Prayer remains one of the most powerful weapons in the struggle to protect human life in the womb.
It is a fight that will likely endure for many more centuries, but with the help of God, anything is possible.
Below is a collection of four prayers for the protection of unborn babies threatened by abortion.
Pope Benedict XVI's prayer
Lord Jesus,
You who faithfully visit and fulfill with your Presence the Church and the history of men; You who in the miraculous Sacrament of your Body and Blood render us participants in divine Life and allow us a foretaste of the joy of eternal Life; We adore and bless you.Prostrated before You, source and lover of Life, truly present and alive among us, we beg you.
Reawaken in us respect for every unborn life, make us capable of seeing in the fruit of the maternal womb the miraculous work of the Creator, open our hearts to generously welcoming every child that comes into life.
Bless all families, sanctify the union of spouses, render fruitful their love.
Accompany the choices of legislative assemblies with the light of your Spirit, so that peoples and nations may recognize and respect the sacred nature of life, of every human life.
Guide the work of scientists and doctors, so that all progress contributes to the integral well-being of the person, and no one endures suppression or injustice.
Give creative charity to administrators and economists, so they may realize and promote sufficient conditions so that young families can serenely embrace the birth of new children.
Console the married couples who suffer because they are unable to have children and in Your goodness provide for them.
Teach us all to care for orphaned or abandoned children, so they may experience the warmth of your Charity, the consolation of your divine Heart.
Together with Mary, Your Mother, the great believer, in whose womb you took on our human nature, we wait to receive from You, our Only True Good and Savior, the strength to love and serve life, in anticipation of living forever in You, in communion with the Blessed Trinity.
Prayer for the child in the womb
Lord Jesus, you are the source and lover of life.
Reawaken in us respect for every human life.Help us to see in each child the marvelous work of our Creator.
Open our hearts to welcome every child
as a unique and wonderful gift.Guide the work of doctors, nurses and midwives.
May the life of a mother and her baby in the womb
be equally cherished and respected.Help those who make our laws to uphold
the uniqueness and sacredness of every human life,
from the first moment of conception to natural death.Give us wisdom and generosity to build a society that cares for all.
Together with Mary, your Mother,
in whose womb you took on our human nature,
Help us to choose life in every decision we take.We ask this in the joyful hope of eternal life with you,
and in the communion of the Blessed Trinity. Amen.Our Lady of Knock, pray for us.
All the Saints of Ireland, pray for us.
Prayer for the protection of babies
O God, since Thou hast laid the little children into our arms in utter helplessness with no protection, save our love, we pray that the sweet appeal of their baby hands may not be in vain.
Let no innocent life in our city be quenched again in useless pain, through our ignorance and sin. May we who are mothers or fathers seek eagerly to join wisdom to our love, lest love itself be deadly when unguided by knowledge.
Bless the doctors and nurses and all the friends of men, who are giving of their skill and devotion to the care of our children. If there are any who were kissed by love in their own infancy but who have no child to whom they may give as they have received, grant them such largeness of sympathy that they may rejoice to pay their debt in full to all children who have need of them.
Forgive us our Father for the heartlessness of the past. Grant us great tenderness for all babies who suffer and a growing sense of the divine mystery that is brooding in the soul of every child. Amen.
Prayer of protection
Lord God, Creator of all things, mighty and awesome, just and forgiving, you alone are good and kind. You saved Israel from all manner of plagues, making our forefathers your chosen people, and hallowing them by the touch of your Spirit. You, by the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, prepared the body and soul of the glorious Virgin Mary to be a worthy dwelling for your Son. You filled John the Baptist with the Holy Spirit, causing him to leap with joy in his mother’s womb. Accept the offering of a humble spirit, and grant the heartfelt desire of your servant, N. who pleads for the safety of the child you allowed her to conceive. Guard the life that is yours; defend it from all the craft and spite of the pitiless foe. Let your gentle hand, like that of a skilled physician, aid her delivery, bringing her offspring safe and sound to the light of day. May her child live to be reborn in holy baptism, and continuing always in your service, be found worthy of attaining everlasting life; through Christ our Lord.Lord, we beg you to visit this dwelling, and to drive away from it and from this servant of yours, N, all the enemy’s wiles. Let your holy angels be appointed here to keep her and her offspring in peace; and let your blessing + ever rest upon her. Save them, almighty God, and grant them your everlasting light; through Christ our Lord.
