Second annual Novena for nation begins Aug. 15

LA CROSSE, WI - Our Lady's messages at Fatima and call to a devotion to the Rosary came at a time of worldwide war. Today, 100 years later, as the faithful celebrate the centennial of Fatima, the world similarly is with wars and terrorism and without peace.
 
“These physical wars are accompanied by a spiritual battle in which man's laws are in conflict with God's law,” Father Richard Heilman, President of the Holy League, said.
 
Father Heilman said the “Novena for Our Nation and National Rosary Rally” are part of an effort Catholics need to address “the disregard for the rights of the unborn, elderly and weak in our society and the attacks on marriage and family values.”
 
“There is no stronger weapon in this Spiritual Battle than the Rosary," he said.
 
This second annual “Novena for Our Nation” takes place from the Aug. 15, the Feast of the Assumption, through the October 7, Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. It is structured upon the 54 Days to Holiness Rosary Novena sponsored by the Holy League, for which Cardinal Raymond Burke is the spiritual advisor. The objective of the novena is to make an act of reparation to return the United State to holiness, imploring God to bless the nation through the intervention of Our Lady.
 
"There is no doubt that our beloved nation is in one of the worst crises which it has ever experienced, a profound moral crisis which generates division on all levels,” Cardinal Burke said. “Let us now turn to the powerful prayer of the Holy Rosary, asking Mary Immaculate to intercede with Our Lord to bring healing to our nation and to inspire in her citizens the holiness of life which alone can transform our nation...I urge as many as are able to participate in these great spiritual works for the sake of our entire nation."
 
Last year tens of thousands joined together in praying the first “Novena for Our Nation”. This year similar number is are invited to join in. This year the Rosary Novena will conclude with a Marian consecration from St. Maximilian Kolbe who has been adopted as the patron saint of “Novena for Our Nation and National Rosary Rally”.
 
“It is fitting that the Catholic Church celebrates the memorial of St. Kolbe on August 14, the eve of the start of the Novena,” Father Heilman said.

Inspiration can be found in the following video.