Intercessions for Life & Bulletin Briefs

July 2004

July 4th FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

For the United States of America:
that we might protect and defend
the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
of every human being
from conception to natural death;
We pray to the Lord:

July 11th FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

That like the Good Samaritan,
we might seek to serve the weakest and most forgotten,
and preserve the life of those threatened by violence or selfishness;
We pray to the Lord:

July 18th SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

For those who seek to serve us in government office,
that by their love for every human being,
from conception to natural death,
they might lead us in a love of what is right and true;
We pray to the Lord:

July 25th SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

For all expectant mothers,
and especially those who are very young,
that God’s grace might foster
the love they bear for the child in their womb;
We pray to the Lord:

On receiving the Nobel Prize for Peace, venerable Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whom you consider the spiritual president of the pro-life movements in the world, had the courage to say to the leaders of political communities: “If we let a mother kill the fruit of her womb, what is left to us? It is the principle of abortion that endangers peace in the world.” It is true! There can be no true peace without respect for life, especially if it is innocent and defenseless as is that of the unborn child. Elementary coherence requires those who seek peace to safeguard life. No pro-peace activity can be effective unless attacks on life at all its stages, from conception until natural death, are as energetically opposed. Thus, your movement is not only a Pro-Life Movement but also an authentic peace Movement, precisely because of your constant effort to protect life. — Pope John Paul II to the Italian Pro-Life Movement (May 22, 2003)

July 2004: Bulletin Briefs

The human person is the synthesis of the universe and is the reason for everything that exists. Present-day biomedical sciences and technologies must be at the service of human life and not vice versa.
— Cardinal Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, Feb. 10 2004

As Jesus Christ posed the question to Peter, so, too, does He pose the question to each one of us, ‘Do you love Me?’ If we respond with yes, then we must live that out no matter what the cost. We cannot separate our professional life from our faith life. We must put the law of God above the law of man, especially as it concerns the dignity of the human person and the life of the unborn.
— Bishop Samuel J. Aquila, Diocese of Fargo, ND, homily, May 2, 2004

There is no right more fundamental than the right to be born and reared with all the dignity the human person deserves. On this grave issue, public officials cannot hold themselves excused from their duties, especially if they claim to be Catholic. Every faithful Catholic must be not only ‘personally opposed’ to abortion, but also must live that opposition in his or her actions. In Robert Bolt’s plan A Man for All Seasons, St. Thomas More remarks, “I believe, when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties…they lead their country by a short route to chaos.” Sadly, too few follow the example of St. Thomas More. As voters, Catholics are under an obligation to avoid implicating themselves in abortion, which is one of the gravest of injustices. Certainly, there are other injustices, which must be addressed, but the unjust killing of the innocent is foremost among them.
— Archbishop Myers, archbishop of Newark, “A Time for Honesty,” May 5, 2004

I feel the duty to reaffirm strongly that the intrinsic value and personal dignity of every human being do not change, no matter what the concrete circumstances of his or her life. A man, even if seriously ill or disabled in exercise of his highest functions, is and always will be a man, and he will never become a “vegetable” or an “animal”…The loving gaze of God the Father continues to fall upon them, acknowledging them as his sons and daughters, especially in need of help.
— John Paul II, address before the International Congress on ‘Life-sustaining Treatments and Vegetative State’, March 20, 2004

Prepared by the USCCB Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities

__________________________
Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3070

August 2004

August 1st EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

For every woman who has had an abortion,
that she might be given the grace
to embrace the mercy of God
and know healing, strength and holiness;
We pray to the Lord:

August 8th NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

For those who work for the healing
of mothers and their children:
that God will strengthen their resolve
and make their hands gentle yet strong;
We pray to the Lord:

August 15th THE ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY

That from her place in heaven,
the ever gentle Mother of God
might cradle the souls of all deceased children
in her loving embrace;
We pray to the Lord:
August 22nd TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

For those whose burden of age has grown heavy,
that God might teach us to love them,
and to assure them of the innate value of their presence;
We pray to the Lord:

August 29th TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

For all who work for the Gospel of Life, and especially for those who teach: for patient endurance and joy; We pray to the Lord:

Never be discouraged and never tire, dear brothers and sisters, of proclaiming and witnessing to the Gospel of life; may you be beside the families and mothers in difficulty….God will never let you lack the help you need to conclude your many activities satisfactorily, if you turn to him with intense and constant prayer. — Pope John Paul II to the Italian Pro-Life Movement (May 22, 2003)

August 2004: Bulletin Briefs

Human life is a gift from God and as Catholics we have a most grave obligation to defend all human life from the moment of conception until natural death. God help us if we fail in this most fundamental obligation.
— Archbishop Myers, Archdiocese of Newark, “A Time for Honesty,” May 5, 2004

I should like particularly to underline how the administration of water and food, even when provided by artificial means, always represents a natural means of preserving life, not a medical act. Its use, furthermore, should be considered, in principle, ordinary and proportionate, and as such morally obligatory, insofar as and until it is seen to have attained its proper finality.
— Pope John Paul II, address before the International Congress on ‘Life-sustaining Treatments and Vegetative State,’ March 20, 2004

No evaluation of costs can outweigh the value of fundamental good which we are trying to protect, that of human life.
— John Paul II, address before the International Congress on ‘Life-sustaining Treatments and Vegetative State’, March 20, 2004

Sometimes, your work to build a culture of life can seem very frustrating—it might seem that your efforts bear no fruit…Do not give up—trust God…imitate God in his love, his kindness, his patience.
— Bishop Thomas Wenski, Coadjutor Bishop of Orlando, Respect Life Homily, March 14, 2004

Prepared by the USCCB Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities

__________________________
Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3070

Prepared by the USCCB Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities