Today marks the very first Memorial of Blessed John Paul II. A day of great Grace for the Church and for the pro-life movement. During his priesthood and pontificate, Blessed John Paul II taught us so much about respect for all human life from conception to natural death. He taught us about the importance of traditional family, of chastity, of the sacredness of marriage. He illuminated the Gospels decade after decade, encouraging youth to embrace and live fully the faith. He showed us not to be afraid of suffering, but to embrace it. We are truely privileged to be able to still call on the intercession of this incredible man of faith.
At Family Life International NZ, in our John Paul II Centres for Life, we pray the following prayer every day. It appears at the end of Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life). What a prayer for our times when life, faith and family is being attacked at an unprecedented rate.
John Paul II’s Prayer for 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. Amen.