The Catholic Defender: 54 Day Novena for America Day 1
President Trump established Space-force which was great, but I also love Fr. Richard Heilman's Grace-Force.
Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our Lady of America, you asked that the United States of America ”be the country dedicated to my purity” and that your children in America “be the children of my Pure Heart.”
Please intercede for us that we may be granted this grace and morally good leaders who will act according to the revealed will of God and the foundational principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America.
When America is strong, the world is safer. Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, Intercede for us, your children in America, as we pray for our nation, our military, and our families.
We pray for our government leaders, that they will make just decisions and govern us in accordance with truth and the principles upon which our nation was founded.
We ask protection for those serving in the military and for our first responders. Bless them and their families as they sacrifice themselves to keep us safe.
We pray for our families. In a culture that seeks to destroy the morals and values upon which this country was founded, may our families be united in faith and charity.
Reclaim this great country for your Son’s glory, that under His protection and guidance, we may stand together as a people of faith and trust in Him for the changes we seek.
O Blessed Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, We praise You for Your Goodness. We thank You for Your mercy.
We ask forgiveness for our offenses against You. We seek Your loving care for all our needs and requests.
You have blessed our nation, and given us countless gifts.
Our freedom and the ability to seek Your will every day are among our dearest possessions.
But in turning away from You, we not only risk the loss of all our country has stood for, but we also offend You, who are all good and deserving of all our love. We offer to You the novena we have made as Americans.
We ask that You hear us, and through Your fathomless mercy, convert the hearts of our people and bring them back to You.
May our land once more ring out with praise of You and the most loving Virgin Mary, to whom we have entrusted the petitions in this novena. Most Holy God, we thank You for hearing us. May our hearts praise You forevermore. Amen.
"Dear Jesus, allow the Truth of Holy Love to flood the heart of this nation. Place Truth in the center of every heart. Return this nation to its rightful place under the Dominion of God. Amen."
Dear Jesus, inspire the hearts of legislators to bring fairness into every law. In so doing, inspire lawmakers to remove contradiction from laws concerning life in the womb, so that no one is forced to support contraception or abortion against his free will. Do not allow religious freedom to be trampled under the feet of those who favor death in the womb. Amen.
The Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.
In 2003 during the Iraq War members of the Unites States military committed human rights violations against prisoners of war that were detained at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
17 Soldiers and Officers were removed from duty and court-martialed as a result of their actions. Some of them found themselves in military prison and dishonorably discharged from the military.
In 2004 both President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld offered apologies to the world for the disgrace of Abu Ghraib.
Following these events taking place in Iraq, I would be chased by to Hurricanes (Katrina and Rita) before receiving Orders to Fort Hood Texas. I reported to Fort Hood in December 2005 and assigned to the 2-5 Cavalry early January 2006. From there, we were given the alert that Iraq was in our near future.
Aside from being the Medical Platoon Sergeant, I was over Field Sanitation, Safety, and Preventive Med for the Unit. Not to mention I was the Unit's trained Unit Movement Officer (UMO) which I was responsible for all our mil-vans, rail-head, sensitive items accountability so we had many inspections to ensure our Unit was prepared to go. First, we had a 30 day deployment to NTC at Fort Irwin California before deploying to Iraq.
There were a lot of preparation before our deployment. My Wife was working as a Nurse on and off post and because of her specialty in burn care, our Battalion had her train my Medics about burns and the care needed. As a result, load plans were developed for all our vehicles to ensure that we had access to supplies for burns. My wife received honors for her work in the Battalion.
Among the many duties that I would be in charge of, our Division called for my Unit to step up our area of Operations which included Abu Ghraib. When we arrived, there was much apprehension among the people of our presence there. The news media covering what had happened there in 2003 - 2006 was a concern. Also, the enemy used this against us and tried to rev up opposition to our presence. I was responsible in putting forth plans that would counteract the enemies use of the attention of Abu Ghraib.
The problem was not so much the prison itself but the people in the surrounding area. I had to put forth plans that aided my Command in changing the local perception. I had to set up protocols for all unit's serving in three regions of Iraq handling more than 3,000 detainees. Some of them had to be treated in our Troop Medical Clinic in the same category as any of our wounded. Sometimes we had enemy wounded as well as civilians who were caught up in the cross fire.
Our Brigade and Battalion Leadership put much stock in our importance because we did not want another Abu Ghraib, and that is what we did. When ever a Prisoner of War (POW) was captured, I had a medical rotation to support the Command ensuring that during any interrogation, there was no torture utilized, there was no violence and to show that, I had medics present taking pictures before and after each situation so the detainee could not claim mistreatment.
Soon, all the media and public apprehension went away, instead of having thousands of young Iraq men opposed to us, we had them crossing over supporting us. The attacks on us went way down. The biggest problem that had developed was the problem between these Iraq men wanting to support us and the Iraq police. That was a good problem for us, as I was out training Iraq fire fighters and Iraq aid stations helping them treat their own.
Romans 13:1-5 states, "Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority opposes what God has appointed, and those who oppose it will bring judgment upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear to good conduct, but to evil.b Do you wish to have no fear of authority? Then do what is good and you will receive approval from it, for it is a servant of God for your good. But if you do evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword without purpose; it is the servant of God to inflict wrath on the evildoer. Therefore, it is necessary to be subject not only because of the wrath but also because of conscience."
Integrity is so important, honesty is a must.
I was raised that America were the good guys wearing the white hats, we were the good guys.
As Americans, we should always give our country a positive image. Much like being a Catholic, we should always give our faith a positive image.
God our Father,
Giver of life,
we entrust the United States of America to Your loving
care.
You are the rock on which this nation was founded.
You alone are the true source of our cherished rights to
life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Reclaim this land for Your glory and dwell among Your
people.
Send Your Spirit to touch the hearts of our nation´s
leaders.
Open their minds to the great worth of human life
and the responsibilities that accompany human freedom.
Remind Your people that true happiness is rooted in
seeking
and doing Your will.
Through the intercession of Mary Immaculate,
Patroness of our land,
grant us the courage to reject the "culture of death."
Lead us into a new millennium of life.
We ask this through Christ Our Lord.
Amen.
The Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.
