Day 4A, Novena - The Gospel of Life - Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Evangelium Vitae: "Man's life comes from God; it is his gift, his image and imprint, a sharing in his breath of life. God therefore is the sole Lord of this life: man cannot do with it as he wills. God himself makes this clear to Noah after the Flood: "For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting ... and from man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life". The biblical text is concerned to emphasize how the sacredness of life has its foundation in God and in his creative activity: "For God made man in his own image." Ave Marias sung by Anna Johnstone. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was John Paul II's motto to Mary. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.

Day 3, Novena - The Gospel of Life - Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Evangelium Vitae: "Eternal life is therefore the life of God himself and at the same time the life of the children of God. As they ponder this unexpected and inexpressible truth which comes to us from God in Christ, believers cannot fail to be filled with ever new wonder and unbounded gratitude. They can say in the words of the Apostle John: "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. ... Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is". Here the Christian truth about life becomes most sublime. The dignity of this life is linked not only to its beginning, to the fact that it comes from God, but also to its final end, to its destiny of fellowship with God in knowledge and love of him. In the light of this truth Saint Irenaeus qualifies and completes his praise of man: "the glory of God" is indeed, "man, living man", but "the life of man consists in the vision of God." Ave Marias sung by Anna Johnstone. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was John Paul II's motto to Mary. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.

Day 2B, Novena - The Gospel of Life - Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Evangelium Vitae: "It is at the heart of the moral conscience that the eclipse of the sense of God and of man, with all its various and deadly consequences for life, is taking place. It is a question, above all, of the individual conscience, as it stands before God in its singleness and uniqueness. But it is also a question, in a certain sense, of the "moral conscience" of society: in a way it too is responsible, not only because it tolerates or fosters behaviour contrary to life, but also because it encourages the "culture of death", creating and consolidating actual "structures of sin" which go against life. The moral conscience, both individual and social, is today subjected, also as a result of the penetrating influence of the media, to an extremely serious and mortal danger: that of confusion between good and evil, precisely in relation to the fundamental right to life. A large part of contemporary society looks sadly like that humanity which Paul describes in his Letter to the Romans. It is composed "of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth": having denied God and believing that they can build the earthly city without him, "they became futile in their thinking" so that "their senseless minds were darkened"; "claiming to be wise, they became fools", carrying out works deserving of death, and "they not only do them but approve those who practise them". When conscience, this bright lamp of the soul, calls "evil good and good evil", it is already on the path to the most alarming corruption and the darkest moral blindness. And yet all the conditioning and efforts to enforce silence fail to stifle the voice of the Lord echoing in the conscience of every individual: it is always from this intimate sanctuary of the conscience that a new journey of love, openness and service to human life can begin." Prayer: "O Mary, bright dawn of the new world, Mother of the living, to you do we entrust the cause of life. Look down O Mother, upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born, of the poor whose lives are made difficult, of men and women who are victims of brutal violence, of the elderly and the sick killed be indifference or out of misguided mercy. Grant that all who believe in your Son may proclaim the Gospel of life with honesty and love to the people of our time. Obtain for them the grace to accept that Gospel as a gift ever new, the joy of celebrating it with gratitude throughout their lives and the courage to bear witness to it resolutely, in order to build, together with all people of good will, the civilization of truth and love, to the praise and glory of God, the Creator and lover of life." Ave Marias sung by Anna Johnstone. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was John Paul II's motto to Mary. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.

Day 2, Novena - The Gospel of Life - Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Evangelium Vitae: "As I emphatically stated at Denver, on the occasion of the 8th World Youth Day, "with time the threats against life have not grown weaker. They are taking on vast proportions. They are not only threats coming from the outside, from the forces of nature or the 'Cains' who kill the 'Abels'; no, they are scientifically and systematically programmed threats. The twentieth century will have been an era of massive attacks on life, an endless series of wars and a continual taking of innocent human life. False prophets and false teachers have had the greatest success". Aside from intentions, which can be varied and perhaps can seem convincing at times, especially if presented in the name of solidarity, we are in fact faced by an objective "conspiracy against life", involving even international Institutions, engaged in encouraging and carrying out actual campaigns to make contraception, sterilization and abortion widely available. Nor can it be denied that the mass media are often implicated in this conspiracy, by lending credit to that culture which presents recourse to contraception, sterilization, abortion and even euthanasia as a mark of progress and a victory of freedom, while depicting as enemies of freedom and progress those positions which are unreservedly pro-life." Prayer: "O Mary, bright dawn of the new world, Mother of the living, to you do we entrust the cause of life. Look down O Mother, upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born, of the poor whose lives are made difficult, of men and women who are victims of brutal violence, of the elderly and the sick killed be indifference or out of misguided mercy. Grant that all who believe in your Son may proclaim the Gospel of life with honesty and love to the people of our time. Obtain for them the grace to accept that Gospel as a gift ever new, the joy of celebrating it with gratitude throughout their lives and the courage to bear witness to it resolutely, in order to build, together with all people of good will, the civilization of truth and love, to the praise and glory of God, the Creator and lover of life." Ave Marias sung by Anna Johnstone. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was John Paul II's motto to Mary. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.

Day 2A, Novena - The Gospel of Life - Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Evangelium Vitae: "As I emphatically stated at Denver, on the occasion of the 8th World Youth Day, "with time the threats against life have not grown weaker. They are taking on vast proportions. They are not only threats coming from the outside, from the forces of nature or the 'Cains' who kill the 'Abels'; no, they are scientifically and systematically programmed threats. The twentieth century will have been an era of massive attacks on life, an endless series of wars and a continual taking of innocent human life. False prophets and false teachers have had the greatest success". Aside from intentions, which can be varied and perhaps can seem convincing at times, especially if presented in the name of solidarity, we are in fact faced by an objective "conspiracy against life", involving even international Institutions, engaged in encouraging and carrying out actual campaigns to make contraception, sterilization and abortion widely available. Nor can it be denied that the mass media are often implicated in this conspiracy, by lending credit to that culture which presents recourse to contraception, sterilization, abortion and even euthanasia as a mark of progress and a victory of freedom, while depicting as enemies of freedom and progress those positions which are unreservedly pro-life." Prayer: "O Mary, bright dawn of the new world, Mother of the living, to you do we entrust the cause of life. Look down O Mother, upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born, of the poor whose lives are made difficult, of men and women who are victims of brutal violence, of the elderly and the sick killed be indifference or out of misguided mercy. Grant that all who believe in your Son may proclaim the Gospel of life with honesty and love to the people of our time. Obtain for them the grace to accept that Gospel as a gift ever new, the joy of celebrating it with gratitude throughout their lives and the courage to bear witness to it resolutely, in order to build, together with all people of good will, the civilization of truth and love, to the praise and glory of God, the Creator and lover of life." Ave Marias sung by Anna Johnstone. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was John Paul II's motto to Mary. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.

Day 1, Novena - The Gospel of Life - Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Evangelium Vitae: "The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus' message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as "good news" to the people of every age and culture. At the dawn of salvation, it is the Birth of a Child which is proclaimed as joyful news: "I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord". The source of this "great joy" is the Birth of the Saviour; but Christmas also reveals the full meaning of every human birth, and the joy which accompanies the Birth of the Messiah is thus seen to be the foundation and fulfilment of joy at every child born into the world. When he presents the heart of his redemptive mission, Jesus says: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly". In truth, he is referring to that "new" and "eternal" life which consists in communion with the Father, to which every person is freely called in the Son by the power of the Sanctifying Spirit. It is precisely in this "life" that all the aspects and stages of human life achieve their full significance." Prayer: "O Mary, bright dawn of the new world, Mother of the living, to you do we entrust the cause of life. Look down O Mother, upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born, of the poor whose lives are made difficult, of men and women who are victims of brutal violence, of the elderly and the sick killed be indifference or out of misguided mercy. Grant that all who believe in your Son may proclaim the Gospel of life with honesty and love to the people of our time. Obtain for them the grace to accept that Gospel as a gift ever new, the joy of celebrating it with gratitude throughout their lives and the courage to bear witness to it resolutely, in order to build, together with all people of good will, the civilization of truth and love, to the praise and glory of God, the Creator and lover of life." Ave Marias sung by Anna Johnstone. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was John Paul II's motto to Mary. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.

Day 9, Novena - The Redeemer of Man. Quotes from Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Redemptor Hominis: "We can say that the mystery of the Redemption took shape beneath the heart of the Virgin of Nazareth when she pronounced her "fiat". From then on, under the special influence of the Holy Spirit, this heart, the heart of both a virgin and a mother, has always followed the work of her Son and has gone out to all those whom Christ has embraced and continues to embrace with inexhaustible love. For that reason her heart must also have the inexhaustibility of a mother. The special characteristic of the motherly love that the Mother of God inserts in the mystery of the Redemption and the life of the Church finds expression in its exceptional closeness to man and all that happens to him. It is in this that the mystery of the Mother consists. The Church, which looks to her with altogether special love and hope, wishes to make this mystery her own in an ever deeper manner. For in this the Church also recognizes the way for her daily life, which is each person. The Father's eternal love, which has been manifested in the history of mankind through the Son whom the Father gave, "that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life", comes close to each of us through this Mother and thus takes on tokens that are of more easy understanding and access by each person. Consequently, Mary must be on all the ways for the Church's daily life. Through her maternal presence the Church acquires certainty that she is truly living the life of her Master and Lord and that she is living the mystery of the Redemption in all its life-giving profundity and fullness. Likewise the Church, which has struck root in many varied fields of the life of the whole of present-day humanity, also acquires the certainty and, one could say, the experience of being close to man, to each person, of being each person's Church, the Church of the People of God." Prayer: O Lord Jesus Christ, keep us in your love. Let us hear your voice and believe what you say, for you alone have the words of life. Teach us how to profess our faith, bestow our love and impart our hope to others. Make us convincing witnesses to your Gospel in a world so much in need of your saving grace. Make us the new people of the Beatitudes, that we may be the salt of the earth and the light of the world at the beginning of the 3rd Christian millennium. Amen. Mary, Mother of Christ and of the Church, pray for us. Music by Fr Stan Fortuna CFR. Visit Totus2us.com for more info.

Day 8, Novena - The Redeemer of Man. Quotes from Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Redemptor Hominis: "In the mystery of the Redemption, that is to say in Jesus Christ's saving work, the Church not only shares in the Gospel of her Master through fidelity to the word and service of truth, but she also shares, through a submission filled with hope and love, in the power of his redeeming action expressed and enshrined by him in a sacramental form, especially in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the centre and summit of the whole of sacramental life, through which each Christian receives the saving power of the Redemption, beginning with the mystery of Baptism, in which we are buried into the death of Christ, in order to become sharers in his Resurrection, as the Apostle teaches. In the light of this teaching, we see still more clearly the reason why the entire sacramental life of the Church and of each Christian reaches its summit and fullness in the Eucharist. For by Christ's will there is in this Sacrament a continual renewing of the mystery of the Sacrifice of himself that Christ offered to the Father on the altar of the Cross, a Sacrifice that the Father accepted, giving, in return for this total self-giving by his Son, who "became obedient unto death", his own paternal gift, that is to say the grant of new immortal life in the resurrection, since the Father is the first source and the giver of life from the beginning. That new life, which involves the bodily glorification of the crucified Christ, became an efficacious sign of the new gift granted to humanity, the gift that is the Holy Spirit, through whom the divine life that the Father has in himself and gives to his Son is communicated to all men who are united with Christ." Prayer: O Lord Jesus Christ, keep us in your love. Let us hear your voice and believe what you say, for you alone have the words of life. Teach us how to profess our faith, bestow our love and impart our hope to others. Make us convincing witnesses to your Gospel in a world so much in need of your saving grace. Make us the new people of the Beatitudes, that we may be the salt of the earth and the light of the world at the beginning of the 3rd Christian millennium. Amen. Mary, Mother of Christ and of the Church, pray for us. Music by Fr Stan Fortuna CFR. Visit Totus2us.com for more info.

Day 7, Novena - The Redeemer of Man. Quotes from Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Redemptor Hominis: "This union of Christ with man is in itself a mystery. From the mystery is born "the new man", called to become a partaker of God's life, and newly created in Christ for the fullness of grace and truth. Christ's union with man is power and the source of power, as Saint John stated so incisively in the prologue of his Gospel: "(The Word) gave power to become children of God". Man is transformed inwardly by this power as the source of a new life that does not disappear and pass away but lasts to eternal life. This life, which the Father has promised and offered to each man in Jesus Christ, his eternal and only Son, who, "when the time had fully come", became incarnate and was born of the Virgin Mary, is the final fulfilment of man's vocation. It is in a way the fulfilment of the "destiny" that God has prepared for him from eternity. This "divine destiny" is advancing, in spite of all the enigmas, the unsolved riddles, the twists and turns of "human destiny" in the world of time. Indeed, while all this, in spite of all the riches of life in time, necessarily and inevitably leads to the frontier of death and the goal of the destruction of the human body, beyond that goal we see Christ. "I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in me... shall never die". In Jesus Christ, who was crucified and laid in the tomb and then rose again, "our hope of resurrection dawned... the bright promise of immortality", on the way to which man, through the death of the body, shares with the whole of visible creation the necessity to which matter is subject. We intend and are trying to fathom ever more deeply the language of the truth that man's Redeemer enshrined in the phrase "It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail". In spite of appearances, these words express the highest affirmation of man-the affirmation of the body given life by the Spirit." Prayer: O Lord Jesus Christ, keep us in your love. Let us hear your voice and believe what you say, for you alone have the words of life. Teach us how to profess our faith, bestow our love and impart our hope to others. Make us convincing witnesses to your Gospel in a world so much in need of your saving grace. Make us the new people of the Beatitudes, that we may be the salt of the earth and the light of the world at the beginning of the 3rd Christian millennium. Amen. Mary, Mother of Christ and of the Church, pray for us. Music by Fr Stan Fortuna CFR. Visit Totus2us.com for more info.

Day 6, Novena - The Redeemer of Man. Quotes from Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Redemptor Hominis: "These rights are rightly reckoned to include the right to religious freedom together with the right to freedom of conscience. The Second Vatican Council considered especially necessary the preparation of a fairly long declaration on this subject. This is the document called Dignitatis Humanae, in which is expressed not only the theological concept of the question but also the concept reached from the point of view of natural law, that is to say from the "purely human" position, on the basis of the premises given by man's own experience, his reason and his sense of human dignity. Certainly the curtailment of the religious freedom of individuals and communities is not only a painful experience but it is above all an attack on man's very dignity, independently of the religion professed or of the concept of the world which these individuals and communities have. The curtailment and violation of religious freedom are in contrast with man's dignity and his objective rights. The Council document mentioned above states clearly enough what that curtailment or violation of religious freedom is. In this case we are undoubtedly confronted with a radical injustice with regard to what is particularly deep within man, what is authentically human. Indeed, even the phenomenon of unbelief, a-religiousness and atheism, as a human phenomenon, is understood only in relation to the phenomenon of religion and faith. It is therefore difficult, even from a "purely human" point of view, to accept a position that gives only atheism the right of citizenship in public and social life, while believers are, as though by principle, barely tolerated or are treated as second-class citizens or are even-and this has already happened- entirely deprived of the rights of citizenship." Prayer: O Lord Jesus Christ, keep us in your love. Let us hear your voice and believe what you say, for you alone have the words of life. Teach us how to profess our faith, bestow our love and impart our hope to others. Make us convincing witnesses to your Gospel in a world so much in need of your saving grace. Make us the new people of the Beatitudes, that we may be the salt of the earth and the light of the world at the beginning of the 3rd Christian millennium. Amen. Mary, Mother of Christ and of the Church, pray for us. Music by Fr Stan Fortuna CFR. Visit Totus2us.com for more info.