill out over creation.
Refresh us, relieve us, revive us
So that everyone, victims, perpetrators, witnesses of violence, those stirred to angry action, those who crumple, those who turn away, those who excuse, all of us are soothed.
Change us!
Use us!
Dwell within us!
And let your Kingdom come.
In the name of Christ
Amen.
The italicised portion is for the daily prayer intention.
I had hoped to finalise the set of intentions and start working on the nine daily prayers over the weekend, but my wife has just tested positive for covid. It will be our first trip down this road. Please be patient, and if you have the time, please feel free to work on this project yourselves.
Praying for you and Mrs. S.T.
Here is a second go at the list of intentions:
Day 1: Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of Domestic Violence.
Day 2: Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of violence in public, especially random gun violence.
Day 3: Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of economic exploitation, whether lawfully or otherwise.
Day 4: Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of violence in our caring institutions
Day 5: Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of violence in our justice systems
Day 6: Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of violence against refugees and asylum seekers, including internally displaced persons.
Day 7: Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of violence in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Day 8:Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of violence in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia
Day 9: Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of violence in conflicts that rarely make the news
I mean to include people who see or hear about violence through the media by using "witnesses", recognising that we are all impacted by the indirect experience of violence.
@Kendel I hope to capture your suggestion in the prayers for days 4 and 5 above. I think the two ideas of insufficiently protective and dehumanising fit into both categories. Those two categories could also be merged into one to allow room for other suggestions too.
@Raptor Eye I've tried to capture your suggestion in day 3, and hope to specify modern slavery in the prayer for the day.
Everyone, please feel free to compose suggested prayers to go with the list of prayers above. I'm planning to go and hang out some washing, and might come back with a couple later in the day.
Pre -Christian Romans had a nine day cycle of prayer, in particular after a death. This is a cycle of prayer tradition which is still maintained in the Novendiale or nine day cycle of prayer after the death of a pope.
Although early Christians were often wary of maintaining pre-Christian customs they soon saw the period of nine days between the Ascension of Christ and the Descent of the Holy Spirit as a special 'novena' of prayer, again a custom which is maintained to this day by many Christians.
Novenas were, however, a popular form of Catholic piety between the Council of Trent and the Second Vatican Council, so between roughly 1570 and 1970. Since they were extra-liturgical they would be conducted in the vernacular, while the formal liturgy of Church worship would be in Latin. Before 1970 most RC churches ,in the UK at least, would have had a weekly novena service which people could join in with at any time.
Since then novenas have been a more private form of devotion. We know that our Lord has said 'Ask and it will be given, knock and it will be opened'. He wants us to pray, though it is not a magic formula. We may not get what we want, but we can be assured that God will hear our prayers and answer them in his way
In order to maintain a certain feeling of community, it is best for those taking part in the novena to use the same prayers and to say them on the same day, either in a nine consecutive day novena or once a week for nine weeks. Obviously once again this is not a magic formula but it helps to keep everyone focussed at the same time.
Thank you @Simon Toad
The daily prayer is lovely, and thank you for including modern day slavery.
Is it enough for all of us to incorporate the themes within the daily prayer using our own words and thoughts on the day, or must we all use the same words as each other?
When shall we start the novena?
🙏 Prayers for healing.
I believe next Sunday is the last day of the liturgical year, for Roman Catholics at least. Shall we start then on Monday next week (27 November)?
That gives people a week to make any more brilliant and time-saving suggestions.
I plan to pray the novena in the morning. There's no requirement for us all to pray then, thank God. Imagine the logistics! So if everyone prays the first intention on their Monday, that will work well.
I'll tag everyone in this post, and then post a reminder for Day 1 on Sunday 26th November.
@Forthview @Raptor Eye @Kendel @MaryLouise @Sarasa @RockyRoger @North East Quine @questioning @Wanderer @Nick Tamen @NicoleMR
If we start next Saturday, November 25 (one month before Christmas), then we’ll finish the novena on Advent I.
Just a thought.
OK, New proposed start date will be Saturday Nov 25. Assuming no more excellent ideas this week (and please, if you have any thoughts, post them!) I'll blow the starter's whistle on my Friday, which will cover any shipmates between me and the international date line, heading east.
Day 1: Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of Domestic Violence.
Day 2: Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of violence in public, especially random gun violence.
Day 3: Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of economic exploitation, whether lawfully or otherwise.
Day 4: Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of violence in our caring institutions
Day 5: Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of violence in our justice systems
Day 6: Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of violence against refugees and asylum seekers, including internally displaced persons.
Day 7: Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of violence in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Day 8:Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of violence in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia
Day 9: Victims, witnesses and perpetrators of violence in conflicts that rarely make the news
And here's the prayer:
Lord we come to you in our bare human need.
We accept our incapacity to control ourselves, and to control others.
We recognise our personal failures.
We recognise the failures of the systems and societies into which we were born.
All our plans have come to naught.
We come to you defeated.
[pray the intention of the day in your own words, or wordlessly]
Lord, let your peace radiate afresh from your inner being.
Let the purest love generated within you spill out over creation.
Refresh us, relieve us, revive us
So that everyone, victims, perpetrators, witnesses of violence, those stirred to angry action, those who crumple, those who turn away, those who excuse, all of us are soothed.
Change us!
Use us!
Dwell within us!
And let your Kingdom come.
In the name of Christ
Amen.
I will pray tomorrow morning (Saturday 25/11/23 Aussie East Coast time)
Thankyou all for participating.
@Forthview @Raptor Eye @Kendel @MaryLouise @Sarasa @RockyRoger @North East Quine @questioning @Wanderer @Nick Tamen @NicoleMR
Yes indeed!
Me too.