October is set aside by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) as Respect Life month. This coming Sunday is Respect Life Sunday; read the Bishops’ Statement for Respect Life Sunday. So the question is, what can you do during this Respect Life Month? We have seven suggestions for you.

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Pray, pray, pray. Pray for an end to abortion. Pray for respect for all stages of life from conception to natural death. You can pray the pro-life novena which began on September 29. Jump in now or start it on your own. You can pray a daily rosary this month for the respect of all life, you can spiritually adopt a baby at risk of abortion, or pray a Memorare for life and add your prayers to the Memorare Meter on Relevant Radio’s website (look for the meter at the top of the main page). Prayer is one of the most important things we can do.

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Are you familiar with 40 Days for Life? Check out their website for information on prayer vigils in your area. This fall’s 40 Days started in September and goes through early November, so there is plenty of time to participate. If there is not a 40 Days for Life in your area, look into setting one up in your area for the next campaign. In addition, pray along with those who are attending prayer vigils. Again, pray, pray, pray.

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Staying in the prayer theme (hard to ignore it’s importance, isn’t it?), October 12 is the Public Square Rosary Campaign. Over 10,000 cities across the country are participating. Is your city? Check the website to find out. And then attend.

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Respect life extends to all aspects of life, including the end of life. Take some time this month to visit a nursing home. Get the kids involved, contact a nursing home ahead of time to find out if there are any activities you and your kids can do with or for the residents. Just going to visit is also an incredible gift to the residents of the home. I go to one in my area on occasion to visit a friend there. While there we also go into other residents’ rooms to say hi. They always love seeing the kids!

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October is also Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Approximately 90% of babies diagnosed with Down Syndrome are aborted. This is an incredibly sad figure. The National Down Syndrome Society hosts a Buddy Walk every year around this time. Most are in October, but depending on where you live it could have been in late-September or could be coming up in early-November. Consider participating in the 2013 Buddy Walk to help raise funds for the Society and their mission of “promoting the value, acceptance, and inclusion of people with Down Syndrome.”

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A great way to promote Respect Life month is by using social media. We are all aware of the downfalls of social media, how about putting it to good use, instead! Share links to pro-life posts, articles, websites, and blogs (you can start with this post, no pressure 😉 ). Share pictures, stories, and more. You never know what might plant a seed in someone else’s mind from something they see you post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and whatever else you might use.

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Finally, we want your participation in this last suggestion. October 15 is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. This year, like we have in the past, we will be posting stories from our writers throughout the day. In addition, we hope you’ll share your own stories on your blog (if you have one). Our first post of the day will include a link-up where you can link up your stories from your blog. This will be a great way to share our stories with each other. We hope you’ll participate. Put your post up on October 15 and then come visit us to link it up. Our post will go up at 5:00 A.M. central time that day.

There is so much more that we can do during Respect Life Month. Have any suggestions to add? Let us know in the comments.

Be sure to check out more Quick Takes posts at Conversion Diary.