Search
-
February 15, 2024On Jan. 22 each year, the Catholic Church observes the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children, with commemorations held at many parishes in the U.S. and around the world.
For many years, the Benedictine brothers at Saint Gregory’s Abbey in Shawnee have kept the tradition of observing this day with the Eucharist celebration in attendance of the Knights of Columbus and a wreath laying ceremony. Rt. Rev. Lawrence Stasyszen, O.S.B., abbot of Saint Gregory’s Abbey, presided over the Mass celebration this year.
One of the special places dedicated specifically to continuous prayers for the unborn and their mothers is the Holy Innocents’ chapel in Oklahoma City, which holds perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
The Holy Innocents’ chapel was established by the Holy Innocents’ Foundation of Oklahoma in 2011 as a silent sign of opposition to an abortion center operating in the same building complex. Through the power of prayer, the abortion center ultimately closed within a few years after the chapel was opened, amid perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
The same fate awaited the Planned Parenthood organization which moved into the offices of the halted abortion center.
The chapel has been maintained and managed by Catholics from across the Oklahoma City metro and relying on adorers to cover hourly adoration slots throughout the day and night 365 days a year.
“We have very, very devoted adorers,” said Julie Mayfield, the coordinator of adorers at the Holy Innocents’ chapel. “In the history of the chapel the adoration closed only during Covid for six weeks. It is a touching story. Some of our adorers would still go and sit at the doorsteps during their adoration hours.
“It makes me emotional.”
Mayfield said adoration continues, recognizing that the fight against abortion continues.
“I believe abortion is the biggest scourge on earth. We need to protect human life from conception to natural death. “We are praying for a renewed respect of every human heart and for people to realize that all life matters the way God intended it.”
Mayfield invited Catholics to sign up to become an adorer.
“Come to sit with Jesus for one hour per week,” she said. “Open your heart and you will never be the same.
“I signed up as an adorer a couple of years after the chapel was established. I didn’t know what I should expect. It changed my life. The faith I’m exposed to is so fulfilling.”
Adorers expressed appreciation for the opportunity to spend private and intimate time with the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, while offering their prayers for the innocent souls of unborn children as well as their mothers.
“Since the very first time I stepped into the chapel, I felt a deep connection with this place,” said Maria Elena Egas from Saint Philip Neri Catholic Church in Midwest City. “I pray both for unborn children and their mothers who are in conflict and victims of difficult circumstances.
“Sometimes they are isolated with no one to help them. It is not easy, but both the children and the women are precious lives, and both desire the opportunity to live.”
Egas said she hoped pregnant women considering abortion will always rely on knowing there are always alternatives for them and their babies.
“The most important alternative to have,” Egas said, “is God who, through the Holy Spirit, will guide you to make the right decision that’s fair for the baby and yourself.”
“I invite the pregnant women in conflict to visit the adoration chapel here. Come meet God and through God you will find the best way for your baby and yourself.”
One woman, who wished to remain anonymous for privacy protection, shared a personal story.
“My daughter became pregnant at the age of 15,” the woman said. “We were just getting ready to celebrate her 15th birthday party when she broke the news. She was so confused. Both her friends at school and the parents of the father – her school boyfriend – encouraged her to abort the baby. My family objected.
“My granddaughter is 14 years old now and a happy young girl.”
For parents in similar circumstances, the woman urges them to rely on the Lord to guide them.
“I was heartbroken,” she said, “but when she got the baby, I said, ‘Thank you Lord, for the baby. Thank you for the life of my granddaughter.’”
More information about the Holy Innocents’ Foundation of Oklahoma and adoration at the chapel can be found at holyinnocentsokc.org
Jad Ziolkowska is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
Photo: (Top) Benedictine brothers at St. Gregory’s Abbey in Shawnee during the annual Eucharistic commemoration of the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. Photo provided.
Maria Elena Egas, St. Philip Neri Catholic Church in Midwest City, is a regular adorer at the Holy Innocents chapel. Photo Jad Ziolkowska/Sooner Catholic.
