Day Seven: Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Intercession: 

May all who support or participate in abortion experience a conversion of heart to seek and receive the Lord’s boundless mercy.

Prayers: 
Our Father, 
3  Hail Marys, 
Glory Be


Reflection: 
When God fashioned the human person in His own image and likeness, He destined us for eternal life with Him. Yet because of the sin of our first parents, death entered the world. The book of Genesis recounts the first occasion in which a person takes the life of another, as Cain violently kills his brother Abel. This instance of brother rising up against brother “at the very dawn of history is thus a sad witness of how evil spreads with amazing speed” ( Evangelium vitae 8). 

From the time of creation, disregard for human life has continued to spread. When we, like Cain, allow sin to find a place in our hearts, we become blinded to the truth. Sometimes this blindness might be so deep that we fail to recognize the undeniable humanity of unborn children. We may even tragically believe the lie that abortion is an act of compassion. But we know that “life, especially human life, belongs only to God: for this reason whoever attacks human life, in some way attacks God himself” ( EV 9). Let us pray that all who support abortion encounter the transforming love of the Father and, with repentant hearts, seek His mercy.

Acts of Reparation ( Choose one.)

• Smile. Ask God today for the grace to be extra joyful and to share the light of Christ with those most in need of His love and mercy.
   
• Seek the intercession of Our Lady by praying a scriptural Rosary, meditating on the Sorrowful Mysteries.
   
• Offer some other sacrifice, prayer, or act of penance that you feel called to do for today’s intention.

One Step Further: 
Our culture is obsessed with perfection—a superficial perfection. Social media, magazines, and television are staged and edited to depict seemingly perfect lives. When life doesn’t seem to measure up to these standards, we may be tempted to believe it’s not worth living.

In “A Perfect Gift,” one parent shares about the experience of raising a child with Down syndrome, contrasting it with what onlookers might perceive: “It’s like looking at a stained-glass window from the outside: The colors look dark, and you can't quite make out the figures. From the inside, however, with the sun shining through it, the effect can be brilliant. From inside our family, love illuminates our life with Charlie.* What may seem dreary to others, perhaps even unbearable, is actually filled with beauty and color.” Every life is a gift.