Saint Andrew Novena

The first Sunday of Advent always falls on the Sunday closest to or on November 30, which is St. Andrew’s feast day. The Gospel of John says that Andrew was among John the Baptist’s disciples. After John declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God, Andrew immediately sought him out and began following him. (1:35-40)  By associating the start of Advent with this feast, the Church provides an opportunity to consider our own call to follow Christ.

The St. Andrew Novena, also known as the Christmas Novena or the Christmas Anticipation Novena, is prayed from November 30, the feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle, until Christmas Eve. 

The novena consists of a short, meditative prayer intended to help us keep our focus on the true meaning of the Advent season. The prayer, found below, is to be repeated 15 times each day and may be followed by the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be.

The origins of the novena are not known.

Prayer

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of his blessed mother. Amen.