Posted by Eric Scheidler (March 20, 2012 at 8:00 am)
There 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.
Posted by John Jansen (March 19, 2012 at 10:01 am)
The Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom continues to attract great media coverage.
Just this morning, a lengthy article appeared in the National Catholic Register:
The Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom is set to take place on Friday, March 23, in more than 100 cities across the country. From Hawaii to Maine, citizens are preparing to let their voices be heard on the value of religious freedom. Meeting places include historic sites, congressional offices and federal buildings. The theme for the rally is “Stand Up for Religious Freedom — Stop the HHS Mandate!”
The rallies, which are scheduled to take place on the second anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly called Obamacare), are being organized by the Pro-Life Action League and by Citizens for a Pro-Life Society in response to the recent Department of Health and Human Services mandate requiring most employers’ health-insurance plans to provide co-pay-free sterilization, contraception and abortion-causing drugs.
The mandate is unacceptable to Eric Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League, who is spearheading the rallies. [Continue reading …]
Posted by Eric Scheidler (March 19, 2012 at 8:10 am)
We’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.
Posted by Eric Scheidler (March 18, 2012 at 4:21 pm)
George Mason Law School professor Helen Alvarez appeared on EWTN’s The World Over with Raymond Arroyo last week and gave one of the most articulate accounts of what’s wrong with the HHS Mandate that I’ve seen.
Professor Alvare talked about her open letter to Obama and Sebelius telling them they don’t speak for all women, explained why the HHS Mandate is unconstitutional and debunked the myth that there’s some kind of “crisis” in contraceptive coverage. She also encouraged people to come out for the March 23 Stand Up Rally! Check it out:
Posted by Eric Scheidler (March 18, 2012 at 8:00 am)
Today 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.
Posted by Eric Scheidler (March 17, 2012 at 8:00 am)
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Patrick brought the gospel to Ireland in the same way we are bringing the message of religious freedom to our own culture.
Today, amid the celebration, 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.
Novena to Reverse HHS Mandate: Day 4
Lord Jesus Christ,
Ruler of all nations,
You gave Your apostles the command
to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth,
and promised that You would be with them all days,
even until the end of the world.
After Your Ascension,
they went forth to preach Your word
and You confirmed with signs and wonders
that You were working through them.
When they were told by the authorities of their day
not to speak Your name anymore,
and were even arrested and scourged,
they boldly declared,
“We must obey God rather than men!”
Lord Jesus,
You continue to proclaim Your Word
in Your Church today.
Give us the same clarity, courage, and determination
that Your apostles had,
that we may not allow any obstacle or earthly power
to intimidate us into silence or compromise.
Grant that our highest loyalty may always and only be to you,
Who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
With the Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom now only a week away, 12 17 Catholic bishops are signed on to speak at various Rallies across the country, with more sending letters, messages or their Apostolic Blessing.
We’re so excited to have the support of these brave twelve fifteen and we’re eager for more of their brother bishops to join the effort, too.
The Catholic bishops are the ones who called for resistance to the President’s Mandate and it’s great to see them supporting our response.
One of the first responses to the news of President Obama’s pernicious HHS Mandate was the Stop the HHS Mandate petition put together by Al Kresta and Ave Maria Radio. Sign the petition right now to make your voice heard!
The petition, which is nearing 77,000 signatures right now, calls on President Obama to remain true to his words when he spoke at Notre Dame in 2009. There the president spoke of tolerance of those with differing views and respect for conscience.
But this Mandate is the exact opposite. It is coercive and intolerant. As Michael Sean Winters of the National Catholic Reporter noted, it is a betrayal of liberalism.
It’s one week till the Rally and we’re still adding Rally cities—the list is now at 120! Let’s keep fighting together—both in our Rallies, and on our knees.
In a courageous statement released today, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have vowed to continue their vigorous efforts to stop President Obama’s HHS Mandate.
The statement, released by the USCCB’s highest body, the Administrative Committee, said the bishops are “strongly unified and intensely focused in [their] opposition to the various threats to religious freedom in our day.”
Concisely stating the crux of the issue which the media routinely and seemingly willfully refuses to acknowledge, the bishops said:
This is not about access to contraception, which is ubiquitous and inexpensive [Continue reading …]
There 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.
The Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom continues to attract great media coverage.
We’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.
Today is the last Sunday before the Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Patrick brought the gospel to Ireland in the same way we are bringing the message of religious freedom to our own culture.
With the Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom now only a week away, 
In a