Join Juan Diego community's novena to St. Michael

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DRAPER — “Prayer is more important now more than ever before,” reads the beginning of the invitation to join the Juan Diego Catholic High School community in praying a novena to St. Michael the Archangel.

The prayer effort started on Sept. 20 and will run through Sept. 29, the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel. The novena is intended to connect with a broader community, offering the message that “prayer might be the single most important thing we do in these most uncertain of times. And in times of uncertainty, it is natural that we seek what is familiar and comforting. For many of us, prayer offers both,” the invitation states.

The idea for the novena started in June, when the school was preparing to open for the new academic year, said Dr. Galey Colosimo, Juan Diego’s principal.

“The discussion involved talk of masks and disinfectant and shields and thermometers. As we were doing this, the thought came into my head, ‘What about prayer?’ As a Catholic school and church, we need prayer now more than ever,” Colosimo said.

In July and August, the school offered a sunset rosary each Sunday night. In addition, “We continued our First Friday Adoration when school began in September, and we brought back the novena as a valuable Catholic prayer,” he said.

A novena is a prayer or set of prayers that is prayed for nine days, hours, weeks, or even months for intentions that individuals or groups might have.

At Juan Diego, the novena is broadcast each day from the school campus with the students. People are invited to submit their prayer intentions. A novena candle will be lit for each prayer request received.

Already a number of prayer intentions have been received, and more were expected over the nine days of the novena, Colosimo said.

The Catholic Church has many traditional prayer forms like the novena. “Many of these traditions have gone out of favor,” Colosimo said. “Maybe in these troubled times, it would be good for us to go back and revive these prayer traditions that for generations provided comfort and support to so many people.”

A powerful part of praying a novena is that it gives people the opportunity to pray for others as well, Colosimo said.