# Day Two of the Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe
*2015-12-04*

> Bill Young continues the novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe, reflecting on the tragedy of a child left orphaned by extremist violence and leading listeners in prayer.

## Opening and Context

Good evening, I’m Bill Young. Today we continue our novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe—day two. It is also the feast of St. John Damascene, a great theologian and poet of the Eastern Church. We ask for his intercession as we pray for the crisis we see in the United States.

## A Tragic Example of Violence

Recently we learned of a young woman who, after joining an extremist group, gave birth to a six‑month‑old child and then abandoned the infant. The child will grow up without parents, a heartbreaking consequence of a worldview that condones killing innocent life. No God of love approves of such violence. Parents have a primary responsibility to protect and nurture their children, not to hand them over to murderous ideologies.

## A Call to Prayer for the Child and the Perpetrators

We pray that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, may intercede for this child and for those who have led him into this situation. May she become a spiritual mother to him, granting him love and protection. We also pray that those who have been misled may come to understand the error of their ways, recognizing that true freedom respects the dignity of every human life.

## Our Prayer for Day Two

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lord, come to my aid. Make haste to help me. Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

**Apostles’ Creed**
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; descended into hell; on the third day rose again; ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

**Novena Prayer**
O Mary, conceived without sin, I come to you, source of grace, to share in the devotion of your faithful Mexican children who call upon you under the glorious title of Guadalupe. Grant us a lively faith in your Son. May his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, my loving Mother, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

*May Mary’s maternal love protect the innocent and guide those who have strayed back to the path of true compassion.*