Unborn Jesus

The Great Sign

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2005 01 17 - Sacramento March

for Life

It was Friday night, January the 17th; the day Frances, Maria, Marianne, Tom and I boarded the bus to Sacramento. I was glad to hear from Frances that Father Martin had sent us his blessing. Frances and her sister Maria are members of Saint Gerard Magellan Unborn Jesus Adoration group in Culver City. Marianne is a Pro-life representative of Nativity in Torrance. And Tom is a member of SS Peter & Paul in Wilmington. Marianne, Tom, and I had previously participated in the Buses for Life event and we knew what to expect from it. Nevertheless, for Frances and Maria, this was their first time. This year we boarded bus 65681 at Calvary Chapel. Little by little, Catholics and Evangelical Protestants filled the bus resulting in a mix of young teenagers and mature participants. Interestingly enough the Evangelical Protestants were not bothered with our Catholic presence. I was honored by having their pastor sit next to me. He and I told stories of our previous Pro-life experiences and shared our favorite Bible verses with each other. This peaceful coexistence is so because in the Pro-life movement there exists a true ecumenical spirit. And this spirit of unity allows for an opportunity to share the faith. When the bus took off, I glanced around looking for familiar faces. I recognized a couple I meet every time I participate in this event. This year they brought their 11 children. He is proud to be a Catholic convert and he has a wonderful way with kids. We arrived in Sacramento early in the morning. Tired from an attempt to sleep in a sitting position, we got off the bus at a rest stop where I was able to find a restroom for shaving, changing some clothes and brushing my hair. After a substantial breakfast, we headed back to the bus for our final stop at Saint Elizabeth Catholic Church. There, we met Bob Cielnicky, who after having greeted us, he gave us a lesson on how to lobby for life. He advised us to express our opposition to the euthanasia bill and to kindly request our representatives to oppose the bill. When the lobbying training was over, Frances, Maria, Marianne and I walked towards Our Lady of Guadalupe to assist the Archbishop's Mass. I had previously contacted the parish Pastor, Fr. Salvador, requesting permission to lead a Holy Hour dedicated to the Unborn Jesus. Right after our arrival, I introduced myself to the secretary. She recognized my voice from our phone conversation and introduced me to the schedule coordinator. I requested her to announce the adoration session after the Mass. To my surprise, she declined, since the Pastor had not mentioned anything about the adoration plan.
Nevertheless, when the Mass was over, I approached Fr. Salvador, introduced myself, and reminded him about the adoration session I requested. He smiled back at me and assured me he would expose the Blessed Sacramento once he was free to do so. It took him half an hour to take care of things before he exposed the Blessed Sacrament for us. We looked at each other silently, that half hour was to be used for our walk back to the Capitol. It was evident we were going to sacrifice the March for Life so that the Unborn Jesus would be worshiped in Sacramento. It did give us consolation in praying for those participating in the march. Since the schedule coordinator did not announce our adoration session, we had a small group of 12 worshipers; some of them spoke only Spanish. I decided then to have a bilingual session. The Unborn Jesus Holy Hour went well. A young man wanted to know if we were the regular adoration group of that parish. He wanted to join us from then on. I explained to him we came from Los Angeles to participate on the March for Life events in Sacramento. I then gave him a copy of the prayers and suggested that he start an Unborn Jesus Adoration Group at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish. We then walked back to the Capitol hoping the Pro-life rally had taken longer than expected and at least make it to the last part of the March, but that was not to be so. When we arrived at the park the March was over. There we recognized a familiar face: It was Ray riding his bicycle! On the back of his bicycle there was a sign attached that displayed the words: “Stop abortion now!”; and a funny picture of himself with a baby doll body holding a sign with the message “Thank God I am alive.” Ray is also a member of Saint Gerard Magellan Parish and he has participated in the Unborn Jesus Holy Hours there. He was in the area visiting relatives and he planned to participate in the Sacramento March for Life and in the San Francisco March for Life. He joined us until it was time to depart for the bus. We then lobbied Frances’ representative, and my representative. In both cases we got the “buffer treatment.” No representative came to meet us, but their young assistants received us and took notes of our Prolife concerns. At the end we visited the Capitol points of interest and went back to the park to meet our bus. We arrived back to Calvary Chapel to pick up our cars from its parking lot. It was about 12 midnight when we all said goodbye to each other and departed for our homes.
Unborn Jesus
The Word was made flesh . . .  . . . and dwelt among us!
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Unborn Jesus
Unborn Jesus

The Great Sign

Blog

2005 01 17 - Sacramento

March for Life

It was Friday night, January the 17th; the day Frances, Maria, Marianne, Tom and I boarded the bus to Sacramento. I was glad to hear from Frances that Father Martin had sent us his blessing. Frances and her sister Maria are members of Saint Gerard Magellan Unborn Jesus Adoration group in Culver City. Marianne is a Pro-life representative of Nativity in Torrance. And Tom is a member of SS Peter & Paul in Wilmington. Marianne, Tom, and I had previously participated in the Buses for Life event and we knew what to expect from it. Nevertheless, for Frances and Maria, this was their first time. This year we boarded bus 65681 at Calvary Chapel. Little by little, Catholics and Evangelical Protestants filled the bus resulting in a mix of young teenagers and mature participants. Interestingly enough the Evangelical Protestants were not bothered with our Catholic presence. I was honored by having their pastor sit next to me. He and I told stories of our previous Pro-life experiences and shared our favorite Bible verses with each other. This peaceful coexistence is so because in the Pro- life movement there exists a true ecumenical spirit. And this spirit of unity allows for an opportunity to share the faith. When the bus took off, I glanced around looking for familiar faces. I recognized a couple I meet every time I participate in this event. This year they brought their 11 children. He is proud to be a Catholic convert and he has a wonderful way with kids. We arrived in Sacramento early in the morning. Tired from an attempt to sleep in a sitting position, we got off the bus at a rest stop where I was able to find a restroom for shaving, changing some clothes and brushing my hair. After a substantial breakfast, we headed back to the bus for our final stop at Saint Elizabeth Catholic Church. There, we met Bob Cielnicky, who after having greeted us, he gave us a lesson on how to lobby for life. He advised us to express our opposition to the euthanasia bill and to kindly request our representatives to oppose the bill. When the lobbying training was over, Frances, Maria, Marianne and I walked towards Our Lady of Guadalupe to assist the Archbishop's Mass. I had previously contacted the parish Pastor, Fr. Salvador, requesting permission to lead a Holy Hour dedicated to the Unborn Jesus. Right after our arrival, I introduced myself to the secretary. She recognized my voice from our phone conversation and introduced me to the schedule coordinator. I requested her to announce the adoration session after the Mass. To my surprise, she declined, since the Pastor had not mentioned anything about the adoration plan.
Nevertheless, when the Mass was over, I approached Fr. Salvador, introduced myself, and reminded him about the adoration session I requested. He smiled back at me and assured me he would expose the Blessed Sacramento once he was free to do so. It took him half an hour to take care of things before he exposed the Blessed Sacrament for us. We looked at each other silently, that half hour was to be used for our walk back to the Capitol. It was evident we were going to sacrifice the March for Life so that the Unborn Jesus would be worshiped in Sacramento. It did give us consolation in praying for those participating in the march. Since the schedule coordinator did not announce our adoration session, we had a small group of 12 worshipers; some of them spoke only Spanish. I decided then to have a bilingual session. The Unborn Jesus Holy Hour went well. A young man wanted to know if we were the regular adoration group of that parish. He wanted to join us from then on. I explained to him we came from Los Angeles to participate on the March for Life events in Sacramento. I then gave him a copy of the prayers and suggested that he start an Unborn Jesus Adoration Group at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish. We then walked back to the Capitol hoping the Pro- life rally had taken longer than expected and at least make it to the last part of the March, but that was not to be so. When we arrived at the park the March was over. There we recognized a familiar face: It was Ray riding his bicycle! On the back of his bicycle there was a sign attached that displayed the words: “Stop abortion now!”; and a funny picture of himself with a baby doll body holding a sign with the message “Thank God I am alive.” Ray is also a member of Saint Gerard Magellan Parish and he has participated in the Unborn Jesus Holy Hours there. He was in the area visiting relatives and he planned to participate in the Sacramento March for Life and in the San Francisco March for Life. He joined us until it was time to depart for the bus. We then lobbied Frances’ representative, and my representative. In both cases we got the “buffer treatment.” No representative came to meet us, but their young assistants received us and took notes of our Prolife concerns. At the end we visited the Capitol points of interest and went back to the park to meet our bus. We arrived back to Calvary Chapel to pick up our cars from its parking lot. It was about 12 midnight when we all said goodbye to each other and departed for our homes.
The Word was made flesh . . .  . . . and dwelt among us!
Galleries Galleries