Day eight of our Novena for Life sees us reflect on how abortion is a grave sin, but there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father.
Start the novena with this prayer each day, taken from St John Paul II’s concluding comments in his encyclical letter ‘The Gospel of Life’, followed by the daily quote or reflection as set out below and finish with the Glory Be
Prayer
O Mary, bright dawn of the new world,
Mother of the living, to you do we entrust the cause of life.
Look down, O Mother,
upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born,
of the poor whose lives are made difficult,
of men and women who are victims of brutal violence,
of the elderly and the sick killed by indifference or our of misguided mercy,
Grant that all who believe in your Son
may proclaim the Gospel of life with honesty and love
to the people of our time.
Obtain for them the grace to accept that Gospel as a gift ever new,
the joy of celebrating it with gratitude throughout their lives
and the courage to bear witness to it resolutely,
in order to build,
together with all people of good will,
the civilization of truth and love,
to the praise and glory of God,
the Creator and love of life.
‘I wish to restate as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life. In the same way, however, I can and must state that there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father…I henceforth grant to all priests, in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those who have committed the sin of procured abortion.’
Pope Francis, 21 November 2016
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning
is now, and ever shall be
world without end. Amen.
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The first of nine days of prayer and readings to encourage a flourishing of a culture of life and end abortion.
The final day of our Novena for Life calls on us to never tire of firmly speaking out in defence of life.
Day Four of our Novena for Life sees us reflect on how the Womb becomes a place of unutterable violence through abortion.
Day Three of our Novena for Life sees us reflect on how we will be judged on our treatment of societies weakest members.
