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Novena
for the Protection of the Unborn
Espanol

Annunciation by Fra Angelico, San Marco, Florence (detail)

A Novena is nine consecutive days of prayer for a special intention, and may be prayed privately or with others. This Novena has been used by many parish pro-life groups and for 40 hour devotions. It is also highly suitable for use in families.

The first day of this Novena could be recited by a group and the days following said privately. Scripture translations of the Magnificat and Psalm 139 are from the Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition, an accurate translation modern English approved for liturgical use in the Catholic Church. (The Psalm and Canticle are followed by the Gloria Patri.)

WFF gladly grants permission to reproduce this Novena for private use.

A lovely brochure form of this Novena, printed in full color (traditional language), may be ordered from WFF. Email to: Information, write to Women for Faith & Family, PO Box 300411, St. Louis, Missouri, 63130.

See Order form for Suggested donations.

For more prayers and devotions, see Family sourcebooks - Prayers and Devotions

Prayers
to the
Holy Trinity, The Blessed Virgin Mary,
All the Angels and Saints

 

O Heavenly Father, Creator and Giver of all life, Author of Justice, Source of love and mercy: Although it is deserving of your anger and punishment, look with mercy on our nation which has offended you by condoning the killing of millions of innocent children, Thy precious sons and daughters, who, like all of us, were created in your image and likeness, and whose only offense was their very existence. Amen.

O Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, Our Redeemer, whose inestimable gift of self-sacrificing love provided the means of Salvation for all mankind through the shedding of your innocent blood: grant that all may come to know you, serve you and love you, and thus may know the meaning of true freedom and true liberty which never destroys, but always serves and protects life. Amen.

O Holy Spirit, source of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fortitude, piety and holy fear: inspire us with these gifts. Fill the hearts of the leaders of this nation, especially those who have the temporal power and the grave responsibility to make and interpret and execute laws, with the desire to do God's Will, to restore justice and to establish laws which govern the people of this land in conformity with the Divine Law -- laws which will preserve, protect and defend the lives of all sons and daughters of God, from their earliest beginnings until death. Amen.

O Mary, Mother of Jesus, entrusted to be the mother of God's only-begotten Son, Our Savior, through thine obedient consent to God's Will, and who thus became for all people and all time the model of faith and of the self-giving love and devotion of Motherhood: take into your motherly arms all the babies who are victims of abortion that they may receive eternally the comfort of a mother's love. May your example and intercession open the hearts of all who reject God and His holy laws, comfort all those who suffer remorse because of abortion, and restore to hope in Christ those mothers and fathers who grieve and repent the killing of their children. Amen.

All Angels and Saints: may your guidance and example show fallen humanity the way to perfect joy and freedom and peace found only in unity with God in obedience to His Will through Salvation in Christ Jesus; and may your constant prayers be joined by those of all the little children -- the "slaughtered innocents" -- as a "cloud of witnesses" interceding for sinful man. Amen.

--o--
Novena: Day 1

Psalm 139 *
Gloria Patri (Glory be)
Above Prayers
Rosary: Sorrowful Mysteries
Magnificat: Luke 1:46-55 *
* - text appears below
Novena: Days 2-9

Our Father...
Above Prayers
Gloria Patri (Glory be)
Three 'Hail Marys'
Gloria Patri (Glory be)

--o--

Magnificat
St. Luke 2:28-54
My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

For He has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations
shall call me blessed.

For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name.

And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation unto generation.

He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.

He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent away empty.

He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

-- o --

Psalm 139
When the Novena is prayed by a group of people, the Psalm may be read responsorially, alternating verses.

1. O Lord, thou has searched me, and known me.

2. Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up, thou discernest my thoughts from afar.

3. Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

4. Even before a word in my tongue, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.

5. Thou dost beset me behind and before, and layest thy hand upon me.

6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.

7. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

8. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheöl, thou art there!

9. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

10. Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

11. If I say, Let only darkness cover me, and the light about me be night,

12.Even the darkness is not dark to thee; but the night is bright as the day: For darkness is as light to thee.

13. For thou didst form my inmost parts: thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb.

14. I praise thee; for thou art fearful and wonderful: Wonderful are thy works. Thou knowest me right well,

15. My frame was not hid from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.

16. Thine eyes beheld my unformed substance; and in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

17. How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

18. If I should count them, they are more than the sand. When I awake, I am still with thee.

19. O that thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God; and that men of blood would depart from me,

20. Men who maliciously defy thee, who lift themselves up against thee for evil.

21. Do not I hate them that hate thee, O Lord? And do I not loathe them that rise up against thee?

22. I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them my enemies.

23. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

24. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen

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