After a three-year absence thousands of pilgrims will attend the annual celebration of faith at the sacred Abbey on September 8th, running from morning to night until September 16th.
Fr. Celsus Tierney says that for many, the solemnity of the Novena helps them to walk away from it with a greater appreciation for life’s complexities and difficulties.
He told Tipp Today why the Holycross Novena is so popular each year.
“The Abbey itself speaks volumes. The history of prayer has been there for hundreds of years. It’s a Novena that has worked in Holycross, that hasn’t been as successful in other places. There’s a lovely atmosphere around the Abbey when people come in there. So, we have the music, the crowds, the preaching, the singing, and the social dimension of it as well, because often people use it as an opportunity, or a meeting place, to maybe have a social tea or something nice after, which is always an integral part of it.”
Fr. Tierney says it’s wonderful to see the Holycross Novena cover all facets of life, with some attending since they were young and now bringing their own children, but the return after a three-year absence will be bittersweet.
“There’s also a sad dimension to it as well. Every year there are people missing who would have been there the year before, and COVID has just multiplied that somewhat. Partly COVID, but also the passage of time. So, there would have been people who would’ve come to the Novena and won’t be there this year. I will be very conscious of that on the first morning because it’s like Christmas, or certain times of the year, for many, many people. The Novena marks a space or time in the year.”
