Earlier this month, the USCCB issued a “Call To Prayer For Life, Marriage, And Religious Liberty” on it’s website, encouraging Catholics to join in prayer and sacrifice during this Year of Faith (Dec. 30, 2012 — Nov. 24, 2013).
The two motives underscoring the bishops’ call to prayer are the HHS Mandate, which requires almost all Catholic employers to pay for employees’ contraception, sterilization, and abortifacient drugs; and the current movement in our Government to redefine marriage as a union between any two persons, regardless of their gender. As the document states:
“The well-being of society requires that life, marriage, and religious liberty are promoted and protected. Serious threats to each of these goods, however, have raised unprecedented challenges to the Church and to the nation.”
Specifically, the bishops recommended the following five ways for Catholics to participate in the Call to Prayer:
- Monthly Holy Hour on the last Sunday of each month
- Daily Rosary
- Prayers of the Faithful
- Abstinence from meat & Fasting on all Fridays
- Fortnight for Freedom 2013
For more information, you can visit the page for the “Call To Prayer For Life, Marriage, And Religious Liberty” on the USCCB website. The document is clear and succinct and refers to several other resources, which you might find useful for increasing your awareness of the challenging issues facing the Catholic Church, our culture, and religious liberty in this country.
You might also be interested in Fr John Hollowel’s synopsis of the document in the following video.
Biltrix 
Great recommendations re: the Call to Prayer. Prayer, fasting and strivng for holiness….that just about says it all. Thanks, James, for posting the wonderful video. “Here comes the Catholic Church” praise God!
Hopefully, Catholics will unite spiritually this year by taking up the call from our bishops and the Holy Father. I think these are all good means to bring us strengthen us individually and as a Church.
Thank you, Terry, and God bless!
Great suggestions, James. My thanks for listing these, as well as the document from USCCB.
With God, ANYTHING is possible,..!
🙂
All things are possible with God, especially if we unite ourselves to him concertedly and allow him to work through us. I really hope more Catholics and other Christians will take these things to heart. There is always a lot of chatter on the web criticizing the bishops and the Church. More of us need to be walking in step with the Church by taking our Shepherd’s words to heart, practicing them, and sharing them with others. That’s what I hope we can accomplish during this Year of Faith.
Thank you, JTR, and God bless!