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Archive: “Novena” Category

Day 5: Interfaith Novena to Stop the HHS Mandate

Posted by Eric Scheidler (June 3, 2012 at 5:45 am)

PrayerToday is the last Sunday before the Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom.

As we attend our services today, let’s all offer prayers for the success of the over 150 Rallies that will take place this week and for the defeat of the HHS Mandate.

And let’s all join together today in praying Day 5 of the Novena to Reverse the HHS Mandate.

Novena to Reverse HHS Mandate: Day 5

Lord God,
You are Light, and in You there is no darkness.
You sent Your Son Jesus Christ
as the Light of the World,
and You sent Your Holy Spirit
to enlighten the hearts and minds of all.

Lord, we pray today
that we may always experience
the light of Your truth,
informing our conscience
of what is right and what is wrong.

We pray that this light
will reach all of our fellow citizens,
that they may recognize the dangers of evil
which are often hidden along their path.

Open the eyes and minds of all
to the threats that currently exist
to our religious freedom,
to the health and well-being of women,
and to the good of our nation.

Give us the grace not only to recognize evil,
but also to reject it with the unwavering strength
that comes from you.

We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Day 4: Interfaith Novena to Stop the HHS Mandate

Posted by Eric Scheidler (June 2, 2012 at 5:45 am)

Holy Spirit

Today, let’s remember to lift our nation up in prayer that our nation would uphold the principles of religious freedom that have made it so great.

Let’s join in prayer today with day 4 of the Novena to Reverse the HHS Mandate. [Continue reading …]

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Day 3: Interfaith Novena to Stop the HHS Mandate

Posted by Eric Scheidler (June 1, 2012 at 5:45 am)

Prayer

Today we are heartened by the legal challenges being brought against the HHS Mandate and resolved to fight even harder alongside them to protect religious liberty.

It’s one week till the Rally and we’re still adding Rally cities—the list is now over 150! Let’s keep fighting together—both in our Rallies, and on our knees.

Here’s day 3 of the Novea: [Continue reading …]

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Day 2: Interfaith Novena to Stop the HHS Mandate

Posted by Eric Scheidler (May 31, 2012 at 5:45 am)

Christ PantocraterPrayer is the foundation of all our efforts to fight President Obama’s HHS Mandate, which forces all employer health plans to provide free contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs, without regard to objections of conscience.

And so I invite all to join in praying a “Novena to Reverse the HHS Mandate” in the days leading up to the big Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom. Here is the Novena for Day 2: [Continue reading …]

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Novena to Stop the HHS Mandate Starts TODAY

Posted by Eric Scheidler (May 30, 2012 at 5:45 am)

praying handsWe fight for justice in government with many weapons. We use Rallies like we’ll hold on June 8, we use our power to vote, we use our voices and pens so our representatives in government know our concerns. But we must never forget that the strongest weapon we have is prayer.

Temporal rulers will come and go, but God is the great king over all, so recourse to Him is where our confidence must ultimately last. It is well within His power to stop the Obama Administration’s pernicious HHS Mandate.

With that in mind, we are asking all people of faith to join in a united prayer effort to Stop the HHS Mandate. In preparation for the June 8 Rally, we are calling on everyone to join in the “Novena for a Reversal of the HHS Mandate” that was such a blessing in the lead up to the Rally in March, which begins today.

A novena is a nine day prayer sequence [Continue reading …]

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Day 9: Interfaith Novena to Stop the HHS Mandate

Posted by Eric Scheidler (March 22, 2012 at 8:00 am)

CrucifixThe National Rally for Religious Freedom is TOMORROW and we’ve
got 140 cities on board!

Prayer for the Rally effort and the defense of our religious
freedom has never been more essential.

Please join in this final day of the Novena to Reverse the HHS
Mandate—even if you haven’t joined in so far.

We’ve never seen the American people as fired up as they are about
this Mandate.

Join us in praying the final day of this Novena.

Novena to Reverse HHS Mandate: Day 9

God of our Fathers,
we thank You for our nation,
founded by those who believed in Your Word
and came to this land as if out of the desert
to seek a place of freedom and rest.

We thank You for their conviction
that our rights come from You, our Creator,
and that government exists
to secure those rights,
and never to destroy or weaken them.

Now that we face unjust mandates
that call upon us to violate our conscience,
we pray for Your protection.
Keep us faithful to You in our every deed.

Grant that we may work for change
by being citizens who are active in the process
by which we elect our leaders.

Grant that by our efforts to educate and mobilize voters,
we may replace public officials who ignore Your law
with those who observe it faithfully.
Bless our nation’s upcoming elections.

As we rejoice that we are citizens of Your Kingdom,
so make us always faithful citizens on earth.

We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Day 8: Interfaith Novena to Stop the HHS Mandate

Posted by Matt Yonke (March 21, 2012 at 7:48 am)

Candle-lit PrayerOnly two days until the Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom and response has been huge!

The media is taking notice and over 130 cities have joined on. I’ve never seen resistance to a public policy like this!

As we finalize our plans for the Rally day, it’s crucial that we surround the Rally effort in prayer.

Please join us in praying day 8 of the Novena to Reverse the HHS Mandate.

Novena to Reverse HHS Mandate: Day 8

Father,
Your Son Jesus Christ has taught us
that those who mourn over their sins
and over the evils in the world
are blessed indeed, and will be comforted.

We come before You today
in that spirit of Christian mourning
over how far our nation’s policies
Have strayed from Your law
and from the respect for life and conscience
that every law should reflect.

In the power of Your Spirit,
our mourning does not make us weak,
but rather renews our strength
to work for change.

Enable us, then, to speak up
and educate our fellow citizens,
and to make our voices heard
to our elected officials.

Reverse the unjust policies
that have been forced upon us,
and restore our nation
to the principles of freedom and justice
upon which it was founded.

We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Day 7: Interfaith Novena to Stop the HHS Mandate

Posted by Eric Scheidler (March 20, 2012 at 8:00 am)

Christ PrayingThere are only 3 days to go until the huge Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom! Help spiritually prepare the soil for Friday’s outpouring of support for religious freedom from Portland, Maine, to Honolulu, Hawaii; Seattle, Washington, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and all points in between.

This is Day 7 of the Novena to Reverse the HHS Mandate. Find the previous days’ novenas here.

Novena to Reverse HHS Mandate: Day 7

Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
We thank you, Father,
for the grace of repentance
and the power of conversion at work in Your people.

We thank You for Your Holy Spirit,
Who convicts us of sin and enlightens us
about how to please you.
Lord, enable Your people,
in the midst of current persecution and danger,
to live the spirit of repentance
ever more deeply and effectively.

For every moment we lacked courage in the past,
give us the grace to repent.
For every time we were silent when we should have spoken,
give us the grace to repent.
For every time we could have witnessed to life but did not,
give us the grace to repent.

Made strong by the spirit of repentance,
may Your people rise up
and reverse the tide of evil in our midst.

Enable us to defend our freedom
and to build a Culture of Life.

We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Day 6: Interfaith Novena to Stop the HHS Mandate

Posted by Eric Scheidler (March 19, 2012 at 8:10 am)

Sermon on the MountWe’re now in the final days running up to the big March 23 Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom, taking place in 120 cities across the United States.

Please join me in praying this special “Novena to Reverse the HHS Mandate,” now on day 6. If you’ve missed the previous 5 days of this 9-day prayer sequence, go ahead an join in now—remember the workers in the vinyard!

Scroll down for the previous days’ prayers, or find them listed here.

Novena to Reverse HHS Mandate: Day 6

Father, You unite the human family
through the blood of Your Son Jesus Christ
and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

At this time of need,
when Your Church and all Your people
are called to stand firm against injustices
inflicted on us from our government,
we ask You to strengthen us in the bond of unity.

Strengthen the unity of Your Church,
that none of Your faithful may be on the sidelines,
but that everyone may be active in this battle.

Give Church leaders the grace to discern
the many varieties of the working of Your Spirit
that they may fan into flame the gifts that the Spirit
bestows freely on Your people.

And give us the wisdom to know
that no group has a monopoly on the defense of life and freedom.
May we work in an ecumenical and inter-religious spirit
and welcome the efforts of all people of good will
who believe in freedom of religion and conscience.

We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Day 5: Interfaith Novena to Stop the HHS Mandate

Posted by Eric Scheidler (March 18, 2012 at 8:00 am)

PrayerToday is the last Sunday before the Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom.

As we attend our services today, let’s all offer prayers for the success of the over 100 Rallies that will take place this week and for the defeat of the HHS Mandate.

And let’s all join together today in praying Day 5 of the Novena to Reverse the HHS Mandate.

Novena to Reverse HHS Mandate: Day 5

Lord God,
You are Light, and in You there is no darkness.
You sent Your Son Jesus Christ
as the Light of the World,
and You sent Your Holy Spirit
to enlighten the hearts and minds of all.

Lord, we pray today
that we may always experience
the light of Your truth,
informing our conscience
of what is right and what is wrong.

We pray that this light
will reach all of our fellow citizens,
that they may recognize the dangers of evil
which are often hidden along their path.

Open the eyes and minds of all
to the threats that currently exist
to our religious freedom,
to the health and well-being of women,
and to the good of our nation.

Give us the grace not only to recognize evil,
but also to reject it with the unwavering strength
that comes from you.

We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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