Pray for life.

Don't know any prayers for life?  Click these links:

Pray Pro-life Stations of the Cross.  Pray Pro-life Meditations on the Mysteries of the Rosary.  Pray other various Prayers for Life.

Pray for the intercession of Our Blessed Mother Mary (e.g., Our Lady of Perpetual Help) and St. Joseph.

Pray for the intercession of the angels.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church (336) states "From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their (the angels) watchful care and intercession.  Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.  Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united to God."  A great web site about the roles of angels in our lives is Opus Angelorum.

Pray for the intercession of Patron Saints. You can pray to our Patroness St. Theresa or to your own Patron Saint, as well as others such as:  St. Catherine of Sweden who is Patron against abortion and those suffering miscarriages; St. Catherine of Siena who is Patron Saint against sexual temptation and those suffering miscarriages;  St. Mary Magdalene who is Patron against sexual temptation and for penitent sinners; St. Germaine Cousin who is Patron for abandoned people, abuse victims, and disabled people. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton who is Patron Saint for those suffering the death of children. St. Benedict who is Patron Saint for dying people and those suffering temptations.  St. Andrew the Apostle who is Patron Saint for unmarried women and women who wish to become mothers. St. Luke the Apostle who is Patron Saint for unmarried men.   More information about Patron Saints can be found on the internet at Catholic Forum.

Educate yourself.

Read what the Bible says about life.  Read The Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Read Papal documents.  You can find these on-line at Catholicity.com.  Read the books in our Parish Library, and the magazines and pamphlets offered in our church.  A variety of reputable pro-life resources are available on the internet, such as through the Eternal Word Television Network.  The Catholic Information Network also has a good selection.

Support respect life activities and organizations. 

Do not support organizations that do not foster respect for life (e.g. Planned Parenthood and companies who support them).  Write to those organizations and/or companies and let them know that you will not buy their products or support their organizations as long as they do not respect human life.  Life Decisions International maintains a list of corporations who fund Planned Parenthood.  They are currently researching corporate supporters of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League and plan to include them in their boycott listing in 2003.

Use your right to vote wisely. 

Study the candidates for office thoroughly and know their voting records on issues of vital importance, such as abortion, education, marriage, family values, etc.  The Pro-Life Infonet web site gives information about candidates and their positions and voting records for incumbents seeking re-election.  The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation also provides information on candidates and voting issues.

Priests for Life has a list of legal, peaceful and effective suggestions for how each of us can support life.

And, we must remember that just because something is deemed "legal" by courts and civil laws, it does not mean that it is not a moral sin.  It has been said that evil exists when good people do nothing.  As Catholics, we must find ways to make our convictions known and effective. 

A personal testimony

If God told me He would only answer one prayer for me, my prayer would be for an end to abortion in the world. Never again would an innocent life be taken by abortion. The pro-abortion advocates want people to believe abortion is just another "medical procedure." They call themselves "pro-choice", but there is no "choice"--it is murder, the taking of innocent life. Abortion does not make a woman "unpregnant", as if she is removing an annoying growth. It is stopping a life that God created for a specific purpose. It is been said that Mother Teresa asked God why there was no one who could develop a cure for AIDS, and God answered, "There was, but he was aborted."

In 1973 (the infamous year of Roe v. Wade), I was a high school senior. I was also pregnant. Neither the father of the child nor my own parents wanted me to have the baby. The gynecologist that treated me told me, "You are too young to ruin your life by having a child now. You have your whole future ahead of you. It's early in your pregnancy. It's just a bunch of cells. It's not a human being. We can take care of the problem quickly and you can get on with your life. And, you are lucky that abortions are now legal." So, an "outpatient medical procedure" was performed. I was "assured" by my family and friends that it was better to have an abortion than to suffer the shame of being pregnant and unmarried.

I imagine that the time frame varies for each individual woman but, at some point in her life, she will realize exactly what she has done. She has murdered her own child. If the child had been born, just mere inches outside the mother's womb, and the mother murdered her child, she would be imprisoned. But, because abortion is legalized murder within the womb, it's accepted by much of society and encouraged by many organizations such as Planned Parenthood, NARAL, etc. Can someone please explain this "logic"? It took me 28 years to realize what I had done. I never had any other children and now it's too late. My womb will be forever barren. Our wonderful Creator had given me the most precious of gifts and I told him I didn't want it and I destroyed it. I have confessed my sin and repented. I have received absolution. But, it doesn't take away the gnawing pain I live with every day. I want to beg every woman who has been blessed with the gift of a child from God to PLEASE DO NOT ABORT YOUR CHILD.