Prayer to Mary (Evangelium Vitae)
O Mary,
bright dawn of the new world,
Mother of the living,
to you do we entrust the cause of life
Look down, O Mother,
upon the vast numbers
of babies not allowed to be born,
of the poor whose lives are made difficult,
of men and women
who are victims of brutal violence,
of the elderly and the sick killed
by indifference or out of misguided mercy.
Grant that all who believe in your Son
may proclaim the Gospel of life
with honesty and love
to the people of our time.
Obtain for them the grace
to accept that Gospel
as a gift ever new,
the joy of celebrating it with gratitude
throughout their lives
and the courage to bear witness to it
resolutely, in order to build,
together with all people of good will,
the civilization of truth and love,
to the praise and glory of God,
the Creator and lover of life.
Psalm 8
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth! Thou whose glory above the heavens is chanted
by the mouth of babes and infants, thou hast founded a bulwark because of thy foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established;
what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him?
Yet thou hast made him little less than God, and dost crown him with glory and honor.
Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the sea.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth!
Psalm 33
Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.
Praise the LORD with the lyre, make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
Sing to him a new song, play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
For the word of the LORD is upright; and all his work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle; he put the deeps in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood forth.
The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to naught; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the LORD stands for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
The LORD looks down from heaven, he sees all the sons of men;
from where he sits enthroned he looks forth on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions the hearts of them all, and observes all their deeds.
A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save.
Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
that he may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and shield.
Yea, our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.
Let thy steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in thee.
Psalm 28
To thee, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the Pit.
Hear the voice of my supplication, as I cry to thee for help, as I lift up my hands toward thy most holy sanctuary.
Take me not off with the wicked, with those who are workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors, while mischief is in their hearts.
Requite them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds; requite them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward.
Because they do not regard the works of the LORD, or the work of his hands, he will break them down and build them up no more.
Blessed be the LORD! for he has heard the voice of my supplications.
The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
The LORD is the strength of his people, he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
O save thy people, and bless thy heritage; be thou their shepherd, and carry them forever.