We are at the start of the annual observance of the 40 Days of Life. This comes days after an annual occasion in which we remember why we stand up for the unborn.
September 13, 2014, marked the annual National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children.
To mark the occasion, I joined a prayer service at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, IL, at the gravesite of two thousand aborted children. Over 20 years ago, pro-lifers rescued their remains from garbage containers.
The prayer service featured a number of speakers, including Joe and Ann Scheidler, the founders of the Pro-Life Action League; Cardinal George; John Morales, who created the film 40; and Mary Griffith, founder of Woman's Choice Services.
There was the sharing of personal experiences, including the process of rescuing the remains of aborted children from garbage containers to receive the dignity of burial, and both John and Meredith shared about overcoming a past scarred by being personally involved in having an abortion. I sensed powerful emotions in me as I heard these stories of those who faced the evils of abortion.
It was touching to see Cardinal George there. He remarked that he has been running with a heavy schedule, and dealing with heavy traffic, which was why he showed up late and left early, all this while not in the best state of health. But it meant a lot for him to be at this prayer service, and just his presence was inspiring given his health and his frailty, evident in the manner he walked. He offered some great words speaking to the injustice of abortion that has arisen because of the decline of moral values in government and society. And he advocated for the continued work of caring for and protecting all life, starting from conception. (And how notable to have seen him a week before his successor's appointment was announced.)
Indeed, all the words spoken at the prayer service were inspiring, uniting us together in mourning for the victims of abortion, both the unborn children and their parents, and urging us on to continue the work of caring for the vulnerable, precious lives of the unborn, until the day when abortion is regarded as a scar on the past.
As a moving gesture at the end of the prayer service, with flowers in hand that had been distributed at the beginning of the service, while the choir sang, we came to the grave marker of the aborted children and laid the flowers down. It was a sign that we are moved by the agony of the circumstances in which they died, and firm in our commitment to make sure no more must die this way.
The Pro-Life Action League blog has a wonderful post about this prayer service, including pictures, and you can view it here: http://prolifeaction.org/hotline/2014/hillside2014/
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