Bishop David M. O’Connell CM shared the following call for prayer from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
History was made recently when Planned Parenthood and other big abortion businesses were banned from receiving federal Medicaid dollars for a period of one year. However, Planned Parenthood sued, and a preliminary injunction was granted by the court that requires taxpayer funding to continue.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is inviting Catholics to join a focused effort of daily prayer through October 1 to stop taxpayer funding of the abortion industry, invoking the intercession of Saint Joseph, Defender of Life.
Dearest St. Joseph,
at the word of an angel,
you lovingly took Mary into your home.
As God’s humble servant, you guided
the Holy Family on the road to Bethlehem,
welcomed Jesus as your own son
in the shelter of a manger,
and fled far from your homeland
for the safety of both Mother and Child.
We praise God that as their faithful protector,
you never hesitated to sacrifice
for those entrusted to you.
May your example inspire us also
to welcome, cherish, and safeguard
God’s most precious gift of life.
Help us to faithfully commit ourselves
to the service and defense of human life
—especially where it is
vulnerable or threatened.
Obtain for us the grace
to do the will of God in all things.
Amen.