On a beautiful Friday evening in January, while the city of San Francisco was abuzz with weekends beginning, groups of young Catholics and Walk for Life pilgrims joyfully headed to North Beach to pray.
Inside a dimly lit Saints Peter and Paul Church, the pews were filled with faithful, most of them young people, for all-night Adoration for Life.
Across the city at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church, attendees of the Walk for Life Vigil were also spending their evening adoring the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, preparing for Saturday’s events on the Jan. 22nd 49th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.
While the Walk for Life is the public witness through the streets of San Francisco, the prayer surrounding the Walk is just as critical to the event. The Vigil Mass and Eucharistic Adoration in churches across the city provide an opportunity for an encounter with Love and Mercy Himself, in order for adorers to then be the face of Christ to others.
The Walk for Life day itself began, as always, with the Walk for Life Mass celebrated by San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption.
Brother Nikolas Simon, a Chaldean Catholic monk from the Sons of the Covenant Monastery, traveled by bus with his parish and local high school students from El Cajon in San Diego County for the Walk and they were gathered in quiet prayer at the North Beach church. Speaking on the importance of prayer and adoration, Brother Nikolas said, “We can’t have a proper active life without a proper contemplative life. And with the most Holy Eucharist being exposed and having that intimate heart to heart friendship with Jesus Christ, who is Our Savior, we can be a radiating Christ for other people…in reality we are fighting for the change and conversion of hearts. And that requires a lot of grace and for people to encounter Christ…if we can be that radiating Christ for them, that encounter of healing, I think that can transform lives.”
Adoration at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in San Francisco following the Vigil Mass for the Walk for Life.
Franciscan Missionary of the Eternal Word, Father Mark Mary, host of Life on the Rock on EWTN, who was praying at Saints Peter and Paul, noted that, “Ultimately this is a spiritual battle. I think the praying Church is just hard to quantify. It gets overlooked…The faith gets us out here and it makes it matter to us. It fosters charity in us to care what’s going on. This is really the greatest loss of human life going on in the world. [Abortion] is the leading cause of death. And faith makes us care about it. It makes it an issue. Otherwise we just stay in our comfort zone and don’t come out.”
Full story at Archdiocese of San Francisco.
There is one more tremendous thing that is absolutely essential, that the Pro-Life movement has been avoiding, since its inception: promoting the virtue of Chastity, and teaching young people to remain chaste until their Wedding Night. And to respect and honor vows of marriage, and for husband and wife together to bring forth children, by God’s grace, and make a loving home and family. When the Pro-Life movement first started, right after the scandalous Roe vs. Wade decision, everyone told me, to never bring up the subjects of Chastity and Marriage, in any Pro-Life discussions with kids– because kids were too rebellious, and the Pro-Life movement would lose them. I never agreed with this philosophy. I believe in unconditional love, support and non-judgment– but also, maturity, and objectivity– and the responsibility and necessity of the Church and society to hold kids (and grown-ups) to good standards– Christ’s standards– of moral behavior.
After the Roe vs. Wade decision, it was scandalous, the number of Catholic clergy as well as laymen, who either sympathized with abortion– as well as birth control– or felt it was a “personal decision.” Many priests said they felt that the subject of abortion was “too controversial” to discuss, or teach. And many young Catholics were getting in trouble– and having abortions! No teaching, preaching, or guidance, from the post-Conciliar Church, to help the Catholic laity– they were abandoned!
That is not entirely true. Many of the prolife crisis centers have carried and still carry pamphlets on chastity and the many reasons why it is not good to have sex before marriage. Some of the women helped by those centers are married too.
Anne TE– Yes, you are right, people could get pamphlets with teachings on Christian morality. However, if you volunteered for working in a Pro-Life organization, discussions of Christian Morality were considered taboo. The whole focus was to be only on saving the baby. And I found that many parishes would not accept any suggestions for Pro-Life prayers, Rosaries, Masses, or anything else, nor a talk on the subject, decades ago — long before today’s era, and long before the SFWalk For Life West Coast.
I found the Juan Diego Society stressed chastity and parents marrying, if possible, more than some. Probably more Catholic women go there, and they usually have Catholic chaplains. Problems arise if mother and father are single but of two different sects. A great reason most clergy told their young people not to date someone of another denomination or religion. Going into marriage thinking we can change someone is not good. The only ones we can change is ourselves. Excellent reason why not to get involved before marriage also.