by The Tablet Staff

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Catholics across the country are encouraged to pray “9 Days for Life,” an annual Respect Life novena starting Jan. 16.

The series of prayers over nine days is promoted by the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and is described as “an opportunity for prayer and reparation” in observance of the annual Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children on Jan. 22.

Those who wish to join in the novena can sign up to receive the daily prayers through email or text in English at 9daysforlife.com or in Spanish at respectlife.org/9-dias-por-la-vida. Each day’s intention is accompanied by a short reflection and suggested things to do to promote a culture of life. The website also provides resources for promoting the novena in parishes, schools, or church ministries. 

The USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities started this novena in 2013 in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade — the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. Since the novena began, the committee said hundreds of thousands have joined in the prayer to end abortion.

The bishops’ committee continues to see the urgency of prayers after the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade and returned the issue of abortion to the state level. A USCCB press release about the upcoming novena said its “overarching intention” is to end abortion.

A section on the committee’s website about the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children notes that even with the Dobbs decision, “great prayer and advocacy is very needed.”

The site points out that the Dobbs decision provided an opportunity for state and federal legislators to protect pre-born children, but it also emphasized that “right now state and federal laws, in many instances, are still hostile to pre-born children.”