Novenas: Learning to Wait on the Lord while looking for Him in the womb of intercessory prayer

"Always pray and never give up." Luke 18:1 "Seek His face continually".Psalm 27:8

What is a Novena?
It a form of worshipful intercession consisting of special prayer focus or services on nine successive days.
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This came from the nine days between Jesus Ascension and the outpouring the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room. What do you suppose was going on in the Upper Room during that time.

The 120 were "waiting for the Holy Spirit just as Jesus had directed them to do as He was ascending to heaven..

"Waiting" is a form of prayer. "wait on the Lord and be of good courage".

There is lots to learn about here especially since, in the womb of the Upper Room the Church was about to be born. Intercession is also like a womb where answer to prayer is born.

Most who were there, they knew Jesus, what He did and what He said for no more than 3 years. But Mother Mary had know Jesus every day for 33 years! Can you imagine what she might have shared with those who were hidden with her awaiting the birth of the Church?

It boggles the mind. Again, though pretty much a practice of the Roman Catholic Church, why not get on board with praying for nine days in agreement with others for the persecuted church around the world?

​See:http://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/NOVENA.htm

Who is the Sacred Heart? The devotion to the Sacred Heart (also known as the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sacratissimi Cordis Iesu in Latin) is one of the most widely practiced and well-known Roman Catholic devotions, taking Jesus Christ's physical heart as the representation of his divine love for humanity.

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait ...

Isaiah 8:17 I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from ...

Psalm 130:5 I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his ...

1 Corinthians 1:7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly
wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed

Psalm 130:6 I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning. ...

1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. ...

Psalm 33:20 We wait on the LORD; he is our help and our shield. ... We wait
for the LORD; he is our deliverer and shield. ...

2 Kings 6:33 Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?" ... ...

Psalm 37:34 Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land;

Psalm 37:9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.

Isaiah 40:31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not ...

Luke 12:36 And you yourselves be like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he comes and knocks, they may open unto him ...

Psalm 123:2 as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God ...

​Psalm 31:24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD! ... Be strong and confident, all you who wait on the LORD! 

http://www.praymorenovenas.com/

The story of this miraculous egg-thin fresco of Our Lady starts hundreds of years ago. In fact, the origins of Genazzano date back to the times of the Roman emperors.

This special invocation of Our Lady of Good Counsel of Genazzano is for those who are searching for good advice. Her feast day is on April 26. So please say a novena to Her.

• Novena to Our Lady of Good Counsel

A view of the town of Genazzano, resting place of the miraculous painting of Our Lady.

Because of its proximity to Rome, the city was chosen by many patricians and imperial courtiers as a site for their country villas. The vast gardens surrounding these villas often served as the stage for perverse feasts, pagan games and heathen rituals in honor of the gods to whom the Romans attributed the fertility of their fields.

One of these celebrations was held every April 25 in honor of the goddess Flora or Venus. For this event, people of all social classes—freemen and slaves, patricians and plebeians—gathered together for a great feast. This practice gradually dissolved and the temples fell into ruins as the life-giving breath of Christianity regenerated the peoples of Europe.
In the third century, an order was given to build a shrine dedicated to the Mother of God under the tender invocation of Mother of Good Counsel on the ruins of the Roman temples.
As the years went by, the city became more populous and the shrine grew in fame. During the Middle Ages, the Franciscans and the Augustinians founded monasteries nearby. With the passing of years, the primitive temple erected in honor of the Mother of Good Counsel began to show signs of disrepair. Moreover, as the shrine was small, the faithful built larger and richer churches for their solemn functions.

In 1356, about a century before the appearance of the miraculous painting that would introduce Genazzano into the annals of marvels in the Church, Prince Pietro Giordan Colonna, whose family had acquired lordship of the city, assigned the most ancient church of the city and its parish to the care of the Hermits of St. Augustine.
The faithful would thereby have the necessary pastoral assistance, and repairs could be made on the old church.

Although the prayers of the faithful intensified, financial difficulties prevented the necessary and urgent restoration of the ancient temple. But the Mother who gives wise counsel in every circumstance and attentively provides for the necessities of men chose a Third Order Augustinian, Petruccia de Nocera, to carry out a supernatural prodigy that would bring about the much-desired restoration.

Petruccia had been left a modest fortune following the death of her husband in 1436. Living alone, she dedicated most of her time to prayer and services in the church of the Mother of Good Counsel. It grieved her to see the deplorable state of the sacred premises, and she prayed fervently that they would be restored.

Finally, she resolved to take the initiative. After obtaining permission from the friars, she donated her goods to initiate the restoration in the hope that others would help complete it once it was commenced.

A plan was drawn up for the building of a magnificent church. However, once that arduous undertaking had begun, Petruccia, who was already eighty years old, found that her generous offering was scarcely enough to complete the first phase of the new construction. To make matters worse, no one came forth to help.

To her dismay, the building had hardly risen three feet when construction came to a halt due to lack of resources. Her friends and neighbors began to ridicule her, and detractors accused her of imprudence. Others severely reprimanded her in public. To all of them she would say: "My dear children, do not put too much importance on this apparent misfortune. I assure you that before my death the Blessed Virgin and our holy father Augustine will finish the church begun by me."

On April 25, 1467, the feast day of the city's patron, Saint Mark, a solemn celebration began with Mass. It was Saturday, and the crowd began to gather in front of the church of the Mother of Good Counsel. The only discrepant note in the celebration was the unfinished work of Petruccia.

At about four in the afternoon, everyone heard the chords of a beautiful melody that seemed to come from heaven. The people looked up toward the towers of the churches and saw a white cloud that shone with a thousand luminous rays; it gradually neared the stupefied crowd to the sound of an exceptionally beautiful melody. The cloud descended on the church of the Mother of Good Counsel and poised over the wall of the unfinished chapel of Saint Biagio, which Petruccia had started.

The miraculous image of Our Lady of Genazzano.

Suddenly, the bells of the old tower began to ring by themselves, and the other bells of the town rang miraculously in unison. The rays that emanated from the little cloud faded away, and the cloud itself gradually vanished, revealing a beautiful object to the enchanted gaze of the spectators.

It was a painting that represented Our Lady tenderly holding her Divine Son in her arms. Almost immediately, the Virgin Mary began to cure the sick and grant countless consolations, the memory of which was recorded for posterity by the local ecclesiastical authority.

The news of the painting and its miracles spread throughout the province and beyond, attracting multitudes. Some cities formed enthusiastic processions to see the picture that the people called the Madonna of Paradise because of its celestial entrance into the city. Numerous alms were donated as an answer to the unwavering confidence that Our Lady had inspired in Petruccia.

Amidst the general enthusiasm caused by the painting, Our Lady wished to divulge the true origin of the marvelous fresco to her devotees. Two foreigners named Giorgio and De Sclavis entered the city among a group of pilgrims that had come from Rome.
They wore strange clothes and spoke a foreign tongue, saying they had arrived in Rome earlier that year from Albania. While most people had refused to believe their story, it had a special significance for the inhabitants of Genazzano.