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LIFE ISSUES FORUM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Prayer Changes Things December 2, 2016
By Tom Grenchik
January 22, 1973 is ingrained in the minds of those who
cherish human life as the infamous day when the U.S. Supreme Court
invalidated state abortion bans and made abortion legal and available
on-demand throughout all 9 months of pregnancy across the country. And
every year since the tragic Roe v. Wade decision,
people have gathered in Washington, DC, each January to march for life,
pray for the protection of unborn children and their mothers, and make
their voices heard to federal elected officials.
This coming year, the national March for Life will be held in
our nation's capital on Friday, January 27, 2017. As happens every
four years, the March is shifted by a week due to the Presidential
Inauguration. In addition to the hundreds of thousands who will gather
in DC, many thousands more will be gathering at local and regional
events from coast to coast. Visit marchforlife.org/mfl-2017/local-march-for-life-events
to get a sense for the size of this movement, largely made up of young
people compelled to right a grievous wrong from an earlier generation.
Whether you are making a national pilgrimage or a local one,
pilgrimages are marked by prayer and penance. And the U.S. Catholic
bishops have created a very adaptable novena to assist you. 9 Days for Life is an annual invitation to join the bishops in focused prayer and action for the nine days encompassing the Roe
anniversary and the events marking it nationwide. Especially geared
toward young people, participants can join the bishops in daily prayers
and simple sacrifices from Saturday, January 21, to Sunday, January 29.
Prayers and activities are provided through email, text messages,
various social media platforms, and even a free mobile app. So even if
you can't attend a physical pilgrimage, you can join in spirit from
home, office, or school---and invite others along as well.
Not long ago, we were looking at the prospect of the next
appointments to the Supreme Court being justices who would have been
deeply committed to further enshrining abortion in our legal system and
culture. Now, perhaps, there is hope that the next justices appointed
will be more committed to upholding the Constitution, rather than
furthering the culture of death. Let us offer our prayers and
sacrifices for such a hope.
During 9 Days for Life, the bishops not only ask us to
pray for children's and mothers' lives at risk, but to also pray for
the many millions of lives that have been lost, and for those who
personally mourn those losses. Rare is the family that has not been
touched by abortion in some way. The novena reminds us to pray for those
who grieve and to assure them of hope through post-abortion healing
ministries like Project Rachel.
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