The Gift of Human Life
"A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a
prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer."
—Pope Saint John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae
Respect for life from the very moment of conception through the last breath of each person is the paramount value of each Christian. Acknowledging and respecting the power of God's creation in each and every person He calls into being is what marks us as Catholics. Loving the people whom God creates is the greatest gift we can return to Him, whose love over all unties us as His family.
January 22nd has been designated by the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) as a "particular day of prayer and penance." It applies to all of the dioceses in the U.S., and is referred to as the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. The idea is to utilize this particular day of prayer for the "full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life and of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion."1 It is our duty to join in fervent prayer to protect all children especially on that day.
Please join in praying for the unborn, for all mothers and fathers, and all persons needing the blessings and vivid presence of God in their lives:
God our Creator,
we give thanks to you,
who alone have the power to impart the breath of life
as you form each of us in our mother's womb;
grant, we pray,
that we, whom you have made stewards of creation,
may remain faithful to this sacred trust
and constant in safeguarding the dignity
of every human life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
References:
1. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. January 22 Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. Accessed on the Internet August 3, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/resources/january-22-day-of-prayer-leader-resources.cfm
2. Collect, Mass for Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life
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