Novena for the Nation

Publisher's Note

Prayer has always been at the heart of what we do at EWTN and the Register.

We pray in times of joy, as we do every Aug. 15 on the anniversary of EWTN’s launch, and in times of sorrow, as we did recently for the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our country.

Religious liberty is an essential facet of our lives as Catholics, especially now with the current threats we face. And in that vein, it gives me great pleasure to present to you a special section containing a newly created "Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation," beginning on page C1. We invite you to pray with us, by using the novena printed in this edition as well as joining us for EWTN’s 8am Eastern televised daily Mass and novena prayer, which will be led by bishops from around the nation.

I hope that these nine days of prayer — running from Sept. 29, the feast of the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, and concluding on Oct. 7, the traditional feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary — will bear much fruit for you personally and for our nation.

I hope that you will join us in this time of prayer and that you will encourage others to do so as well.

May God bless you!

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne attends a German Synodal Way assembly on March 9, 2023.

Four German Bishops Resist Push to Install Permanent ‘Synodal Council’

Given the Vatican’s repeated interventions against the German process, the bishops said they would instead look to the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Meanwhile, on Monday, German diocesan bishops approved the statutes for a synodal committee; and there are reports that the synodal committee will meet again in June.

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis