A novena for addiction is a nine-day Catholic prayer devotion for someone struggling with alcohol, drugs, or another harmful dependency, as well as for family members praying on their behalf. It asks God for healing, strength, freedom, perseverance, humility, and the grace to accept help during recovery.
Prayer can provide comfort, hope, and spiritual strength. Many people find that combining prayer, faith, community support, and professional treatment helps them in recovery. Recovery is possible, and with God’s grace, support from loved ones, and proper care, many people find healing, freedom, and renewed life.
What Is a Novena for Addiction?
A novena is a prayer said across nine consecutive days for one specific intention. The word comes from the Latin word for nine, and the practice traces back to the nine days the apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary spent waiting for the Holy Spirit.
Nine days of prayer does something that a single prayer cannot. It builds a rhythm, and rhythm is exactly what early recovery is missing. Novena prayers can be said out loud or silently, alone or with other people, at any hour that you can actually keep.
The point is not to earn anything. Most people describe it as a way of staying near the God of life long enough to hear something back. You do not need perfect faith to begin. You only need to show up.
Who Can Pray This Novena?
- You can pray this novena if you are struggling with addiction and are trying to recover.
- You can pray this novena for help if you are just beginning an addiction recovery journey or if you have been trying to recover from addiction for a long time.
- You can also pray this novena for a friend or family member who is struggling with addiction.
- You can use this novena to seek help for a friend or family who is at the start of their recovery journey, or if they have been trying to recover for a long time.
- You can pray this novena to seek help for a friend or family member who has not yet acknowledged that they have an addiction problem and that they are in need of help.
Many people become addicted to harmful substances or activities throughout their lives. Addictions in our own lives or in the lives of those we love can cause a lot of difficulty.
Addiction to a harmful substance or activity can interfere with relationships, with daily life, and even with our spiritual lives. It can be very hard to recover from addiction.
True recovery from addiction to harmful substances or activities takes dedication and determination, as well as help from others. But to recover from addiction, we also need God’s grace.
God, in His mercy and love, wishes to give us the help we need in every difficult area of our lives. You can ask Him to help you or someone you know on a recovery journey, to give the grace and virtue needed to persevere in the difficult journey of addiction recovery.
Saints Associated With Addiction Recovery
Several novenas within the Catholic tradition are said for people struggling with alcohol and other drugs. Different stories reach different hearts.
- Saint Maximilian Kolbe: A Franciscan friar and martyr, invoked for various forms of addiction and compulsion.
- Venerable Matt Talbot: An Irish laborer who got sober in 1884 and stayed sober more than forty years.
- Saint Monica: Prayed by family members, especially mothers.
- Saint Jude Thaddeus: The patron of hopeless causes and desperate times.
- Our Lady of Lourdes: Not specific to addiction, but long associated with the healing power of body and spirit.
- Saint Rita of Cascia: Another advocate for impossible situations, often prayed by people supporting someone they love.
- Saint Mark Ji Tianxiang: Many Catholics ask his intercession for strength, perseverance, and healing from addiction.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe and Addiction
When people search for a patron saint of addiction, the name that comes up most often is Saint Maximilian Kolbe. He was a Polish Franciscan friar and a faithful follower of St. Francis of Assisi who founded the Militia Immaculata movement, placing his work in the service of our Heavenly Queen.
St Maximilian Kolbe was Polish Franciscan friar, martyr, and saint who gave his life for a fellow prisoner in Auschwitz during World War II. Among other things, St. Maximilian Kolbe is considered a patron saint of those struggling with addiction, especially to drugs and alcohol, because of his powerful witness to freedom in Christ, self-sacrifice, and spiritual strength in the face of extreme suffering, and the fact that he was put to death by a lethal drug.
Before his arrest, Fr. Kolbe’s missionary outreach often included working with men who suffered from alcoholism. He encouraged them to turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary for help and to entrust their struggles to her Immaculate Heart, believing she would lead them to healing through her Son.
A Witness to Inner Freedom
Addiction enslaves the mind and body, but Kolbe’s life-especially in Auschwitz-was a testimony to true inner freedom. Even in the most inhumane conditions, he remained spiritually free: calm, prayerful, and full of hope.
This example resonates deeply with those in recovery, who seek liberation from the chains of substance dependence. He knew captivity. He knew what it costs to hand your life over to something larger than fear.
During World War II, Kolbe was arrested and sent to Auschwitz. When a fellow prisoner was condemned to die, Kolbe stepped forward and offered to take his place, and the man he saved was very nearly a total stranger to him.
He spent his last days in a starvation bunker and died from the injection of a deadly drug. That ultimate sacrifice is why the Church holds him up as an example of unselfish love.
St. Maximilian Kolbe was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1982 and is honored as a martyr of charity. His feast day is celebrated on August 14, the day before the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary.
Prayer to St. Maximilian Kolbe for Addiction Recovery
O St. Maximilian Kolbe, faithful follower of St. Francis, inflamed by the love of God you dedicated your life to the practice of virtue and to works of the apostolate. Look down with favor upon us who devoutly confide in your intercession.
Having consecrated yourself to the Immaculate Virgin Mary, you inspired countless souls to a holy life and various forms of the apostolate in order to do good to others and to spread the kingdom of God. Obtain for us the grace by our lives and labors to draw many souls to Christ.
In your close conformity to our Divine Savior you reached such an intense degree of love that you offered your life to save a fellow prisoner. Implore God that we, inflamed by such ardent charity, may through our living faith and our apostolic works witness Christ to others, and thus merit to join you in the blessed vision of God.
Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe, your life of love and labor for souls was sacrificed amid the horrors of a concentration camp and hastened to its end by an injection of a deadly drug. Look with compassion upon all those who are now entrapped in addictions to drugs, alcohol, and other harmful behaviors and whom we now recommend to your powerful intercession: [Silently remember all who are in need of healing from addictions and those who have entrusted themselves to the novena.]
Dear St. Maximilian, Priest of God, intercede with Christ for mercy for all who are trapped in the bonds of any addiction. Devout servant of the Immaculate Mother of God, beg Her to crush with her heel the demons of addiction that afflict me and our brothers and sisters.
Obtain for us the grace never to withhold our love and understanding, not to fail in persevering prayer that the enslaving bonds of addiction may be broken and that full health and freedom may be restored to me and all for whom we pray. Amen.
Novena for Addiction Recovery: Nine Days of Prayer
Day 1
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You and praise You for Your never-ending mercy and love. We come before You to implore Your assistance in recovery from addiction.
You know intimately the many struggles and sufferings that people face each day in our fallen world. We know that You are always ready to help us in these struggles and sufferings whenever we ask.
We ask You now to be with us and with all who are suffering because of an addiction. Please graciously pour Your grace upon all those who are struggling with addiction, especially those who are having trouble admitting their problem!
Help us to remember that You always long to help us in all things. Help us to turn to You for help in every circumstance of need or suffering we face in our lives.
I especially ask in this novena (mention your intentions here). Lord, have mercy on us, now and always!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day 2
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You and praise You for Your never-ending mercy and love. We come before You to implore Your assistance in recovery from addiction.
You created the world and material things for all mankind to use. But when sin entered the world at Adam and Eve’s fall, man’s relationship with material things became imperfect.
Many people in our world today have harmful addictions to substances. We ask that You be with us and with all who are struggling with addictions to substances.
Please pour Your merciful assistance on all who struggle with addiction, particularly on those who are addicted to substances! Help us to always fly to Your assistance in our moments of need.
Help us to trust in Your love and mercy whenever we are struggling in our lives. I especially ask in this novena (mention your intentions here).
Lord, have mercy on us, now and always! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day 3
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You and praise You for Your never-ending mercy and love. We come before You to implore Your assistance in recovery from addiction.
You desire all people to be united to You and to live holy lives. All of us fall short of this at times and commit sins against You.
Many people become addicted to certain sins or to other activities that are harmful to them. We ask that You be with us and with all who are struggling to recover from an addiction to a harmful activity.
Please pour Your merciful assistance on all who struggle with addiction, particularly on those who are addicted to harmful activities! Help us to turn to You as our loving Father every time we fall.
Help us to trust in Your mercy and assistance in every struggle we face in our lives. I especially ask in this novena (mention your intentions here).
Lord, have mercy on us, now and always! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day 4
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You and praise You for Your never-ending mercy and love. We come before You to implore Your assistance in recovery from addiction.
You want all people to serve You in freedom and love in their lives. You are always ready to give grace and assistance to all who ask it of You.
We ask that You be with us and with all who are working to recover from addiction, sending all the help necessary for recovery.
Please pour Your merciful assistance on all who struggle with addiction, and we ask particularly that You send support and help for all who are on this journey!
Help us to trust in Your love for us each day, even in our moments of deepest struggle. Help us to ask You for what we need in confidence that You will help us.
I especially ask in this novena (mention your intentions here). Lord, have mercy on us, now and always! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day 5
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You and praise You for Your never-ending mercy and love. We come before You to implore Your assistance in recovery from addiction.
Struggles with addiction cause many wounds and sufferings in our world. Not only do those who struggle with addiction suffer, but many of their loved ones suffer as well.
You, Who are able to do all things, can bring healing to these painful situations and to all troubled relationships. Please pour Your merciful assistance on all who struggle with addiction, and bring Your healing power to all who have been hurt by another’s addiction!
Help us to fly to Your loving mercy in every instance of suffering we encounter in our lives. Help us to always rely on Your grace and strength in every struggle we endure.
I especially ask in this novena (mention your intentions here). Lord, have mercy on us, now and always! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day 6
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You and praise You for Your never-ending mercy and love. We come before You to implore Your assistance in recovery from addiction.
The path to recovery from addiction is not an easy one. You know that all who seek to recover from an addiction will face many difficulties and struggles on their journey.
You, all-powerful Lord, are able to help all those on this journey to grow in the virtue of perseverance as they face these struggles.
Please pour Your merciful assistance on all who struggle with addiction, and help all who are facing difficulty on their recovery journey to grow in perseverance!
Help us to turn to You always as we face sufferings and trials in our lives. Help us to remember Your loving mercy every day of our lives.
I especially ask in this novena (mention your intentions here). Lord, have mercy on us, now and always! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day 7
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You and praise You for Your never-ending mercy and love. We come before You to implore Your assistance in recovery from addiction.
You know intimately the struggles and sufferings that all people face in our fallen world. You wish to pour out grace and assistance to all who suffer.
You are able to help us grow in all virtues necessary for a holy life, and You long to give this help to all of us.
Please pour Your merciful assistance on all who struggle with addiction, and help all who are on this recovery journey to grow in the self-knowledge they need to make real progress!
Help us to truly believe in Your merciful love for us. Help us to turn to You as a loving Father in every instance of difficulty we encounter in our lives.
I especially ask in this novena (mention your intentions here). Lord, have mercy on us, now and always! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day 8
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You and praise You for Your never-ending mercy and love. We come before You to implore Your assistance in recovery from addiction.
Recovery from addiction can be difficult or even impossible for anyone who lacks the humility to admit they have a problem and to seek help.
You, Lord, want all people to grow in virtue and holiness. You can give all the graces necessary to everyone seeking to live holy lives.
Please pour Your merciful assistance on all who struggle with addiction, and help all who are on an addiction recovery journey to grow in the humility they need to receive help!
Help us to rely on You each day as we encounter sufferings and difficulties. Help us to turn to You always, no matter how difficult a struggle we might face.
I especially ask in this novena (mention your intentions here). Lord, have mercy on us, now and always! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day 9
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You and praise You for Your never-ending mercy and love. We come before You to implore Your assistance in recovery from addiction.
Like many trials in our lives, recovery from addiction requires us to have a deep trust in You. It is not always easy to trust You in our lives, especially during times of struggle.
We ask You to pour out the graces necessary for us to grow in trust in You. Please pour Your merciful assistance on all who struggle with addiction, and especially help them to grow in the trust in You they need to find true recovery!
Help us to grow in all virtues and to seek a deeper relationship with You each day of our lives. Help us to turn to You in trust, in every need and difficulty we encounter.
I especially ask in this novena (mention your intentions here). Lord, have mercy on us, now and always! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Novena for Alcohol Addiction
The Novena for Alcohol Addiction is a powerful Catholic prayer for those struggling with alcoholism and for families carrying the burden of addiction. Through this nine-day novena, we ask God for healing, strength, freedom, and the grace to overcome dependency.
Whether praying for yourself or for a loved one, this novena invites you to place your suffering in God’s merciful hands and trust in His power to restore and renew.
The Novena for Alcohol Addiction is a nine-day Catholic prayer devotion asking God for healing, recovery, strength, and freedom from alcohol dependency.
Day 1
Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear St. Monica, troubled wife and mother, Many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime. Yet you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence and profound faith, you prayed daily for the conversion of your beloved husband, Patricius, and your beloved son, Augustine. Grant me that same fortitude, patience and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica, (Mention your request here…) and grant me the grace to accept his will in all things, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
Saint Monica Patron Saint of Alcoholics, pray for us.
Pray One: Our Father… Pray One: Hail Mary… Pray One: Glory Be…
Days 2-9
Repeat the following prayer each day, changing the day number as appropriate:
Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear St. Monica, troubled wife and mother, Many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime. Yet you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence and profound faith, you prayed daily for the conversion of your beloved husband, Patricius, and your beloved son, Augustine. Grant me that same fortitude, patience and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica, (Mention your request here…) and grant me the grace to accept his will in all things, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
Saint Monica Patron Saint of Alcoholics, pray for us.
Pray One: Our Father… Pray One: Hail Mary… Pray One: Glory Be…
Venerable Matt Talbot and Alcohol Recovery
The novena to Matt Talbot is the one said most often for alcohol addiction specifically. It stands as a beacon of hope for people who have tried to stop on their own and could not.
Matt Talbot was born in Dublin in 1856 and took his first drink around age twelve. By sixteen, he was drinking heavily, and by his late twenties, he was pawning his belongings to keep drinking.
At twenty-eight, penniless and out of options, he took a pledge of sobriety. He kept it for the rest of his life, more than forty years, decades before Alcoholics Anonymous existed.
He filled the space drinking had taken with prayer, scripture, and charitable work. His own life experiences make him a natural companion for anyone building a sober life, and many describe following his lead as a sober Catholic way of living one day at a time.
The Catholic Church declared him Venerable in 1975. He has not been canonized yet, so when people call him the patron saint of alcoholics, that is affection rather than formal designation.
The Nine-Day Matt Talbot Novena
The novena opens with a prayer for the person who is struggling. It is the same prayer that opens the Kolbe novena above, worded here for someone praying on another person’s behalf.
Day One
God of mercy, we bless You in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who ministered to all who came to Him. Give Your strength to (name of the person dealing with addiction), Your servant, bound by the chains of addiction.
Enfold him or her in Your love and restore him or her to the freedom of God’s children. Lord, look with compassion on all those who have lost their health and freedom.
Restore to them the assurance of Your unfailing mercy, and strengthen them in the work of recovery. To those who care for them, grant patient understanding and a love that perseveres.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Days Two Through Eight
Repeat the Day One prayer, then sit with someone specific. Pray for that person’s strength, faith, and endurance, whether they are still drinking or somewhere in the long middle of getting well.
If you are the one struggling, pray for yourself. That counts.
Day Nine
The final day is given to the Prayer for the Canonization of Venerable Matt Talbot.
O Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot, You have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament.
May his life of prayer and penance give us the courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Father, if it be Your will that Your beloved servant should be glorified by Your Church, make known by Your heavenly favors the power he enjoys in Your sight.
We ask this through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
Then pray for whatever you need, in your own words. Follow that with the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be, said once each.
Close by saying three times: Venerable Matt Talbot, pray for us.
Praying for a Loved One With an Addiction
Yes. You may pray this novena for a spouse, parent, child, friend, or anyone struggling with alcohol addiction. Prayer can be a powerful way to support loved ones.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe, your life of love and labor for souls was sacrificed amid the horrors of a concentration camp and hastened to its end by an injection of a deadly drug.
Extend your compassion upon (name) who is now entrapped in addiction to drugs and whom we now commit to your powerful intercession.
Having offered your own life to preserve that of a family man, we turn to you with trust, confident that you will understand and help.
Obtain for us the grace never to withhold our love and understanding for (name), nor to fail in persevering prayer that the bonds of addiction may be broken and that full health and freedom may be restored to (name) whom we love.
We will never cease to be grateful to God who has helped us and heard your prayer for us. Amen.
Saint Monica and Families Affected by Addiction
Saint Monica prayed for her son for seventeen years while he lived a life she could not approve of. That son became Saint Augustine, whose writings on grace and appetite still get read in recovery circles.
St. Monica is the patron of wives, mothers, and anyone who loves a person with alcohol use disorder from the outside. Her gift was patient understanding rather than control.
Dear St. Monica, troubled wife and mother, Many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime. Yet you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence and profound faith, you prayed daily for the conversion of your beloved husband, Patricius, and your beloved son, Augustine. Grant me that same fortitude, patience and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica, (Mention your request here…) and grant me the grace to accept his will in all things, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
Saint Monica Patron Saint of Alcoholics, pray for us. Pray One: Our Father… Pray One: Hail Mary… Pray One: Glory Be…
The Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novena
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.
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 waiting for it to be granted. That’s gratitude, too.
Rosary Mystery Sequence
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, 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.
How to Combine Prayer With Recovery Support
Get in the spirit by ramping up your own Rosary devotion. 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.
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.
A powerful intercessor does not do the work for you. He keeps you company while you do it.
Prayer can support recovery, but it should not replace medical care, counseling, treatment, peer-support groups, or emergency help. If someone is in immediate danger, experiencing an overdose, or at risk of serious withdrawal, seek urgent professional assistance.
Hope During Recovery
There is a particular kind of tired that comes from praying the same desperate prayer over and over. Maybe you have prayed it for yourself. Maybe you have prayed it for a son, a daughter, or a spouse who cannot seem to stop.
A novena gives that prayer somewhere to go. Instead of one frantic plea, you get nine quiet days, a little structure, and the company of people who have walked this road before you.
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. Let prayer become a daily act of honesty, perseverance, humility, and trust while you continue seeking the help needed for healing and freedom.