Cardinal Raymond Burke is embarking on a nine-month novena to the Virgin Mary to intercede "against the pressing crises of our age" – and he is calling on Catholics around the world and “especially in the Americas” to join him.<br><br>He <mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><a href="https://x.com/cardinalrlburke/status/1762254262677938407?s=20">announced</a> </mark>on <em>X</em>, formerly known as <em>Twitter</em>, his intention to seek “Our Lady’s intercession", and, addressing his “Brothers and Sisters in Christ”, the cardinal says he is calling upon “all Catholics” to join him.
The initiative will begin in March and, citing "the pressing crises of our age", the cardinal highlights the parallels between the tensions and armed conflicts in the world today and the troubled times 500 years ago when <mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><a href="https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/12/12/b--mary-virgin-of--guadalupe.html">Our Lady first appeared to Saint Juan Diego in Guadalupe</a></mark>.<br><br>“Nearly five hundred years ago the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe changed the course of history, the cardinal <mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><a href="https://novena.cardinalburke.com/#watch-the-video">says</a> </mark>in a video explaining the initiative. “Today the hearts of Catholics around the world echo the same anxieties of 1531”.
In the year 1531, the world was “grappling with great disease, a war rages on in Europe”, <mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><a href="https://novena.cardinalburke.com/">notes</a> </mark>the cardinal’s website. “After years of truce, a new invasion of Palestine threatens to unsettle the Middle East. Theological debates are politicised and lead millions of believers to abandon the faith.”<br><br>The narrative highlights how at that perilous time five centuries ago a bishop wrote: “Unless the hand of God intervenes directly, all will be lost.”
With the world once again "contending with disease, war, and deep spiritual confusion", and “many poor souls” tempted to fear that all hope is lost, the cardinal says that “once again the answer to this anxiety is not temporal but spiritual”.<br><br>He adds: “Now more than ever we must fly to the proteeciton of Our Lady for her intercession. Driven by the unfailing maternal love that she has for her children, Our Lady bought the New World under the proteciotn of her mantle and brought millions of souls to Christ. It is this maternal love and protection that we need today. A love and protection that she will grant us should we earnestly ask for it.”
Those who <a href="https://novena.cardinalburke.com/#sign-up-form"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">sign up</mark></a> to accompany the Cardinal “in this urgent effort” will receive short video reflections from His Eminence each month, in addition to regular written reflections and prayers, leading up to the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on 12 Dec. 2024.<br><br>The cardinal is not the only one embracing social media platforms as a way to reach Catholics - it is also happening at the level of the diocese. <br><br>An <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/cant-beat-the-oldies-nicene-creed-tops-lenten-online-prayer-campaign-byarchdiocese-of-southwark/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">online Lenten prayer campaign</mark></a> by the Archdiocese of Southwark has proved a significant success and was seen by over 1.5 million social media users in its first week.<br><br>Given the popularity and reach of Cardinal Burke, his novena initiative could inspire even more people online to join him in prayer. <br><br>In 1531, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec who converted to Christianity, notes <em>Vatican News</em>. At that time Mexico was shaken by violence and continuous violations of human rights and dignity.
“When Juan Diego opened his tilma and roses poured out, a miracle was set into motion,” the cardinal's website notes. “The miracle continues with our participation in this historic prayer event to Our Lady.”<br><br><em>(Photo: Screenshot of Cardinal Burke from <a href="https://novena.cardinalburke.com/#sign-up-form"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">www.novena.cardinalburke.com</mark></a>.)</em>
