![[home]](/prolife/images/usccb_logo.gif){kind=logo}
4th Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
That our heavenly Father,
who reveals to his little ones
the secrets of his Kingdom,
might teach us to defend the weak
and preserve the life of the poor;
We pray to the Lord:
11th Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
That as God waters the parched soil with his Word,
so he might give us to power
to preach the Gospel of Life;
We pray to the Lord:
18th Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
That we might worship God alone,
always cherishing the gift of life
and resisting the temptations
of power or pleasure or evil;
We pray to the Lord:
25th Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
That with the wisdom of Solomon,
we might seek neither riches nor pleasure,
but to do the right and to defend the Gospel of life;
We pray to the Lord:
**"The pro-life concern must be present in every aspect of the Church's pastoral activity. It is my fervent hope that your meeting will signal the commitment of the whole Catholic community to implementing the teaching of Living the Gospel of Life, that it will help to coordinate better the activities of the various groups involved, and that it will strengthen the resolve of many people to continue their generous and tireless efforts."
Eternal Father,
source of all mercy and love,
out of love for us you sent your Son,
and willed that blood and water flow from his side
to cleanse us of sin and restore lost innocence.
Hear the cry of each woman who mourns
the loss of her child to the violence of abortion.
Forgive her sin and restore her to your grace.
Wash her clean by the blood of the Lamb,
and still the terror of her heart
with a peace beyond all understanding.
Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of all tenderness and our Mother,
strengthen her faith in you.
As the sorrowful mother bore the body of her son,
may she offer her child to your loving embrace.
Give her the confidence of the brothers and sisters of Jesus,
the trust to believe that her child will rise again
to a place of no more crying out, or sorrow or pain.
We ask this through Christ our Lord,
who conquered sin and death,
and who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
_______________________
God of Abraham and Sarah,
you heard the cry of Rachel
as she mourned her children.
God of Isaac and Rebecca,
you stilled the hand of Abraham
and restored his son to his arms.
Bulletin Briefs - July 1999
"At the center of the moral vision of [the American] founding documents is the recognition of the rights of the human person. ..." The greatness of the United States lies "especially [in its] respect for the dignity and sanctity of human life in all conditions and at all stages of development."
As Americans, as Catholics and as pastors of our people, we [bishops] ... call our fellow citizens back to our country's founding principles, and most especially to renew our national respect for the rights of those who are unborn, weak, disabled and terminally ill. Real freedom rests on the inviolability of every person as a child of God.
The inherent value of every human life, at every stage and in every circumstance, is not a sectarian issue any more than the Declaration of Independence is a sectarian creed.
[The] Gospel of Jesus Christ is a "Gospel of life." ... We believe that this Gospel is not only a complement to American political principles, but also the cure for the spiritual sickness now infecting our society. ... We cannot simultaneously commit ourselves to human rights and progress while eliminating ... the weakest among us. Nor can we practice the Gospel of life only as a private piety. American Catholics must live it vigorously and publicly. ...
We encourage all citizens, particularly Catholics, to embrace their citizenship not merely as a duty or privilege, but as an opportunity meaningfully to participate in building a culture of life. Every voice matters in the public forum. Every vote counts.