United by Christmas

St. Andrew Christmas Novena

The single prayer of the St. Andrew Christmas Novena is traditionally prayed fifteen times each day, beginning on the feast of St. Andrew (November 30) and concluding on Christmas Eve. In 2023, Christmas Eve falls on a a Saturday.

St. Andrew was Jesus’s first apostle…

…and the older brother of St. Peter, the second apostle. In the Gospel of John, we read that Andrew was also a follower of John the Baptist, and in Matthew’s Gospel, we hear the account of Christ calling on two brothers and fishermen – Andrew and Peter.

How to Pray the St. Andrew Christmas Novena.

We begin the novena on the feast of St. Andrew on November 30 and conclude on Christmas Eve. Tradition holds that we pray the novena 15 times daily for a particular intention.

Time needed: 5 minutes.

Pray this novena for 25 days.

Make the Sign of the Cross.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Say the St. Andrew Christmas Novena 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.

Name any intentions or other prayers you wish to share with God.
Maybe consider your response to Jesus’s call to follow Him; just as he called on Andrew and Peter, he also calls on us to let go and surrender.

Conclude with the Sign of the Cross.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

If you’re praying this novena in the traditional fashion …
Repeat the above steps 14x throughout your day.

Continue praying the novena daily through Christmas Eve!
May peace be with you this Advent. God bless!

Let’s pray together.