Novena Day 3:

"Create in me, oh God, a pure heart; give me a new and steadfast spirit. Do not cast me away from Your Presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me."
(Psalm 51:12,13)

Reflection: Lord, the Psalmist was indeed right when he said: "Lord, how great are your deeds!" for though tiny in size, at just 22 days, the heart of an unborn child is already beating! At 6 weeks, an unborn child's heartbeat can be heard by ultrasound and this despite the fact that he/she is barely half a centimetre long! Lord Jesus, the verse at the beginning wasn't about the unborn child.

These unborn children already have pure and innocent hearts! No Lord, that verse is about me, about my neighbour, about my society and about us in general. Lord, we need pure hearts, hearts that go out for these little children, hearts that are courageous in the face of this tragedy and that will defend life so that no more heartbeats are stopped by abortion. Lord, give us pure hearts!

Today, stop to think about God's heart. Think of how God's heart goes out for these children. Think of how He must be deeply saddened by abortion and think of how God wants you and me to do our utmost to defend life, particularly that of the helpless and unborn.

Prayer:
God and Father of Life, You have created every human person, and have opened the way for each to have eternal life. We live in the shadow of death. Tens of millions of your children have been killed because of the Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion. Father, have mercy on us, heal our world and accept our offering of prayer and penance. In Your love for us, turn back the scourge of abortion. May each of us exult in hearts full of hope and hands full of mercy and work together to build a culture of life.
We pray through Christ our Lord, Amen.

(This prayer is from the Priests for Life website, May God continue to bless us through their work for life!)

Contributed by: Ruth Vella