Bishops Approve Blessing for Child in the Womb

USCCB News Release
08-171
November 11, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BALTIMORE—The U.S. bishops approved the Order for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb for use in the dioceses of the United States with a 223-1 vote November 11, at their General Assembly in Baltimore. The bishops also approved a Spanish version of the blessing with a 224-0 vote.

The Blessing of a Child in the Womb was prepared by the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities after receiving requests from dioceses for such a blessing and not finding an existing blessing for a newly conceived child. In March, 2008 a blessing was prepared and submitted to the Committee on Divine Worship. The proposed blessing is distinct from the Blessing of Parents before Childbirth found in the Book of Blessings.

The Blessing of a Child in the Womb Within Mass and Outside Mass, in English and in Spanish, upon recognitio by the Congregation on Divine Worship and the Sacraments in Rome for use in the dioceses of the United States of America, will be included in future editions of the Book of Blessings (de Benedictionibus) when the text is revised.

http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2008/08-171.shtml

40 Days for Life (prayer and action, day 40)

Links:
Prayers (day 40)

From the blog:

A woman regrets her abortion:

DAY 35: Healing following abortion

She is well acquainted with the abortion facility where the 40 Days for Life vigil is taking place. She had an abortion there several months ago.

She told us how she was ambivalent about her abortion decision and had gone back and forth between the abortion facility and the crisis pregnancy center just down the road.

At that time she had been given a diagnosis of HIV and the abortion facility convinced her that her only option was to abort to avoid passing the deadly virus to her baby. Even though her husband objected, she initially consented to the abortion.

She was well into her second trimester and would need the two-day procedure for her abortion. She wanted time to think but the staff insisted she stay for the abortion and tricked her into doing the entire procedure in one day.

Meanwhile her husband was doing every thing he could to talk to her and get her out of the abortion facility but the staff locked him out and forced her to turn off her cell phone so he couldn’t communicate with her.

With the abortion completed she left and was later rechecked for HIV. It was found that there had been some mistake at the lab and she had been given a false positive report for HIV.

Today God has given her a healthy pregnancy — twins! — a renewed marriage commitment and some good lawyers to bring prosecution against the abortionist and his staff. She freely admits that these are all good things but nothing will bring back the child she has lost to abortion.

DAY 34: Total of 384 saved… and counting!

The latest tally of confirmed lives saved as a result of this fall’s 40 Days for Life campaign is up to…

…384!!

Here are just a few of those stories:

“Another turnaround!” notes Major in Huntsville, Alabama. “That makes six here since 40 Days for Life started. This one was 18 to 20 weeks into her pregnancy. Please pray for her!”

“A pregnant woman came to speak to me after having left the abortion clinic,” said Joanne at 40 Days for Life in Providence, Rhode Island. “She changed her mind because people were praying outside. She has decided to have the baby.”

A couple spoke to a 40 Days for Life volunteer outside the abortion facility in Louisville, Kentucky, then went in. A while later, they two came back out and the man said, “You got to me. We couldn’t do it!” Jenny said there is so much to be thankful for. “Isn’t it so humbling that God has called us to be a part of this?”

Luke in South Bend, Indiana tells of praying at the 40 Days for Life vigil on a day he was tired, hungry and really looking forward to taking a break. About that time, a woman drove up and asked if he worked at the abortion center. “No, I’m working for the Lord,” he said, “and praying.”

The woman told Luke she was under extreme pressure to have an abortion, and then asked him, “Can I have your advice? What do you think I should do?”

Luke prayed for the Holy Spirit to give him the right words. He then asked the woman, “Who gave you this child?” Those were indeed the right words; she responded, “God did.”

He asked her how she could reject such a gift. She thought about that for a moment and said, “You’re right. I could never have an abortion.” Luke told her she could find help at the nearby pregnancy resource center, and then she drove away.

“I broke down and cried for joy,” he said. “Blessed be God forever!”

DAY 22: UNBELIEVABLE — 268!!

Our twelve dynamic presenters — national and local leaders — poured out an hour and 25 minutes of hope-filled success reports from across North America…

…and we shared the breaking news about the number of confirmed lives saved during the first half of this fall’s 40 Days for Life campaign:

268!!

This call contained such vital information for this crucial moment in history — that we quickly worked to post the entire recording online, and it’s now ready for you!

You, your friends, and family members can listen via streaming web audio or download the MP3 file to your iPod or computer (even if you only have a dial-up Internet connection). Just go to:

http://www.instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=4586745

If you are sick of hearing all the negative news every time you turn on the radio or television and want to get a renewed sense of HOPE — then you need to listen to the recording of this call in the next 24 hours.

I have NEVER been more optimistic than I am today!

At a number of vigil locations, the night shift is also known as the Knight shift — men of the Knights of Columbus are signing up for the nighttime hours.
(read the rest here)

DAY 16: Encouraging news
October 8th, 2008

Amy in San Antonio tells of a man who came out of the donut shop across the street from the 40 Days for Life vigil and went over to where people were praying. “I just want you to know that you are making a difference,” he said.

Some time earlier, his granddaughter had come to this exact clinic for an abortion and — because people were praying on the sidewalk outside — she changed her mind. “He thanked us for his grandson Adrian,” said Amy.

“This is the second story we have heard in recent months of a new grandfather thanking us for his grandchild,” she said. “Abortion doesn’t just affect the mother, father and child. It affects the grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles — and on and on. When your prayers go up to save a child from abortion you are also working to save an entire family from the tragedy of abortion.”

DAY 14: The impact spreads:
October 6th, 2008

After yesterday’s report of 89 lives saved during this fall’s 40 Days for Life, more success stories have flooded in from across North America over the last 24 hours bringing the total now up to 113!!

From the Reflections (day 11):

When a former abortionist and post-abortive woman, Carol Everett, was asked what turned her heart from death to life in Christ, she replied, "It was unconditional love" shown by a man who prayed daily for her in front of the facility where she worked.

He told Carol that "God had sent him" because there was someone in there that God wanted out. She left 27 days later and now serves as Christ's ambassador to help others.

Blog

From blog DAY 2: “We saved our first baby!”

This Fall, from September 24 - November 2, 170 cities in 45 states will be joining together for the largest and longest coordinated pro-life mobilization in history -- the 40 Days for Life campaign.

40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life effort that consists of:

40 days of prayer and fasting
40 days of peaceful vigil
40 days of community outreach

-----

In the fall of 2007 and spring of 2008, two nationally coordinated 40 Days for Life campaigns mobilized people of faith and conscience in 139 cities across 43 states.

During these unified efforts, participants witnessed countless blessings from God:

-- Over 150,000 have joined together in an historic display of unity to pray and fast for an end to abortion

-- More than 35,000 people have taken to the streets, forming peaceful 40-day prayer vigils outside of Planned Parenthood centers and abortion facilities

-- Reports from around the country document that more than 500 lives have been spared from abortion — and those are just the ones we know about

-- Five abortion workers have quit their jobs and walked away from the abortion industry

-- Two Planned Parenthood facilities abruptly stopped performing abortions and another abortion facility completely shut down following a local 40 Days for Life

After 35 years of legalized abortion in America, many people of faith are experiencing a renewed sense of HOPE!

http://www.40daysforlife.com/about.cfm?selected=history

Novena for Faithful Citizenship [election prayer]

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
help us to conquer the menace of evil,
which so easily takes root in the hearts of the people of today,
and whose immeasurable effects
already weigh down upon our modern world
and seem to block the paths toward the future.
From famine and war, deliver us.
From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction,
from every kind of war, deliver us.
From sins against human life from its very beginning,
deliver us.
From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of
the children of God, deliver us.
From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both national
and international, deliver us.
From readiness to trample on the commandments of God,
deliver us.
From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of God,
deliver us.
From the loss of awareness of good and evil,
deliver us.
From sins against the Holy Spirit,
deliver us.

Accept, O Mother of Christ,
this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual human beings,
laden with the sufferings of whole societies.
Help us with the power of the Holy Spirit conquer all sin:
individual sin and the “sin of the world,”
sin in all its manifestations.

Let there be revealed once more in the history of the world
the infinite saving power of the redemption:
the power of merciful love.

May it put a stop to evil.
May it transform consciences.
May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of hope.

ALL: Amen.

Text of Novena | Prayer

http://www. faithfulcitizenship.org/resources/podcasts

Included in the above link are:

Catholic Social Teaching Principles Podcasts

Catholic social teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. Modern Catholic social teaching has been articulated through a tradition of papal, conciliar, and episcopal documents, and the depth and richness of this tradition can be understood best through a direct reading of these documents.

In our Catholic Social Teaching Principles Podcasts , Paulist Father Larry Rice reflects briefly on the major themes of Catholic social teaching, and how they should shape our lives as citizens of the world and as people of God....

Topics:

Option for the Poor
Peace and Disarmament
Political Participation
Role of Government
Social Justice
Stewardship of Creation
Common Good
Dignity of the Human Person
Economic Justice
Global Solidarity
Individual's Rights

Another success, 40 Days for Life (updated)

5 babies saved Saturday in LA:
From blog: DAY 7: A star appears…

"John Anthony is helping lead the 40 Days for Life vigil at Family Planning Associates, the busiest abortion facility in Los Angeles. He knew Saturday would be a difficult day, and was praying as many volunteers as possible would be on hand to stand witness.

Those prayers were answered — and then some — with the arrival of actor Eduardo Verastegui, the start of the movie Bella, and several of his friends.

“Eduardo arrived a little after 8 am and did not stop counseling, praying and encouraging women to choose life for their babies — with love, tenderness, humility and compassion — until a little after noon,” John Anthony said. “God is good — five babies were saved that morning!”

But that isn’t the end of the story. John Anthony said it wasn’t just abortion-minded mothers that caught Eduardo’s attention. “The day had a dramatic ending when eight nurses from the clinic came outside to meet Eduardo!” He spoke with the nurses and gave them copies of his new Spanish language pro-life video, “Dura Realidad.”

---

UPDATE: so far 48 babies saved!
From blog: DAY 6: 48 and counting…

"One of the many inspiring stories I heard while out here was from Josh Brahm, the dynamic young man who is coordinating the 40 Days for Life campaign in Fresno, California. Josh shared a story with me that I’d like to share with you.

Here it is in his own words…

I stood outside of Planned Parenthood for about 6 and a half hours today, most of those hours alongside my wife, who is 9 months pregnant. A young, attractive girl started walking toward me from the Planned Parenthood driveway. I smiled at her thinking she was a Planned Parenthood employee.

The young woman said she wanted to ask me some questions, and I told her that I’d be glad to answer any questions she could think of. She asked why we were out here. At that point I knew she wasn’t a Planned Parenthood employee, because she would have known exactly why we’re out here! I told her that we were there to peacefully pray for an end to abortion. I introduced myself and asked for her name, and she shook my hand saying her name was Ashley.

Then she said, “Well, I changed my mind.” I figured maybe she had become pro-life, so I asked her what she meant by that. Ashley responded, “I was going to have an abortion, but I’m not going to now.” My eyes widened, I gave her a huge smile and told her that she was my new favorite person! (Except for my wife, of course!)

Ashley explained further that she saw a news story on TV about us this morning and knew she couldn’t have an abortion. I hadn’t seen that coverage yet, so I asked her what it was about the story that changed her mind. She said that she saw men and women praying and holding signs and Bibles, and she knew that she couldn’t go through with the abortion.

Ashley is 16 years old and 5 weeks pregnant. Her parents wanted her to have the abortion and have now kicked her out of their house and taken her cell phone. She’s living with a friend now. I began to tell Ashley about the local pregnancy care center and how much help we personally can offer her as well. I told her, “You’re not alone.”

Josh, thanks to you and your wife for faithfully leading this effort in Fresno, and Ashley — I was so honored to get to meet you while there. Your courage is truly inspiring.

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad!"

Yours for Life,

David Bereit
National Campaign Director
40 Days for Life

DAY 5: God is at work!

Pope Benedict's Prayer For 9/11 Victims At Ground Zero [4/20/08]