WORD OF LIFE
May & June 2008
Intercessions for Life May & June 2008
May 4th Seventh Sunday of Easter/Ascension of the Lord
For our Holy Father:
in thanksgiving for his devotion to the Gospel of life;
We pray to the Lord:
May 11th Pentecost Sunday
For doctors, nurses, and all health-care professionals:
that they might receive the grace
to resist all cooperation with the Culture of Death;
We pray to the Lord:
May 18th Most Holy Trinity
For those who care for the sick and the dying,
that God might reward them for their dedication
to the infinite value of every human life;
We pray to the Lord:
May 25th Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
For every mother who this week aborts her child,
and for her husband:
that God might bring them repentance, healing, and peace;
We pray to the Lord:
June 1st Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
For our Bishop:
in thanksgiving for his devotion to the Gospel of life;
We pray to the Lord:
June 8th Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
For those who lead us in government:
that they might work to protect the lives of all people,
especially
those who live on death row;
We pray to the Lord:
June 15th Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
For little children and for their teachers:
that a love for life from conception to natural death
might fill our schools with Christian hope;
We pray to the Lord:
June 22nd Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
For all medical students,
that they might learn to rely on God and on his law
as the guiding principle of their careers;
We pray to the Lord:
June 29th Saints Peter and Paul
For expectant parents:
that through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mother
they might wait in joyful hope
for the wonders God will bring them;
We pray to the Lord:
The Lord is the defender of my life, who will make me tremble?
My enemies who trouble me have lost their strength.
from the Roman Missal
God has sent his Only-begotten Son into the world,
that we may live through him.
from the Roman Missal
Word of Life Bulletin Briefs May 2008
The use society hopes to make of biomedical science must constantly be measured against robust and firm ethical standards. … Foremost among these is the dignity of human life, for under no circumstances may a human being be manipulated or treated as a mere instrument for experimentation.
Pope Benedict XVI, Address to the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Holy See, Oct. 11, 2007
A society unable to accept its suffering members and incapable of helping to share their suffering and to bear it inwardly through "com-passion' is a cruel and inhuman society" (Spe salvi, 38). … More and more lonely elderly people exist in big cities, even in situations of serious illness and close to death. In such situations, the pressure of euthanasia is felt, especially when a utilitarian vision of the person creeps in. In this regard, I take this opportunity to reaffirm once again the firm and constant ethical condemnation of every form of direct euthanasia, in accordance with the Church's centuries-old teaching.
Pope Benedict XVI, Address to the Congress Organized by the Pontifical Academy for Life, Feb. 25, 2008
When God wants an important thing done in this world or a wrong righted, He goes about it in a very singular way. He doesn’t release thunderbolts or stir up earthquakes. God simply has a tiny baby born, perhaps of a very humble home, perhaps of a very humble mother. And God puts the idea or purpose into the mother’s heart. And she puts it in the baby’s mind, and then – God waits. The great events of this world are not battles and elections and earthquakes, and thunderbolts. The great events are babies, for each child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged with humanity, but is still expecting goodwill to become incarnate in each human life.
Edmond McDonald
Compared with women with no history of abortion, women who had one abortion were 2.8 times more likely to have a low birth weight (LBW) baby. Those with two abortions were 4.6 times more likely to have a LBW baby, and those with three abortions were 9.5 times more likely to have a LBW baby. The risk for preterm birth was 1.7 times, 2 times and 3 times, respectively for women with one, two or three abortions.
J.S. Brown, Jr. et al., “Previous Abortion and the Risk of Low Birth Weight and Preterm Births,” J. Epidemiol Community Health (2008) 62:16.
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities
Word of Life Bulletin Briefs June 2008
Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbor, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ … the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.
C.S. Lewis, “The Weight of Glory”
Divorce and abortion are, of course, different choices, at times made in difficult and dramatic circumstances. They often give rise to traumas and are a source of profound suffering for the people who make them. ... They leave wounds that mark life indelibly. The Church has the primary duty to approach [such] people with love and delicacy, with kindness and maternal concern, in order to announce the merciful closeness of God and Jesus Christ. ... Yes, the gospel of love and of life is also always the gospel of mercy.
Pope Benedict XVI, Address to the International Congress “Oil on the Wounds,” April 5, 2008
Sexually-active teenage girls (aged 14 to 17) are over 3 times more likely to be depressed than girls who are not sexually active and almost 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than their sexually inactive counterparts. One survey found that 72% of sexually active teenage girls (aged 12 to 17) wish they had waited longer before beginning sexual activity.
Robert Rector et al., Sexually Active Teenagers Are More Likely to Be Depressed and to Attempt Suicide (June 3, 2003) Center for Data Analysis Report #03-04; available at heritage.org/Research/Abstinence/cda0304.cfm.
Fifty-nine studies “found that there is a significant increased risk of preterm birth or low birth weight of babies in women who had a previous induced abortion compared to women with no previous induced abortion.”
Byron C. Calhoun, MD et al., “Preterm Birth and Abortion,” Assoc. for Interdisciplinary Research in Values and Social Change Research Bulletin 20:2 (Fall 2007).
“In February 2005, Sara Scantlin of Kansas awoke from the ‘persistent vegetative state’ she had been in since a drunk driver hit her in 1984 when she was only 18. … ‘Since 22 September 1984, Sara Scantlin had never uttered a word, her brain so badly damaged… that experts said she would spend the rest of her life in her own silent world. … [Since she awoke, her parents] have listened in astonishment as she reels off the names of relatives, former pets, friends from school and dates. … Her doctor, Bradley Scheel, says critical pathways in Sarah’s brain … have regenerated and kicked back into life. ... A very important part of this case is the fact that throughout her 20-year coma, Sarah could see, hear, and understand what was going on around her.’”
“Is a Prognosis Always Infallible? Occasions When the Doctors Were Proved Wrong”; available at www.uklifeleague.com/proginfal.htm
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities