From Our Founder - Fr. Frank Pavone

Dear Friends,

On July 1, 2007 Fr. Frank Pavone accepted the permanent promises of (L to R) Kevin Burke, Theresa Burke, Joy Pinto, and Janet Morana.  Click here for more photos.

What is a "Missionary of the Gospel of Life?"

It is a disciple of Christ who recognizes that the number one moral priority of our day is bringing an end to the massive child-killing taking place through abortion, and restoring the right to life to children in the womb!

Moreover, such a disciple devotes him/herself to either full-time or part-time pro-life activity, in accordance with the spirituality developed by Priests for Life.

This involves making certain commitments to prayer, personal study, and pro-life work to the extent that one’s duties permit. We would provide opportunities for local Life Cell gatherings in which one could learn the spirituality of the Society and be with other people who are making a similar commitment.

On July 1, 2007 Fr. Frank Pavone accepted the first promises of (L to R) Mike Stack, MI, Rita Smith, PA, Theresa Leitold, PA, Veronica Kull, PA, Shelly Glanton, NC and Brenda Desormeaux, LA. Click here for more photos.

Very simply, whatever pro-life work you are already doing can now be done in the context of the spiritual commitment to belong to this Association, and with the special blessing of the Church which such membership brings.

"Missionaries of the Gospel of Life" and "Priests for Life" are the same canonical entity, an Association of the Faithful.

For some throughout the pro-life movement, there is a sense of isolation from the local Church, particularly when there isn't the leadership or encouragement that should be available at the parish level. Pro-life activists are sometimes made to feel like "outsiders."

By belonging to this Association, however, the blessing and support of the Church will be felt in a new way and pro-life activists will be affirmed in what they are doing by their unity with other members of the Society.

This new Pro-life Society is a direct response to the call issued by John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae: “What is urgently called for is a general mobilization of consciences and a united ethical effort to activate a great campaign in support of life. All together, we must build a new culture of life” (EV, n.95).  

Missionaries of the Gospel of Life witness before the Church and the world to the priority of the right to life as the foundation of all other rights, and to the absolute claims to respect and protection that this right makes upon every individual and community in the human family. The Society promotes and defends the natural human right to life, in the light of the Gospel, focusing in particular on ending the scourge of abortion.

Missionaries of the Gospel of Life undertake a process of spiritual and pro-life formation, and then make special promises to defend human life and to collaborate with the Society by following its spirituality and sharing its mission to the extent that their duties allow.

Left: Lay Associate Training in Birmingham, AL - February 2006

 

We participate in four overarching spiritual disciplines for personal formation, and to “flesh out” the spirituality and virtues of the Association.   

 

If a person wants to be a Missionary of the Gospel of Life, there is a period of discernment and study, after which, upon mutual agreement of the Association and the individual, a commitment is made through the special promises mentioned above. 

Jim Pinto, with some of the attendees at a Missionaries of the Gospel of Life-Lay Associates Life Cell/Vision Casting meeting. St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Illinois

Your next steps:

• The filling out of the online lay membership form is vital in confirming your interest in pursuing this call.  You can also download this form in PDF format.

• Commit to saying the Prayer to End Abortion and the Pro-Life Prayer of Consecration each day.  To order a prayer card with both of these prayers, click here.

• Study Pope John Paul II’s encyclical The Gospel of Life online by using the companion Study Guide from Priests for Life.

• Be sure you are subscribed

•  to Fr. Frank Pavone’s bi-weekly column on the latest Pro-life issues and activities. Request it at  subscribe@priestsforlife.org. You will be updated on the latest opportunities to assist you in discerning your membership in the Missionaries of the Gospel of Life!
   

Our special email address for the Lay Missionaries of the Gospel of Life  is missionary@priestsforlife.org. You will hear more from Jim Pinto in the future. [Click here for an archive of correspondence from Jim]. Assisting him at our office is John Fagundes.

 

Thanks, and God bless you!

Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director

Back