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THIS
IS MY BODY
I
participated in the 30th annual Life Chain on October 1st.
In cities across the U.S. and Canada, those who regard life as sacred gathered to pray peacefully and silently for
an end to abortion. It was my first time and a very moving experience. We held
up signs as the cars passed by. That day, there was additional traffic for the
Oktoberfest downtown. We were blessed by the supporters who honked, waved and
gave the thumbs up. I only noticed one person who vocally expressed her
opposition... a woman who chanted "my body, my choice" as she drove past.
That
evening, as I was working on my homework for the bible study on Luke, I read the
description of the Last Supper and the First Eucharistic celebration.
"And
when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and
gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is
given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.'" (Luke 22:19)
These
words struck me in a powerful way that night, for there was a stark contrast
between Jesus at the Last Supper and the woman who was smugly chanting "my
body, my choice". Jesus, out of
love and compassion, was preparing to give up His life for His friends and for all
humanity. And this woman was apparently not interested in protecting the life of
a child if she were to conceive. One so selfless, one so selfish...
Then
coincidentally, I stumbled upon this prayer, which says it all:
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Prayers
to Jesus in the Eucharist
My
Body
"This
is My Body, given up for you." Lord Jesus, we hear Your words each
day at
Mass.
You have used these words to teach us the meaning of Your love for us, a
love that brought You to the cross to give Your life so we might live.
You use these words also to teach us the meaning of our love for one
another, a love which leads us to give ourselves away that others might
live.
"This is my body." Lord, we also hear these words used by
those who think they can take life, just because that life is growing
within their body. We hear these words distorted by those who support
abortion.
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Unity
Bless
our brothers and sisters in the womb. Rid our world of the sin of
abortion, which divides parents from their own children, from one
another, from their very selves, and from You, O Lord.
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+ + + + + + + + + + +
Faith
Grant,
O Lord, that our faith in the Eucharist may also strengthen our ability
to recognize the dignity of every human life... But we, who can see You
in the Sacred Host, can certainly see you in our brothers and sisters.
We can also see You, O Lord, in the children in the womb. In a day when
so many have forgotten these children, and dismiss them as less valuable
than those who are born, grant that we may grow all the more convinced
of their dignity and worth.
Then
grant, O Lord, that we may act accordingly. Amen.
Excerpt
from "Prayers
to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist" |
This
incident reminded me of the story in Luke 19, where Jesus rode on a colt into Jerusalem, and
"the disciples began to praise God
joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, shouting: 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and
glory in the highest!'" (Luke 19:37-38)
The Pharisees were indignant and told Jesus to rebuke His disciples and make
them stop. But Jesus said,
"I
tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!" (Luke 19:40)
The Life Chain was an event of silent prayer to end abortion. But we must not
remain silent the rest of the year. Babies in the womb cannot speak for
themselves. We need to be their voice. And the Pharisees of our day may wish for
us to be silenced, but just like the disciples who praised God, if we were to
become silent, the very stones will cry out for those babies who are precious in
the sight of God.
Photos
courtesy of Karen Leyendecker
See
more Life Chain photos here
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