{"id":1213,"date":"2012-10-02T09:14:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-02T09:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/ewtn-novena-begins-with-homily-on-spiritual-aspect-of-religious-freedom-fight\/"},"modified":"2012-10-02T09:14:00","modified_gmt":"2012-10-02T09:14:00","slug":"ewtn-novena-begins-with-homily-on-spiritual-aspect-of-religious-freedom-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/10\/ewtn-novena-begins-with-homily-on-spiritual-aspect-of-religious-freedom-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"EWTN novena begins with homily on spiritual aspect of religious freedom fight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Irondale, Ala., Oct 2, 2012 \/ 03:14 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Bishop-designate James D. Conley of Lincoln, Neb. began a novena to the Virgin Mary for religious freedom in the U.S. on Saturday by stressing the \u201cheavenly and angelic battle\u201d against sin, not against Americans\u2019 fellow citizens.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cAs we pray together for religious liberty, let us recall a simple fact,\u201d he said in his Sept. 29 homily at Our Lady of the Angels Chapel in Irondale, Ala. \u201cThe role of religion in America will be respected when religion is lived with enthusiastic and infectious vitality. When we proclaim Jesus Christ with joy, in authentic freedom, the world will listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe defense of religious liberty is not merely a political or cultural battle, he said. He urged Catholics to \u201cget serious about the spiritual dimension of the Christian life\u201d and begin with \u201chidden things\u201d like prayer, fasting and sacrifice.<\/p>\n

\tBishop Conley said that \u201coffering up a small sacrifice in the quietude of our hearts may do more to build up the Kingdom than all of the world\u2019s preaching and teaching combined.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Sept. 29 \u2013 Oct. 7 Novena is organized by the EWTN Global Catholic Network to pray for the United States ahead of the November elections. The elections come at a time when the Catholic Church is at loggerheads with the Obama administration over a federal mandate that requires many employers, including many Catholic institutions, to provide employees with free insurance coverage for sterilization and contraception, including abortion causing drugs.<\/p>\n

\tBishop Conley also addressed the spiritual sphere of reality, in particular, the realm of angels and demons.<\/p>\n

\tHe said Catholics\u2019 enemies are not their fellow citizens who threaten religious liberty or \u201cslaughter\u201d the unborn or \u201cseek to destroy the Catholic Church,\u201d because there is hope for them in redemption in Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cOur enemies are the demons who entrap them. And who seek to entrap us,\u201d the bishop said. \u201cOur enemy is sin, and the father of sin, the evil one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe reflected that Sept. 29 is the Feast of the Archangels. Angels, he said, are \u201creal creatures\u201d who do \u201creal work\u201d in building up the Kingdom of God. They are a \u201cblueprint\u201d for efforts to defend religious liberty because they represent the primacy of the spiritual life and each serve as a \u201chealer, herald and defender.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cOur vocation is to join the angels in their spiritual battle against evil. Our call is to share in their work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cLet us call upon the intercession of the mighty archangels, and let us imitate their work \u2014 lived out in the freedom of choosing what is good,\u201d Bishop Conley said.<\/p>\n

\tOn each day of the novena, a leading Catholic bishop will celebrate Mass at Our Lady of the Angels Chapel in Irondale, Ala. at 8 a.m. Eastern Time.<\/p>\n

\tBesides Bishop Conley, bishops participating in the novena include Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City; Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi of Mobile, Ala.; Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia; and Bishop Robert J. Baker of Birmingham, Ala.<\/p>\n

\tThe novena website is www.religiousliberties.org\/novena<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Irondale, Ala., Oct 2, 2012 \/ 03:14 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Bishop-designate James D. Conley of Lincoln, Neb. began a novena to the Virgin Mary for religious freedom in the U.S. on Saturday by stressing the “heavenly and angelic battle” agains…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nEWTN novena begins with homily on spiritual aspect of religious freedom fight<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Irondale, Ala., Oct 2, 2012 \/ 03:14 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Bishop-designate James D. 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