By Lois Rogers|Correspondent

United in prayer, song and witness for life, more than 750 faithful from around the diocese joined together as the “Living Rosary Concert for Life” featuring award winning Catholic recording artists Donna Lee and Gretchen Harris unfolded seamlessly Oct. 17 in St. Joseph Church, Toms River.

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For more than two hours, those attending were transfixed by the concert which has been touring in California and the greater New Jersey area throughout October – Respect Life Month – including a planned stop the following night in St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Cinnaminson.

Though the 90-minute event is rich in music and song, its creators consider “Living Rosary” not just a concert but a night in which faith journeys are shared along with the music, and that was very much the case.

The moment the diverse audience of many cultures and generations began entering the vast gathering space of St. Joseph Church, they were welcomed into what became, despite the grand scope of the nave, an intimate evening of hope, healing and transformation.

The “Living Rosary for Life” set the tone, illuminating the universal nature of the Church with recitation of the decades of the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary led by readers in English, French, Tagalog and Polish.

The concert was organized by Janette Alberto and Dr. Isabel Guerro, members of The Lady of All Nations/NJ prayer group and Deacon Frank McKenna of St. Joseph Parish with the support of Father G. Scott Shaffer, pastor, and many parish groups including the Knights of Columbus.

It transpired in the darkened nave, as candles were lit for each Hail Mary, a glowing symbol of the prayer that echoed throughout the night to adopt babies in danger of abortion. Before each decade, Lee and Harris alternated songs devoted to the Virgin Mary painting musical pictures of her as not only the mother of God, but the mother of us all.

Lee is one of the founding members of the Catholic Association of Musicians started by John Michael Talbot in 1996. Her music can be heard on Catholic radio stations across the United States, Canada, Europe and South America.

Harris is the United Catholic Music and Video Association’s “Female Vocalist of the Year.” Her ministry is focused on encouraging a deeper devotion to the Sacraments, Eucharistic Adoration, pro-life issues and the Blessed Mother.

In the second part of the program, both women shared poignant reflections on what led them to become such vocal advocates for life.  As they both involved loss, in Harris' case through miscarriage and in Lee's, abortion, many people were moved to tears.

Among those deeply moved by their stories of hurt, hope and eventually, healing, was Louise Juliano, a St. Joseph Parishioner, who said that both women “brought out that no matter what you have gone through, (Jesus) still loves you.  … He still has the power to forgive.”

Indeed, the message of healing and forgiveness was the one that Father Shaffer asked all present to take home with them and share.

Father Shaffer explained that so often, as the Church advocates for the pro-life cause, “we are portrayed by the media as being heartless and uncaring. The only way to change that,” he said, “is for each of us in our lives to live the Gospel and share the Gospel message.”

It was a message that was shared throughout the concert, Father Shaffer said: that Jesus hates the sin but loves the sinner.

“If we want to be credible (as Christians), we have to reach out not in condemnation but in love,” he said. “We have to reach out and say to those struggling with their situations and say, 'Come see the Lord I know.’”