Respect Life from "Womb to Tomb"

"...in our daily prayer as individuals and as a community, praise and bless God our Father, who knitted us together in our mother's womb..."
–Evangelium vitae, 84
 

“All life has inestimable value even the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God’s creation, made in his own image, destined to live forever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect.”         –Pope Francis' message to Catholics taking part in annual Day for Life in Britain and Ireland July 28, 2013
 

Every child who, rather than being born, is condemned unjustly to being aborted, bears the face of Jesus Christ, bears the face of the Lord, who even before he was born, and then just after birth, experienced the world’s rejection. And every elderly person…even if he is ill or at the end of his days, bears the face of Christ. They cannot be discarded, as the ‘culture of waste’ suggests!
–Pope Francis
 

"America you are beautiful . . . and blessed . . . . The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being, but especially the weakest and most defenseless. If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." 
–Pope John Paul II
 

It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.
–Mother Teresa
 

"Unfortunately, what is thrown away is not only food and dispensable objects, but often human beings themselves, who are discarded as ‘unnecessary.’ For example, it is frightful even to think there are children, victims of abortion, who will never see the light of day; children being used as soldiers, abused and killed in armed conflicts; and children being bought and sold in that terrible form of modern slavery which is human trafficking, which is a crime against humanity.”
–Pope Francis, Speech to diplomats Jan. 13, 2014
 

We must not be surprised when we hear of murders, killings, of wars, or of hatred...If a mother can kill her own child, what is left but for us to kill each other?
–Mother Teresa
 

“We are called to reach out to those who find themselves in the existential peripheries of our societies and to show particular solidarity with the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters: the poor, the disabled, the unborn and the sick, migrants and refugees, the elderly and the young who lack employment.”
–Pope Francis, Message to the 10th General Assembly of the World Council of Churches dated Oct. 4, 2013

The 2021 Respect Life Month poster features St. Joseph as a defender of life in his loving protection of the Blessed Mother and Christ Child.
 

A Prayer to St. Joseph, Defender of Life

Dearest St. Joseph,
at the word of an angel,
you lovingly took Mary into your home.
As God’s humble servant, you guided
the Holy Family on the road to Bethlehem,
welcomed Jesus as your own son
in the shelter of a manger,
and fled far from your homeland
for the safety of both Mother and Child.
 
We praise God that as their faithful protector,
you never hesitated to sacrifice
for those entrusted to you.
May your example inspire us also
to welcome, cherish, and safeguard
God’s most precious gift of life.
 
Help us to faithfully commit ourselves
to the service and defense of human life
—especially where it is vulnerable or threatened.
Obtain for us the grace
to do the will of God in all things.
Amen.
 
Copyright © 2021, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.

The annual Respect Life Program is a year-round, nationwide effort to help Catholics understand, value, and become engaged with building a culture that cherishes every human life. Although sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Respect Life Program is essentially comprised of the efforts of leaders throughout the Church- priests, staff, and volunteers; teachers and school administrators; diocesan leaders; and so many others.

Surround them with love, support, and companionship that are "anchored in unconditional respect for their human dignity, beginning with respect for the inherent value of their lives."
-To Live Each Day with Dignity, USCCB

40 Days for Life is the largest internationally coordinated pro-life mobilization in history, helping people in local communities end the injustice of abortion through:

• Prayer and Fasting:  Knowing that “with God, all things are possible,” people of faith and conscience unite for 40 days of prayer and fasting.
• Peaceful Vigil:  Stand for life during a 40 day peaceful public witness in the public right-of-way outside the Red River Women’s Facility at 512 1st Ave N in Fargo
• Community Outreach:  Bring a positive pro-life message to every corner of our state through media efforts, advocacy and public visibility. 

40 Days for Life is an international event with over 1,000,000 prayer volunteers worldwide having saved 16,004 lives from abortion, led to the conversion of 191 abortion workers and has seen 104 abortion centers close since 2007.

40 Days for Life – North Dakota 
Our campaign will provide a peaceful, prayerful presence on the sidewalk 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Please go to 40daysforlifend.com to register and sign up for an hour of prayer. You may also contact the Pregnancy Help Center at (701) 284-6601, or in Fargo at (701) 356-7979, or email us at phc@polarcomm.com. Please join us as your prayers are needed now more than ever!

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.  Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:6,7

Remember that each Wednesday abortions are being performed in Fargo and over 1140 children die each year at this facility. And yet due to your prayer and fasting and peaceful vigil 92 lives have been saved in North Dakota alone since 2007. We have reports from moms who have shared with us their personal stories and pictures as well as words of gratitude for the lives of their babies that have been spared death by abortion here in Fargo.

“You formed me in my inmost being; You knit me in my mother’s womb.  I praise You, so wonderfully You made me; wonderful are Your works!”     -Psalm 139:13-14