2nd Tuesday in Ordinary Time
Day of Prayer For Legal Protection of the Unborn
Isaiah 49: 1 – 6; Luke 1: 39 – 56
In Genesis, when creation was completed, “God looked at everything He had made, and He found it very good” – not just good as stated in other verses but “very” good. One could get the impression that God was surprised at the power of His word – a very human way at looking at God and a beautiful revelation of our God.
Among all that God created and at the pinnacle of creation is humankind – man and woman. God’s love, respect, reverence for them is so great that He creates a paradise for them – a place of intimacy, communion, friendship – God walks in this garden and seeks the man and his wife. “Where are you?”
In the reading from Isaiah, the reality of God’s love, reverence for humankind from the moment of conception is clear: “The Lord called me from birth, from my mother’s womb He gave me my name.” We are never a something in God’s eyes, we are a unique someone, each one of us – no exceptions.
In the account of the visitation, we hear Mary magnifying God in profound praise from her whole being but her being is not alone. She carries within her the Someone who will be called great, the Son of the Most High. Can we not say that she praises God in her name and in the name of her child? Clearly, Mary is truly the mother of Life – life that is both human and divine and worthy of the greatest reverence, greatest respect for all life is sacred.
Today is the “Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of the Unborn” – the child in the womb “Unique from Day One” – this, the theme of this year’s March for Life. Yes, all life needs the protection of the law, especially the unborn but that, in itself, is a sad commentary on our world – that we need a law to protect the unborn. The law can command compliance but it does not change peoples’ minds, their attitude toward the unborn.
We pray today that such a change does take place; we pray that people are open to the grace, the Spirit of God who gives the precious and sacred gift of life – “unique from day one”. We pray for ourselves, for one another that we truly live this reverence in all our relationships – not to live this is a failure in faith, a denial of love, in a word a rebellion against the God of Life.
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