Sunday 22 January 2012

Repent, and Believe in the Gospel

O Mary,
bright dawn of the new world,
Mother of the living,
to you do we entrust the cause of life:
Look down, O Mother,
upon the vast numbers
of babies not allowed to be born,
of the poor whose lives are made difficult,
of men and women
who are victims of brutal violence,
of the elderly and sick killed
by indifference or out of misguided mercy.
Grant that all who believe in your Son
may proclaim the Gospel of life
with honesty and love
to the people of our time.
Obtain for them the grace
to accept that Gospel
as a gift ever new,
the joy of celebrating it with gratitude
throughout their lives
and the courage to bear witness to it
resolutely, in order to build,
together with all people of good will,
the civilization of truth and love,
to the praise and glory of God,
the Creator and lover of life.

                -- Blessed John Paul II
                The Gospel of Life, #105
                25 March 1995

Today marks the 39th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court
decision in the case of Roe v. Wade, legalizing abortion in our
country.  Pope John Paul II's encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The
Gospel of Life) from which this prayer comes, addresses the life
issues.  It can be read in full  at www.vatican.va.

In all the Dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 (or 
January 23, when January 22 falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a 
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.