This weekend our thoughts return to January 22, 1973 when the Supreme Court of our United States of America legalized abortion for all nine months of pregnancy in its Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions. In the intervening years, more than 46 million abortions have been performed in our nation – a number equal to the population of 15 states (based on 2004 estimated populations)! It is as if a giant bomb killed all the citizens of Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, and Utah. Picture a map of our United States with these states erased, note the giant hole ripped in the fabric of American society, and begin to understand the devastating, irreplaceable loss of life through legalized abortion.
In her address at the 1994 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., Mother Teresa of Calcutta noted that “the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems. And, by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion. Many people are very, very concerned with the children of India, with the children of Africa where quite a few die of hunger, and so on. Many people are also concerned about all the violence in this great country of the United States. These concerns are very good. But often these same people are not concerned with the millions who are being killed by the deliberate decision of their own mothers. And this is what is the greatest destroyer of peace today – abortion which brings people to such blindness.”
The bishops of our country have declared January 22 to be a Day of Penance for violations to the dignity of human persons. At Saint Peter, in order to facilitate your participation in this national day of prayer and penance, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed from the conclusion of Monday’s 8:00 am Mass to Benediction at 8:30 pm. that night. Throughout the day the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary will be prayed publicly: at 7:30 am (Joyful Mysteries), Noon (Luminous Mysteries), 4:00 pm (Sorrowful Mysteries), and 8:00 pm (Glorious Mysteries). Also, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy will be prayed publicly at 3:00 pm. Please set aside some time this day to pray for an end to abortion and in reparation for all crimes against human life: “Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Author of human life. You, as our God, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, alone have the right to determine who should be conceived and born. You are also the Destiny of human life. We come into this world to be with You in heaven for all eternity. We therefore beg You to enlighten so many who are sitting in darkness that they may see the sanctity of human life and frame our civil laws accordingly. We ask You this through the merits of Your Mother, the Mother of Eternal Life, of You who with the Father and the Holy Spirit are One God now and forever. Amen.”
Along with our brothers and sisters around the nation we observe Catholic Schools Week. We rejoice in and give thanks for the many blessings God gives us through our talented faculty, staff, and administration and through our beloved children. The parishes that comprise the Stevens Point Area Catholic Schools receive special graces because of the faith-filled prayers our students offer in common each day in the classroom or at Holy Mass. Students of our Saint Peter Middle School take up special roles at our 10:00 am Mass this weekend.
Saint Peter, pray for us! Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
Father Kevin Louis
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