Trinity Heights to host Night of Prayer for Life

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
December 1, 2005

For the sixth consecutive year Trinity Heights Queen of Peace in Sioux City will host a prayer vigil in conjunction with the National Night of Prayer for Life.

According to organizers of the service, which is slated for 8 p.m. to midnight on Dec. 8 on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, it is designed to ask the Blessed Mother Mary for her help in bringing about a conversion of heart for the people of this country through Eucharistic adoration and prayers of reparation.

"Every hour we will be praying the mysteries of the rosary - we will do 20 decades before we are done in the night. There will be some song and time for meditation," said Larry Walsh, a member of the spiritual committee at Trinity Heights that is organizing the service.

People may attend for a portion of the service or all of it. It is open to people of all faiths and all ages. In past years, the gathering drew as many as 120 people over the course of four hours. Some parishioners have attended from outlying areas as well such as Le Mars and Remsen.

He stressed the fact that abortion, euthanasia and contraception are things that are "taking the place of God and putting humans in the position of deciding what is right for them rather than God's plan."

At the national level, this is the 16th year for the event that prayerfully unites people across the country for prayers to end abortion and euthanasia as well as other evils in the world.

Concluding at midnight, the vigil bridges the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and ties to Dec. 9, the Feast of St. Juan Diego, whose first apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe occurred in 1531 on that day.

Walsh pointed out that the native language of Juan Diego interprets Guadalupe as "she who crushes the head of the serpent."

Referring to the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis when Eve told God that the serpent tricked her, Walsh said, "We feel that the serpent is raging again in our land through pornography, abortion, euthanasia and birth control. We are convinced that our modern-day Adams and Eves are being tricked again to believe that these things offer the road to happiness."

Those who attend the night of prayer devotion, he added, will pray that the Mother of the Americas - the Virgin of Guadalupe - will come "once again to crush the head of that serpent because of what is going on in the United States with our failure to do the things that we are supposed to do - our sins of omission when we fail to impart important parts of the Catholic faith to our faithful, our children from the altar, in the classroom or in our homes."

He added that it is often overlooked today that there is a hell and all people need to receive absolution in confession because all are sinners.

As part of the prayer service, Walsh said, "We will be reflecting on exactly what our Blessed Mother did in 1531 when she was a visage on the tilma or working cloth of Juan Diego helped to convert the Aztec Indians from their culture of human sacrifice from Catholic piety."

He pointed out that last year about 635 churches across the country registered that they were hosting a prayer service for the National Night of Prayer for Life. He mentioned that Trinity Heights joined in this effort after Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo forwarded information about this night of prayer devotion to them and noted that he would be supportive of this effort.

"It is marvelous to think that people across the nation are praying for a common result," said Walsh. "We hope that people will come to spend an hour or two hours reflecting in this time of Advent when it is important to anticipate the coming of our savior."

The service will conclude with benediction. The spiritual committee is leading the service with assistance by Deacon Fred Karpuk. Those who attend will also have the opportunity to go to confession.

If parishioners of the diocese reside too far from Sioux City to attend this event, he suggested that people pray the rosary and reflect on Scripture with the intention of converting hearts that evening on their own.