National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children set for Sept. 14
By Rhonda Miller
COLORADO SPRINGS. The Diocese of Colorado Springs will commemorate the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children on Sept. 14 at 8:30 a.m. at Divine Redeemer Church, 901 N. Logan Ave., 80907.
The diocesan day of remembance will begin with veneration of a relic of the Holy Cross, followed by Mass at 9 a.m. and prayer at the Memorial Garden for aborted children, just outside the church. The day will conclude with coffee and donuts, exhibits and a speaker in the community hall. All are invited to attend.
The local event will include two different ways for parents to remember their aborted children. First names will be included in the “Lux Aeterna” hymn, the litany in honor of the dead, which will be sung during Mass. Names will also be written on small wooden crosses that will be displayed in an exhibit following Mass. To anonymously leave a message, call or text 719-203-8112 or send a confidential email to rmiller@diocs.org. Submissions only need to include the first name of the child and must be received by Sept. 9.
According to the national website, “The first National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children was held in September 2013 on the 25th anniversary of the solemn burial of the earthly remains of some 1,500 abortion victims in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Over 100 memorial services were held across the United States, and it was clear this should become an annual event.
By participating in the National Day of Remembrance, visiting these solemn memorial places at other times of the year, and spreading the word about this prayer campaign, you are helping to humanize our aborted brothers and sisters and deepening your own commitment to ending the injustice of abortion. The National Day of Remembrance also offers hope and healing to women who have had abortions and others who have been hurt by abortion.”
Why is it important to remember the dead? Healthy societies set aside holidays, “Holy Days”, to remember and honor the lives, legacy and sacrifices of the dead. I recently attended the 80th Anniversary of D Day on June 6 in Normandy, France. French President Emmanuel Macron along with President Joe Biden honored American veterans who stormed the beaches of Normandy 80 years ago, marking the beginning of the end of World War II. In front of the stage where they stood, were 9,387 white crosses, marking the graves of soldiers who had sacrificed their lives for freedom. It was an awe-inspiring event. I experienced grief, gratitude and admiration for the French people because they had not allowed the memories of both evil and goodness to be forgotten. By keeping their memories and history alive, they were able to genuinely express present day appreciation for their freedom.
In contrast, I reflected on a trip I took 20 years ago with my dad to Germany. It was the 60th anniversary of his liberation from Stalag VIIA, a prison camp in Moosburg, Germany. He had been captured by the Germans while fighting in Italy during WWII and was held as a prisoner of war for seven months. Stalag VIIA was the largest prison camp in Germany, designed to hold 10,000, but by the end of the war was overcrowded with more than 76,000 prisoners. In 2004, at 81 years old, my dad wanted to take a healing journey and try to make sense of his most painful memories. Moosburg is a small town and we searched for hours to find where the prison camp had been. We questioned dozens of people, even a local school teacher, and no one had any idea that a prison camp had been there. Finally we found two older men, who led us to a fountain in the center of town with a plaque, which simply stated “Stalag VIIA 1939-1945”. No one knew, and therefore, no one cared. The history of what had happened on that soil was silent. My dad had a hard time processing this, because no one remembered.
These contrasts are sharp in my mind as our diocese is making plans to remember the lives lost to abortion. Why remember aborted babies? To avoid mistakes, to seek justice and to mourn them, to name a few reasons.
We can avoid mistakes by remembering our dead. The Israelites were continuously reminded about the rebellious and immoral mistakes of their ancestors and we are reminded in the New Testament to heed these mistakes as warnings to us.
We need to remember our dead babies, no matter how painful the truth may be and no matter how many more babies are being killed every day. Abortion has reached the point of being normalized, even though the aftermath is nothing close to normal for grieving post-abortive women. Our Day of Remembrance will include exhibits and speakers with stories and examples of the error of abortion.
Praying for the souls of aborted children and praying for an end to abortion is acting justly, which we are called to do by Jesus. Remembering our dead because of the injustice committed against them is a responsibility for a justice-seeking society and can be a powerful cry when we do it together publicly. Please, add the Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children to your calendar, as you do with Memorial Day or Veterans Day, and take time to stand up to seek justice and honor for the righteous blood of these holy innocents.
We mourn our dead, especially those whose God-given life was ended before it had the chance to manifest itself. Not mourning the death of a child killed by abortion can cause a society to become calloused about abortion. Jesus spoke about the erection of monuments and the placing of wreaths as a traditional way of mourning and honoring, but then does Jesus challenge us to do more than only recognize the event, but to be the change that brings about the justice we seek? (Matt 23:29-30) Individually we may not be responsible for the death of an aborted child, but collectively we are called to mourn, remember, and then find a way in which we can work toward making a difference by the way we live our daily lives. The exhibits and speaker for our Day of Remembrance will share many good ideas on how you can be this change.
(Rhonda Miller directs the diocesan Project Rachel ministry for post-abortive men and women.)