9 Days for Life - Day 4

We've made it to Day 4 of the novena for life.  Events are beginning in Washington DC in anticipation for the March for Life.  Keep the folks shivering in the snow in your prayers - it's going to be a cold one.

I saw a quote from the Governor of New York who said that pro-life people are not welcome in New York.  That angers me.  There.  I said it.  For you who know me, I can be somewhat militant.  One of my friends calls me a "defender of the faith."  I don't know about that, but I do consider it a compliment.  However, my goal is to keep "Comfortably Catholic" non-militant.  I may not always be successful, but I will try my best.

Today I want to focus on prayer for those who disagree with the pro-life prospective.  I know many of them are as ardent in their beliefs as I am in mine.  I really want to dislike them.  Ugly rhetoric and shouting matches will not bend hearts and change minds.  Only God can do that.  So today I'm praying for those who don't agree with me.  Maybe God will change my heart too.

You can find the prayers/reflections for today HERE.

Father of life,
As you have given me the gift of life,
So may I give it away each day to you,
And to my brothers and sisters,
That through penitence, prayer, and charity
My days on earth may lead me home to you.

CC

9 Days to Life - Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of the 9 Days to Life, a novena to end abortion.  If you are seeing this for the first time, a novena is a 9 day prayer commitment for a specific intention.  If you would like to start today, you can see Day 1 and start anytime.

Being pro-life can be complicated.  There are so many ways to protect the sanctity of life.  The bottom line is this - life begins at conception and ends at natural death.  If you would like to continue the novena on Day 2, you can find it HERE.

Did you know there are several ways to join the 9 Days to Life?  You can get an app for your Android device, send a text message or join by email.  Find out more HERE.

"For the Christian, [the commandment 'You shall not kill'] involves an absolute imperative to respect, love and promote the life of every brother and sister, in accordance with the requirements of God's bountiful love in Jesus Christ. . . It is therefore a service of love which we are all committed to ensure to our neighbor, that his or her life may be always defended and promoted, especially when it is weak or threatened."
Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium Vitae

Please join me in praying for life.

CC

9 Days to Life - Day One

This week marks the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade.  I don't know about you, but this video made me cry.  The March for Life and the March for Life West Coast are taking place, but many of us cannot attend.  However, you can do something!  Participate with me in the 9 Days for Life, sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.  Everyday for the next 9 days, I will provide the link to the prayers/activities for each day of the novena.  (For those who might not be familiar with the prayer form, a novena is 9 consecutive days of focused prayer, usually for a specific intention.)  It's OK if you start after I do.  (I'm already a day late getting started, so add one day to the dates on the USCCB website.)  A novena can be started at any time.

The complete novena prayers for the first day of the novena can be found HERE. 

It seems so hopeless that we can end this holocaust of our most vulnerable.  Job was a man who knew despair and hopelessness.  When all seemed lost and it looked like God was not there for him, Job refused to succumb to despair:

Job 19:1, 23-27a

Then Job answered and said: Oh, would that my words were written down!
Would that they were inscribed in a record:
That with an iron chisel and with lead they were cut in the rock forever!
But as for me, I know that my Vindicator lives, and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust
Whom I myself shall see: my own eyes, not another's shall behold him
And from my flesh I shall see God
My inmost being is consumed with longing.

Please join me on the 9 Days for Life and let's pray to end the destruction of more generations.

CC