US Bishops offer app for Nine Days for Life Novena: Begins January 17

9 Days for Life (Free) iOS and Android – With this app, you can join the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops‘ annual Novena For Life which begins January 17! You and thousands of Catholics across the country will gather (digitally) in prayer to end abortion. The novena–nine consecutive days of special prayers for a particular cause–begins Saturday, January 17 and ends Sunday, January 25, 2015. ‪#‎Call2Prayer‬

This clean, simple and user-friendly app opens to a calendar which takes you to the day’s prayers, then reflection, then “Act of Reparation”–suggested things you can do in penance for others and to foster a culture of life. The app will open in either English or Spanish, depending on your device’s settings. [La aplicación se abrirá en inglés o español, dependiendo de la preferencia de idioma del teléfono.] 9 Days for Life requires you to register with an email address to proceed. That’s annoying, but you will get the prayers emailed to you daily as your reminder to pray. The app even lets you set the time of day you want to receive your reminder.

The significance of the date for this novena?  January 22 is the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal throughout the U.S. Since that tragic decision, more than 56 million children’s lives have been lost to abortion, and many suffer that loss — often in silence. The annual March for Life takes place in Washington DC each year on that anniversary date.