“O God, give your judgment to the King, and your justice to the King’s son, that he may govern your people with justice and your oppressed with right judgment…for he shall rescue the poor man when he cries out and the afflicted when he has no one to help him” (Ps. 72:1-2,12).
“He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free’” (Lk. 4:17-18).
Lord God,
Your Word foretold the coming of the Savior
As One who would rescue the afflicted,
And judge the people with justice.
And when He came,
Your Son Jesus Christ proclaimed
That His mission was to proclaim liberty to the captives
And let the oppressed go free.
He has indeed rescued us
From the oppression of sin and death
And saved us
When we could not save ourselves.
We pray now for children in the womb
Whose protection has been removed
By those who judge unjustly
And put human beings in bondage
Instead of freeing them from it.
Lord, stretch out Your hand
To the agencies of government
And infuse them with justice.
Grant to courts and judges
The right judgment that they need,
That their decisions may protect Your people.
Grant to governors, legislators, and heads of state
The ability to govern Your people with justice
And to enact policies that will save the unborn.
May we, as faithful citizens
Always bear witness to life
In the political and legislative arenas,
And in all we say and do.
We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director, Priests for Life