Novena for Life In preparation for the Spring 2022 40 Days for Life Campaign
Day 1 – February 20 Prayer of personal commitment Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life, and for the lives of all my brothers and sisters. I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion, yet I rejoice that you have conquered death by the Resurrection of Your Son. I am ready to do my part in ending abortion. Today I commit myself never to be silent, never to be passive, and never to be forgetful of the unborn. I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement, and never to stop defending life until all my brothers and sisters are protected, and our nation once again becomes a nation with liberty and justice not just for some, but for all, through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Day 2 – February 21 For our nation God Our Father, giver of life, we entrust the United States of America to you loving care. You are the rock on which this nation was founded. You alone are the true source of our cherished rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Reclaim this land for Your glory and dwell among your people. Send your Spirit to touch the hearts of our nation’s leaders. Open their minds to the great worth of human life and the responsibilities that accompany human freedom. Remind your people that true happiness is rooted in seeking and doing your will and your will is to always choose life. Lord, we pray that our nation repents of the millions of lives lost to abortion and we pray for your mercy for according to your word: “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 ) (partially from defendlife.org)
Day 3 – February 22 For elected officials Heavenly Father, we pray for our elected officials. As you revealed in your Word, “there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Rom 13:1). Help them to realize that their authority comes from you and they have a solemn duty to uphold justice for all and to protect the most vulnerable among us, including the unborn. Give them an appreciation for the Natural Law, the law that you established, and which is written in every person’s heart. We pray for those who are blinded by political power or allegiance to a political party, that the scales are removed from their eyes that they may be motivated by the common good rather than their personal gain. We pray most of all that they recognize the dignity of every unborn child and that they deserve to be protected as much as any other human being. We thank you for those elected officials who are fighting for the right to life of every unborn child. Give them courage and strength to continue the fight and support and encouragement from those they represent. Amen.
Day 4 – February 23 Prayer for our courts and judges Lord God, we thank you today for the gift of our nation. You alone rule the world with justice. Yet you place in our hands the solemn duty of participating in the shaping of our government. We pray today for our President and Senators who have the responsibility of placing judges on our courts. Please protect this process from all obstruction. Please send us men and women of wisdom, who respect Your law of Life. Please send us judges with humility, who seek Your truth and not their own opinions. Lord, give all of us the courage we need to do what is right and to serve you, the Judge of all, with fidelity. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Day 5 – February 24 For the Church Lord Jesus Christ, you established your Church to be a light unto the world and promised that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. Yet we see the forces of evil working both externally and from within the Church to diminish its light. Lord, we pray that your Holy Spirit inspire each member of the Church to ask themselves if they could be doing more for the cause of life and to spur them to greater prayer and action on behalf of the unborn. Raise up powerful witnesses to the Gospel of Life within the Church so that our culture may be transformed and that someday abortion will be considered unthinkable. Amen.
Day 6 – February 25 For clergy Lord, we thank you for our clergy and the sacrifices that they make to minister to those in their congregations. We know the pressures on them are many, not the least of which is the desire to be liked by the people entrusted to their spiritual care. Lord, we pray that they may have the courage to speak the truth about the unpopular topic of abortion. May their love of their people and concern for their souls outweigh their fear of controversy. We pray especially for our bishops who are faced with so many distractions, that they realize the urgency and priority that must be placed on protecting the unborn who are sacrificed by the thousands every day in our country by the horror of abortion. May your Holy Spirit make them strong heralds of the Gospel of Life to their flocks in both word and example so that the church may be awakened and become a powerful force in building a Culture of Life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 7 – February 26 Prayer for pregnancy centers Lord, we thank You for Your grace in allowing pregnancy centers to operate in our area. We beg Your blessings upon all supporters of these centers, upon all who help in any way, and especially upon all those who come to the centers for help. We ask You to influence these women to choose life for their babies. We ask you to enlighten the counselors on how to individually help and advise each woman who comes to these centers. Lord, we trust You with our lives and with the lives of our family members. We put into Your hands all those who come to these centers looking for help. May Your holy will be forever done and may all we do give You glory. Amen.
Day 8 – February 27 Prayer for the 40 DFL Campaign Lord, we ask for the strength, courage, wisdom, determination and stamina to carry out this 40 Days for Life Campaign according to Your will. We pray that people from this community may be inspired to come to the vigil site as prayerful witnesses to the Gospel of Life. We pray that people will be inspired to engage in sacrificial fasting so that demonic forces of death may be driven from our community. Guide us, we pray, as we go forth and proclaim Your truth, always doing so with a spirit of love and compassion, as was demonstrated to us by Your Son, Jesus Christ. In His name we pray, amen.
Day 9 – February 28 Prayer to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit Eternal God, You have revealed Yourself as the Father of all Life. We praise You for the Fatherly care which You extend to all creation, and especially to us, made in Your image and likeness. Father, extend Your hand of protection to those threatened by abortion, and save them from its destructive power. Give Your strength to all fathers, that they may never give in to the fears that may tempt them to facilitate abortions. Lord Jesus, open my eyes to your presence in the life of every child. Open my heart to joy in the birth of every child, a birth that reflects the joy of your own birth in Bethlehem. As you shared life in the womb of Mary, so now send your protection upon every child still in the womb and grant to their mothers the strength and joy that comes from welcoming the gift of life. Come Holy Spirit, Creator of all things...You who breathed over the waters at the dawn of creation and brought forth all living beings --Come! Come and breathe on our world again, immersed as it is in the Culture of Death! Come, O Lord and Giver of Life! Defeat the works of death in our midst, that abortion may no longer stain our land. We know that no matter how strong the forces of death may be, we can still find in You the endless source of life. Renew that life in each of us and make us worthy apostles of the Culture of Life in our day! Amen.
Pax et bonum
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