Day 5 of the Respect Life Novena

 

DAY 5

INTERCESSION May all people with disabilities be treated with respect and their lives protected.

PRAYERS Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, Glory Be

REFLECTION We live in a culture that idolizes productivity, efficiency, and independence, often measuring a person by what he or she can do. These and other false standards are used to determine whether someone’s life is considered worth living. But God's love—individual, real, unchanging—is the true source of our dignity. Because His love will never change, nothing can reduce our God-given dignity, and nothing can diminish the immeasurable worth of our lives.  The Gospels recount that Jesus constantly drew close to those who were ill or had a disability. He calls us to care for others, especially those who are in need – material or otherwise—and reminds us, “Whatever you did for one of these… you did for me” (Mt 25:40). Looking through the eyes of His love, we can see “in every person his living image” (Evangelium vitae 83). Every person is a wonder of God’s creation, reflects God Himself, and has been created for eternal life with Him. Every person, every life is a gift. Let us bear witness to this truth in our words and actions.

ACTS OF REPARATION (Choose one.) Sleep without your pillow tonight. Offer this small sacrifice for today’s intention. Offer “A Prayer for Life” for today’s intention. Offer some other sacrifice, prayer, or act of penance that you feel called to do for today’s intention.

ONE STEP FURTHER In a culture that so often judges our worth based on what we can do, produce, or achieve, the beauty of a life lived with disabilities can be difficult to understand. Yet, God assures us that every human life is a precious gift, filled with inherent value, dignity, and worth. A mother of a child with Down syndrome shares her personal experience of witnessing the beauty of life in all circumstances in, “A Perfect Gift.”