Abortion affects everyone
in your family and circle of friends...
 

Are you a woman who had an abortion
and you didn't want to --
or you didn't think you had any other choice...

Are you the father who lost his child(ren) to abortion
and you didn't want her to have the abortion --
or you were instrumental in the decision making to have one...

Are you a boyfriend or husband,
brother or sister or sibiling,
grand-mother or grand-father,
aunt, uncle or cousin,
of someone who had an abortion
and you are hurting from their decision to abort...

Are you a friend or acquaintance of someone who had an abortion
and you did not step in to offer alternative help,
or find help for that woman or man
and you feel guilty for not doing at least "something"...

If you are the physician, nurse, or receptionist
in an abortion clinic
and now regret being a part of the abortion process...

Are you a past or present employee of
Planned Parenthood
who participated in the direction or decision making
of the women who seek abortions...

Read more on the adverse effect of planned parenthood: http://www.prolifescranton.org/Bannon.html
 

Everyone,
from the technician who confirmed your pregnancy at Planned Parenthood or similar facility,
to the bus or cab driver who drove the woman to the abortion clinic,
to the employees of the clinic who preprepped and/or performed the abortion
or gave "after care" (if you can call it that)
to everyone around you who did not help you make the choice
that you knew in your heart was the right choice...

Everyone,
now has the right for self-forgiveness
and the forgiveness of God.

Attend a weekend retreat in your diocese,
or go to another weekend retreat
in another part of your state or
to a completely different state.

Weekend retreats are open
to not only Catholics,
but also to any other denomination,
whether practicing or not.

Don't live in shame any longer.
God is just waiting for you to ask HIM for forgivness,
and it will be yours
immediately
through the weekend retreat.
It is really that easy!!!
 

Self-forgiveness
and God's forgiveness
is available to you
for the asking! 

   Please don't wait any longer to free your soul from the binding guilt of your past! 
   A Rachel Vineyards Weekend Retreat will provide you with a safe environment in which to speak about your abortion and to receive the forgiveness that you are seeking. 
   Retreats are held all around the United States, and if you are concerned about privacy, then seek out a retreat in a neighboring state or diocese near you.
   The retreat is not restricted to Catholics, it is open to all faithful people, regardless of the religion you practice or don't practice. 

Bishop Dale J. Melczek's Column
Recommitting ourselves
to building a culture of life
Reprint from October 2, 2005

     The Catholic Church designates the first Sunday of October as Respect Life Sunday.  It is an occasion for each of us to recommit ourselves to building a culture in which every human life is valued, no matter how poor or sick, how old or microscopic, that life may be.
     As Catholics, we believe that human life is a precious gift from God.  Each person who receives this gift has responsibilities toward God, self, and others.  Furthermore, society, through its laws and institutions, must protect and nurture human life at every stage of its existence.
     Our beliefs flow from ordinary human reason and from the constant witness of our faith that life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception.
     Our respect for human life requires us to protect human life and to promote human dignity.  As the late Pope John Paul II reminded us in "The Gospel of Life," no. 87:  "Where life is involved, the service of charity must be profoundly consistent.  It cannot tolerate bias and discrimination, for human life is sacred and inviolable at every stage and in every situation; it is an indivisible good."
     Genuine respect for life disdains cultural attitudes hostile to life, such as radical individualism, moral relativism, materialism, and utilitarianism as expressed in abortion, the death penalty, physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, violence, war, racism, as well as in poverty, hunger, employment, education, housing, and health care.
     Where does one begin?  We must begin with the commitment never to intentionally kill, or collude in the killing of, any innocent human life, no matter how broken, unformed, disabled, or desperate that life may seem.
     Clearly, abortion must remain in the forefront of our efforts.  Tragically, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion nationwide in Roe v. Wade has devalued life and the dignity of life for many.  It seems to me that the increase of gangs and street violence, as well as the increased use and abuse of illegal drugs and alcohol, are evidence of the diminished value of life as a precious gift of God.
     Since Roe v. Wade, abortions in the U.S. have risen to well over a million a year, with one-fourth of all pregnancies ending in abortion.  Many women have been maimed or killed by legal abortion, while abortionists have been protected from legal scrutiny.  Many more women bear heavy emotional scars from abortion, and increasingly they are making their stories public in order to warn other women.  Courts have used Roe v. Wade to strike down laws protecting children born alive during abortion attempts.
     This Sunday, many will form life chains expressing their respect for life and their determination to help overturn Roe v. Wade.  Sunday is an occasion for all of us to recommit ourselves to building a culture of life, a culture respecting the dignity of every human person from conception to natural death.
     We need to wholeheartedly embrace all of the issues relating to the dignity and sanctity of human life.  Clearly, we must take every opportunity to argue for overturning Roe v. Wade, which is increasingly recognized as bad law, bad medicine, and bad social policy.
 



25 years after Roe vs. Wade decision.

SIMPLIFIED UNDERSTAND OF ROE vs. WADE
click here.
 

History
"Jane Roe" (whose real name was Norma McCorvey) was a woman who challenged the criminal abortion laws in Texas as unconstitutional. The abortion laws at the time forbade abortion except in cases where the mother's life was in danger.

Henry Wade was the Texas Attorney General who defended the anti-abortion law.

PRAYERS
FOR THE SPIRITUAL ADOPTION
OF ONE CHILD
IN DANGER OF ABORTION

Every day there are many unwanted babies conceived. To spiritually adopt one, ask Blessed Mother to pick out a son or daughter for you from among these unwanted babies. Then name your son or daughter and pray for him/her until the day that he/she would be born if carried to term.  The following prayers were written to be said on a Medjugore Chaplet.

FOR A MOTHER AND HER UNBORN BABY
WHO IS IN DANGER OF ABORTION

"Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb?  Even should she forget, I will never forget you.  See, upon the palms of my hands I have written your name;"  IS 49:15-16

Jesus, Heart of Mercy, I offer you these prayers through the gentle hands of your Mother, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, for the unborn babies of the world whose lives are in danger of being ended through abortion. Please give grace and strength to their mothers to accept the great gift You have given them in the life of their baby.  I especially pray for my adopted son/daughter ------------name------------ and his/her mother that little ------------name------------ will come to full term and be born healthy in (month, year).  "Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you very much. I beg you to spare the life of the unborn baby that I have spiritually adopted who is in danger of abortion." [Medjugore Magazine, Jan, Feb, Mar 1992, p.2]   Amen.

APOSTLE’S CREED
OUR FATHER
HAIL MARY
GLORY BE

FOR MOTHERS WHO HAVE LOST THEIR BABIES
TO ABORTION, ADOPTION OR NATURAL DEATH

"In Ramah is heard the sound of moaning, of bitter weeping!  Rachel mourns her children, she refuses to be consoled because her children are no more."  JER 31:15

Dear Lord, I ask for your mercy on those mothers who, for whatever reason, feel that they are unable to raise their babies. Please grant them the grace to cherish the life which you have given them and not to destroy it before birth.  I especially ask for your mercy on all mothers who have denied their children life in this world. Please grant them the grace of repentance and reconciliation with You. Help them to trust in your forgiveness and to learn how to forgive themselves.  Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you very much. Please wipe away the tears of all mothers who have lost children. Amen.

OUR FATHER
HAIL MARY
GLORY BE

FOR THE UNBORN BABIES
WHO HAVE DIED FROM ABORTION

"Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, ... and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen" [Handbook for Today’s Catholic, "Prayer for the Faithful Departed", p. 59, Liguori Publications]

Dear Jesus, please grant these unborn children the happiness to which they are entitled.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you very much. Please baptize all the unborn babies now and when they pass into your eternal keeping. Amen.

OUR FATHER
HAIL MARY
GLORY BE
 

FOR DOCTORS WHO PERFORM ABORTIONS
AND THOSE WHO ASSIST THEM

"Just as you know not how the breath of life fashions the human frame in the mother’s womb, So you know not the work of God which he is accomplishing in the universe." ECCL 11:5

"Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." LK 23:34

Dear Jesus, please help those who perform abortions and those who assist them to truly see the evil they are doing. Please help them to repent, to quit performing abortions, and to be reconciled with you.  Most of all, Dear Jesus, please help them to trust in your forgiveness and mercy and to learn how to forgive themselves.  Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you very much. Please send an angel, O Lord, to stay the hand of the executioner/abortionist as once you stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac. Amen.

OUR FATHER
HAIL MARY
GLORY BE
 

FOR ALL PRO-CHOICE / PRO-ABORTION ADVOCATES

"Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior," PS 25:4-5

Heart of Mercy, please teach all of your people to respect the sacredness of human life. Please shed your light, love and mercy on those who walk in darkness so they may find their way to you.  Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I love you very much. Please help all peoples to know that every human life is precious in your eyes. Amen.

OUR FATHER
HAIL MARY
GLORY BE

FOR THE WARRIORS OF THE LORD
WHO ACTIVELY PROTEST AGAINST
THE PRACTICE OF ABORTION

"Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens."
EPH 6:10-12

"So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace.  In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.  With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit."  EPH 6:14-18

Dear Lord, please strengthen the workers in your vineyard. Please give them courage and strength to carry out the work you have given them. Please help them to be shining beacons of hope amid the darkness and despair. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I love you very much. Please inspire and protect all pro-life activists who are fighting for the rights of the unborn. Amen.

OUR FATHER
HAIL MARY
GLORY BE
 

FOR ALL THOSE WHO OFFER UP PRAYERS
FOR THE SAFETY OF THE UNBORN

"Cast your bread upon the waters; after a long time you may find it again."  ECCL 11:1

Dear Lord, please strengthen the faith of those who pray for the unborn. Please help them to know their prayers are heard and they are helping to save baby’s lives and their mother’s souls.  Heart of Mercy, please help them to always place their hope and trust in you. Especially when they hear of the evil that their brothers and sisters do and are most tempted to despair.  Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you very much. Please help all your chosen people to persevere in prayer and service until the end. Amen.

OUR FATHER
HAIL MARY
GLORY BE
SIGN OF THE CROSS
AMEN