On Saturday and Sunday, 13 and 14 October 2024, we will observe Support Life Sunday. This year’s theme is Infinite Dignity – Every person matters… always!
He mea nui te ora o ngā tāngata katoa… i ngā wā katoa!
The theme highlights the indispensable nature of human dignity in Christian anthropology. Every person is endowed with an infinite dignity, which is inalienably grounded in their very being. This dignity remains, regardless of any circumstance, state, or situation they may face (cf. Dignitatis Infinita, No. 1).
While we strive for respect and justice, grave violations of human dignity persist. These include surrogacy, euthanasia, marginalization of the disabled, gender theory, sex change, digital violence, poverty, war, exploitation of migrants, human trafficking, sexual abuse, violence against women, and abortion.
Let us all pray this Prayer for Life on Support Life Sunday
Lord, you call us, your pilgrim people,
to be people of life and for life;
to journey in confidence
towards “a new heaven and a new earth”
that is characterized by a commitment
to the infinite dignity of every person.
Lord, look down upon the vast numbers of those
whose human dignity is daily being violated by
war, poverty, exploitation, physical and emotional violence,
premature death, abuse, prejudice and neglect.
Grant that we who believe in you
may proclaim the Gospel of life
in what we think, say and do.
Obtain for us the grace
to accept the Gospel as a gift ever new,
the joy of celebrating it with gratitude,
and the courage to bear witness to it resolutely
so as to build, together with all people of good will,
a world of justice, mercy, truth, compassion and love.
To the praise and glory of God,
the Creator and lover of all life. Amen.
Inspired by and drawn from: Evangelium Vitae – The Gospel of Life (Pope St John Paul II, 1995); and Dignitas Infinita (Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, 2024).
Fr. Tien Cao
