Novena

Summer time I get a little lazy writing. I have been fishing in that boat I wrote about.

Anyway.

Summer time is also Novena time. Where I live there is a church, Basilica, that has a 10 day Novena. For those of you who do not know what a Novena is let me explain.

It is mostly to give old people that are close to death something to do for the next 10 days. If they survive the 10 days, they get to pray and get right with God so they can get to heaven safely. A novena usually has a Saint that is good at getting one into heaven and grants a few miracles. Although praying for the miracle of winning the lottery or winning at the local casino is not recommended but still people pray to win.

Some of the activities at the novena is of course praying and going to church. Then there are the dinners the church provides, the bus trip to get to the novena and there are candles to light and religious articles to buy. The nuns even make special bread and sell it. You get to go to confession, talk to a priest and tell him your sins and stuff, and meet a lot of other old people that have the same ailments and socialization is a big part of the novena.

The priests practice all year round doing their sermons and only the best priests get to win the honor of being the preacher for those special novena days. Usually the jokes they have are pretty good that they incorporate into their sermons. Then at the end of the novena you get the special blessing of the Saint the novena is about.

The novena is held outside, during good weather, and the little children have fun rolling around in the grass and eating Popsicles they get from the food stands.

So there it is, for 10 days you can eat, get fresh air and make arrangements to get into heaven. Parking is plentiful and you can buy a brick, put your name on it and be part of the holy walkway to get to the novena. It's fun to find your brick and show your friends too just where your brick on the walkway is.