By Valerie Schmalz
Driving rain and unseasonably cold temperatures did not discourage those who huddled together on a San Francisco sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood for a Traditional Latin Mass Sunday–to pray for an end to abortion and all its evil harms.
The Feb. 15 Sunday Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite kicked off this Lent’s 40 Days for Life campaign in San Francisco, which began officially on Ash Wednesday.
“Why the Mass here, in the street?” Father Javier Ravasi, SE, asked in his homily, shielded from the rain by raised umbrellas, as cars drove by on the main downtown artery of Bush Street. To pray for conversion of those “who work in these places; so that God may touch their minds and wills one day, and they may understand that, even if they do not realize it, they are ending the life of an innocent,” said the priest, who is originally from Argentina and in residence at Star of the Sea Parish.
(Photo by Karolina Zapolska/40 Days for Life)
A well-known Spanish language social media evangelist and co-founder of the missionary Order of St. Elias, Father Ravasi has a YouTube channel and website. A lawyer who graduated from Buenos Aires Law University, he holds doctorates in history and philosophy and has written a dozen books.
“Secondly, to seek forgiveness and make reparation for this crime of abortion, a crime that in many places is not even recognized as such,” Father Ravasi said. “But thirdly, as I said at the beginning, because it is the duty of every Catholic, the duty of every Christian, to bear witness to the Faith, ensuring that our speech is ‘yes… yes, no… no,’ as we read in today’s Gospel.
“Today we gather here once again to carry out this apostolate, as Catholics that we are, actively living our Faith.”
Nearly 40 people of all ages gathered, children, young adults, and seniors over 90. “The tone was very peaceful and calm and reverent,” said one 40 Days for Life participant, who asked to be anonymous. “I was humbled to kneel in the rainy street of San Francisco.”
(Photo by Karolina Zapolska/40 Days for Life)
Those gathered included Bud and Lorna Feria, parents of five children and grandfather of one, Melanie Salazar, executive director of Pro-Life San Francisco, the mother of a toddler, John Leibee, president of United for Life of Northern California, and Dolores Meehan, executive director of Bella Primary Clinic and co-founder of the Walk for Life West Coast, and Eva Muntean, co-founder of Walk for Life West Coast.
The Order of St. Elias is a 10-year-old society of apostolic life and an apostolate of the counter-cultural revolution. Among the missionary work of its priests is the rescue of Christian slaves in Pakistan. Founded in 2007 in Texas, 40 Days for Life is a campaign that has expanded to 63 countries. It aims to end abortion locally through prayer and fasting, community outreach, and a peaceful all-day vigil in front of abortion businesses.
