The St Andrew Christmas Novena

The Saint Andrew Christmas Novena is one of the most distinctive Catholic Advent devotions of the modern era. Unlike most novenas, which last nine days, the Saint Andrew devotion is traditionally prayed for twenty-five days, from the feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle (30 November) through Christmas Eve (24 December). The single prayer of the devotion (often called the Christmas Anticipation Prayer) is recited fifteen times each day across the twenty-five days, for a total of three hundred seventy-five recitations. The Catholic faithful who keep the devotion testify across generations to the spiritual fruitfulness of this Advent discipline of prayer.

For Catholics who wish to keep the devotion in the form of a traditional nine-day novena, the prayer can be prayed for nine consecutive days at any point in Advent, with one day's meditation on a particular aspect of the Nativity for each of the nine days. The site presents the devotion in this nine-day form, with the understanding that the longer twenty-five-day form remains the original Catholic discipline and can be substituted by those who prefer it.

Origin and history

The historical origin of the Saint Andrew Christmas Novena is uncertain. The Catholic devotional tradition has carried the prayer since at least the eighteenth century in print, and its earlier oral transmission is presumed but not documented. The association of the prayer with Saint Andrew is principally calendrical: the feast of Saint Andrew (30 November) is the traditional Catholic beginning of the Advent season (the four Sundays before Christmas), and the twenty-five days from Saint Andrew's Day to Christmas Eve form a natural Catholic Advent novena of considerable length.

The prayer itself is addressed not to Saint Andrew but to the Lord Jesus and to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The opening invocation (Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born...) names the historical event of the Nativity in Bethlehem at midnight as the moment from which all Catholic graces flow, and asks the Lord through Mary to grant the petitions of the soul who prays.

The Christmas Anticipation Prayer

The text of the prayer, in its traditional Catholic form, is:

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 piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, O my God, To hear my prayer and grant my desires, Through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, And of His blessed Mother. Amen.

The prayer is recited fifteen times each day. Catholics often divide the recitation: five times in the morning, five times at midday, five times in the evening. Many Catholics also pray the prayer in front of the family Advent wreath or in a quiet moment during the day's commute. The cumulative effect over the twenty-five days (or the nine days of the shorter form) is a deep Advent immersion in the contemplation of the Nativity.

When the novena is prayed

The Saint Andrew Christmas Novena is most commonly prayed:

• In the traditional twenty-five days from 30 November (Saint Andrew's Day) through Christmas Eve (24 December), with the prayer recited fifteen times each day.
• In a nine-day form during Advent, with one day's meditation per day on a particular aspect of the Nativity, plus the traditional fifteen recitations of the prayer.
• In a brief five-day form leading up to Christmas Eve (a Catholic adaptation for those unable to keep the full twenty-five-day discipline).

Theological foundations

The Catholic theology of the prayer is grounded in the doctrine of the Incarnation. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). The Catholic faithful, in praying the Anticipation Prayer, name the historical hour of the Word's becoming flesh as the source from which all subsequent graces flow. The petitions we bring during Advent are joined to the prayers of the Mother of God at the manger, and through her to the eternal love of the Father who has given us His Son.

Pairing the novena with other prayers

The Saint Andrew Christmas Novena is paired with:

• The Holy Rosary, particularly the Joyful Mysteries which directly meditate on the Annunciation and the Nativity.
• The Angelus, the Catholic Marian prayer of the Incarnation.
• The Hail Mary.
• The Catholic family Advent disciplines: the family Advent wreath, the Jesse Tree, the keeping of the O Antiphons (17-23 December).

For broader theological context, see Mary, Mother of God, the Communion of Saints, and other Advent and Christmas devotions in the novenas hub.

Sources

The Saint Andrew Christmas Novena is preserved in the Catholic devotional manuals of the modern era, including the Raccolta of indulgenced prayers and the standard Catholic prayer books of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The prayer text is in the public domain and is widely diffused.