A PRAYER for THOSE CONSIDERING ORGAN DONATION
What you do for the least of My brothers and sisters, you do for Me. Matthew 25:45
Presence of God
I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have called you and you are Mine. (Jeremiah 31:3)
Lord, You have gifted us with the gift of life and walked with us in our times of joys and sorrows, sickness
and health, light and darkness. We praise and thank You for Your continual presence and love in our lives.
1 John 4: 7-21
1.
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God;
2.
Everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
1.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
2.
In this way the love of God was revealed to us:
God sent His only Son into the world so that we might have life through Him.
1.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another.
2.
No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another,
God remains in us, and His love is brought to perfection in us.
1.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in us and we in God.
2.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in us.
1.
We love because He first loved us.
2.
If anyone says, "I love God," but hates his/her brother or sister, that person is a liar;
for whoever does not love a brother or sister whom we have seen
cannot love God Whom we have not seen.
All:
This is the commandment we have from Him:
whoever loves God must also love his/her brother and sister.
Reflection:
The Gospel of life is to be celebrated above all in daily living, which should be filled with self-giving love
for others. Over and above such outstanding moments, there is an every day heroism, made up of gestures
of sharing, big or small, which build up an authentic culture of life. A particularly praiseworthy example of
such gestures is the donation of organs, performed in an ethically acceptable manner, with a view to offering
a chance of health and even of life itself to the sick who sometimes have no other hope.” Pope John Paul II
THINK ABOUT IT
You could help up to 50 people if you donate your organs and tissue.Your heart could beat for someone else.
Your lungs could breathe for someone else.Your kidneys could free two people from dialysis.
Your liver could save the life of a person awaiting transplantation.Your corneas could give sight to two people,
Your bones could help repair other people’s damaged joints.Your skin could help heal many burn victims.
GIVE THE GREATEST GIFT - THE GIFT OF LIFE.
Scripture reading: Luke 10:25-37
There was a scholar of the law 11 who stood up to test him and said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" He said in reply, "You shall love the Lord, your
God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as
yourself." He replied to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live." But because he wished to
justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man fell victim to robbers as he went
down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened
to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the
place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was
moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged
them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him. The next day he took out two
silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, 'Take care of him. If you spend more than what I
have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.' Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the
robbers' victim?" He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
Intercessions
Response: Lord, fill our hearts with gratitude, graciousness and compassion.
Christ, it was You Who showed us how to love, now fill us with compassion for others. We pray:
Christ, help us to give of ourselves after we die so others may have life. We pray:
Christ, bless us with a spirit of generosity and love. We pray:
Christ, be with the doctors and medical teams who do transplantations. We pray:
Christ, bless the recipients who receive new life. May their lives be fruitful and healthy. We pray:
Christ, be with the families of donors and let them know that their loved one’s spirit lives on in others. We pray:
Christ, bless those who have been generous in death. We pray:
Prayer
I accept my own life as a blessing and a gift from You, O Lord.
My heart is always ready to do Your Will.
May I always share the gifts that I receive
fully, freely and with joy.
I make this prayer in the name of Jesus
Who first showed us how to live and to love.
Amen.
HOW TO BE A DONOR
Register with your state donor registry.
Designate your decision on your driver’s license.
Sign a donor card and carry it with you.
Talk with your family about your donor decision.
DONORS DESPERATELY NEEDED NOW
Each day about 77 people receive organ transplants
while about 19 people die waiting for a transplant
because of a shortage of donated organs.
Live Jesus in our hearts.
Forever!