The United States is facing many challenges, but these days ahead of the election are no time for handwringing.

“Our nation needs the power of prayer more than ever,” says EWTN’s announcement for a “Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation” that begins this Sunday, Oct. 30, and runs through Nov. 7.

The novena’s introduction reminds us quite clearly:

In times of crisis, Catholics turn instinctively 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 supplication, our voices speak as one asking Mary’s intercession to unite us as one nation under God.

In 1792, Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore, the nation’s first Catholic bishop, chose the Blessed Mother as the patroness of the United States and he entrusted the new nation to her care. Then, 54 years later, on May 13, 1846 — the same month and day she would appear years later at Fatima — the nation’s bishops reaffirmed her patronage under the title of the Immaculate Conception. And in 1959, the bishops again solemnly entrusted the U.S. to her when the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was dedicated in Washington D.C. 

We must turn to her for her help, as the novena appeal makes clear:

Many of the values that shaped our country from the beginning seem to be at risk. Several popes and the American bishops have noted the erosion of religious freedom in the United States, the first value guaranteed by the Constitution. Other fundamental truths are also in danger: The God-given right to life of every unborn child, the value of virginity until marriage for our young people and the virtue of chastity for everyone, the very definition of marriage as the indissoluble bond between a man and a woman who are open to receive new life from God, and the responsibility of all to care for the disabled and the elderly until God calls them to himself. There are many other issues, but these alone point to the importance of prayer and discernment.

Mary helps us, as no other, to stand in awe before the mystery of human conception and birth, for God himself was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and carried in her womb for nine months with love beyond description.

The “Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation” is founded on central truths of Catholic teaching and “Mary’s unique role in our salvation … a catechism lesson that challenges us to a deeper conversion to Christ and a more generous life of charity.” 

Each day turns to different times and roles in the gospel and Rosary — special days are dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, the Divine Motherhood of Mary, the Wedding Feast of Cana, Mary at Calvary and the Mystery of Easter.

Heading toward this midterm election, the novena brings us the great opportunity “to pray for all our government officials and seek Divine assistance in the elections.” 

Remember the victory our Blessed Mother won at Lepanto in 1571 through the power of intercessory prayer to her through the Rosary. Same for the Victory of Muret in 1213, the Battle of Vienna in 1683, the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, Austria being ridded of Soviet Communists in the 1955, Brazil in 1964 and Portugal in 1975 doing the same, a dictatorship defeated in the Philippines in 1986, and more. 

EWTN also reminds that even in the earliest times of Christianity the faithful turned to Mary for her intercession in their times of persecution and great need. From those earliest days they would pray the simple yet very powerful Sub Tuum Praesidium:

We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our prayers in our necessities, but ever deliver us from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin.”

We will surely fly with confidence to our Mother’s patronage asking for her help for our country in this “Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation.” Each day there is a short Scripture reading related to the day’s theme, a reflection and a prayer. The novena will be broadcast on EWTN in the morning and evening. The times are listed below. For those who cannot watch at those times, EWTN has a free novena eBook and will send each day’s prayers of the novena directly to your email inbox. Requesting it is very easy and quick. 

“The proximity of the novena to the 2022 midterm election will offer an opportunity to pray for all our government officials and seek Our Lord's assistance in the elections,” stresses EWTN.

 If possible, during the novena, people are also encouraged to do as many of the following five acts as they can (full explanation in the free novena eBook):

1. Attend Mass and receive Holy Communion each day of the novena.
2. Go to confession; receive the Sacrament of Penance.
3. Read the Scripture and pray the Rosary each day.
4. Make a donation or do something practical to help the poor.
5. Encourage as many people as possible to make the novena.

“Here is a wonderful secret of prayer: Christ wants us to go humbly to his mother in search of his help. This is precisely what we are doing in ‘The Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation,’” we are told. We have to pray with confidence for our Mother’s help and, as we are urged to do, “take this opportunity to seek Divine assistance for the nation.”

Schedule

Here are the broadcast times from the Franciscan Friars of the Eternal Word. (All times Eastern.)

1. Sunday, Oct. 30 - 9:30am and 9:30pm
2. Monday, Oct. 31 - 9:00am and 9:30pm
3. Tuesday, Nov. 1 - 9:15am and 9:30pm
4. Wednesday, Nov. 2 - 9:00am and 9:30pm
5. Thursday, Nov. 3 - 9:00am and 9:30pm
6. Friday, Nov. 4 - 9:00am and 9:30pm
7. Saturday, Nov. 5 - 9:00am and 10:00pm
8. Sunday, Nov. 6 - 9:30am and 9:30pm
9. Monday, Nov. 7 - 9:00am and 9:30pm