The Measure of Love Is to Love Without Measure
A Litany for Life
Based on I Corinthians 12:31-13:8a
Lord love is patient
Give to the mother who is tempted to abort her child the patience to endure the suffering that will bring forth new life.
Lord love is kind
Give to the new father whose friends tell him to abort his child the gentleness, compassion and courage to support his wife and child, protect them from all that could harm them, and sustain them against selfishness and hate.
Lord love is not jealous
Remove from all human hearts the temptation to trade human life for advantage, convenience or personal benefit.
Deliver us from the expediency that values personal gain and pleasure over the dignity of human life.
Lord love is not pompous
Deliver us from the arrogance that sees our needs or wants as superior to the rights of others. Help us to see all our brothers and sisters as worthy of all of our love.
Lord love is not inflated
Grant us a share in the humility of your Son, who sought not to be served, but to serve.
Help us to see in every human life, rich or poor, young or old, guilty or innocent, a reflection of your image and likeness.
Lord love is not rude
Implant a spirit of gentle compassion in the hearts of each of your sons and daughters, Lord, that no person may ever be treated as less than the child of God which you have made them, through the Paschal Death and Resurrection of your only-begotten Son.
Lord, love does not seek its own interests
Give to al who govern us, Lord, a generous spirit, that our country may not so much seek to be great as to be good, to be rich in possessions as to be rich in mercy, or to be renowned as to be renowned for justice and truth for all.
Lord, love is not quick-tempered
Grant that w our prudence and patience we might learn to live that sacrificial love by which your Son died for us on the Cross, that all men and women might know our kindness and willingness to love them unto death after the model of our Lord and Savior.
Lord, love does not brood over injury
Give us the grace of mercy, Lord, that like r-our Son we might forgive those who sin against us, seeking only their redemption and eternal happiness. Forgive the abortionist who takes the life of an unborn child. Move his heart, grant him the grace of repentance, and give us a full share in your mercy.
Lord, love does not rejoice over wrongdoing
Help us to seek only the redemption of wrongdoers, Lord, and remove from our hearts all desire for vengeance and hate. Help us to desire not revenge, even for the horrors of abortion, but the repentance and happiness of all your children.
Lord, love rejoices with truth
Implant deep within our hearts a sense of the joy of the Gospel of Life, and make us joy-filled evangelists of your great gift of life.
Lord, love bears all things
When we are insulted or reviled for the sake of the Gospel of Life, give us the courage and the innocence of the children of God. Help us, Lord, to suffer for the sake of your truth, and never to seek our own good, even in the good work we do.
Lord, love believes all things
Deliver us from every temptation to despair, Lord. When we are discouraged, give us the grace to trust in your mercy and to know that your love is ever victorious, even in the face of darkness, death, and hate.
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Lord, love hopes all things
As we trust in your infinite love, O Lord, give us the trust that comes from the Gospel, and help us to cling to that sure and certain hope that for those who love God all things come to good.
Lord, love endures all things
In the face of death, destruction, and a culture of death, never let us lose sight of the beauty of the face of your only-begotten Son, Our Lord, who suffered the torments of his Passion and Death for the sake of our sins. Let us trust that through his Passion we will have the strength to do your will and to carry each cross that comes our way for the glory of God and the love of his little ones.
Lord, love never fails
When the crusade for life seems unending and our latest initiatives have failed, when our hearts are filled with sadness or anger or fear, come to our aid, O Lord, and give us the assurance that you are ever with us, that your mercies will not end, and that you, our Creator and our God, will bring victory to all who seek to love as you have commanded them.
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