Cathedral’s Mass for Life draws people of all ages to pray to end the culture of death

IC photo/Marie Mischel

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Following the Jan. 19 Mass for the Unborn, people placed candles on the steps of the Cathedral of the Madeleine as part of the Ceremony of Light, which was in honor of unborn children.

SALT LAKE CITY — The seventh annual Mass for Life drew people of all ages to the Cathedral of the Madeleine on Jan. 19, the same day that thousands of participants braved snow and freezing temperatures at the national March for Life in Washington, D.C.

Welcoming those at the cathedral, Bishop Oscar A. Solis thanked them “for coming tonight to pray as a faith community, and to give thanks to God for the gift of life he created precious and holy from the moment of conception to natural death” and to ask “our Lord for courage and strength to protect and nourish the lives of our weakest and most vulnerable brothers and sisters in the sanctuary of their mother’s womb.”

The bishop prayed for the lives of the innocent unborn children deprived of life by abortion and other circumstances, for the parents and families suffering the pain of the loss of these children, and “for our nation and government leaders to recognize and affirm the sanctity of every human life.”

Concelebrating the Mass were Fr. Martin Diaz, the cathedral rector; Fr. Kenneth Vialpando, the vicar for clergy; and several other priests of the diocese. Assisting were Deacon John Kranz and Deacon Guillermo Mendez and other deacons.

In his homily, the bishop said it was important for the Church and the nation to gather in a national prayer vigil “to celebrate the Gospel of Life and put an end to the culture of death.”

Since 1973, when abortion was legalized in the United States through the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, millions of babies have been “deprived of their God’s gift of life and [it] brought misery to their mothers and family,” he said. Then, last year, “America realized the goodness in humanity and overturned this legislation. But it was a short-lived victory, for abortion continues in this country according to the decision of each state. We have made progress, but we must not stop defending the sanctity of life from the moment of conception until natural death, and see to it that every life is celebrated, nourished, valued and protected. As disciples of Christ, our mission remains to proclaim the Gospel of life and to change hearts, minds and the laws of our nation to eliminate the scourge of abortion in our society and in the world.”

Promoting a culture of life can only be done by relying on and trusting in the goodness of God and the power of his love, the bishop said, noting that Scripture provides inspiration and courage amid the tragedy of abortion.

“Let us continue to invoke the providence of our Lord and trust in him,” he said, and quoted Pope John Paul II: “A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world.”

“Tonight, we pray to God to empower us in our mission to save innocent lives and spare their mothers the grief and pain of loss,” the bishop said, and noted that each person present was called “to be the light of Christ to dispel the darkness of death, to change not only hearts but also minds and the laws of our land, and to be a beacon of hope in our world.”

Among those attending the Mass were many families with children, ranging in age from infants to teenagers. Among them was the Hurd family, which has three children, ages 11 to 7. The Hurd family attend Holy Family Parish in Ogden.

Kristin Hurd said she brought her children to the Mass to show “that it’s important in our culture to care about life, to foster that for our own children so that when they grow up they can carry that as well and be a model to their own classmates, who might not have heard that before – that we should have a culture of life.”