PORT ST. LUCIE | Despite the rain at St. Bernadette Parish in Port St. Lucie Jan. 22, 2025, the 52nd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade ruling, the pro-life commitment to honor the sanctity of all human life was not dampened.
The Catholic Church’s Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children was marked by the parish Respect Life ministry with praying of the rosary and attending the 8 a.m. Mass. A planned peaceful march to the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce was canceled due to the weather.
Even though the court’s 1973 decision was overturned in 2022, giving the authority to regulate abortion back to the states, we still must continue to advocate for the rights of the unborn, said John Shrake, St. Bernadette music director and Respect Life member.
“We need to change hearts and minds to understand the dignity of all human life,” he said. “Even though we have the law overturned, we won’t make any changes in our country until we change the human heart,” and “we need to have an understanding that human life begins at conception.”
Welcoming everyone to the liturgy, Father Victor Ulto, pastor of St. Bernadette, read the advice of the U.S. bishops for the anniversary day: “Their instruction for today, ‘a day of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right of life and of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion,’ take place on this day, which, as we know, is the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision of Roe v Wade.
“How blessed we are to come together as a parish family to thank God for the gift of life,” as well as “to pray together to harness our love and our good will” and to “continue respecting all human life,” he said.
During his homily, Father Ulto explained just, as a great artist creates a masterpiece, the ultimate masterpiece is in God’s creation. “Every speck of the world has the glory of Christ in it because God created every speck of the world, from a leaf to a bird to a dog to a cat, to a human being.”
Expounding further on God’s masterpiece, he said, “When we look into the eyes of any human being, whether born or unborn, any human being, we see the eyes of the creator looking back at us.”
We need “to pray and petition for the restoration of the legal rights of the unborn” because “they are deserving of respect and dignity,” Father Ulto said, adding that just because “they are unborn does not mean they are not human beings.” We need to “pray for the restoration of the dignity of all human life, regardless. All human life has within us marks and fingerprints and hearts and the love of our Creator.”
He advised everyone to come together in the “realization that there exists masterpieces around us. All we have to do is look and see the face of God” in every human being born and unborn.
Luis Gonzalez, St. Bernadette Respect Life leader, said, “I would like to thank God for such a wonderful Mass celebrated by our wonderful pastor, Father Ulto,” adding that “It was so inspiring to see so many people come to the special Mass in support of the sanctity of life from conception to natural death.”
Sally Elder, leader of Care Net Pregnancy Services of the Treasure Coast, said, “It’s important to love and support these women who feel unsupported and scared,” and for them to know that God loves them and that there are local resources available for them.
St. Bernadette’s Respect Life ministry prays the rosary every Wednesday before the 8 a.m. Mass in the church. For information on its other activities, call 772-336-9956. To learn about the parish, visit https://stbernadetteslw.org/ or email parish@stbernadetteslw.org.
