NOVENA TO RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT The novena (nine days of prayer) in anticipation of the first Christian Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit on Apostles and Mary, is the oldest of all novenas and was made at the direction of our Lord Himself. It began when He sent His apostles back to Jerusalem to pray and await the coming of the Holy Spirit. Those “days of prayer” at the direction of Jesus are the model and inspiration for this novena.