When one becomes a Catholic, one isn’t given an instruction manual. Our natural progression toward God takes place according to the abilities with which each soul has been programmed. After having been a Catholic for a couple of decades, it was time for my soul to take a step closer.
So, on a scheduled dental visit, a substitute hygienist, a devout Catholic, whom I’d never seen before or since, got my ready for the dentist. We spoke briefly about Catholicism. She gave me a small, laminated card on which the Novena of Childlike confidence was written. It consisted of three prayers:
The first prayer: “O, Jesus, Who has said, ‘Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you.’ Through the intercession of Mary, Thy most holy Mother, I knock, I seek, I ask that my prayer be granted. (insert prayer).”
The second prayer: “O, Jesus, Who has said ‘All that you ask of The Father in my name He will grant you.’ Through the intercession of Mary, thy most holy Mother, I humbly and urgently ask that my prayer be granted. (insert prayer).”
The third: “O Jesus, who has said ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away but My Word shall not pass.’ Through the intercession of Mary, thy most holy Mother, I am confident that my prayer will be granted. (insert prayer).”
Shortly after getting the card, I began saying a Novena every hour for nine consecutive hours. At first, I said one Novena, but soon began “overloading” the “insert prayer” section until it was two or three times longer than the Novena itself. So, I split the prayer requests in half, and began putting each half into two Novenas every hour. Over time, those sections were similarly over-loaded, so I went to three Novenas every hour for nine hours every day. Now, it’s four.
There are times when I’m interrupted or distracted, and don’t hit the hour on the hour. Sometimes, a long meeting, telephone call, or distraction will delay the hour’s Novena. Usually, I continue to pray during meetings and calls. To my surprise, I don’t lose track of what’s going on, and when people are talking to me, I listen while saying the Novenas. My responses are often slow, but that seems to help conversations, and that has taught the valuable lesson that it rarely helps to speak at every possible opportunity.
In one of the four Novenas, I pray for my neighbors. One can sense that the swarm of demons surrounding even souls most inclined to sin are penetrated with remarkable ease by prayers. As a result, I like all my neighbors, even the ones I didn’t used to, more than ever. I sense that their own guardian angels are aware of my prayers for the souls in their care, and they prompt them to be more open, and friendlier, as well.
That’s been going on for a few years, now. The results are so startling, in a myriad of small ways, that it’s easy to conclude that all the world’s problems are caused by the fact that none of us pray for selves, family, friends, co-workers, and enemies nearly as much as we should.
