Evangelium Vitae Novena Day 7 - For a Stronger Witness From the Laity #EVN2016

Welcome prolife prayer warriors!

As we recall the gift of the great encyclical from Pope John Paul II - Evangelium Vitae - let us call to mind the great need our world has for prayer.

The spilling of innocent blood through abortion and other atrocities against humanity can only be reparated by the pure and Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. With this Novena we contribute our own small effort by petitioning God for the healing of our culture of the following ills.

Contraception * Abortion * Euthanasia * Exploitation (embryonic stem cells, cloning, etc.) * Sex trafficking * Legislators * Clergy * Laity * Chastity

Welcome to Day 7 of our Evangelium Vitae Novena! Please join us in praying for today's intention: an end to the contraceptive mentality which has brought so much chaos into the world. And please remember to pray the daily prayer. God bless you all.

+   +   +

Daily prayer: Pope Saint John Paul II's Prayer to our Lady.

O Mary
bright dawn of the new world,
Mother of the living,
to you do we entrust the cause
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 civilisation of truth and love,
to the praise and glory of God,
the Creator and lover of life.

Day 7: March 22, 2016 - For a stronger witness from the clergy

We need to make sure that in theological faculties, seminaries and Catholic institutions sound doctrine is taught, explained and more fully investigated. May Paul's exhortation strike a chord in all theologians, pastors, teachers, and in all those responsible for catechesis and the formation of consciences. Aware of their specific role, may they never be so grievously irresponsible as to betray the truth and their own mission by proposing personal ideas contrary to the Gospel of life  as faithfully presented and interpreted by the Magisterium. EV 82.

Heavenly Father, Your message of the Gospel of life has been misinterpreted and diluted, ignored and ridiculed, devalued and denied by many within the Church. Please sharpen the   consciences of Your shepherds; remind them of their great       responsibility to transmit Your truths to the faithful. And create in them a loud voice that cries out above the clamor of the world, "Choose life and reject the culture of death!"  AMEN

Please share this effort with your family and friends and continue to work toward the hopeful goal of a world that respects all life - from fertilization to natural death. 

Remember to us hashtag #EVN2016 when using Twitter.

You may also join the Evangelium Vitae Novena Facebook event  for daily reminders and the opportunity for interaction with like-minded prolife advocates.

If you'd like a bit of history behind the struggle for the respect of life, check out my column at Catholic Stand.

You can also find the daily meditation graphics for sharing on Facebook on the Designs by Birgit fan page. 

In His Name for Life, BirgitJ