Intercessions and Reflections for Day seven of the Novena for life focusing on Civic Leaders
May civic leaders work for the protection of all human life, in every stage and circumstance.
Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, Glory Be
Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that “everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person”. Every one of us has a right to our life. It is not given to us by any law or government. We have it ‘as of right’, whether we are wealthy or poor, healthy or sick. That our society has decided that one category of human being should have that right taken from them was a shocking step. It effectively says that unborn children do not exist or, if they do, they do not count. This is a manifest injustice: any law that removes the right to life is an unjust law and must be resisted by every person, every voter, every political representative.
Those who work as public officials and civic leaders have a duty to serve the common good, and therefore have a profound obligation to safeguard this most fundamental right to life. For Catholic politicians this is not only a matter of protecting the human right to life but also a fundamental matter of our faith. Voters have a duty to inform themselves on the position of election candidates in respect of their willingness to support and cherish equally the lives of mothers and their unborn children. Through our own prayer, witness, and civic participation, we can encourage our leaders to truly answer their call to protect the rights of all people. For “there can be no true democracy without a recognition of every person’s dignity and without respect for his or her rights” (Evangelium Vitae 101).
A crucial challenge in our times is the need for the state to uphold the value of human life in the case of those who live with degenerative of terminal illness. We read in the The Catechism of the Catholic Church: “euthanasia is an act of homicide that no end can justify and that does not tolerate any form of complicity or active or passive collaboration. Those who approve laws of euthanasia and assisted suicide, therefore, become accomplices of a grave sin that others will execute. They are also guilty of scandal because by such laws they contribute to the distortion of conscience, even among the faithful” Read more at “Samaritanus Bonus”.
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Day eight – For all who support or participate in abortion
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Intercessions and Reflections provided by Pray for Life
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The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
The Hail Mary
Hail, Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Glory be to the Father
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.
Prayer for Religious Freedom
Lord,
We ask for the grace to be your witnesses of compassion and love in the public square. May the light of the Gospel and the joyful truth of the faith always be permitted to influence public debate, helping us to work for the common good and increasing our understanding of the unique dignity and beauty of every human person.
May we draw on faith and reason in all our interactions with others to present a coherent ethic of life where each new life is received as a precious gift from God. Grant that the right to freedom of religion and conscience is respected and that we will work together in an atmosphere of mutual understanding to build a society that values and affirms the goodness of every human life.
Amen.
Intercessions and Reflections for Day one Novena for life
A novena with a prayers taken from St John Paul II’s encyclical letter ‘The Gospel of Life’.
Intercessions and Reflections for Day nine of the Novena for life
Intercessions and Reflections for Day three of the Novena for life
