Praying for Life Year-Round
July 2015
|
Intercession
May we have the freedom to bear witness to God's grace, love, mercy, and truth.
Prayer
Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, Glory Be
Reflection
July 4th was the last day of the annual Fortnight for Freedom, a time when we celebrate a series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of persecution by political power--St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, and the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome. As Archbishop Lori, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, said, "Keeping the spirit of the Gospel means that Catholic institutions are to bear witness in love to the full truth about the human person by providing social, charitable, and educational services in a manner that fully reflects the God-given dignity of the human person."
The full truth about the human person includes, at its most fundamental level, the permanent, God-given dignity of each person, which nothing can take away or diminish. As Catholics we are all called to bear witness in love to this truth in our daily lives. May we see and take the opportunities we are given to do so.
|
Acts of Reparation (choose one)
- Call a friend whom you feel is in need of companionship.
- Pope Francis calls for a change in lifestyle and consumption. Prayerfully consider how the Lord might be inviting you to simplify your lifestyle and reduce your own consumption, and pick one thing to work on for the next week.
- Read a few passages from a papal encyclical you have never read before, and meditate on the words that move you.
|
One Step Further
In Pope Francis' new encyclical on ecology, Laudato Si, he remarks, "it is no longer enough to speak only of the integrity of ecosystems. We have to dare to speak of the integrity of human life, of the need to promote and unify all the great values. Once we lose our humility, and become enthralled with the possibility of limitless mastery over everything, we inevitably end up harming society and the environment" (LS, no. 224).
Check out this short blog post on Pope Francis' encyclical and what it teaches us about the link between respect for human life and dignity and care for the natural world. |
|
|
|
|
| Image: A mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe decorates a side altar in the Church of Santa Maria della Famiglia at the Vatican. Dec. 15. (CNS photo/Paul Haring). |
Sign up for our monthly
|
|
|
