Denver Catholic

2 I CATHOLIC LIFE SEPTEMBER 24, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER ARCHBISHOP'S COLUMN MOST REV. SAMUEL J. AQUILA Last week I met two amazing women dedicated to healing the broken. They were from Rachel's Vineyard, an apostolate that holds retreats for men and women who have experi- enced the tragic consequences of choosing abortion. During our meeting I heard something that surprised me. I learned that sometimes people in parishes question the need for retreats for those who have aborted their children. The fact that these retreats are being questioned is revealing. It shows that some people have failed to grasp the power and depth of God's mercy, which is able to wipe away every sin. Abortion is undeniably a grave sin, but it is by no means a sin beyond God's mercy. It also demonstrates that it is not widely known that abor- tion not only takes an innocent life but also inflicts deep wounds on the mother and father. Christ longs to forgive and heal those who have sinned, no matter what the sin, and he desires to do so through his Church. Benedict XVI reflected on this truth in a 2008 address to priests on the importance of the sacrament of confession in our day. To illustrate his point, he recalled the passage from Luke's Gospel (7:36-50) in which a well-known prostitute walks into the house of Simon the Pharisee, while he is host- ing Jesus for dinner. The sinful woman expressed her repentance by bathing Jesus' feet with her tears, drying them with her hair and anointing them with oil. In contrast, Simon presumed that he was righteous and that he had nothing serious to be for- given for. Then-Pope Benedict explained, the "message that shines out from this Gospel passage is eloquent: God forgives all to those who love much. Those who trust in themselves and in their own merits are … blinded by their ego and their heart is hardened in sin." Every one of us is a sinner, and we must pray for the on- going conversion of our hearts, so we are convicted that, in the words of the former pontiff, "God's mercy … is infinitely greater than any guilt of ours." This is the message men and women receive during Rachel's Vineyard retreats. A woman named Amee said that before the retreat her guilt and pain were so great that she could not say the word "abortion." But through the healing that took place on the weekend, she re-established her relationship with Jesus Christ and fell in love with the Church. Her encounter with Jesus, his mercy and compassion, brought her to repent and receive the healing mercy of Jesus. After the retreat she said, "I understand the power of God's forgiveness and love. I have been able to grieve the loss of my daughter and honor her life with the gift of service to help others experience God's healing love." One dad who attended a Rachel's Vineyard retreat also spoke about how he was transformed by the weekend. "I never realized what a need there was in my life for this heal- ing. I needed to consider that men need to heal also." In her diary "Divine Mercy in My Soul," St. Faustina Kow- alska recounted a conversation she had with Christ that Jesus, teach us to imitate your mercy PRO-LIFE RESOURCES OCTOBER IS RESPECT LIFE MONTH Do you have a business, ministry or service that respects and supports the sanctity of life at all stages? Let the community know by advertising in our pro-life resources listings. Contact Cindy at 303-715-3212 or email service.directory@archden.org for further information. BY JULIE FILBY Prayer campaigns being pro- moted in the Archdiocese of Denver are described below. Novena to Our Lady Undoer of Knots Sept. 28-Oct. 6 Archbishop Samuel Aquila encourages prayer warriors to join him in a nine-day devotion with the intention of "undoing the knot of abortion" in Colo- rado and the United States. The novena begins on the feast of Our Lady Undoer of Knots and continues through the vigil of the feast of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. Seminarians of St. John Vianney Theological Semi- nary wrote daily meditations to orient the joint prayer. The devotion originated in Germany, inspired by the story of a married man, Wolfgang Lan- genmantel, who sought counsel from Jesuit Father Jakob Rem to save his marriage. On Sept. 28, 1615, he brought the couple's wedding ribbon—symbolizing the unbreakable bond of mar- riage—to the appointment. The priest raised it before an image of Our Lady of the Snows while symbolically untying knots. As he smoothed the ribbon, it be- came white as snow, which was taken as confirmation that their prayers had been heard, and in- deed, the marriage was saved. In 1700, the couple's grandson commissioned a painting com- memorating the event. It hangs in the Church of St. Peter am Per- lach in Augsburg, Bavaria, Ger- many and is venerated as Mary Untier of Knots. Father Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, discovered the devotion while studying in Germany, and brought it back to his native Argentina, where it remains popular, as well as throughout South America. To pray the novena: Begin by reading a short reflection written by a seminarian. Make the sign of the cross and say the Prayer to Our Lady Undoer of Knots written by Cardinal Jorge Bergo- glio/Pope Francis. Pray an act of contrition, followed by the first three decades of the rosary. Read and reflect on the meditation of the day, then say the last two de- cades of the rosary. Finish with the closing Prayer to Our Lady the Undoer of Knots. The reflections, prayers and daily meditations are available online at www.archden.org or call 303-715-3230 for a printed version. 40 Days for Life Sept. 24-Nov. 2 Forty Days for Life is a cam- paign of prayer and fasting, con- stant vigil, and community out- reach to end abortion. The most visible components of the cam- paign are peaceful prayer vigils held outside abortion clinics, generally from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Individuals and groups are asked to commit to particular days to ensure continuous prayer. The initiative began in Bryan-Col- lege Station, Texas, in 2004. Since then, an estimated 625,000 indi- viduals have participated in 539 cities: sparing 8,973 lives from abortion and contributing to the shut-down of 57 abortion facil- ities. Masses will be held across the street from Planned Parent- hood of the Rocky Mountains at 7155 E. 38th Ave. in Denver at 1 p.m. Sept. 24, 11:30 a.m. Sept. 29; 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon (Latin Mass) Oct. 4. Archbishop Aquila will pray the rosary there at 11 a.m. Oct. 1. For more infor- mation, visit www.40daysforlife. com/Denver, call 720-981-1675 or email 40Days@CCDenver.org. Our Lady of Czestochowa icon Sept. 27-Oct. 5 A replica of the famous icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, also known as the Black Ma- donna, will travel through Colo- rado as part of a worldwide pil- grimage organized by Human Life International. Through the tour, HLI hopes "the number of people who discover and defend the dignity of the hu- man being from conception to natural death will continuously increase." Miracles and healings have been credited as a result of praying with the icon, including outside abortion clinics. The icon will visit eight parishes as well as Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. For more information, visit www. hli.org/oceantoocean, www. DenverCatholicRegister.org or see the related story on Page 2 of the Sept. 17 Denver Catholic Register. International Week of Prayer and Fasting Sept. 20-Sept. 28 The International Prayer and Fasting Coalition urges peo- ple of all faiths to a worldwide week (nine days) of prayer and fasting for peace, with the spe- cific intention of stopping the brutality of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). During the campaign, already in progress, citizens are urged to participate as individuals, families and par- ishes by attending daily Masses, holy hours, going to confession, fasting and praying prayers such as the rosary and the Di- vine Mercy Chaplet. For more information visit iwopf.org. Four ways to join in prayer with others OUR Lady Undoer of Knots by Johann Melchior Georg Schmittdner See Aquila, Page 14

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