USCCB Novena of Prayer & Penance for 40 Years of Roe v Wade - Day 5

Day Five: Wednesday, January 23, 2012

Printable version of Day Five

Intercession: For scientists and pharmaceutical employees who help create and manufacture contraceptive and abortifacient drugs: that the Lord will open their eyes to the moral danger and health risks these drugs pose for women and prompt them to work only on medications that benefit human life.

Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, Glory Be

Reflection: In today's Gospel, we hear how Jesus grieved the hardness of heart of the Pharisees, as he heals the man with the withered hand. Let us open our hearts in faith, entrusting our culture to the healing power of Christ, the One who has overcome sin and the power of evil. We recall the words of Pope Benedict XVI, having faith that "this God exists, and hence that this power to 'take away the sin of the world' (Jn 1:29) is present in the world" (Saved in Hope [Spe Salvi], 36).

Acts of Reparation (choose one):

• Gratitude helps us love God and neighbor. Today try to not complain or be negative. Say a prayer of thanksgiving instead.
  
• Sometimes we forget to quiet ourselves and spend quality time with God. Fast from Facebook or Twitter today. Spend that extra time meditating on a Gospel passage.
  
• Don't push the snooze button. Get right out of bed and offer your day in prayer to God. "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light" (Ephesians 5:14).

Did you know? More than 360 young women using the patch, contraceptive ring or Yaz/Yasmin pills have died in recent years due to heart attacks, strokes or pulmonary embolisms associated with these drugs and devices. The World Health Organization declared that the estrogen in contraceptives can cause cancer in humans. See "Life Matters: Contraceptives and Women's Well-Being," and here.