WARWICK — More than 100 participants from around the state took part in the annual diocesan Human Life Guild Day to pray for all human life, but also to become informed on a variety of topics including Christian marriage and informed voting, as well as take a journey through the world of Down Syndrome and prenatal diagnosis.
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Bishop Thomas J. Tobin began the day with prayer as he concelebrated Mass at SS. Rose & Clement Church. The bishop thanked all those who came out to support the important cause.
“We pray for God’s presence and his grace in our commitment for human life today,” the bishop said. “We have planted within us the spark, the seeds of immortality and eternal life. And that is why we are committed to protecting the sanctity of human life because our faith tells us that our life does have meaning, that we are created in the image and likeness of God. It is in him that we live and move. That’s the truth that makes all the difference.”
As Mass concluded, the 2016 Human Life Guild Awards were presented to six individuals who work diligently to promote and defend all human life — in prayer, thought, word and deed.
Award recipient Jean Ernster, a member of St. Luke Parish in Barrington who leads the parish respect life committee, is an advocate for the unborn, guided by her deep faith.
“God calls us to help and it’s an honor and a privilege to respond and do his will,” she said, addressing the importance of Human Life Guild Day. “It brings awareness and hopefully it will encourage more people to get involved with the prolife movement. We need more prolife prayer warriors.”
Following Mass there was a brunch and a chance to learn from speakers, who offered their insight, personal stories and expertise about challenges facing today’s Catholics.
One of Human Life Guild Day’s featured speakers was Kevin Alviti, president of Down Syndrome Society of Rhode Island (DSSRI). Alviti served as a “Tour Guide Into the World of Down Syndrome,” sharing his moving and personal story of how his faith was tested by a doctor who encouraged him and his wife to abort upon discovery that their child, Natalia, had Down Syndrome.
“The greatest gift that my wife ever gave me wasn’t a flat screen television. It wasn’t that signed autographed picture of Rob Gronkowski. The greatest gift that my wife ever gave me was the ability to process this on my own at my own time,” he said. “I remember after I came around I was beating myself up, that I allowed this doctor to get into my head the way that he did, and she said ‘you need to stop doing that. I always knew you were going to come around because every single night you would kiss my belly and tell Natalia that you loved her. I just knew your mind had to catch up to your heart.’”
It was through learning about Down Syndrome and seeking the information he needed that he helped choose life for his daughter Natalia. He and his family now work diligently to raise awareness about Down Syndrome, offering support and advice to families going through the same diagnosis.
Alviti asked those in attendance to help strip the “R word” from their vocabulary — retarded — and to congratulate parents who discover their child will have Down Syndrome.
“You’ll be one of the very few that do,” he said. “Tell them that the journey they are about to embark on is one that they would’ve never asked for in million years but one that they would never give up in two million.”
The DSSRI will be holding their annual Buddy Walk to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October and to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome. The event will take place on Sunday, Oct. 9 at Goddard Park. The learn more visit www.DSSRI.org.
Barth E. Bracy, executive director of Rhode Island Right to Life, spoke to attendees about prayer, voting and lobbying in his talk entitled “Pray, Get Informed, Vote!” He explained that prudence is critical when it comes to staying informed and casting votes.
“Prudence is not irrelevant or boring, it’s the difference between victory and defeat. That’s why we need prudence in the pro-life movement,” he said.
He added that Christians must stay informed and know who their trusted sources are.
“We need to know what’s going on and we need good, solid information,” said Bracy. “We need prudence in knowing who to listen to.”
Father Christopher Mahar, rector of Our Lady of Providence Seminary and Human Life Guild chaplain, discussed the Church’s teaching on “Amoris Laetitia,” “Familiaris Consortio,” and St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body,” discussing “The Joy of Love,” fertility and fecundity as gift in the Church. He shared that in today’s culture, the truths of Christian marriage must be presented in a responsible way, and added that we all have a vocation to love.
“We are living in a culture that has stifled and suffocated human love,” said Father Mahar. “Communion with another, we long for it, we pine for it, we are created for it. It is a communion capable of bearing fruit in the world, this is the vision of Theology of the Body. This is the invitation that we have that we are called to communion. Marriage is not the problem, marriage is the solution. Christian marriage is a sign of how much God loves the church. When human life fails, God prevails.”
Dr. Nicholas J. Healy, Jr., associate professor at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, also discussed Christian marriage, explaining the recent developments in the Catholic doctrine of marriage, discussing “Gaudium et Spes,” “Familiaris Consortio” and “Amoris Laetitia.” He explained to those in attendance, that marriage is constituted in a reciprocal gift of self.
“Spousal love has its source in divine love and is structured with Christ’s union with the church,” said Dr. Healy. “Through the sacrament of matrimony Christ aligns with the spouses. Just as he loved the church and handed himself over on her behalf, the spouses may love each other with perpetual fidelity.”
Carol Owens, coordinator of the Office of Life and Family, told attendees that everything they do as Catholics must be rooted in God’s love.
“As God cherishes each person, regardless of their circumstance in life, we are called to love and cherish one another,” she said. “From the unborn child in his mother’s womb, to the hospice patient, we are called to love one another.”
