By Mary Stadnyk |Associate Editor
On a day meant to remember the nation’s sad history with legalized abortion, more than 500 Catholics and other pro-life advocates from across the region gathered to stand in defense of every human life, from conception to natural death.
PHOTO GALLERY: Standing Together for Life Mass
PHOTO GALLERY: Standing Together for Life Mass and Life Exhibit
The fourth annual Standing Together for Life Mass and Expo, held Jan. 23 in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold, was established by the Diocese of Trenton to provide a local option to the National March for Life in Washington, D.C. As the title notes, Standing Together for Life is dedicated to protecting the vulnerable child in the womb as well as upholding the dignity of individuals at all stages of life. Parishioners of all ages, Catholic high school students throughout the Diocese, and organizational leaders were among those gathered, embodying the call to “stand together.”
Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., served as principal celebrant and homilist for the event that drew some 20 diocesan priest concelebrants. In his homily, he reflected on the phrase, “Standing for Life,” emphasizing that “it is not a slogan, a cause or a campaign.”
“‘Standing for life’ is a mandate of the Gospel itself – a call to defend the sacredness of every human life from conception to natural death,” the Bishop said.
Pointing to the day’s Gospel from St. John (1: 1-5, 9-14, 16-18), the Bishop stressed that God “entered the world not as a full-grown adult but as an unborn child in Mary’s womb.”
The Bishop continued, “The Incarnation is God’s definitive ‘yes’ to human life at every stage. God did not merely sanctify life in the womb; he lived it. This is why the Church’s defense of life is not political, as some claim, but profoundly theological. It flows from the mystery of the Word made flesh. Every child’s life mirrors the life of Christ. Every mother’s womb becomes, in sense, a sanctuary of God’s creative love.”
Dignity and Mercy
In all efforts to stand for life, the Bishop said, the need for mercy must be upheld.
“When a culture claims the authority to decide who may live and who may die, it is not merely rejecting a moral teaching, it is rejecting the Word and the person of Christ himself,” Bishop O’Connell said. “The Church cannot remain silent when the very foundation of human dignity is being eroded. Yet, our voice must never be a voice of condemnation. It must be the voice of Christ – firm in truth, unwavering in love, radiant with mercy.”
“The dignity that we defend in the womb is the same dignity that we are called to honor in every human being, in every stage and station of life,” he said. “Whenever we speak of being able to stand for life, we remember that every person – born and unborn, neighbor or stranger, citizen or immigrant – carries the image of God.”
“To stand for life is to stand with them, walk with them and love them,” Bishop O’Connell said. “To stand for life means working toward a world in which abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide and every assault on human life becomes unthinkable and more.”
“Together we stand for life. My brothers and sisters, thank you so much for being here for this witness for life. We here in the Diocese of Trenton join those who are marching in Washington today in prayer that our nation, and for us, our state, will turn to the Lord in a prayer for life.”
Standing Together for Life Background
Rachel Hendricks, diocesan respect life ministry coordinator, reflected on how the Standing Together for Life Mass was inaugurated in 2023 following the June 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court and returning the matter of regulating or restricting abortion to state legislatures.
Being that New Jersey is one state where abortion remains legal, “the unique challenges that we face here in New Jersey stem from the egregiously anti-life legislation we have in place,” she said, citing the codification of the right to women flown in from more life-affirming states, to healthcare providers making “dangerous abortion pills” available to women to the frequent use of state Medicaid funds to directly pay for abortions.
“Sadly, New Jersey has become a true ‘sanctuary state’ for abortion, making our state a magnet for sex traffickers, heads of prostitution rings and for vulnerable and pregnant women,” she said, adding that “regretfully, next summer, we expect the opening of an ‘all trimester’ abortion clinic in Hudson County.”
Emphasizing the need for a prolife witness such as Standing Together for Life, Hendricks said, “New Jersey is known to be one of the most anti-life states, not only on the abortion issue but also regarding physician assisted killing, which has been legally available since August 2019, and where numbers of people using this to control their death.”
“If this is not frightening enough, this anti-life mentality has a way of dangerously seeping into the broader culture negatively affecting society’s views on fertility treatments, the elderly, infirmed and disabled and the general care and well-being of pregnant women and families,” Hendricks said. “Our pro-life witness is crucial to bring to light these dangers and to draw people into the truth about the gift of every human life.”
Faith and Works
Following the Mass, an Expo was held in the parish hall, where information and resources were available on an array of local organizations that work on upholding and promoting human dignity throughout all stages of life. Attendees were able to enjoy refreshments while learning more about exhibiting groups and services. Among them were organizations ranging from shelters that care for pregnant women; pregnancy resource centers, and support services for those dealing with infertility, adoption and foster care, persons with disabilities, prison ministry, social service concerns like Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton, which addresses many issues including homelessness, mental health concerns.
Based on her observations, Hendricks said that most attendees at the Mass and Expo were Catholics from throughout the Diocese; some from neighboring dioceses, and some non-Catholics “who appreciate the consistent ethic of life taught by the Catholic Church and they wanted to pray with us and learn more about the wide variety of life-affirming organizations in our central Jersey area.”
One exhibitor, Jeanine Hernandez, was a member of St. Catherine Laboure Parish, Middletown, and director of community development for Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children of Monmouth County. Hernandez explained that CASA recruits, trains and supports volunteers to become special advocates for children who are living in foster care due to abuse and neglect.
“Our advocates give the children a voice in the courtroom. We’re there for them when they have suffered through tremendous trauma,” she said. The CASA advocate “is usually the one constant adult in a child’s life who stays with them throughout the entire case. Their caseworkers change, their teachers change, their homes change, but we stay with them to be that positive adult in their life.”
As the leader of the diocesan chapter of Catholic Relief Services, Carol Olivieri reflected on how CRS provides an opportunity for people to support life in many different ways and forms in countries throughout the world.
Elaborating on the “great corollary” between the work of CRS with regard to life issues, Olivieri, a member of St. James Parish, Pennington, said, “so many of our brothers and sisters are voiceless, faceless and suffering in other countries, and they need things in order to live” – food, clean water, medicine, healthcare, farmers needing ways to produce and grow food “not just feed themselves, but to feed their neighbor.”
“We know the stories of a mother who does not have enough food herself, much less enough to support a healthy pregnancy, or the stories of the mothers who must watch their children die because there is no food or medicine,” she said. “All of the things that Catholic Relief Services and its programs provide are dedicated to life. They are dedicated to helping people to survive, which is often the case in a very, very basic way.”
Laura Connelly, pastoral associate and religious education director in St. John Neumann Parish, Mount Laurel, was grateful to be able to offer prayers for the dignity of all human life with other Catholics. She also was able to work at the diocesan Holy Innocents Society exhibit as a Burlington County representative for her parish and as the county’s catechetical chair.
Connelly said she helps to raise awareness on HIS, which assists those with special needs of all kinds, from childhood through advanced age, along with their families. Resources provided through HIS can include sensory friendly Masses, customized catechetical instruction, sacramental preparation for all, and Mass accessibility for those with disabilities and the elderly. A recent initiative is addressing technology to assist those with hearing loss at Mass.
“At the Standing Together for Life Mass and Expo, we witness both faith and works as essential parts of the pro-life mission of the Catholic Church,” she said.
“The Diocese of Trenton’s support for the pro-life message is a guiding light for New Jersey, for a state that faces anti-life policies. It is essential that all Catholics throughout the state support this mission through pray, fasting and action,” Connelly said.
Patricia Mannino, a member of the Co-Cathedral, attended the Standing Together for Life event for the first time and was moved by the experience.
“The thing that stood out the most for me were the words of Bishop O’Connell. He made it clear that we stand for all life, that every single life is precious, from embryos to the elderly,” Mannino said. “If we can welcome all life, then we will live the Gospel of Jesus. This Mass left me with hope at a time when the world really needs it.”
“The interest in praying together with our Bishop, and in taking action to support and protect human life in various ways was an inspiration,” Hendricks said. “I was especially inspired to witness the fellowship, networking and community building that occurred at the Expo. All of this signifies an acknowledgment that we need to stand together against the growing anti-life forces in New Jersey and in the greater culture.”
View the livestream of the Mass below.