I know Ordinary Time has just begun since the Advent/Christmas season ended with yesterday’s celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. However, I’d like to give you a heads up about a Lenten observance you may be interested in.
Lent begins on March 5th this year. Last year I prayed two successful Miraculous 54 Day Rosary Novenas. So I got to thinking, “Lent is 40 days, Sundays are not counted towards those forty. But if you did add them, that would make it close to 50…which is almost 54 (NOTE: My train of thought sometimes takes a while to build up steam) hmm, what if I were to count 54 days starting on Ash Wednesday; when would that end?” And so I broke out the 2025 calendar, and starting on March 5 with “1,” I continued until I got to “54” and do you know what day the number 54 fell on?
DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY!!!!!
I don’t think that’s a coincidence. The very Sunday when the floodgates of God’s unfathomable ocean of Mercy open up and spill out over every sinner who in humility begs for forgiveness is very day the completion of the Miraculous 54 day Rosary Novena ends!
Think about that. Are you still trapped in the miseries of alcoholism and drug addiction? Or, do you know someone who is? This may be the perfect time for deliverance from that slavery. And it may not even be for alcoholics and drug addicts. Sex and porn addicts, take comfort! Your deliverance may be at hand! You will be beseeching the Blessed Virgin Mary, the very Mother of Purity, for her intercession to liberate you from lust! How can she not help you?
So, get the word out. Start preparing. Get in the spirit by ramping up your own Rosary devotion. (Need help? There’s this book: The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts) Start working on your examination of conscience. We’re supposed to do that every evening before bedtime (just a review of our day and where we might have offended God or not done His will; but we do a more detailed one just before going to confession. Here’s great guide to Confession, complete with an Examen.) If you are a Twelve Stepper, now’s a good time to do (or repeat) your 4th Step Inventory and find someone to do the 5th Step with.) Try doing the 10th Step throughout your day.
To sum it all up, this Lent of 2025 could be the season when you finally become free of your deepest, darkest character defects. I have loads of things wrong with me, and so I will definitely be doing it.
So, what are the basics of this novena, and is it truly miraculous?
The Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novena originated in the late 19th century in Naples, Italy, when a young girl suffering from an illness thought to be incurable prayed to Our Lady for help. Mary appeared to her and promised her healing if she prayed three novenas. The girl did so, and was miraculously healed. In a later apparition, Mary specified that the full prayer should have 3 novenas in petition, and 3 novenas in thanksgiving.
How to pray the Novena:
The novena consists of five decades of the Rosary (one set of mysteries) each day for twenty-seven consecutive days in petition; then immediately five decades each day for an additional twenty-seven consecutive days in thanksgiving, regardless of whether or not the request has been granted yet. (This is where faith comes in; you’re thanking the Blessed Virgin and God for granting the request without first wating for it to be granted. That’s gratitude, too.)
The first day of the novena always begins with the Joyful Mysteries (regardless of what day of the week the novena is started); the second day, the Sorrowful Mysteries are prayed; and the third day of the novena, the Glorious Mysteries are prayed. The fourth day of the novena starts all over with the Joyful, etc. and continues on in that sequence (Joyful-Sorrowful-Glorious) throughout the 54 days of the novena. The Luminous Mysteries aren’t included only because they did not exist when Our Lady taught this novena to the girl.
There are special additional prayers to begin and conclude it during all the days of petition and thanksgiving, as well as at the end of each decade. Please visit these sites for information on how to pray the Miraculous 54 Day Rosary Novena:
THE MIRACULOUS 54-DAY ROSARY NOVENA courtesy of Roman Catholic Man
How to Pray the 54 Day Rosary Novena courtesy of Hallow
FIFTY FOUR DAY NOVENA (This is a downloadable pdf file; it also has more prayers than the previous two links. I said my two successful ones using the format given by Roman Catholic Man and Hallow.)
Is this novena truly miraculous? I believe so. I think you do have to follow the format provided by the instructions Inlinked to; I’ve said 54 day rosary novenas in tha past without the special petitions, and the results were not what I hoped for. Faith abides. If you are sincere, and if the petitions are in accordance with God’s will for you, then there should be some positive result. A full healing? Perhaps! Just increased strength and determination to recover? Possibly? Doors opened for you to be admitted to a treatment facility? Maybe! How the petitions are answered is up to God but they could very well include a complete remission of your urges to drink, drug, lust and whatnot.
It is said that the only prayers that God is guaranteed to answer positively are those for a soul’s salvation, since He desires that all be saved. (Even though not all are.) So perhaps connect your recovery to your salvation…. Anyway, Lent is just under two months away so we have time to plan and prepare.
Let this upcoming Divine Mercy Sunday be the best yet! May the ocean of mercy pour down upon you and completely wash away your sins and leave you renewed and refreshed and forgiven!
Please read these posts on Divine Mercy Sunday:
Divine Mercy Sunday: A great day for those who’ve really messed things up
Sacred Heart and Divine Mercy Sunday
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My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)