The St. Michael Campaign: Prayer for Souls in Bondage
By John Mallon

This week, on the Feast of the Archangels, Human Life International launched a renewed campaign of prayer; the St. Michael Campaign. This campaign is for the conversion of abortionists. HLI has always maintained that the abortion battle is primarily a spiritual battle of, as they say, biblical proportions. As we have been saying throughout these columns of Humanae Vitae Priests, widespread contraception was the “prequel” to abortion. In the United States it only took five years from the widespread rejection of Humanae Vitae to the horror of Roe v. Wade.

As difficult as it may seem from a human level, we want to see these abortionists in Heaven, and we want to be glad to see them! But first they need to repent of their horrific activities and turn to Christ. As those of us who are sinners know, we cannot overcome sin in our lives on our own power. We must turn to Jesus Christ and be washed with His blood shed for us on the Cross. What makes a sinner throw up his hands and howl for mercy? Often it is the pain and misery that our sin has caused us. But whenever a sinner repents it is always by grace. God can and does bestow His grace freely, but what opens a hardened heart to receive it? Most often it is prayer. Someone loved us enough to pray for us.

As Christians we are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves, even as Christ loved us. Again, this is hard to take on a merely human level, but if we lack love for abortionists and abortion promoters, we must pray for the grace to love them. Obviously, we don’t love what they do—we rightly hate what they do—but like St. Paul we all do things we hate, that is, sin (Romans 7:15). We recognize our need for mercy. We pray for mercy and grace to be granted to fellow sinners, the abortionists.

If it is hard to imagine being glad to see abortionists in Heaven, look how we rejoice in Dr. Bernard Nathanson, a man very much alive, who was convicted by the Holy Spirit and repented. He is a hero in pro-life circles, although he would never accept the accolade. We should pray that all abortionists and abortion promoters receive the grace granted to Dr. Nathanson and St. Paul himself, (a former persecutor of Christians). In that way we will be truly glad to see them in Heaven, just as we are now glad to see Dr. Nathanson as a Catholic pro-lifer.

I urge everyone to join this campaign of prayer for those in the abortion industry. They are caught in a web of evil, murder, death and deceit. It is a battle not only for the lives of babies, but for the souls of abortionists. They are God’s children in a terrible diabolical bondage.

We at Humanae Vitae Priests urge all readers to participate in the St. Michael Campaign by signing the Pledge of Support and ordering the free prayer cards, available in five languages (you only pay shipping and handling). The St. Michael prayer is also available in 25 languages on the campaign website. Additionally, there are downloadable, printable versions of the Pledge of Support.

The St. Michael Campaign also includes asking bishops and priests to lead their dioceses and congregations in saying the St. Michael Prayer after the final blessing of each Mass. Please join us in this great effort. We pray that the results will truly be of “biblical proportions!”

Human Life International
4 Family Life Lane -- Front Royal, VA 22630 U.S.A.
Phone: (540) 635-7884 Fax: (540) 622-6247
E-mail: hli@hli.org Website: www.hli.org