SAN FRANCISCO, December 19, 2011 -- The Feast of the Holy Family, this year celebration on December 30, can sometimes get lost amidst Christmas, the feast of Mary, Mother of God, Epiphany, and the feast of the Holy Innocents. There are so many wonderful days to celebrate at this time of year.
Novena to the Holy Family Jesus, you chose to be born into a family with a married mother and father. |
We ask you to join us in emphasizing this powerful feast day by praying the Novena to the Holy Family for the Protection of Marriage each day December 21 through December 30. (The novena is available for download in both English and Spanish.) This is a beautiful prayer that can be shared with family and loved ones as you gather around the dinner table for the holidays.
We are finishing a year that has seen marriage redefined in New York, the enactment of an alternative marriage (civil union) law in Illinois that resulted in driving the Church out of providing adoption services to children, President Obama refusing to defend the federal marriage law against a myriad of legal challenges, and an appeal decision pending on Judge Walker's Prop 8 federal court ruling which stated that defining marriage between a man and a woman is nothing more than an example of unlawful hate and bigotry on the part of the voters.
We read of new polls showing only 51% of US adults are currently married and trends that young adults are becoming less inclined to marry. We know that over 40% of all children are born to unmarried mothers, with the increased risk of abuse, poverty, and school drop out rates that accompany "alternative" families, and another poll showing the 44% of young people think the increase of diversity in families that deprive children of mothers and father united in marriage is a "good" thing. More and more children are being created through "technology assisted reproduction" with the intention of depriving them of knowing and being cared for by their mothers and fathers.
Our culture needs the protection of the Holy Family now more than ever before.
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Novena to the Holy Family We ask for courage as we stand with children, protecting their fundamental human right to know and be cared for by their mothers and fathers, as far as possible. May no child ever be intentionally deprived of his mother or father, without just cause. |
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Novena a la Sagrada Familia para la Protección del Matrimonio Te pedimos Señor el valor para estar en alianza con los niños protegiendo sus derechos humanos fundamentales de conocer y ser cuidados por su madre y su padre, en la medida de lo posible. Que ningún niño sea intencionalmente privado de su madre o su padre sin causa justificada. |
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