Novena

Catholics have many traditions where numbers have significance:  40 days of Lent, 7 sacraments, 10 Hail Marys in a decade of the Rosary, and today, the number is 9 - for novena.  Nine days of prayer in anticipation of the upcoming rally for religious freedom.

Here's Day One:

NOVENA FOR A REVERSAL OF THE HHS MANDATE: DAY 1
Lord God,

You are the Author of Life and Freedom. In Your Spirit, we have the freedom of the children of God, and in Your Name, we promote the freedom of all to seek, embrace, and live the truth of Your Word.

In that freedom, Lord, we your people stand with Life and reject whatever destroys life or distorts the meaning of human sexuality.

In that freedom, Lord, we Your people live our lives in a way that advances Your Kingdom of Life, and we refuse to cooperate in what is evil.

At this moment, therefore, when our government has decided to force us to cooperate in evil, we pray for the grace to be faithful to You and to oppose the unjust laws and mandates that have been imposed upon us and our institutions.

We pray for the conversion of those in civil authority who fail to appreciate the demands of conscience. We pray for the complete reversal of all policies that permit the destruction of life or coerce the cooperation of Your people in practices that are wrong.

Bring us to a Culture of Life.

We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.