Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer for Nascent Human Life

Lord Jesus, who faithfully visit and fill with Your presence the Church and the history of mankind, who in the wondrous Sacrament of Your Body and Your Blood make us sharers in the divine Life and give us a foretaste of the joy of eternal Life, we adore You and bless You. Bowing humbly before You, Source and Lover of life, truly present and living among us, we implore You: awaken in us respect for every human life that is coming into being, make us able to see in the fruit of the mother's womb the wondrous work of the Creator, prepare our hearts to welcome generously every child who is getting ready for life.

Bless families, sanctify marriages, make their love fruitful. Enlighten with the light of Your Spirit the decisions of legislatures, so that peoples and nations may recognize and respect the sacredness of life, of every human life. Guide the work of scientists and doctors, so that progress may contribute to the integral good of the person and that no one may be killed and no one may suffer injustice. Grant creative charity to those who govern and to economists, so that they may know how to foresee and secure suitable conditions for young families to open themselves serenely to welcoming more children.

Comfort married couples who suffer because they cannot have children, and in Your goodness provide for them what they long for. Teach everyone to care for orphans and abandoned children, so that they may experience the warmth of Your love and the consolation of Your divine Heart. Together with Mary, Your Mother, the woman of great faith, in whose womb You took on our human nature, we await from You, our one true Good and Savior, the strength to love life and to serve it, in the hope of eternal life in You, in the communion of the Blessed Trinity. Amen.