Fr. Pavone's prayer

Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to
Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They
stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away,
leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going
down the same road, and when he saw the man, he
passed by on the other side. So, too, a Levite, when
he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the
other side."

"But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man
was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He
went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil
and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took
him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he
took out two silver coins and gave them to the
innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I
return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense
you may have.'"

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to
the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The
expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on
him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

-- Luke 10:30-37

Here Jesus commands us to show mercy to the victims
of the culture of violence and death.

But why did the priest and Levite fail to show mercy?
Perhaps they feared that the robbers were hiding just
around the next corner to attack them. They asked
themselves, "If I stop to help this man, what will
happen to me?"

The Samaritan, however, reversed the question, and
asked, "If I don't stop to help this man, what will
happen to him?"

In working to save the unborn, let's not worry about
what will happen to us if we act; let's worry about
what will happen to the unborn if we don't.

Father, we are moved by the lesson of the Good
Samaritan, who allowed compassion to influence him
more than fear. Give us the same heart.

Grant that we may never count the cost of standing up
and speaking out for the unborn. We pray through
Christ our Lord, Amen.