Welcome to March! This month I am going to try something new here at Formed by a Flame. I am going to do a novena series leading up to the feast of St. Joseph on March 19th.
I will not be writing a new novena to pray here because there are better sources for that. Instead, I will be following along with an existing St. Joseph Novena. Each day I hope to observe this holy Saint’s qualities and virtues as we go through the nine days of prayers and reflections. I picture it like a Bible study but about a Saint – a Novena Study.
On Novenas, My Experience
I’m honestly not the biggest novena guy. I have tried many times and even subscribed to PrayMoreNovenas, who do great work. But something about 9 days in a row is tricky. I tend to miss something somewhere and try to play catch up, or I just lose interest and forget.
On This Novena, My Experience of Peace and Looking Forward
This novena, however, is special to me. When my wife and I first started dating, we both prayed this novena. That was almost 7 years ago!
Anyways, that first time reflecting with this novena, I remember noting that it was full of amazing words to describe St. Joseph. I thought if I would only document these adjectives, traits, and virtues I would have a pretty good road map for being a worthy spouse and father someday. If just had a list of these characteristics and tried to be a little more like them each day, I’d be more like Joseph, the man who was worthy to spend his time on earth with Jesus and Mary. So this is going to be my review of those as a goal for the kind of man to be.
The St. Joseph Novena
The novena that I will be following is done by EWTN. I will include the link to their post in each day’s reflection, but here is the overview of all the days. You could print yourself a copy or save this link for each day.
My St. Joseph Novena Pray-Along Posts
I’ll be releasing my Pray-Along reflections one day at a time, starting on March 9th at 10pm Central Time.
Some people like their novenas to end on the day of the feast. Other people like to end a day before and celebrate the feast entirely separate. Additionally, some people pray early in the morning and others late at night. This release schedule will let people with both preferences follow along.
To be notified in your email with my posts, you can always subscribe to the Formed by a Flame newsletter as well.
Lives of the Saints (LotS) Posts: Feedback and Recommendations Welcome
Like I said, all my posts here tend to be one offs; however, I’ve had some ideas for series’ that I could do, either once a week for X number of weeks, or days in a row.
If you have a preferred reading pace or recommended topics, I am open to hearing for the future.
One example of this style of posting is my Lives of the Saints (LotS) articles. I haven’t quite nailed down a consistent format or naming structure for them, so I think they blend in with all other articles.
Yet, I made a goal of picking one feast to celebrate or learn about each month. This novena will count for March, as it is all about the Feast of St. Joseph.
If you’d like to read the last two months LotS articles, you can find them here:
January 1: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
January 25: Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul
February 10: St. Scholastica & St. Paul’s Shipwreck
Now we’re in March, so you’re caught up.
If you have a Saint you’d like a special reflection for, requests are welcome! Comment below.
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