(Recited by Pope John Paul II at Fatima, 13th May, 1982.)
Before you, Mother of Christ, before your Immaculate Heart, I today, together with the whole Church, unite myself with our Redeemer in this his consecration for the world and for people.
Oh, how deeply we feel the need for consecration on the part of humanity and of the world -- our modern world -- in union with Christ himself! The redeeming work of Christ, in fact, must be shared in by the world by means of the Church.
Mother of the Church! Enlighten the People of God along the paths of faith, of hope and love! Help us to live the consecration of Christ for the entire human family of the modern world.
Oh, Immaculate Heart! Help us to conquer the menace of evil, which so easily takes root in the
hearts of the people of today, and whose effect already weigh down upon our modern world and seem to block the paths towards the future!
From famine and war, deliver us.
From nuclear war, from self-destruction, from every kind of war, deliver us.
From sins against human life from its very beginning, deliver us.
From hatred and from the lowering of the dignity of the children of God, deliver us.
From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both national and international, deliver us.
From readiness to trample on the Commandments of God, deliver us.
From attempts to stifle God's truth in human hearts, deliver us.
From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us.
Accept, O Mother of Christ, this cry laden with the sufferings of all human hearts.
Let there be revealed, once more, in the history of the world the infinite power of merciful love. May it put an end to evil. May it transform consciences. May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of hope.
(As St. Joseph is patron of a happy death he should be invoked against the practice of euthanasia.)
To thee, O blessed Joseph, we fly in our tribulation, and while imploring the help of thy most holy spouse, thy protection also with confidence we crave. By that affection which united thee with the immaculate Virgin, Mother of God, and by the fatherly love with which thou didst embrace the Child Jesus, we humbly supplicate thee to look down benignantly on the heritage which Christ Jesus purchased with his blood, and in thy might and power to succour us in our necessities.
Defend, O most provident Guardian of the divine family, the chosen race of Jesus Christ: keep us, most loving father, from all taint of error and corruption; do thou from heaven, as our most powerful Protector, stand graciously by us in this conflict with the powers of darkness; and as of old thou didst rescue the Child Jesus in the imminent peril of his life, so now defend the holy Church of God from hostile wiles and all adversity, and through thy never-failing patronage so shield each one of us, that, guided by thy example and supported by thy aid, we may live in holiness, piously die and attain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.
(Composed by Pope Leo XII, 1878-1903, and formerly said after every "low" Mass.)
Holy Michael, the Archangel, defend us in the day of battle; be our defence against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell, satan and the other wicked spirits who go about the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.
Lord God Almighty, our Creator, as we gather here today in your presence, we celebrate our existence, we rejoice to be alive. Teach us to understand more and more profoundly, that every human life is sacred, whether it belongs to an unborn infant, or to a terminally ill patient; to a handicapped child, or to a disabled adult; to people who live next door, or to those who live far away.
Remind us, Heavenly Father, that whatever a person's age, race, colour or creed, each individual has been made in your image and likeness; and has been redeemed by Christ. This makes them precious in your sight. Help us to see other people with your eyes, so that we may reverence, preserve and sustain your gift of life in them, and use our own lives more faithfully in your service. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
(Cardinal G. Basil Hume, O.S.B., Archbishop of Westminster.)
Heavenly Father, man is the pinnacle of your visible creation. We are made in your likeness, able to share in your life here by faith and love, hereafter face to face in the vision of your glory.
Father, you further enhanced our dignity through the gift of your Son, the Divine Word made flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit. He shared our life, shared our joys, shared our sorrows.
Help us and all men to appreciate our extraordinary dignity, and the sacredness of our lives from the moment of conception. Teach us to appreciate the dignity of motherhood, the vocation to co-operate with you in bringing new life into the world.
Give us the courage to resist those who attack or diminish any of these wonderful gifts. May we all speak and act with truth and love, conviction and compassion, in their defence.
Give the grace of humility and repentance to those who have followed the path of satan, who first brought death into the world. Help us extend to them the gentle hand of forgiveness and mercy.
To us all grant pardon for the times we have failed in our gratitude for the precious gift of our created being, and our failures to respect the gift of others. May your Spirit soften all hearts till we say in unison:
Our Father ...
Every day, O Lord God, men and women, (who are your children and our brothers and sisters) seek a final solution to their immediate problems in the killing of an unborn child. This temptation is especially strong today when the law in many lands no longer protects innocent human life. Grant us, O Lord, a new appreciation of its sanctity. We pray that you will send today to the person you know is most in need of it, the grace to reject this unloving expedient. Send to that person, whose name is known only to you, the courage to persevere, so that the child already living (whom you have loved from all eternity) will be born safely to grow in knowledge, in love, and in service of you. Help us too, dear Lord, so to know, love and serve you that we shall never fail those who need us. Show us how to make our society one in which no child is unwanted, no adult feels abandoned and the pressures which lead to abortion no longer exist. For these intentions, Lord, and in union with your sacrifice on the cross, we offer to you, the trials and anxieties which may come to us today. Grant, Lord Jesus, that those who acknowledge the sanctity of life will be inspired by you to lead a life of sanctity. Amen.
Copyright Crux, England (copies of this popular prayer are available from: Flat 1, Underfell, Eden Park Road, GRANGE-OVER-SANDS, Cumbria, England).
Lord God, from you every family on earth takes its name. Father, you are love and life. Through your Son, Jesus Christ, born of woman, and through the Holy Spirit, fountain of divine charity, grant that every family on earth may become for each successive generation a true shrine of life and love.
Grant that your grace may guide the thoughts and actions of husbands and wives for the good of their families and of all the families in the world. Grant that the young may find in the family solid support for their human dignity and for their growth in truth and love. Grant that love, strengthened by the grace of the sacrament of marriage, may prove mightier than all the weaknesses and trials through which our families sometimes pass. Through the intercession of the holy family of Nazareth, grant that the church may fruitfully carry out her worldwide mission in the family and through the family. We ask this of you, who are the Life, Truth and Love, with the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Pope John Paul II.
"I'll lend you, for a little time, a child of mine," he Said,
"For you to love the while he lives and mourn for when he's dead.
It may be six or seven years, or twenty-two or three,
But will you, till I call him back, take care of him for me?
He'll bring his charms to gladden you, and should his stay be brief,
You'll have his lovely memories as solace for your grief.
I cannot promise he will stay, since all from earth return,
But there are lessons taught down there I want this child to learn.
I've looked the wide world over in search for teachers true,
And from the throngs that crowd life's lanes I have selected you.
Now will you give him all your love, nor think the labour vain,
Nor hate me when I come to call to take him back again?"
I fancied that I heard them say, "Dear Lord, thy will be done!
For all the joys thy child shall bring the risk of grief we'll run.
We'll shelter him with tenderness, we'll love him while we may,
And for the happiness we've known, forever grateful stay.
But should the angels call for him much sooner than we've planned,
We'll brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand."
(Author unknown)
(Extract from a newspaper "The Christian Voice", U.S.A., about 1978.)MONTEVIDEO Minn, (NC) -- When Charles Goering began writing a poem while sitting out a blizzard here last winter, it seemed unlikely that anyone else would ever read what he wrote.
Goering, now 43, is a working man. He describes himself as "a man who did not complete high school and has worked as a railroad labourer and truck driver a good portion of his life."But the poem, "The Jewel of My Creation", which deals with Christ's love for an aborted child, has been read by millions in newspapers across the country.
According to Goering, a father of seven children, the poem is addressed specifically to the baby boy aborted by Dr. Kenneth Edelin in Boston, and for whose death Dr. Edelin was convicted of manslaughter by a jury. The conviction was overturned in December, 1976.
Although the poem is anti-abortion, its meaning has eluded some. One nationally circulated paper ran the poem with an accompanying story which explained that it was written about Goering's 11 year old daughter's fight for life as an infant. The girl, Mary, suffered at birth from hyaline membrane disease, a sometimes fatal lung problem.
Goering told NC News that such distortions did not bother him. "The abortion people understand it -- the ones with guilty consciences", he said.
Goering, who attends St. Joseph's parish here, said he has received hundreds of letters since the poem began attracting attention. All of the mail has been favourable, he reported.
The poem, he explained, was written on behalf of all the children "being destroyed at birth through non-care and via different methods of abortion." He called it "a statement of God's endless love for each of his children."
The complete text of the poem is as follows:
My Child!
Before the dawn of Creation, I thought of you,
Before the dawn of Creation, I thought of you.
Before the mist blew through the heavens, I thought of you;
Before the blue water cascaded down the mountainsides, I thought of you;
Before the first minnow jumped in a brook, I thought of you;
For you, my pet, are the jewel of my creation.
Before the dawn of Creation, I had a plan for you.
Your eyes are the colour of a small sparrow's wing,
Your skin is as dark as the coal in the earth;
And again, your eyes are azure blue.
Your skin is brown like my mother's.
I had a plan for you from the dawn of Creation.
For centuries the grass blew softly on the great prairies.
Sometimes as softly as you breathe --
And the grass was waiting for you;
Yes, before the first crocus smiled at me, I thought of your smile,
I will remember you into Eternity.
When the mist blows in the heavens no more, I will be with you;
When the blue water cascades down the mountains no more, I will be with you;
When the pine trees sprout forth no more, I will remember you.
My beautiful, my beloved! What are they doing to you?
My pet, my creation! What are they doing to you?
You lie on the table alone, you breathe so hard;
Will they not wash you with the blue waters of my mountains?
Your breathing is becoming so still, like the grass on the prairies in a great calm.
My child, I am thinking of you.
My beautiful, my beloved! What are they doing to you?
My pet, my creation! What are they doing to you?
Your little fingers are so small and soft, like a pussywillow's bud;
The steel from the cold earth;
Why do they press it to your soft new flesh with such great force?
My child, my thought is never removed from you.
My child, my beautiful! What are they doing to you?
With the suction, like a hurricane, they pull and tear you;
Your little legs will never walk, until you run with me.
The salt in your mouth, when you were to sing for me!
The salt in your lungs, you who were to yell of your love for me!
Before the dawn of Creation, I thought of you.
I love you.
I will love you all of eternity.
(by Charles Goering of Montevideo, Minnesota, U.S.A.)
In all the world there is nobody, nobody like you. Since the beginning of time there has never been another person like you. Nobody has your smile, your eyes, your hands, your hair. Nobody owns your handwriting, your voice. You're Special.
Nobody can paint your brush strokes. Nobody has your taste for food or music or dance or art. Nobody in the universe sees things as you do. In all time there has never been anyone who laughs in exactly your way, and what makes you laugh or cry or think may have a totally different response in another. So - You're Special.
You're different from any other person who has ever lived in the history of the universe. You are the only one in the whole creation who has your particular set of abilities. There is always someone who is better at one thing or another. Every person is your superior in at least one way. Nobody in the universe can reach the quality of the combination of your talents, your feelings. Like a roomful of musical instruments some might excel in one way of another but nobody can match the symphonic sound when all are played together. Your Symphony. Through all eternity no one will ever walk, talk, think or do exactly like you. You're Special.
You're rare and in all rarity there is enormous value. You're Special and it is no accident you are. Please realise that God made you for a special purpose. He has a job for you to do that nobody else can do as well as you can. Out of the billions of applicants only one is qualified. Only one has the unique and right combination of what it takes and that one is you. You're Special!
Lord, I am ready to receive from your hand a more crushing cross, and more lacerating sufferings, if that is your divine will. I want to ransom souls, not with gold nor silver, but with the small change of my sufferings united with the inexhaustible treasure of the sufferings of the Redeemer and of his most holy Mother by the powerful means of the cross which is put at my disposal, through the daily offering and silent immolation of my life to the Creator who has given it to me. God is my Father, my Brother, and my special Friend, and from the moment that I became his child, his sister, and his servant, nothing, but nothing at all will happen to me, and I shall have nothing to suffer or undergo, nothing to endure without, as a Good Father, his having allowed and prepared it in advance.
(Marthe Robin, 1902-1981)
O Lord, my God, while I am nourished each day by your sacred body, washed by your redeeming blood, enriched by your holy soul, flooded by your divinity, may I love, desire, search for, wish for, and taste only you.
Let my heart and my whole being sigh for you alone, that I may be all Yours and concerned only with you; that I may dwell perpetually with you, in you and united to you, in order that I may be entirely consumed in the ardent furnace of your Divine Heart. May I also be united as a child to the Immaculate Heart of my beloved Mother, through whom I want to glorify, praise, serve and obey you for ever.
(Marthe Robin, 1902-1981)
Lord, renew your first Pentecost. Give to all your beloved priests the grace to discern spirits; fill them with your gifts; increase their love, and make them all valiant apostles and real saints among men.
Holy Spirit, God of Love, come like a powerful wind into our cathedrals, churches, chapels and cenacles, to richest houses and the humblest dwellings. Fill the whole earth with your light, your consolation and your love.
Come, Spirit of Love, and bring to the world the freshness of your sanctifying breath. Wrap all men in the radiance of your grace. Bear them away into the splendour of your glory.
Come and comfort them at the present time, still so charged with anguish, and shed light on the future, so uncertain in many ways, and strengthen those who still hesitate to take the divine way
(Marthe Robin, 1902-1981)
Divine Child Jesus have pity on people who are all alone; have pity on lonely souls. Take care of them all, and gather them to yourself on this evening's Feast, this night of Love, this dawn of peace and hope; so that their pain-filled hearts and troubled minds may find a refuge with their most loving, tender, all-powerful and true Friend.
If I can feel them huddled near you, O my King, all my sufferings will melt away, forgotten in love.
Holy Child of the Manger, who bring blessings and joy to the world, come into the souls who await you, who call to you, and make your heavenly dwelling within them, the house of your rest, your blessed manger.
(Marthe Robin, 1902-1981)
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