Fr. Pavone Prayer 1

God our Creator,
we give thanks to you,
who alone have the power to impart the breath of life
as you form each of us in our mother's womb;
grant, we pray,
that we, whom you have made stewards of creation,
may remain faithful to this sacred trust
and constant in safeguarding the dignity
of every human life.

Drawing images from Genesis 2:7 and Psalm 139, the prayer affirms that only God can create. Parents cooperate with his creative power, but the conception of each new life is a direct choice and act of God. He alone owns human life -- not parents, nor doctors, nor government -- and he alone can take it.

Our role, as the prayer indicates, is to carry out a "sacred trust" as "stewards." In "The Gospel of Life," Blessed John Paul II said it this way: "Yes, every man is his 'brother's keeper', because God entrusts us to one another" (EV, 19). Some think it's none of their business to defend the life of someone else's child. But God Himself makes it our business. The child scheduled to be killed today by abortion is our brother, our sister, our sacred trust.

We safeguard human life in a variety of ways, including speaking words of encouragement, teaching, assisting parents, and shaping public policy.