The sanctity of life from the moment of conception was proclaimed and celebrated on the grounds of St. Gabriel Parish, Marlboro, Sept. 9, during the fifth annual National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children. Sponsored by the parish’s Respect Life Committee, and celebrated by Deacon Richard Roenbeck, the faith-filled group of pro-life advocates sang hymns, proclaimed Scripture and prayed to mourn the lives of aborted pre-born children throughout the nation.
A proclamation of Psalm 139 reminding participants of God’s love even before birth (“You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb”) was followed by the recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet with musical accompaniment and a litany in response to abortion written by Father Frank Pavone, national director of the Staten Island, N.Y.-based “Priests for Life.” A blessing by St. Gabriel parochial vicar, Father Joy Chacko, a hymn and a procession of flowers to a memorial gravesite on church grounds dedicated to unborn children closed the service.
The first National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children was held in September, 2013 on the 25th anniversary of the solemn burial of the earthly remains of some 1,500 abortion victims in Milwaukee, Wis. It is slated each year for the second Saturday in September.