Day of Prayer for
the Legal Protection of Abortion
(Hebrews 9:15.24-28; Mark 3:22-30)
Abortion is a grave crime. It is the intentional taking of a human life in
its most vulnerable stage. The extent that
the crime is committed is even more egregious.
Every year more or less one million abortions are performed in the
United States alone. Around the world
there must be tens of millions. Despite
the atrocities Jesus in today’s gospel indicates readiness to forgive all these
sins.
The passage is famous for Jesus’ observation that accusing
him of being in league with the devil is like saying that a house is divided
against itself. Also noted many times is
Jesus’ prescription of an unpardonable sin.
But what should interest people most is his statement, “…all sins and
all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them.” He does not mean that they will be forgiven
without repentance, but he assures that God is quite ready to forgive even
heinous crimes.
Today we pray for abortion victims and its perpetrators. We make a communal act of penance for the unborn
who will never see the light of day. We
beseech the Lord to change the minds and hearts of those who seek, perform, and
allow abortion. Finally, we ask the Lord
to stop this slaughter of innocents.
