The over 56 million abortions since the 1973 decisions of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton reflect with heartbreaking magnitude what Pope Francis means by a “throwaway culture.” However, we have great trust in God’s providence. We are reminded time and again in Scripture to seek the Lord’s help, and as people of faith, we believe that our prayers are heard.

     The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), no. 373, designates January 22 as a particular day of prayer and penance, called the "Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children”: “In all the Dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 (or January 23, when January 22 falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life and of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion.”

“Only with prayer - prayer that storms the heavens for justice and mercy, prayer that cleanses our hearts and souls - will the culture of death that surrounds us today be replaced with a culture of life."
-Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities, U.S. Catholic Bishops

     As individuals, we are called to observe this day through the penitential practices of prayer, fasting and/or giving alms.

A PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT, GIVER OF LIFE

Come Holy Spirit, Creator of all things...You who breathed over the waters at the dawn of creation and brought forth all living beings...You who filled the apostles when the Risen Lord breathed on them on the first Easter night, giving them the power to restore
life to those dead in sin...You who, on the last day, will breathe again over all the dead and raise them from the grave--COME! Come and breathe on our world again, immersed as it
is in the Culture of Death! Come, O Lord and Giver of Life! Defeat the works of death
in our midst, that abortion may no longer stain our land. We worship You, O Holy Spirit, and we rejoice in You. We know that no matter how strong the forces of death may be, we can still find in You the endless source of life. Renew that life in each of us, and make us worthy apostles of the Culture of Life in our day! Amen.

Fr. Manny Ediza 

“A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer.”
—Pope Saint John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, no. 100*