Pray for Life: Preparing for the End of Life

PRAY FOR LIFE November 2017 Click to share! Click the Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest logo to share this prayer guide. Be sure to include  #PrayforLife in your post! Intercession May we help each other on our earthly pilgrimage to heaven. Prayers Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, Glory Be Reflection The annual observances of All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2) remind us that “death is not the end, but rather the door through which we must pass to gain eternal life.” We are called to journey together on our pilgrimage to heaven, and we can take steps now to deepen our understanding of the transition from this life to the next and prepare for it. For example, let’s encourage each another in regular prayer and reception of the sacraments, especially Confession and the Eucharist; these give us “grace to live in ever-deeper communion with God and with one another.” It is also important to learn about the dignity of human life and applicable principles for medical care, so we can make decisions about end-of-life care that respect God’s gift of life. And, knowing “our prayers can help those who are being purified in Purgatory,” let us pray especially this month for those who have gone before us. *Excerpts are from “ Catholic Considerations for Our Earthly Passing .” Acts of Reparation  (Choose one.) Praying for the living and the dead is a spiritual work of mercy. Pray a decade of the Rosary today for someone you know who is nearing death or who has passed away.  Visiting those who are sick is one of the corporal works of mercy. Set a time this month to visit someone who is ill. Your local church may be able connect you with a parishioner who would welcome a visit.  November is celebrated in the United States as Black Catholic History Month. Learn about one of the following candidates for sainthood: Venerable Henriette Delille; Venerable Pierre Toussaint; Servant of God, Mother Mary Lange; and Servant of God, Father Augustus Tolton. Focus this week on practicing one of the virtues he or she exemplified.  One Step Further “ Catholic Considerations for Our Earthly Passing ” provides several considerations as starting points for understanding and preparing for death in a way that respects God’s gift of human life. Bulletin Insert: English / Spanish Order: English / Spanish Did You Know? The website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops offers many free prayer resources —for example, pro-life Rosary prayer intentions and family prayers from birth to death. www.usccb.org/prolife ‌