Pray and Fast for a Culture of Life

Details: 02 April 2012

In his encyclical, "The Gospel of Life, Pope John Paul II said a "great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God… Let us therefore discover anew the humility and the courage to pray and fast so that the power from on high will break down the walls of lies and deceit: the walls which conceal from the sight of so many… the evil of practices and laws which are hostile to life."

The Bishops’ Pastoral Plan for Pro Life Activities, the official pro-life program of the Catholic Church in the U.S., also emphasizes that prayer and fasting is an essential component to our efforts to build a culture of life:

"Prayer is the foundation of all that we do in defense of human life. Our efforts—whether educational, pastoral, or legislative—will be less than fully fruitful if we do not change hearts and if we do not ourselves overcome our own spiritual blindness. Only with prayer—prayer that storms the heavens for justice and mercy, prayer that cleanses our hearts and our souls—will the culture of death that surrounds us today be replaced with a culture of life."

As we settle into the Lenten season, I want to present some worthy suggestions for our prayer and fasting efforts:

40 Days for Life

Implemented throughout the United States and in several other countries, 40 Days for Life urges prayer and fasting for an end to abortion. In Nebraska, 40 Days for Life has been implemented twice a year, during Lent and in the fall, at the abortion mills in Omaha and Lincoln. Participants are asked to commit to one hour of prayer outside an abortion mill.

The impact of 40 Days for Life has been nothing short of extraordinary. Its website (www.40daysforlife.com) features stories of women who changed their mind about having an abortion, of abortion mill workers who quit the grisly business, and of abortion mills that have shut down.

Abortion Mill Prayer Project

For those individuals who do not live in reasonable proximity to Lincoln or Omaha and can’t directly participate in 40 Days for Life, there is a way to participate in the prayers and fasting from home.

The Abortion Mill Prayer Project asks individuals to pray for the conversion of a specific abortionist and his/her staff and for the closure of a specific abortion mill. In Nebraska there are three abortion mills and three dioceses. Therefore, I am asking the parishes in each diocese to pray for one of these abortion mills as follows:

Parishes in the Diocese of Lincoln are asked to pray for C.J. Labenz, who does abortions on Tuesdays at Planned Parenthood in Lincoln. Parishes in the Archdiocese of Omaha are asked to pray for LeRoy Carhart, who does abortions on Fridays and Saturdays in Bellevue. Parishes in the Diocese of Grand Island are asked to pray for Nicola Moore, who does abortions on Wednesdays at Planned Parenthood in Omaha.

Prayer cards for this project along with other prayer activities are being distributed by my office to parishes around the state for use during Lent and beyond. They are also available online at www.nebcathcon.org (under Pro Life, Printed Materials).

Regardless of whatever limitations we may have (e.g. time, physical, geographic, etc.) each of us can make a significant contribution toward building a culture of life through our prayers and fasting. In fact, there is no more simple or efficacious contribution.

You can contact Greg at The Nebraska Catholic Conference, 215 Centennial Mall South Suite 310, Lincoln, NE 68508; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.