October Prayer Initiatives for Life and Liberty
| The recent HHS mandate requires virtually all employers to include sterilization, abortifacient drugs and contraceptives among the benefits covered in the healthcare plans they offer employees. In the face of this unprecedented new threat, and since prayer is central to the Church’s observance of Respect Life Month, we hope that many will participate in these October prayer initiatives on behalf of religious liberty and conscience. In particular, the “Rosary Novena for Life and Liberty” will inspire Catholics to learn more about our courageous forebears in the faith and even consider making a pilgrimage to one of the many shrines and devotional sites throughout the United States.
Rosary Novena for Life and Liberty The “Rosary Novena for Life and Liberty” highlights the courageous witness of the saints commemorated during these nine days. They are witnesses to our faith, to the sanctity of every human life and to religious liberty and conscience. Among these men and women are the North American Martyrs, St. Isaac Jogues and companions, who were slain between 1642 and 1646 near present-day Auriesville, NY. We also look to the witness of three new American saints who will be canonized on October 21. Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk maiden, was persecuted for her faith and devoted herself to prayer and acts of charity, ignoring the limitations of her own disabilities. Mother Marianne Cope, OSF spent 35 years caring for the physical and spiritual needs of women and girls afflicted with leprosy in Hawaii. Pedro Calungsod, a missionary catechist, was martyred in Guam while still in his teens.
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