26 January 2014

9 Days for Life: Day IX

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For each day of 9 Days for Life, I want to write down some of my thoughts in each stage. Here is what Day Nine looks like.

IntercessionToday's intercession is for "repentance, healing and peace, in every heart and nation."

The goal throughout this novena has been to bring just the above--repentance, healing and peace--to everyone. With over 50 million legal abortions occurring in the country over the past forty years, we need exactly these things. Abortion can no longer be treated as the private matter of one woman it is advertised to be. Nor can we accept the celebratory attitude in which people regard it. Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia, recently said, "We no longer tolerate abortion, we venerate it as a totem." Instead, we must recognize abortion as the problem that it is and seek to bring others not only to this knowledge but also to the loving forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

Reflection: Today's reflection is on today's first reading from Matthew 4:12-23:
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, 
he withdrew to Galilee. 
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, 
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,  
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet 
might be fulfilled: 
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, 
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, 
Galilee of the Gentiles, 
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, 
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death  
light has arisen. 

From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, 
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, 
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, 
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. 
He said to them, 
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 
At once they left their nets and followed him. 
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, 
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. 
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. 
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father 
and followed him. 
He went around all of Galilee, 
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, 
and curing every disease and illness among the people. 
The USCCB also comments,"Repentance is necessary for healing, but the Lord doesn't want us to remain stuck in misery over our sins. With healing comes peace and the joy of knowing we are loved and forgiven by God. The message of the Gospel of Life is one of great joy!" They also leave us with this awesome quotation from Pope Benedict XVI: "It is up to you, young followers of Christ, to show the world that faith brings happiness and a joy which is true, full and enduring.... The Gospel is the 'good news' that God loves us and that each of us is important to him. Show the world that this is true!" You guys know I dig a good Benedict quotation. :) I love that the USCCB and Pope Benedict both reveal the truth and remind us that the truth is, above all, good.

Act of Reparation: Say three Hail Marys for your parish priest. Without our priests, we could not have the sacraments.

I came back home this week from vacation, so this act seemed appropriate. We have two priests which take care of three parishes. I can't imagine how much work that is, so I definitely appreciate both of our priests. They also give very convicting homilies that always have us checking our beliefs and actions, making sure we practice the faith we profess. I loved the priests my school parish and I'm thankful to have such good priests at home too.

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