40 DAYS FOR LIFE: DAY 34

"40 DAYS FOR LIFE: DAY 34, OCTOBER 29
Daily Devotional by: Fr. Frank Pavone****************

INTENTION: Pray that God's people may understand deeply, and live effectively, the truth that love leads to life, and leads us to offer our lives for one another.
SCRIPTURE: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." -- 1 Jn.4:7-10
REFLECTION: The basis of Christianity is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Christians rejoice in the Resurrection, because it is the victory of life not only for Christ but for each person who believes in Him. Christ's rising from the grave means that we too will rise from the grave! The victory of life is also the victory of love. From the first page of Scripture to the last, it is clear that love leads to life. These two realities cannot be separated, because they are rooted in the one God, who cannot be divided. Scripture tells us that God is love (1 Jn. 4:8). Scripture also tells us that God is life (see Jn.14:6). Love and life always go together. We see this in creation. Where were you 100 years ago today? You were nowhere; you did not exist. So why are you here today? How were you rescued from that nothingness you were once in? Certainly you did not ask to be born. You weren't there to do the asking. Certainly you did not earn it because you weren't thereto do anything that could earn it. What accounts for the fact that you are here? We can say that your parents came together and you were conceived and born, and that is true. But that doesn't fully answer the question of why you are here. When your parents came together, there could have been millions of possible people conceived and born, who would have been your brothers or sisters. I t didn't have to be you! The only ultimate explanation of why you are here is that God loves you. He chose you to be! In fact, at each moment He is literally loving you into existence. If He stopped loving you for one instant, you would fall back into the nothingness you were in 100 yearsago. Love leads to life. This is clear also in the mystery of salvation. St. John tells us, "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his only Son into the world that we might have life through him" (1 Jn 4:9). Christ's love for us brought Him to the cross, and this led to the victory of life. The cross is the best symbol of love. Love is self-giving for the good of another person. Christ gives His life for us, without complaining and without counting the cost. His concern is that we might have life. Having shown His love for us in this way, He instructs us, "Love one another as I have loved you" (Jn. 15:12). He does not say, "Love one another in whatever way you want," but rather, "as I have loved you." We are called to love in a way that brings forth new life. We are called to give ourselves, without counting the cost, that others may live.
PRAYER: God of love and life, we see your love manifest in the sacrifice your Son made for our sins. Fix our eyes on this proof of your love; fill our hearts with its lessons for our lives. Teach your people, day after day and choice after choice, that love always leads to life. Give us that greatest love that anyone can have, to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters, especially those who are most vulnerable. We pray in Jesus' Name, AMEN

David Bereit
National Campaign Director
40 Days for Life"