Adoration for Life
On January 22, 2008, a group of Pilgrims of St. Michael traveled to Washington, D.C. to spread the message of the Rosary to the Pro-Life marchers on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. The importance of prayer in the life of every Catholic is something that cannot be emphasized enough. With abortion comes grave consequences, and we must take action now with prayer and good works.
The death toll rises every day since the start of legalized abortion. The effects of abortion on society are far reaching and devastating. We will counter this great evil of our times with adoration for life and the respect for human life as advocated by the Roman Catholic Church. The Pilgrims of St. Michael echo the cry of Blessed Mother Teresa:
"If a mother can become her children’s executioner, what can we say about the other murders and wars raging in the world?"
She also said on another occasion: "I have said often, and I am sure of it, that the greatest destroyer of peace in the world today is abortion. If a mother can kill her own child, what is there to stop you and me from killing each other?"
The Pilgrims of St. Michael take an active stand by uniting ourselves in prayer and action to the Divine Mercy of God, especially through devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist. The growing popularity of this devotion is a great hope for our country and the world. During his pontificate, Pope John Paul II encouraged it, in recognition of the great needs of our world and the current Pope Benedict XVI continues the promotion of Eucharistic adoration.
The vocation of every Catholic is to follow in the evangelical footsteps of Our Lord, by bringing the good news to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
"The deep unity between prayer and action is at the basis of all spiritual renewal. It is at the basis of the great enterprises of evangelization and construction of the world according to God’s plans." – Pope John Paul II
We have taken these words of Pope John Paul II and incorporated them into a way of life. The combination of Eucharistic adoration and evangelization is essentially Christological in nature. Christ’s mission when He was among us over two thousand years ago is still continuing today. With the help of Divine Grace we can succeed in overcoming this great scandal of our times. We must co-operate with the Divine Plan as well by seriously considering the call to discipleship, through our dedication to apostolic work that truly is the application of our commitment to God.
The Pilgrims of St. Michael are Roman Catholic laity in communion with the Magisterium of the Church and we are in good standing with our local Bishop. We attend daily Mass and say the Rosary; Holy Hours of adoration are also part of our weekly program. We are a movement of the press; our leaflets and our Michael Journal (also in French, Polish & Spanish) are spread all around the world. The propagation of the Faith through the work of the press is our charism, and we evangelize person to person as well as during meetings given to prayer groups and our door to door Rosary Crusade. The ideal given us by our founders is quite simply to inform the population of the unbiased truth on what is happening in the world today.
As Pope John Paul II said in his encyclical, The Gospel of Life: "...a great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer. Jesus himself has shown us by his own example that prayer and fasting are the first and most effective weapons against the forces of evil (cf. Mt 4:1-11). As he taught his disciples, some demons cannot be driven out except in this way (cf. Mk 9:29). Let us therefore discover anew the humility and the courage to pray and fast so that power from on high will break down the walls of lies and deceit: the walls which conceal from the sight of so many of our brothers and sisters the evil of practices and laws which are hostile to life. May this same power turn their hearts to resolutions and goals inspired by the civilization of life and love."
The Church has always had a very steadfast and unchanging view on the issue of abortion, and we echo the voice of our late Pope John Paul II, advocating as he did during his entire pontificate the culture of life.
We organize a week of perpetual adoration once a year that we call our "Siege of Jericho", as well as our holy hours of adoration, and we receive countless blessings and graces from Heaven because of it. It is a priceless treasure that we will never fully understand.
Starting perpetual adoration in your parish is a very powerful way to help stop abortion. There are different web-sites and groups who have organizational plans to help anyone who would like to start perpetual adoration, especially to stop the evil of abortion:
http://www.acfp2000.com
http://www.perpetualadoration.org/organizing.htm
First ask your local pastor for permission to start one and he accepts it is up to the head coordinator to find enough people to cover the hours needed. Even if at first you start with just an hour of adoration, after you have enough members you can extend it. The recommendation is two people per hour, meaning for perpetual adoration you would need about 168 people for one week.
One important detail to remember is the Blessed Sacrament must not be left alone, so it is up to the coordinator to make sure that each person really commits to their hour and are able to find replacements if they cannot make it. It is important to also note that the organization of this devotion cannot be left up to your pastor alone, unless he prefers it that way. He will be needed to take care of the opening ceremonies and he can provide pastoral support and encouragement. The parishioners should work together to organize and operate the continuity of the adoration. This is essentially a devotion open to everyone. The many blessings that parishes have experienced through the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is a great testimony of the living proof of God’s power working through the Eucharist.
The promotion of the culture of life through the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is a precious means of attaining a life of true discipleship and co-operation with God’s will.
Let us continue to pray and work towards a better world through the promotion of a just and peaceful society that accepts the culture of life as the Catholic Church teaches it. The Pilgrims of St. Michael have pledged themselves to the service of Mary, Our Mother, through the propagation of literature that is both truthful and urgent for our times. We must throw ourselves at her feet and through her intercession beg God for forgiveness and mercy, and ask for the courage to stand up for what He is asking of us for the future.
