22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 3, 2023)
Jer 20.7-9; Rom 12.1-2; Mt 16.21-27
How often do we who strive to defend the sanctity of life feel like lamenting like the Prophet Jeremiah, who in the first reading was called by the Lord to be a prophet to Judah.
Just as Jeremiah expressed his frustration with the Lord for seemingly having duped him into proclaiming the Lord’s words and then facing rejection from those in authority, we Catholics today too must endure ridicule at the hands of a culture that doesn’t want to hear about the inherent dignity of the human person through all stages in life.
Yet if we imitate Jeremiah in his private venting and mounting frustration, let us likewise imitate his unwillingness to turn away from his prophetic calling. About our pro-life message let us say, “I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot”.
In this way, we too submit to the power of the Lord acting in us, and to the power that the Lord’s word will have over those who persecute us.
Pro-Life Intercession
That those who defend and promote abortion may be transformed by the renewal of their minds, and always defend the right of every person to life, we pray to the Lord ...