Respect Life Month

Each October the Church in the United States celebrates Respect Life Month, and the first Sunday of October is observed as Respect Life Sunday. As Catholics, we are called to cherish, defend, and protect those who are most vulnerable, from the beginning of life to its end, and at every point in between. During the month of October, the Church asks us to reflect more deeply on the dignity of every human life.

Simple steps are provided to help you celebrate Respect Life Month.

September 26, 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, of Kansas City in Kansas and Chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, celebrated the launch of Respect Life Month with a statement:

Although we must cherish, protect, and defend human life year-round, the Catholic Church in the United States sets aside each October as Respect Life Month.

This year’s theme, “Christ Our Hope: In Every Season of Life,” is particularly suited for our times. While attacks against human life seem to grow ever more numerous and callous, we know that Christ has conquered sin and death. Through our Christian hope in the Resurrection, we are given the grace to persevere in faith.

Jesus asks us to be as leaven in the world, to bring His light to the darkness. Our daily activities take each of us to places only we can go, to people only we will meet. May we allow Christ to renew and strengthen us, that He may work through us in each moment of every day.

“Hold fast to the hope that lies before us.

This we have as an anchor of the soul,

sure and firm.”

Hebrews 6:18-19

Be assured of my prayers for you and for our common efforts to bring about a world in which every life is cherished. And so, together, may we hold fast to Christ, our hope.

A message

from our Chairman...

1 REFLECT

From the time we are knit together in our mothers’ wombs until we take our final breaths, each moment of our lives is a gift from God. While every season of life brings its own challenges and trials, each season also gives us new opportunities to grow in our relationship with God.

Today the gift of life is threatened in countless ways. Those who are most vulnerable, rather than receiving the protection they deserve, are all too often seen as a burden and as expendable...

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Read the Full Reflection

2 PRAY

Use these intercessions to pray for human life throughout the month of October.

For all Catholics:
That on this Respect Life Sunday
we may recommit ourselves
to upholding the dignity
of every human life;
We pray to the Lord:

That during this Respect Life Month
our hope in Christ’s resurrection
will strengthen us in protecting
the gift of human life;
We pray to the Lord:

That the life of every human person,

from conception to natural death,

might be protected in our laws

and cherished in our hearts;

We pray to the Lord:

For women and men suffering after abortion:

May the Church’s abortion healing ministry

help them find peace and healing

through Christ’s endless mercy;

We pray to the Lord:

For those nearing the end of life:
May they receive care that respects their dignity
and protects their lives
as they place their hope
in the promise of eternal life;
We pray to the Lord:

May God grant us the wisdom and courage
to lovingly protect His gift of human life
at every stage, in sickness and in health;
We pray to the Lord: