Respect Life Resources

You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works!

Function of this Commission

To assist in the organization of St. Mary’s parish respect life service activities, educate parishioners on the Catholic Church’s teachings on the dignity of human life, and create prayer opportunities that support the respect life mission of the Catholic Church.

The Goal

The commission seeks to raise awareness of many issues in contemporary society that touch upon the sacredness of human life.

What topics may be addressed

This initiative will attempt to address many facets of life, from conception to natural death. Areas of consideration include:

• IVF (in vetro fertilization)
• Abortion
• Euthanasia
• Physician Assisted Suicide
• Palliative care
• Chronically ill, disabled or dying
• Capital punishment

Through speakers, discussion groups, prayer service, and support activities we hope to enlighten and increase awareness of these sensitive topics within the framework of respect for all life.

The Prayer for Reverence for Life expresses the core values of the Respect Life Office. Join the thousands of Catholics within the Archdiocese of Canada who pray it weekly during Mass.

Almighty God, giver of all that is good, we thank You for the precious gift of human life:
For life in the womb, coming from your creative power,

For the life of children, making us glad with their freshness and promise,

For the life of young people, hoping for a better world,

For the life of people who are disabled, teaching us that every life has value,

For the life of the elderly, witnessing to the ageless values of patience and wisdom.
Like Blessed Mary, may we always say “YES” to Your gift. May we defend it and promote it from conception to its natural end. And bring us at last, O Father, to the fullness of eternal life in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen

Source of Prayer: https://rcav.org/respect-life/prayer-for-reverence-for-life

Prayer for Pregnant Mothers

Source of Prayer: https://www.respectlife.org/prayer-for-pregnant-mothers

Prayer for Life

Source of Prayer: https://www.respectlife.org/prayer-for-life

Prayer to St. Joseph

Source of Prayer: https://www.respectlife.org/prayer-to-st-joseph

Prayer for Radical Solidarity

Source of Prayer: https://www.respectlife.org/prayer-for-radical-solidarity

Prayer for Those Who have Lost a Child to Abortion

by Fr. Frank Pavone

Lord of all Life,
You have entrusted us to the care of one another,
And called us to be one Body in Christ.

You call us to rejoice with those who rejoice,
And to weep with those who weep.

Hear our prayer today
For our brothers and sisters who have lost children to abortion. Help us to understand
The pain that is in their hearts, And to be a living sign to them
Of your welcome, your mercy, and your healing.

Help them to undergo with courage
The process of grief and the journey of healing.
Never allow them to feel alone;
Always refresh them with the presence of Your Spirit
And of their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Console them with the sure hope
That you love and care for their children.
Give them new strength,
That even while they grieve what they have lost,
They may look forward to all the good
That you still have in store for them.

Lord of healing and hope,
Give us all the forgiveness of our sins,
And the joy of your salvation.

We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.

Source of Prayer: https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/pro-life-prayers-resources/

From St. John Paul II

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 out 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 lover of life.

Evangelium Vitae, The Gospel of Life, 105

Source of Prayer: https://www.theyoungcatholicwoman.com/archivescollection/a-pro-life- prayer-from-st-john-paul-ii