Reflecting on God’s infinite mercy and goodness

This month of October gives all of us an opportunity to reflect on God’s infinite mercy and goodness. I say this because October is dedicated as the month of the Holy Rosary and Respect Life Month.

Throughout this month, the Church not only reminds us of the real power of praying daily the Holy Rosary but also reminds us that Our Blessed Mother is our most powerful intercessor with her Son for the cause of life. We have seen firsthand how Mary has stood with us praying for the overturning of the terrible Roe v. Wade decision and how her Son answered her prayers on our behalf. Jesus did so on the Solemnity of His Most Sacred Heart, the Heart which was pierced for us and from which all graces flow.

We must be grateful to the Lord for His mercy and goodness. The best way to express our gratitude is in prayer and then acting on what we have prayed for in thanksgiving. Use the Holy Rosary as that prayer either privately or publicly. It is an excellent meditation on the life of Jesus as seen through the eyes of His Mother. It is an excellent way to understand and to imitate Mary’s profound faith in and love for God’s will which became incarnate in her womb in her Divine Son, Jesus. Then understand and imitate her life of faithfully following Jesus from His birth to His ascension to the Father.

This is why I said that we must act on what we have prayed for in thanksgiving. It is truly clear that Satan and his disciples who so hatefully and violently seek to keep abortion alive in our nation will not go quietly. It is for us to love them in spite of their words and actions, just as Our Blessed Mother loved those who murdered her Son. It is for us to continue to speak the truth about human life and dignity just as Our Blessed Mother continued to love those who persecuted and humiliated her Son.

Finally, we must listen to Jesus and obey Him when He taught us that what we do for or fail to do for the least of His brethren, we have done or failed to do for Him (Mt 25: 31-46).

Dear brothers and sisters, let us pray the Holy Rosary daily with humble devotion and let us pray it with two intentions: that those who promote abortion will listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to their conscience and be converted from sin to life; and that all who love life will continue to speak and act in imitation of Jesus and His Holy Mother to foster and protect human life and dignity.