Day 23…Thanks to St. Raphael Parish & all our wonderful volunteers!

Hold the Torch High!

            If you go to the Basilica of St. Dominic in Bologna, Italy, where his tomb is found, an amazing portrait of the saint will greet you. St. Dominic appears with a book in his left hand and a staff topped with a cross in his right hand. He projects the image of a man on a mission. At his side is a dog with a flaming torch in its mouth looking quite eager to run. This canine is often pictured with St. Dominic because of a dream that his mother, Blessed Jane of Azma, had while carrying St. Dominic in her womb. She dreamt of a dog with a lighted torch in its mouth running around the world, setting everything ablaze. Puzzled by her dream, Blessed Jane went to a nearby monastery and asked one of the monks what the dream meant. He replied that the child she bore would be a great preacher and would set the world ablaze by his proclamation of the truth of the Faith.

            St. Dominic has certainly fulfilled this prophecy by his own personal zealous preaching and certainly through the members of the order that he founded, the  Dominicans, over these last 800 years.

            He is also renowned for his great devotion to the Mother of God and her Rosary, which she entrusted to him.  When he was struggling to bring people to Christ by his preaching. He asked for her help. As she appeared to him, Our Lady assured him that prayer was the answer, specifically the Rosary that she gave to him. Why was the Rosary the answer?

                        We could say that the torch of the dog in Blessed Jane’s dream was a symbol of the Rosary. The flame of the torch was the mysteries of the life of the Savior. Praying the Rosary and meditating on the mysteries shone a great light and inflamed the hearts of those who prayed so that they could see the truth of Christ by the light of the flame and be filled with the ardor of His charity. They could then accept the truth of Christ in their hearts with great love and then live their lives following Him.

            This wonderful dynamic has continued through the centuries and is dynamically at work in the world today. On October 11, the Vigil of the Jubilee for Marian Spirituality, in St. Peter’s Square Pope Leo presided over an evening of prayer at which the Rosary of Our Lady was prayed. It ended with Exposition and Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. As Our Holy Father lifted up Jesus Christ truly present in the Holy Eucharist, he did exactly what St. Dominic was born to do—he was born to contemplate the Mystery of Our Lord as he prayed and taught the faithful to do the same in the praying of  the Rosary. Then, St Dominic lifted up the Lord for all to see by preaching His Passion, Death and Resurrection.  This is exactly what Pope Leo did in that beautiful Vigil.  With the thousands of people gathered there, he contemplated with reverence and love the mysteries of the life of Christ and His Mother.  Then he lifted up the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus for adoration and benediction.

            We, my dear brothers and sisters, are in good company for we are called to do the same. We are invited by Our Holy Mother to take up the Rosary daily and contemplate the Face of Christ with and through His Holy Mother Mary. Then we are summoned by the Lord to go forth and lift up the torch of truth, the Gospel of Christ, for all the world to see.

            We should be faithful as St. Dominic was, unfailing in prayer, lifting up the Rosary of Our Mother and then lifting up the torch of truth for all the world to see. In every aspect of our life, we must lift up the truth of Christ. In the Month of Respect Life, we should raise the torch of truth that says every human person possesses inherent dignity and worth. We follow Our Holy Father’s example and request in praying the Rosary to end all wars and for peace throughout the world.  We should pray for and seek protection for all those whose lives are in peril and whose lives are not cherished and respected.  We pray the Rosary for all who are in danger and in need, most especially for the unborn children in their mothers’ wombs who are without a doubt the most vulnerable in our midst.  These tiny precious persons are defenseless, forgotten, unwanted, and denied the dignity that is theirs. They are often refused the gift of life and the right to live. We pray for their mothers who often suffer great adversity in their lives.  Every single life matters! Let us tell the world!  Let us lift our torches high!

Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid

Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh

Now for today’s sidewalk reports…

Nikki & Cheryl

(From Nikki) – It was just Cheryl and me for the first hour, and then faithful Randy showed up. Unfortunately, it seemed to be gearing up for a busy abortion day. Quite a few people accepted literature and blessing bags as they entered PP. We prayed and did our best to witness to the inestimable value of each child that was carried in there to be killed. I hope seeds were planted. My heart was especially with a young man who brought his girlfriend (or wife) in, pulled out his wallet and paid for the abortion. I had just watched a very powerful video of a man who speaks all around the country about his regret for paying for the abortion of his son when he was 17. He is in his 50’s now, and still has not been able to completely forgive himself. You can watch it free on YouTube HERE. It is almost an hour long, but for me, the most moving part of it is at minute 36...so if you don’t have time to watch the whole thing, skip to that part. It will give you more sympathy and perspective from a man’s point of view.

Susan & Peggy

(From Sue) – Peggy and Maggie joined Randy and I on the sidewalk. We said many prayers and handed out a lot of literature. We all held signs as well. It was very busy and we engaged as many as we could. I informed some people about Northside Christian which is a federally funded health clinic that does not do abortions.  Some women coming out were very angry and hard. 1 woman said “I killed it”. A  young man also talked to us and said his ex girlfriend aborted twins which was a good decision. He is struggling with daycare for his 4 year old and so I informed him about Angel’s place and other resources that could maybe help his situation. Maggie was also telling us that AIM in Steubenville just opened a maternity home and they currently have women in residence, Another good resource for women needing housing. We got some nasty comments and some good comments. A happy, lovely family going to the theater next door chit chatted with us a little bit. But overall another sad day on Liberty, Lord have mercy. 

Linda

(From Linda) Another chilly, busy abortion day with several couples entering Planned Parenthood. No one was interested in learning about options and help. Still, we stand and pray. We mourn the babies and pray for conversion of heart for their moms and dads. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Thank you to Tracy, Paul, Peggy, Maggie, Bob and Sam for your faithfulness.

Carolyn & Cil

(From Cil) – We had a great turnout from St Raphael.  Walter, Maz, Laura and Nancy were there our whole shift.  Bob and Al came later to stay with Pete and Bill.  Mary came with Carolyn today and Joyce came with Fr Jim and I. Thank you to all the prayers warriors. They prayed two rosaries and a Divine Mercy.  St Raphael also had prayer sheets that they used too.

Many going in and out of PP and on the streets.  Not sure if it was an abortion day.  Several mentioned they were there for something else.  One said they were there because they were trying to have a baby.  Imagine that.  A place that kills babies but also helps those who want one?  Maz, Walt and I had a long but very helpful discussion with young guy maybe around Maz age.   He was able to relate to Maz so we just chimed in occasionally.  Maz was very good at explaining why abortion is wrong and talked about chastity too.  So impressive!  He said that was his first time having a long discussion like that.  Hope he can come back and will continue to share the truth.

Gave out many green cards and some took the watch me grow to educate their kids, friends…

We were so thankful for the cool, sunny day.  We had a mix of those who thanked us and those who cursed us.

I approached one young man “E” and asked if we could help.  He said we already helped them two weeks ago when they came out and told an older man that they decided to keep their baby. He was very thankful and said they didn’t need help.  I gave him a hug before he left.

Pete & Bill

(From Pete).  Many thanks to Bill and Al from St Raphael Parish for sticking around for the 3-4 hour.  We prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3:00 and also prayed the Luminous Mysteries.  There was no traffic going into PP, and it only seemed like workers were coming out.  There was one young man walking on the street who grabbed the Charlie Kirk sign and was looking to throw it away, but we intercepted him and got the sign back.  Other than that, there were no problems.