On Oct. 7 we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as the Feast of Our Lady of Victory.

As our Catholic Faith also teaches that life begins at the moment of conception, Catholics have been leaders in the pro-life movement. Mary being the Mother of Christ is a patroness of all mothers, and thus the cause for the unborn and for expectant mothers has been particularly entrusted to her intercession, especially in and through the Holy Rosary.

Thus, this month of the Holy Rosary in the United States has also been designated as a month to pray the Rosary especially for the cause of Life. Respecting the inviolable sacred dignity of every human life – especially from the moment of conception – to pray for the building up of a culture of life and an end to abortion.

With the overturn of Roe vs. Wade on June 24 – which was the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus – the issue of abortion has been again very much in the public conversation. Unfortunately, it has also meant a lot of angry words, where people tend to talk past each other and make false caricatures and stereotypes of the other side.

Claims such as “… Pro-lifers are only Pro-birth; they only care about the baby but they don’t care about the mother.” However, all the Pro-life people I know are also genuinely concerned for the well-being of the woman as well as the child.

Conversations with Pro-choice friends of mine have also helped me better understand the genuine fears and concerns they have that are fueled by great compassion for women in difficult situations.

Thus, over the month of October on our parish social media, we will be posting various resources touching on these issues, to help one better know how to navigate these conversations, and also see the holistic ways that pro-life people are caring for women; both those considering abortions, as well as for offering places of healing to post-abortive women.

These resources will include:

• The Pillar In-Depth Podcast: A podcast series that explores the complex issue of abortion from various facets and how to, as a pro-life person, have difficult conversations with people; understand the various facets of people’s fears and challenges around the issue; and explore a few different people and ministries who creatively help women in this. You can also find this podcast series HERE: soundcloud.com/the-pillar-in-depth
• Ministries that help expectant mothers: We will be sharing about a wide range of various ministries both in our local area in the Archdiocese, and in other parts of the nation, that are helping women consider alternatives to abortion, and accompany them through pregnancy and post-birth. These will include information about:
• Guiding Star in Cedar Falls guidingstarcedarvalley.org/

• Vicki Thorn, Project Rachel, and post-abortive ministry: Another reason why the Catholic Church is opposed to abortion is because of the long-term emotional and psychological pain and trauma in can cause a woman. While the Catholic Church is opposed to abortion, the Gospel message is one of healing, mercy and peace, for those who have had abortions.

Vicki Thorn (whom I have met) was one of the great leaders in post-abortive healing ministry. She has built up a now nation-wide ministry that accompanies, loves, cares for, and helps bring healing to post-abortive mothers (and fathers). Thus, we will be sharing various links, articles, and resources of post-abortive ministries and resources, as well as some things about Vicki Thorn herself and her legacy (she passed away the past April).

You can read a little about Vicki Thorn’s ministry HERE: rb.gy/f4dmuy.

You can find information about Post-abortive healing retreats called “Rachel’s Vineyard” HERE: rb.gy/nj8k1u. Note: the next nearest one would be Nov. 4-6 in Cedar Rapids, Ia.

Peace,

– Fr. Kevin