A question for those who know more about the Catholic faith than I do...

[geminigirl]

In Judaism, numbers and numerology can be very significant. Seven, eighteen, and so on. Numbers have great meaning.

So I know that once the Pope dies, there are nine days of mourning before the College of Cardinals picks the new Pope. Why nine? What's the significance, where does the choice of nine come from? Tell me more about it, please?

Comments

[gsh]

As someone who spent 12 years in catholic school, damn if I know why nine.

[aliki.livejournal.com]

Hmm... I'm Catholic.. but not too sure. Here's what I think-- coincidentally, number of days from Good Friday to Easter Saturday is nine days. Also, novenas are nine-day periods of prayer to obtain special graces or implore for favors.

Here's what I found:
(http://www.catholicherald.com/saunders/04ws/ws040610.htm)
Long before Christianity, the ancient Romans also celebrated nine days of prayers for various reasons. The author Livy recorded how nine days of prayers were celebrated at Mount Alban to avert some evil or wrath of the gods as predicted by the soothsayers. Similarly, nine days of prayers were offered when some "wonder" had been predicted. Families also held a nine-day mourning period upon the death of a loved one with a special feast after the burial on the ninth day. The Romans also celebrated the parentalia novendialia, a yearly novena (February 13-22) remembering all departed family members. Since novenas were already part of Roman culture, it is possible that Christianity "baptized" this pagan practice.

Whatever the exact origins may be, the early Christians did have a nine-day mourning period upon the death of a loved one. Eventually, a novena of Masses for the repose of the soul was offered. To this day, there is the novendialia or Pope's Novena, observed upon the death of the Holy Father.

In the Middle Ages, particularly in Spain and France, novenas of prayers were offered nine days before Christmas, signifying the nine months our Lord spent in the womb of our blessed Mother. These special novenas helped the faithful prepare for the festive, yet solemn, celebration of the birth of our Lord. Eventually, various novenas were composed to help the faithful prepare for a special feast or to invoke the aid of a saint for a particular reason. Some of the popular novenas still widely used in our Church include those of the Miraculous Medal, Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Joseph and St. Jude.

It is difficult to say why we do not find novenas as much a part of public worship now as before Vatican II. I remember asking this question to an elderly priest, who basically said that he remembered people who would skip Mass yet attend the weekly novena. As Catholics, the primary focus of our spirituality and public worship should be the Holy Eucharist and the Mass. With the advent of the liturgical renewal and the increased participation of the congregation at Mass, perhaps this is why novenas fell by the wayside.

Also, some people I think have hurt the cause of novenas because of superstition. In every parish I have been assigned, I have found copies of a St. Jude novena which basically states that if a person goes to Church for nine days and leaves a copy of the novena to St. Jude, then the prayer will be granted — sort of like a spiritual chain letter. This is dispensing-machine Catholicism: just as a person puts the coin in the vending machine and presses the button to get the desired soda, here a person says the prayers, goes to church and is supposedly guaranteed that the request will be granted. So much for God's will. What is really sad these days is that the person simply Xeroxes the letter; one would think they could at least hand-write it. Worse yet, I usually have had to pick up these letters that are left all over the Church.

Nevertheless, novenas still hold a legitimate place in our Catholic spirituality. The Enchiridion of Indulgences notes, "A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful, who devoutly take part in the pious exercise of a public novena before the feast of Christmas or Pentecost or the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary." Here the Church is again emphasizing that the novena is a pious, spiritual exercise to bolster the faith of the individual, and that the individual should be truly devout, always remembering the goodness of the Lord who answers all of our prayers according to His divine will.

[dwildchil.livejournal.com]

I had no clue, even with my years in Catholic schoool. Here's what I found:

Novenas have a long history. The typical period of mourning that the ancient Greeks and Romans observed extended through nine days and culminated with a feast. The pagan character of the practice so offended Christians that they shortened their mourning period to seven days in order to distinguish themselves from nonbelievers. Sometime during the Middle Ages, Christmas novenas, which called to mind the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy, began to appear in France and Spain. (The liturgical use of the O Antiphons in the days before Christmas is a remnant of this practice.) Other liturgical novenas arose, most notably one that precedes the feast of Pentecost. This is based on the biblical account of the disciples, who, after the ascension of the Lord, waited nine days for the coming of the Spirit (Lk 24:49, Acts 1:4).



There's more at http://www.americamagazine.org/gettext.cfm?textID=2899&articleTypeID=1&issueID=429

[sandboxdiva.livejournal.com]

I'm not entirely sure, though what other people have replied sounds right. Some other possibilities tha have no source other than, well, me:
- 3 is an important number, representing the Holy Trinity, so maybe a 3 X 3 type thing
- in the old days, they would have needed to give the Cardinals travel time to get to to the Vatican for the election.

[posthaste.livejournal.com]

in the old days, they would have needed to give the Cardinals travel time to get to to the Vatican for the election.

that was my guess too...