Word of Life is a Respect Life monthly publication by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The USCCB chooses a featured theme or topic that will be presented here. Please check back each month to see the latest selection.
SEPTEMBER 2026 🔗️
September 9, 2026
Memorial of Saint Peter Claver, Priest
National Day of Prayer for Peace in Our Communities
St. Peter Claver was a Jesuit missionary from Spain who, in the 1600s, served and ministered to captured and enslaved Africans as they were taken off the slave ships landing in South America. St. Peter Claver desired to offer his life as “a slave of the slaves.”1
The U.S. Catholic bishops suggest that parishes “could use the National Day of Prayer for Peace in Our Communities, which falls on the feast of St. Peter Claver (September 9), to organize activities that foster community, dialogue, and reconciliation. These encounters will help open our minds and hearts more fully and continue the healing needed in our communities and our nation.”2
The following resources are available:
Prayer Service for the Feast Day of St. Peter Claver
Prayer for Peace in Our Communities
Prayer of the Faithful for the Day of Prayer for Peace in Our Communities
Additional resources for the Day of Prayer are available here. Additional resources from the Ad Hoc Committee against Racism can be found at www.usccb.org/racism.
1 Collect from the Mass of Saint Peter Claver, Roman Missal, Third Edition.
2 USCCB, Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, 25.
Excerpt from Roman Missal, Third Edition, © 2010 International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.
Racism and Life Issues
In their November 2018 Pastoral Letter Against Racism, Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, the U.S. Catholic bishops wrote, “racism occurs because a person ignores the fundamental truth that … all [humans are] equally made in the image of God.”1 Racism fails to acknowledge the dignity with which God creates each person, and it contributes to a culture of death. The Church in the United States has spoken out consistently against abortion, assisted suicide, euthanasia, the death penalty, and other threats to human life; it is not a secret that these attacks have severely affected people of color. These brothers and sisters are targeted for abortion, disproportionally affected by poverty, have the greatest numbers on death row, and are most likely to feel pressure to end their lives through assisted suicide when facing serious illness.2
The feast of St. Peter Claver is an opportunity to highlight the connection between racism and various attacks against human life. As St. John Paul II reminded us, “Where life is involved, the service of charity must be profoundly consistent. It cannot tolerate bias and discrimination, for human life is sacred and inviolable at every stage and in every situation; it is an indivisible good”3 (emphasis added.) Additional parish resources for combatting racism are available online.
1 USCCB, Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, 4.
2 Ibid, 30.
3 Pope Saint John Paul II, Evangelium vitae (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1995), no. 87.
Excerpt from Evangelium vitae, © 1995, Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission. All rights reserve
Download and order other Respect Life materials! www.respectlife.org
Copyright © 2026, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved.
AUGUST 2026 🔗️
Reflection on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary August 15, 2026
The Solemnity of the Assumption celebrates the Blessed Mother’s entrance into heavenly glory. The Catechism explains that Mary “was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son’s Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of his Body” (CCC, 974).
Mary’s Assumption into heaven reminds us that life on earth is a pilgrimage to our ultimate destination. We prepare in hope for our own passage into eternal life by the choices we make today. When we choose to love and follow God in our daily lives, we strengthen our relationship with Him, and this relationship is the true meaning of heaven: “To live in heaven is ‘to be with Christ’” (CCC, 1025).
We can see how, throughout her life, the Blessed Mother continually chose to go deeper into her relationship with God. She modeled how to value and respect His precious gift of human life, from the moment of conception to its natural end. In the Annunciation, through her “yes,” Mary witnessed to the undeniable humanity of pre-born children as she conceived and carried the Christ child in her womb. After the Annunciation, having learned that her cousin Elizabeth was with child, she went in haste to her aid.
Our Blessed Mother shows us how the way we live today can prepare us, in hope, to also enter into heavenly glory at the end of our lives. Are we open to God’s precious gift of new life? How do we support pregnant mothers and parents? Do we prioritize showing our love to those who are ill or aging? Do we care for them in a way that respects God’s gift of life?
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition © 2000 LEV-USCCB. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2026, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved.
JULY 2026 🔗️
National NFP Awareness Week: July 19-25, 2026
The dates of Natural Family Planning Awareness Week highlight the anniversary of the papal encyclical Humanae vitae (July 25) and the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne (July 26), the parents of the Blessed Mother.
Couples’ stories, sample intercessions, homily notes, and more can be found online.
The 2026 poster is available to download or order.
Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne: July 26, 2026
St. Anne and St. Joachim became the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary after a long struggle with infertility. They honored God by forming their daughter in the faith, preparing her heart for the coming of Christ. Ultimately, as the grandparents of Jesus Christ, may they intercede for us all in passing on the faith to both children and grandchildren.
The Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is celebrated on July 26. They are powerful intercessors for married couples, expectant mothers, and married couples who are having difficulty conceiving, as well as people who are aging. Copies of the “Faith and Perseverance” novena to Saints Anne and Joachim are available for download or purchase. You can pray the novena from July 17-25 in preparation for their feast day.
Novena: Read Online | Download Ordering information is available here.
St. Anne and St. Joachim, pray for us!
JUNE 2026 🔗️
Consecrating the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
In June 2026, as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. bishops will consecrate the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Parishes around the country are encouraged to join the bishops in consecrating our nation to the Sacred Heart in June.
For more information & resources, visit www.usccb.org/weholdthesetruths.