Trinity Heights to host 17th Annual National Night of Prayer for Life

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
Nov. 30, 2006

The 17th Annual National Night of Prayer for Life will be held Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

A service will be held in the Diocese of Sioux City at Trinity Heights in Sioux City from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Dec. 8. Trinity Heights has participated for seven of the 17 years of the event, which began in New York.

"The Immaculate Conception is when our Blessed Mother was conceived without the stain of original sin preparing herself as the temple for the baby Jesus many years later," said Larry Walsh, who is on the spiritual committee at Trinity Heights.

The service is open to anyone interested in attending. Walsh pointed out that people are invited to come and pray for as long as they can - one hour, two hours or the whole time.

Deacon Bill Berger will assist with the opening. Confessions will be available most of the evening with Father Raymond Weiling.

"This nation has abundance and prosperity like none other. We have a responsibility to help those who cannot help themselves," said Walsh. "The only way we can help those innocent unborn children is through prayer."

The prayers of the evening will focus especially on the role of Mary in the appearance at Guadalupe. There will be prayer, the rosary, hymns and times of reflection. Every hour the mysteries of the rosary will be prayed with all 20 decades prayed by the end of the evening.

"Human laws may have made abortion, slavery or denying a woman's right to vote legal, but our prayer that night is for a return to God's law that says, 'Thou shall not kill,'" said Walsh.

He noted that 3,850 soldiers have been killed in the Iraq, Afghanistan war in the last four years, "but just today in these United States that many were intentionally murdered in the war against life through abortion and euthanasia. That is 115,000 every month and 1,400,000 every year for nearly 34 years."

"Somewhere between 45 and 50 million beating hearts with brains functioning, innocent children, who had no choice in the matter, have been killed, except those who will be gathering together in over 700 churches, monasteries and convents to pray for an end to the human sacrifice," said Walsh. "Sacrifice to the gods of convenience and self-gratification."

Walsh recounted the story of Adam and Eve, when Eve said the serpent tricked her.

"We feel the same 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," said Walsh. "What we are doing is petitioning our Virgin of Guadalupe to come again as she did in 1531. Guadalupe in the native language stands for she who crushes the head of the serpent. We are praying that she will come to change the hearts of this nation."

Last year 741 churches, basilicas, convents and shrines took part in the event, noted Walsh. He added that this was an increase of 100 over the year before.

"It is particularly gratifying to those of us in the pro-life movement to think that between 11 o'clock and 12 o'clock on that Friday night there will be people on their knees praying for an end to abortion," said Walsh.

The service will conclude with Benediction with the assistance of Deacon Fred Karpuk.

"If you live too far from Sioux City to come in on a Friday night, there is nothing to say that your prayers won't be heard if you take your rosary and get on your knees and ask God for forgiveness for the sins of this nation," said Walsh.