There is no doubt that these are difficult times. Our country is about to explode. The sides are divided. The resentment is on the surface. The parties are polar opposites. Foreign wars seem to want to drag the United States into them. Marriage is attacked. The difference between the sexes is attacked. Families are besieged. Religious freedom is in danger. Churches and statues vandalized, desecrated. But this is not the time to regret or feel lost in the face of the controversial elections of November 5.
There is only one effective remedy: prayer. As individuals and as a country, there must be a return to God, a return to Jesus as Lord. One of the ways Catholics can unite in one voice to seek heavenly help is to join the Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation on EWTN, which begins this Sunday, October 27.
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The introduction of the novena clearly reminds the faithful: “In times of crisis, Catholics instinctively turn to the Mother of God to heal our wounds. Now, we can all do our part in this national effort by praying the Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation. In this powerful plea, our voices speak as one asking for Mary’s intercession to unite us as one nation before God.”
“As Catholics, we instinctively turn to our Blessed Mother in times of need,” said Michael Warsaw, Chairman and CEO of EWTN.
In 1792, Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore, the nation’s first Catholic bishop, chose the Blessed Virgin as “Patron Saint of the United States,” and entrusted the new United States of America to her maternal care. Then, 54 years later, on May 13, 1846—the same month and day in which she would appear years later in Fatima—the nation’s bishops named Mary, under the title “The Immaculate Conception,” as Patroness of this country. The bishops once again solemnly entrusted the United States to our Blessed Mother in 1959, when the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was dedicated in Washington, D.C.
“In the current moment, when there is so much division and unrest in our country, and when many of the values that formed our nation seem to be in danger, we need to once again turn to our Blessed Mother,” Warsaw stressed. “We need to pray for their intercession, so that leaders and all those who aspire to public office follow the path of Truth, guarantee religious freedom and ensure that all human life is valued and protected, especially that of the unborn,” he added.
The Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation focuses on some central truths and Mary’s unique role in our salvation, bringing us to her Son Jesus. Each day revolves around different moments and roles of the Gospel and the Rosary, days dedicated to themes such as “The Day of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God”, “The Divine Motherhood of Mary”, “The Wedding Day of Cana”, “The Day of Mary at Calvary”, “The Day of the Mystery of Easter” and the “Assumption into Heaven”.
The novena is especially designed to pray for our country and for all our rulers and to seek divine assistance in the elections.
Let us remember the victory that our Blessed Mother obtained in Lepanto in 1571 thanks to the power of intercessory prayer to Her through the Rosary. Same for the victory at Muret in 1213, the Battle of Vienna in 1683, the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, Austria being liberated from the Soviet communists in 1955, with Brazil in 1964 and Portugal in 1975 doing the same, a dictatorship defeated in the Philippines in 1986, and more.
EWTN reminds the faithful that, even in the early days of Christianity, they turned to Mary for her intercession in times of persecution and great need.
George Washington, our first president, vividly reminded citizens of the need for heavenly help. In his “Farewell Address,” he told the nation: “The auspicious smiles of Heaven can never be expected from a nation that neglects the eternal rules of order and law which Heaven itself has ordained.”
He also emphasized: “Of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. The man who would strive to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens, would claim the tribute of patriotism in vain. The simple politician, like the pious man, must respect and appreciate them. One volume could not trace all its connections with private and public happiness. Let us simply ask ourselves where the security of property, of reputation, of life is, if the sense of religious obligation abandons oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in the courts of justice. And let us be cautious in assuming that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever influence may be given to refined education on minds of peculiar structure, both reason and experience forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion of religious principle.”
From the early days of the Roman persecutions, Christians prayed the simple but powerful Under Your Protection:
“We take refuge under your protection, holy Mother of God; Do not reject the supplications that we address to you in our needs, but rather, deliver us from all danger, oh always Virgin, glorious and blessed!
The book of the novena reminds the faithful that prayer witnesses to the faith of the Church that “Jesus Christ is God and Mary is the Mother of God and the mother of the disciples of Christ (Jn 19, 25-27). Her maternal relationship with Christ and with all the members of his Body is the foundation of Christians’ confidence in their ability to help their children on earth who face any danger.”
So we will surely turn with confidence to the patronage of our Mother, asking for her help for our country in this Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation.
Each day of the novena there is a brief Bible reading related to the topic of the day, a reflection and a prayer. The novena will be broadcast in English on EWTN, only in the United States, in the morning and at night (see schedules below). To follow it, and for those who cannot see it during those times, EWTN has a free eBook of the novena and will send the prayers for each day of the novena directly to your email. Requesting it is simple and fast. (See below).
If possible, during the novena people are also encouraged to perform as many of the following five acts as possible (explained in detail in the free novena book): 1) Attend Mass and take communion each day of the novena. 2) Confess and receive the sacrament of penance. 3) Read the Holy Scripture and pray the Rosary every day. 4) Make a donation or something practical to help the poor. 5) Encourage as many people as possible to do the novena.
“Here is a wonderful secret of prayer: Christ wants us to humbly turn to his Mother for her help,” the introduction explains. “This is precisely what we are doing in the Novena to the Mother of God for the Homeland”, he adds. Let us confidently ask for our Mother’s help.
Join the prayer
If you wish to receive the Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation, Click here.
The free ebook is available in English and Spanish. The printed book is only available to ship to homes in the United Statesone per household. For a digital version inside and outside the United States, please click Download your free eBook.
Be sure to see the Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation on EWTN TV starting October 27. Check the broadcast schedules below. Join us and join others in prayer to the Blessed Mother.
Schedules on EWTN (only in English and in the United States)
Las indicated hours correspond to the East Coast; adjustment for other areas
Sunday, October 27, at 9:30 am and 9:30 pm
From Monday to Thursday, from October 28 to 31, at 9:00 am and 9:30 pm
Friday, November 1, at 9:15 am and 9:30 pm
Saturday, November 2, at 9:00 am and 9:30 pm
Sunday, November 3, at 9:30 am and 9:30 pm
Monday, November 4, at 9:00 am and 9:30 pm
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in National Catholic Register.
Joseph Pronechen
Joseph Pronechen has been a staff writer for the National Catholic Register since 2005. He is the author of Fruits of Fatima: A Century of Signs and Wonders. He has a graduate degree and previously taught English and film study courses that he developed at a Catholic high school in Connecticut.