National day of remembrance observed in Toms River
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
By Lois Rogers | Correspondent
Known far and wide as the “Loveladies Babies,” the remains of dozens of pre-born children found 31 years ago in cardboard boxes by sanitation workers on Long Beach Island have been memorialized annually at their Toms River grave site since 1987.
The event had been sponsored for more than a quarter of a century by Ocean County Right to Life, which won a court decision shortly after the discovery enabling the organization to bury the remains.
But, for the past two years, the observance has been one of hundreds held around the country on the second Saturday of September in conjunction with the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children.
And on Sept. 12, several dozen people dedicated to respecting life from conception to natural death responded to the call from Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, Priests for Life and the Pro-Life Action League to gather once again in Ocean County Memorial Park on Silverton Road to pay their respects to the Loveladies babies buried there with such love. And they prayed that hearts and minds across the nation will come to recognize the value of each life, no matter how small.
Diane Lent-Simon, a long-time member of Ocean County Right to Life, helped to organize this year’s event. She said participants were uplifted by the fact that it took place on the national day of remembrance, which meant that people across the country were praying in memory of aborted children.
A flower arrangement in the shape of a heart, bearing the legend “Beloved Children of God” was solemnly placed at the grave.
Lent-Simon, a member of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Whiting, said those present also took heart from the fact that, as they sang “On Eagles’ Wings,” a large and beautiful bird “came flying down, swooping over and over again…It was a beautiful gathering in a beautiful place.”
Father Jerome Guld, parochial vicar of St. Joseph Parish, one of three priests who led the group in reciting the Divine Mercy Chaplet, later said that the gathering is a reminder that “it is a beautiful thing to bury the dead. A corporal work of mercy. Once buried, the dead are often forgotten.” Fortunately, he said, in instances such as this, “Catholics and other Christians can be a surrogate family for them.”
Father Guld is a chaplain of the Knights of Columbus, who attends pro-life witnesses at abortion facility on Route 37 in Toms River. He succeeded his late mother, Wanda, as head of the pro-life committee in St. Mary of the Lakes Parish, Medford.
Father Denis Wilde, who devotes his national ministry to Priests for Life, represented the organization at the gathering. Like Father Guld, he said that the memorial service reflects the fact that “we are all made in the image and likeness of God. As we bury people, there is a sign of fullness” in faith.
“It's the same for the babies. There's a powerful significance in memorializing a person…It's a way for our culture to get it,” he said. “This is not a monkey or a banana or a rock. This brings the story home.”
Always Remembered – Attendees at the Sept. 12 prayer service take time to reflect before the graves of children who were never born. Photo courtesy of Dot McDougal
National day of remembrance observed in Toms River
By Lois Rogers
Correspondent
Known far and wide as the “Loveladies Babies,” the remains of dozens of pre-born children found 31 years ago in cardboard boxes by sanitation workers on Long Beach Island have been memorialized annually at their Toms River grave site since 1987.
The event had been sponsored for more than a quarter of a century by Ocean County Right to Life, which won a court decision shortly after the discovery enabling the organization to bury the remains.
But, for the past two years, the observance has been one of hundreds held around the country on the second Saturday of September in conjunction with the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children.
And on Sept. 12, several dozen people dedicated to respecting life from conception to natural death responded to the call from Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, Priests for Life and the Pro-Life Action League to gather once again in Ocean County Memorial Park on Silverton Road to pay their respects to the Loveladies babies buried there with such love. And they prayed that hearts and minds across the nation will come to recognize the value of each life, no matter how small.
Diane Lent-Simon, a long-time member of Ocean County Right to Life, helped to organize this year’s event. She said participants were uplifted by the fact that it took place on the national day of remembrance, which meant that people across the country were praying in memory of aborted children.
A flower arrangement in the shape of a heart, bearing the legend “Beloved Children of God” was solemnly placed at the grave.
Lent-Simon, a member of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Whiting, said those present also took heart from the fact that, as they sang “On Eagles’ Wings,” a large and beautiful bird “came flying down, swooping over and over again…It was a beautiful gathering in a beautiful place.”
Father Jerome Guld, parochial vicar of St. Joseph Parish, one of three priests who led the group in reciting the Divine Mercy Chaplet, later said that the gathering is a reminder that “it is a beautiful thing to bury the dead. A corporal work of mercy. Once buried, the dead are often forgotten.” Fortunately, he said, in instances such as this, “Catholics and other Christians can be a surrogate family for them.”
Father Guld is a chaplain of the Knights of Columbus, who attends pro-life witnesses at abortion facility on Route 37 in Toms River. He succeeded his late mother, Wanda, as head of the pro-life committee in St. Mary of the Lakes Parish, Medford.
Father Denis Wilde, who devotes his national ministry to Priests for Life, represented the organization at the gathering. Like Father Guld, he said that the memorial service reflects the fact that “we are all made in the image and likeness of God. As we bury people, there is a sign of fullness” in faith.
“It's the same for the babies. There's a powerful significance in memorializing a person…It's a way for our culture to get it,” he said. “This is not a monkey or a banana or a rock. This brings the story home.”
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By Lois Rogers | Correspondent
Known far and wide as the “Loveladies Babies,” the remains of dozens of pre-born children found 31 years ago in cardboard boxes by sanitation workers on Long Beach Island have been memorialized annually at their Toms River grave site since 1987.
The event had been sponsored for more than a quarter of a century by Ocean County Right to Life, which won a court decision shortly after the discovery enabling the organization to bury the remains.
But, for the past two years, the observance has been one of hundreds held around the country on the second Saturday of September in conjunction with the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children.
And on Sept. 12, several dozen people dedicated to respecting life from conception to natural death responded to the call from Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, Priests for Life and the Pro-Life Action League to gather once again in Ocean County Memorial Park on Silverton Road to pay their respects to the Loveladies babies buried there with such love. And they prayed that hearts and minds across the nation will come to recognize the value of each life, no matter how small.
Diane Lent-Simon, a long-time member of Ocean County Right to Life, helped to organize this year’s event. She said participants were uplifted by the fact that it took place on the national day of remembrance, which meant that people across the country were praying in memory of aborted children.
A flower arrangement in the shape of a heart, bearing the legend “Beloved Children of God” was solemnly placed at the grave.
Lent-Simon, a member of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Whiting, said those present also took heart from the fact that, as they sang “On Eagles’ Wings,” a large and beautiful bird “came flying down, swooping over and over again…It was a beautiful gathering in a beautiful place.”
Father Jerome Guld, parochial vicar of St. Joseph Parish, one of three priests who led the group in reciting the Divine Mercy Chaplet, later said that the gathering is a reminder that “it is a beautiful thing to bury the dead. A corporal work of mercy. Once buried, the dead are often forgotten.” Fortunately, he said, in instances such as this, “Catholics and other Christians can be a surrogate family for them.”
Father Guld is a chaplain of the Knights of Columbus, who attends pro-life witnesses at abortion facility on Route 37 in Toms River. He succeeded his late mother, Wanda, as head of the pro-life committee in St. Mary of the Lakes Parish, Medford.
Father Denis Wilde, who devotes his national ministry to Priests for Life, represented the organization at the gathering. Like Father Guld, he said that the memorial service reflects the fact that “we are all made in the image and likeness of God. As we bury people, there is a sign of fullness” in faith.
“It's the same for the babies. There's a powerful significance in memorializing a person…It's a way for our culture to get it,” he said. “This is not a monkey or a banana or a rock. This brings the story home.”
Always Remembered – Attendees at the Sept. 12 prayer service take time to reflect before the graves of children who were never born. Photo courtesy of Dot McDougal
National day of remembrance observed in Toms River
By Lois Rogers
Correspondent
Known far and wide as the “Loveladies Babies,” the remains of dozens of pre-born children found 31 years ago in cardboard boxes by sanitation workers on Long Beach Island have been memorialized annually at their Toms River grave site since 1987.
The event had been sponsored for more than a quarter of a century by Ocean County Right to Life, which won a court decision shortly after the discovery enabling the organization to bury the remains.
But, for the past two years, the observance has been one of hundreds held around the country on the second Saturday of September in conjunction with the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children.
And on Sept. 12, several dozen people dedicated to respecting life from conception to natural death responded to the call from Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, Priests for Life and the Pro-Life Action League to gather once again in Ocean County Memorial Park on Silverton Road to pay their respects to the Loveladies babies buried there with such love. And they prayed that hearts and minds across the nation will come to recognize the value of each life, no matter how small.
Diane Lent-Simon, a long-time member of Ocean County Right to Life, helped to organize this year’s event. She said participants were uplifted by the fact that it took place on the national day of remembrance, which meant that people across the country were praying in memory of aborted children.
A flower arrangement in the shape of a heart, bearing the legend “Beloved Children of God” was solemnly placed at the grave.
Lent-Simon, a member of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Whiting, said those present also took heart from the fact that, as they sang “On Eagles’ Wings,” a large and beautiful bird “came flying down, swooping over and over again…It was a beautiful gathering in a beautiful place.”
Father Jerome Guld, parochial vicar of St. Joseph Parish, one of three priests who led the group in reciting the Divine Mercy Chaplet, later said that the gathering is a reminder that “it is a beautiful thing to bury the dead. A corporal work of mercy. Once buried, the dead are often forgotten.” Fortunately, he said, in instances such as this, “Catholics and other Christians can be a surrogate family for them.”
Father Guld is a chaplain of the Knights of Columbus, who attends pro-life witnesses at abortion facility on Route 37 in Toms River. He succeeded his late mother, Wanda, as head of the pro-life committee in St. Mary of the Lakes Parish, Medford.
Father Denis Wilde, who devotes his national ministry to Priests for Life, represented the organization at the gathering. Like Father Guld, he said that the memorial service reflects the fact that “we are all made in the image and likeness of God. As we bury people, there is a sign of fullness” in faith.
“It's the same for the babies. There's a powerful significance in memorializing a person…It's a way for our culture to get it,” he said. “This is not a monkey or a banana or a rock. This brings the story home.”
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