From 40 days for Life

--
DAY 2 of The 2012 Fall 40 Days for Life
Pray for those who work in the abortion industry, and
for those who have repented of committing abortions
and have resolved to defend
SCRIPTURE
Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man."
-- Luke 23:46-
REFLECTION by Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
"Those of us who have participated in the killing of
unborn children are the Centurions of today. We have
dropped our swords against the unborn child. Now we must recognize the depth of our guilt and deal with the ramifications... To revitalize our humanity we need to forgive and be forgiven, to reconcile and be healed."
These words come from a brochure of the Society of
Centurions, an organization for former abortion providers. These words convey in a beautiful and moving way what is happening across the nation as hundreds of abortionists and their staff members experience repentance, conversion, and healing.
How does this conversion begin? Dr. Philip Ney
writes, "The factors that changed their opinion on
performing abortions, in the following order of frequency, were: evidence of the infant's humanity, a spiritual experience, personal distress, evidence of the mother's distress, scientific articles, being accepted as a person, a personal relationship with a
pro-lifer, pro-life pickets." (The Centurion's Pathway, p. 77).
The journey is not easy. But the Jesus who heals us calls us to face the truth of what we've done, make restitution where possible, and engage in the hard work of mending relationships. Let's pray for the
Centurions; may their numbers increase!
PRAYER
Lord, we thank you for those who have repented of
committing abortions and have resolved to defend life. We too repent and resolve.
We repent of every instance in which fear has made us
silent when we should have spoken. We repent of the
ongoing bloodshed in our land, and for thinking that we can deprive the unborn of protection but keep it for ourselves.
We resolve that we will advance the cause of righteous candidates for public office, and that we will be more afraid of offending you by our silence
than of offending others by our speech. We resolve that we will proclaim your name to the nations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.