‘Respect Life’ novena highlights gift of life, need for protection October 22, 2024By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Bishops, Feature, News, Respect Life, World News The nation’s Catholic bishops are inviting the faithful to join in a novena highlighting the gift of human life, while praying for its protection. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual Respect Life Novena begins Oct. 22 and concludes Oct. 30. A pro-life sign is displayed in a 2019 file photo. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual Respect Life Novena is Oct. 22-30, 2024. The novena begins with a call for the protection and care of human life from conception to natural death, and ends with a plea that “all Catholics (will) help build a culture that cherishes every person as a precious gift from God.” (OSV News photo/Tyler Orsburn) The novena — available in English and Spanish on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website at www.usccb.org/respect-life-novena and by email — features a dedicated intention for each day along with a reflection that is preceded by the recitation of an Our Father, three Hail Marys and a Glory Be. Also included are suggested acts of reparation — such as fasting, praying the rosary or undertaking another form of personal sacrifice — along with recommended further readings on the church’s teaching about the sanctity of human life. The novena begins with a call for the protection and care of human life from conception to natural death, and ends with a plea that “all Catholics (will) help build a culture that cherishes every person as a precious gift from God.” The intervening days of the novena are devoted to children in the womb, pregnant and parenting mothers, those who have suffered from participating in an abortion, persons with disabilities and those who are ill and nearing death. Days 7 and 8 of the novena respectively focus on ensuring that health care conforms with God’s design for human life, and ending the death penalty. Ahead of Respect Life Month, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, the pro-life committee chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, urged “a revival of prayer and action” to end abortion and uphold the sanctity of human life. The USCCB’s Respect Life Month initiative traces its origins to 1972, just prior to the U.S. Supreme Court rulings on Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the two 1973 decisions that legalized abortion nationwide. In a Sept. 19 statement for the October observance, Bishop Burbidge stressed that “Jesus, truly present in the Eucharist, gives us the fullness of life,” and “calls each of us to respect that gift of life in every human person.” Prayers and intentions for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Respect Life Month Novena can be found in English at https://www.usccb.org/respect-life-novena and in Spanish at https://www.usccb.org/es/respect-life-novena. Read More Respect Life Pope Leo XIV arrives in Paris, urging French leaders to protect the right to life Culture of Life Studies Program’s 2026 pro-life essay contest now open through Nov. 7 ‘Remarkable victory’: Life advocates welcome defeat of assisted suicide bill in England and Wales Judge shields more Catholic health providers as Illinois assisted suicide law takes effect Housing, gender, abortion policies among state ballot measures in 2026 Cardinal Cupich, women religious, Catholic pharmacist sue Illinois over assisted suicide law Copyright © 2024 OSV News Print
