The Respect Life Ministry of Sts. Francis and Claire Parish, Florence Township, celebrated the conclusion of its “Spiritual Adoption” program July 29. Parishioners were invited to meet after Mass to gather together with food, fellowship and a “birth-day” celebration for the babies that were “spiritually adopted” and prayed for during the past nine months.

“Spiritual Adoption” is a nine-month program in which the entire parish community is asked to make a personal commitment to pray daily for one unborn child who is in danger of being aborted. The prayers are for the intention of the unborn child, along with all unborn babies threatened by abortion, to be carried to term and experience the fullness of life, as God intended.

Participants are encouraged to name the baby in order to give him or her an identity. Babies’ names were written on pink or blue hearts and then placed on one of three bulletin boards by the church entrances surrounding monthly growth and development posters. Monthly updates also appeared in the parish bulletin.

The parish prayer group got together every morning for the entire nine months and included the Spiritual Adoption Prayer along with their regular intentions.

The “Spiritual Adoption” program began in October on Respect Life Sunday and concluded in July to celebrate the “birth” of all the “spiritually adopted” babies.

Parishioners were invited to make donations to benefit residents of Good Counsel Homes in Riverside, which shelters homeless, pregnant women and their children and operates round-the-clock with full-time staff.  Residents are taught skills needed to properly care for their children and themselves and to live independently. Clare Kirk, a resident assistant in Good Counsel Homes joined the celebration and spoke eloquently about the success of many residents and their babies and also revealed some of her own personal heart-warming moments shared with the residents.

At the conclusion, everyone joined in with several songs including the “Choose Life” song.