Real Catholic Blog

Here’s part five of Father Frank Pavone’s insightful and inspirational series on praying to end abortion. Father Pavone is the national director of Priests for Life. You can see part four here from which you can backtack to part three and prior.

We’re all affected by original sin. It has darkened our minds, making it difficult to understand the moral truth. It has weakened our wills, making it more difficult to choose what is good. When we pray, we invite the grace of God into our own lives and the lives of others. When that grace comes it does two things: it enlightens the mind and strengthens the will that’s been weakened by sin. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is to properly understand the relationship of all creation to God and to see the value of it.

Praying to end abortion brings into our lives and the lives of others the grace to strengthen the will to choose what is right, and to resist the temptation to abort or to compromise with evil. That grace will give them the strength to say no to evil and yes to the sacrifices necessary to choose life. Let’s increase the intensity of our prayer every day to end abortion that this grace might enlighten the mind and strengthen the will of so many people who otherwise might choose death.

 We’re all affected by original sin. … When we pray, we invite the grace of God into our own lives and the lives of others.

Here’s part four of Father Frank Pavone’s series on praying to end abortion. For part three, click here, where you can also find the links to the first two parts. Each is less than two minutes and is well worth your time since when we pray to end abortion, we honor God by praying His will be fulfilled in saving the very lives He creates. 

On another note, please help the cause by sending this link to friends and posting it to as many social networking sites as possible. Prayer is our ultimate tool in ending the abomination of abortion. It truly is astounding: those who believe abortion is a “right” and that “government should stay out of it” feel a sense of outrage when pro-life people pray. If all they care about is keeping government out of the issue, why should they care about people praying? (Many are atheists, so they really shouldn’t care, should they? So their anger at Christian prayer tells me something.)

But take a look at the thread at one of Father Pavone’s videos on YouTube (here). It’s full of vile messages. It’s reflective of those who confront the prayerful outside abortion centers, with in-your-face obscenities.

What’s worse are the politicians who claim they despise abortion, but that the government can’t get involved. Yet these politicians never contribute to or help pregnancy resource centers or join pro-life rallies or do anything non-governmental to discourage abortion.

It all points to what we’re up against: hypocrites and radicals, many of whom are very powerful. Which brings us back to prayer. To learn more about the power of prayer, join Father Pavone at Pro Life Prayers.com or at Priests for Life, where he is the national director.

According to Father Pavone:

We pray to end abortion because we are praying for a stop to the killing of human beings. When the rich young man came up to Jesus and asked what he had to do to inherit eternal life, Jesus said, “You have to keep the commandments.” The first commandment He mentioned was, “You Shall Not Kill.”

There is hardly anything you can do that’s worse to a person than to end that person’s life. And we know what it means in the very depths of our being and in our culture to save a life. We pray all the time for people to recover from serious illness, for people to be protected from serious danger; we are praying for the preservation of their lives. Saving a life is considered one of the greatest things that anybody can do and, when we want to illustrate that we are not guilty of anything serious, we often say, “Well, at least I didn’t kill anyone.” The motivation to pray to end abortion is rooted in the deepest parts of our human nature, and therefore this has a priority over other intentions of prayer.

Our culture values life. That’s why we call those who rescue others “heroes” and pray for people who are sick. It’s also why we need to pray for the end of abortion — to save human life, because human life is the same whether it’s born or unborn, and it’s God’s will that it live to natural death.

Here is Father Frank Pavone’s third installment on praying to end abortion. Father Pavone is the National Director of Priests for Life. His first two videos, all of which are less than two minutes, can be found here and here. I highly recommend them and hope you will pass along this link to others. I will post part four sometime soon.

Praying to end abortion is an act of humility because, as Father Pavone says, “Every time a child is conceived it is an expression of the will of God. Praying to end abortion is another way of acknowledging He is God and we are not.” He sums up part three in this way:

We have already seen that prayer unites us with the will of God and involves us in the great plan of His that is unfolding throughout history. A key aspect of that plan was summarized by Jesus Christ when He said, “I came that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Human life is an expression of the will of God, so when we pray to end abortion, we’re worshiping God because we’re saying, “Lord, Your will for life needs to be fulfilled, and so the killing needs to stop.”

Every time a child is conceived it is an expression of the will of God. Praying to end abortion is another way of acknowledging He is God and we are not. When we pray to end abortion, we say “yes” to God. St. Paul says that Christ is the great Yes, the great Amen to all the promises of God. Abortion is the great No. It is anti-Christ, anti-God, anti-God’s plan. … So we pray to end abortion as a way of worshiping the God who says Yes to life.

Praying to end abortion shows obedience and humility to God, the Father. Because every conceived child is an expression of God’s will, praying for its life is another way “of acknowledging He is God and we are not.”

We are called to prayer, fasting and sacrifice during Lent. As for prayer, what better way to pray than the Rosary. Even better, pray the Rosary at Eucharistic Adoration. There most likely is a parish or community in your area that has a constant, if not 24-hour, adoration. At the very least, many parishes offer adoration during Lent on Fridays after Stations of the Cross.

Since Lent is about drawing closer to Jesus and his redemption for our sins, praying the Rosary is a powerful way to reach out to our Lord — and the Blessed Mother. Doing so anywhere — by yourself, in a group, silent or out loud — is a very spiritual and tangible way of drawing near Jesus. Doing so at Eucharistic Adoration is especially spiritually fulfilling. There are five mysteries of the Rosary. I have found the Sorrowful Mysteries during Lent, as they are prayed on Fridays, particularly special as they instigate a self-inspection we all should put ourselves through.

Catholics Come Home explains more about the Rosary:

The Rosary is an ancient and powerful prayer that the faithful have been praying for over 800 years. In this video you will see the 20 Mysteries of the Rosary, which include events of the life of Christ and Mary that are meditated upon while reciting the prayers. Every believer in Jesus Christ should honor His mother by praying the Rosary, and in return she will bring you closer to her Son.

And if you object to the Rosary because you don’t think that the Hail Mary is a legitimate prayer, then watch my video “Every Christian should pray the Hail Mary,” and you will see the Biblical basis for the Hail Mary.

The Rosary is a powerful and special way to reach out to Jesus and seek His intercession as well as that of the Blessed Mother.

That’s one of the age old incongruities of practicing the Faith. Everyone wants to go to Holy Communion, but rarely do people go to Reconciliation.

Suffer me not to be separated from you, Lord

as the prayer states. No one wants to forsake the Bread of Life. That is good. People should not want to go without receiving our Lord in the Sacrifice of the Mass. But are we clear for take-off? Or do we go undeservingly because we don’t want the person next to us to think we’ve done something to not merit the Holy Eucharist?

Another priest from the Fathers of Mercy, Father Bill Casey, C.P.M., offers some thoughts on The Link between the Penitential Rite & the Gloria:

Father Casey with some thoughts on the age old conundrum: Why are there lines for Holy Communion but not the Confessional?

Following up on yesterday’s post about receiving the Blessed Sacrament reverently and Cardinal Cipriani’s urging of Communicants to receive it kneeling and on their tongue, here is a prayer for consideration as you meditate in line:

My Lord Jesus Christ, I firmly believe that I am about to receive, in Holy Communion, Your Body, Your Blood, Your Soul and Your Divinity.

I believe it because You have said it and I am ready to give my life to maintain this truth.

Amen.