Have you Commissioned Your Respect Life Group?

Each year, many parishes and schools hold commissioning services for various ministerial groups: servers, catechists, choirs, and so forth.

How about commissioning the respect life group? Promoting the sacredness of life is certainly a ministry. It is a work that especially requires fortitude and prudence.

A suggested format would be to call the members forward after the homily, ask them some questions, say a prayer of blessing, and present them with a symbol of their mission.

Questions could be:

Are you resolved to promote the church's teachings on the dignity of human life, as outlined in The Gospel of Life?

Are you ready to work together with your pastor, under the guidance of the Bishops' Pastoral Plan for Pro Life Activities, to pray, educate, shape public policy, and provide concrete assistance to women in crisis pregnancies?

The prayer of blessing can be:

Father of all life, we thank you that you have called us into being and made us the people of life. Bless our brothers and sisters who dedicate themselves to be a voice for the voiceless, a defense for the defenseless. By their example enable all of us to proclaim, celebrate, and serve the Gospel of Life. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

The symbol given to members of the committee can be the Precious Feet, the pro-life rose, or a copy of The Gospel of Life. Such a ceremony could be done at any time of the year. If your parish decides to do this commissioning, please let us know at Priests for Life!