I saw this video from Uniquely Mary yesterday about praying for aborted, stillborn, unbaptised babies. There was a nice prayer in the comments which I typed out and am thinking of printing and sharing. I was hoping that some prayer theological experts here might just throw a look at it and see if there is anything problematic with the prayer. Thanks! "Prayers for Souls in Limbo. (from Uniquely Mary) Heavenly Father, Your love is eternal, in Your ocean of love you saved the world through your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Now look at Your only Son on the cross who is constantly bleeding for love of his people and forgive your world. Purify and baptise aborted children with the Precious Blood and Water from the Sacred side of Your Son, who hung dead on the cross for their salvation, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. May they through the Holy death of Jesus Christ get everlasting life, through His wounds be healed and through His Precious Blood be freed. There to rejoice with the saints in Heaven. Amen. "
I wonder how "baptism of desire" comes into the picture. Christian parents who suffered stillborn babies would have baptised the infants had they lived. Unable to think clearly enough, I did not baptise our stillborn, "Michael"' when I held him (though I may have prayed so at the time) but certainly expressed that desire in prayer later. Victims of abortion opens up an even bigger area for debate. I also wonder if 'baptism of blood' can be applied to these babies.
FWIW, My family prays at the following at the end of every daily rosary: Heavenly Father, in Your love for us, protect against the wickedness of the devil, those helpless little ones to whom You have given the gift of life. Touch with pity the hearts of those women pregnant in our world today who are not thinking of motherhood. Help them to see that the child they carry is made in Your image - as well as theirs - made for eternal life. Dispel their fear and selfishness, and give them true womanly hearts, to love their babies, and give them birth, and all the needed care that a mother alone can give. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and Holy Ghost, One God, forever and ever. Amen.
I encountered an argument by a catholic website which said basically " if you deny Limbo (and say aborted babies go to heaven) you're not pro-life, because it's better to go to heaven for sure. than face possibility of hell"). I DON'T agree with this statement ,but it's a strong argument-- likewise those who believe hell is temporal ie; universalists (note: the ones I've known say hell is real, and very terrible-- they just say it's not eternal but don't wish it away) accuse the ones who believe in eternal hell of being logically inconsistent given this. For me, the only solution to resolve this silogism while being both pro-life and theologically orthodoxy ,is to concede that indeed, aborted babies go to heaven- possibly through prayers of other people and not "automatically". I think the vietnamse Marcel Van, spiritual brother of ST Therese taught aborted babies are saints but I can't find that info anymore online
There is a liturgical feast on December 28th dedicated to the memory of the Holy Innocents, those newborns who died by order of the wicked King Herod. Can we say that some of these went directly to heaven, even without circumcision, when Christ opened the gates of paradise? And can we say that this fate applies to all babies who die without baptism, since circumcision (which was always performed 8 days after birth) was equivalent to the Sacrament of Baptism in the Old Covenant?
One desire in this final stage of my life (10 more years?) is to watch my grandchildren raised in the Faith, that they realize the price Christ paid so as to endear each of them to the Father, and that Geralyn and I can give witness to the grace of perseverance. In so doing they each will in turn appreciate the gift their parents have bequeathed to them, and then pass the Faith on to future generations. What better could I ask of the Holy Spirit? Such is the power of the Most Holy Rosary prayed by families! O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
My desire also. Yes we need to consider our legacy. Perseverance and trust in God's mercy and of course love. Life has so many ups and downs and I believe the future for our children and grandchildren will be difficult. The memories of the suffering of our family ancestors through persecution and famine was a powerful spur to hold on to the faith and to be faithful to the family rosary for my family. If families had continued with the rosary I believe the fall away from the faith would have not been so dramatic. The battle is still raging but we have the weapon on our hands. We all need to use it.
Perhaps the devil doesn't need to first lead us into mortal sin, but simply get us absorbed into the numerous distractions of movies, bodily comfort, internet, etc. Then we lose continuity and oops, I let Holy Mass slip by or confession slip by. Then the devil suggests, "What's the big deal, you didn't go to Holy Mass on a particular weekday and nothing has changed. You're still a good person. Don't worry, relax, maybe tomorrow or maybe next week. After all, you're fulfilling the commandment concerning the Lord's Day. Enjoy more free time. Once the habit is disrupted, lost spiritual disciplines give way to stronger temptations and one slips into tepidity. Oops! The daily recitation of the Holy Rosary fortifies and shields us. That's why the devil hates Our Lady. With her Mantle over us we are able to remain focused on Christ and long to bring joy to His Sacred Heart by pursuing the Sacraments and Adoration and good works for the sake of others.. Rev 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
I haven't heard anyone write about Limbo for such a long time I did a double take when I read this. After Vatican 2 they either stopped teaching about Limbo or flat out denied its existence. When I was a child there used to be a lovely little Church at the head of the Glen right beside the sea called St Bridget's and St Patrick's. They had a little graveyard for babies there as I suppose many Churches did back in the day. Every time I passed it I often thought of the mystery of Limbo we were taught as children. Form the writings of the mystics and saints who wrote of a place between heaven and Earth, a kind of transitory spot called Paradise or Limbo. A half way house so to speak. This is where the righteous stayed until the coming of Christ. This seems logical as Purgatory seems logical. It is a mystery and I am happy enough to wait for heaven to find out more. https://www.thecollector.com/christian-views-limbo-eplained/ 'Limbo is an intermediary state. The Patriarchs and Fathers of the Old Testament who died as faithful servants of God before Christ resided in Limbo until the atoning death on the cross allowed them access to heaven. In Limbo they did not receive full heavenly reward, nor did they suffer torment. To the Fathers and Patriarchs, this is a temporary residence. Another part of Limbo was dedicated to infants who died before they could be baptized.'
