Pastor's Corner

March for Life

01-09-2022Pastor's CornerRev. Robert J. Deehan, V.F.

As Catholics, we proclaim that human life is a precious gift from God; that each person who receives this gift has responsibilities toward God, self and others; and that society, through its laws and social institutions, must protect and nurture human life at every stage of its existence. Citizens from all walks of life and religious backgrounds will join together in support of the intrinsic right to life of all people, born and unborn, to participate in the National March for Life in Washington DC on January 21, 2022. This date marks the vigil of the 49th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, which made abortion legal in our country. To learn more about this march, visit http://marchforlife.org.

On that occasion, there will be an Opening Mass for the National Prayer Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on Thu, Jan 20 at 5:30pm with Archbishop William Lori presiding and a Closing Mass that will take place on Friday, January 21 at 8:00am with Cardinal Seán O’Malley presiding. The Basilica will be open to the public and seating will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. For those unable to attend, the Mass and prayer events on Thu, Jan 20 and the Mass on Fri., Jan. 21 will be televised on EWTN and livestreamed on the Basilica’s webpage. For a full schedule of events at the Basilica, visit: National Prayer Vigil for Life Schedule-USCCB. A local opportunity to pray for this intention is the Holy Hour for Life that will take place next Sun., Jan. 16 at 2:00 pm at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, Marshfield with Deacon John Hulme presiding. Please join me in praying the prayer below composed by Pope St. John Paul II.

Entrustment of the Cause of Life

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. — Pope St. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae (1995)

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