Our Church designates Jan. 22, 2022 as a day of prayer and penance called the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. It is meant to be a day of prayer asking for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life. It is also a day of contrition for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion.
Abortion directly attacks life itself, takes place within the sanctuary of the family and has resulted in millions of human lives destroyed. Those who have undergone abortions also suffer. Their wounds are deep and painful, too. We offer them our tender care and concern, mercy and love.
Each life is a gift from God and ultimately belongs to him. He has sole authority over life and death, and so we are called to reverence and love every person, loving our neighbors as ourselves. It is our responsibility to care for and protect human life, especially the lives of the most vulnerable among us.
I am so very grateful for those who peacefully save lives by witnessing to the gift of life, those who continually show the face of Christ to the world as they offer their presence and stand up for life. Archbishop Joseph Naumann, Chairman of the USCCB Pro-Life Committee reminds us that Pope Francis “has our backs” as he is in passionate support for the Church’s pro-life efforts.
As our Supreme Court takes up a historic case this year, the decision of which could have significant implications on the laws governing abortion access in our country, I ask all people of good will to pray for the legal protection of the unborn today and throughout the course of our lives, so that hearts will be moved to respect all human life, from conception to natural death, to perform some act of reparation (e.g. fasting, almsgiving, some act of kindness toward a child) to show our sorrow for the lives lost and harmed by the intentional killing of the lives of our children.
May we always remember the exhortation of St. Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) which reminds us to always “Respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life!”
Together, let us pray that through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, protector of the unborn, God may send his Holy Spirit into the heart of anyone contemplating abortion to receive his love and accept his Gospel of life.