Father Gordon Reigle, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas parish in East Lansing, Michigan, has motivated hundreds to pray a 54-day rosary novena to resist an attempt to introduce a “right to abortion” clause into the state constitution. The novena begins on September 15, 2022 and concludes on November 7, 2022, the day before the general election in Michigan. / Bishopric of Lansing /FAITH Magazine
Lansing, Mich., Sep 14, 2022 / 09:00 am (CNA).
Thousands of Michigan residents are signing up for a 54-day rosary novena to oppose an attempt to incorporate a “right to abortion” clause into the state’s constitution due to the prayerful insight of one priest.
The proposed amendment to the Constitution is titled Reproductive Freedom for All. The initiative aims to legalize abortion up until and including the day of birth. It also seeks to repeal dozens of Michigan regulations that now restrict abortion, such as parental consent and notification requirements and legislation prohibiting partial-birth abortion.
The novena commences on September 15, the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows. It concludes the day before the November 8 general election in Michigan.
“One evening in July, I was praying in the rectory chapel at St. Thomas Aquinas in East Lansing as the proposed constitutional amendment weighed heavily on my mind and heart,” the parish’s pastor, Father Gordon Reigle, explained.
“Therefore, I asked God what could be done to defeat such influential and well-funded lobbying groups as Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union. The idea for a 54-day rosary novena came to me within minutes.”
A novena is nine days of prayer, and a rosary novena is nine days of daily recitation of the rosary. Consequently, a 54-day rosary novena is comprised of six novenas: three to beg God and three to praise God. Its origins date back to the nineteenth century and the miraculous healing of a young Italian woman, Fortuna Agrelli, by Our Lady of Pompeii.
Reigle stated that she had never recited a 54-day rosary novena before. “I was aware that it exists and is really potent, but I was surprised by the knowledge I gained via prayer.”
Reigle, who is also the pastor of St. John Church and Student Center in East Lansing, which serves Michigan State University students, teachers, and staff, communicated his prayerful understanding to Bishop Earl Boyea of the Diocese of Lansing, his immediate superior. The bishop enthusiastically supported the concept of the novena. Since then, several dioceses in Michigan have indicated interest in the prayer movement.
Thousands have already registered to receive a daily text reminder for each day of the novena. Reigle believes that success in the November election can only be achieved through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary as “the patroness of the Gospel of Life.”
Reigle stated, “Mary’s mournful heart grieves over the afflictions of her children, particularly when our most innocent and defenseless are endangered.” “May Our Lady save us and our children!”
SMS FightLikeHeaven to 84576 to get a daily text reminder of Reigle’s 54-day rosary novena.
Below is a video of Reigle describing the novena and its motivation.