This could be the most important year ever to attend the March for Life, the world’s largest pro-life demonstration. Members of the parish who wish to attend the National March for Life are invited to meet after the 9 am Mass on Friday, January 21, to arrange for carpooling to Metro or downtown as desired. We plan on leaving by 10 am. An impressive list of speakers is scheduled. https://marchforlife.org/speaker-line-up-for-the-2022-march-for-life/
Adoration for Life on January 21, 2021
In addition, we will have adoration in the Church on Friday, January 21th after the 9 am Mass for those who wish to support the March by praying a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament.
Novena for Life from January 21 - 29, 2021
Like last year, we will be praying the USCCB Novena for Life in the Church at the conclusion of every daily Mass from January 21 -29. For more details on the Novena and to print your own copy, please see the USSCB website. https://www.usccb.org/resources/9-days-life-novena
Virtual Options to Support the National March for Life
There are several virtual options to support the March this year including the Rose Dinner Gala and Capitol Hill 101 as virtual attendance is possible via livestream. See the links below for more information and registration.
https://events.blackthorn.io/en/5w6itLw7/2022-virtual-capitol-hill-101-5a2g5w1Heo9/overview
https://events.blackthorn.io/en/5w6itLw7/2022-virtual-rose-dinner-gala-5a2g5w1Heo4/overview
Are you facing an unplanned pregnancy and are being pushed to resolve the “problem”? You do not have to face this decision alone or make it hastily. There are several life-affirming resources available to help not to regret your decision. They are as follows:
Shady Grove Pregnancy Center Centro Tepeyac Pregnancy Center
16220 N. Frederick Road, #118 12248 Georgia Avenue
Gaithersburg, MD 20877 Silver Spring, MD 20902
301-963-6223 301-587-9516
www.pregnancy-options.org/ www.centrotepeyac.org/
Archdiocese of Washington Resources
Visit: http://www.adw.org/pregnant-need-help/
Healing after an abortion?
Call Project Rachel at 301-853-4565
The Mustard Seed Project is a letter-writing campaign that sends out a letter to the organizations and corporations who support Planned Parenthood (PP) with annual or personal charitable giving programs. These organizations and corporations have in some cases supported PP for decades. The letter-writing process has been effective in changing the minds of CEOs to no longer support PP and has resulted in the loss of funding in the millions. A letter is composed with a difference entity every month. The RFL Committee encourages parishioners to copy the letter and mail it to the addressee for that month’s letter. Links to the letters are available on the menu on the left.
Angel Friends are trained volunteers from local churches who help clients in crisis pregnancies with practical, emotional and spiritual support and accompany them through pregnancy and beyond as needed. Clients are referred to teams through Gabriel Network. If you are interested in joining the Angel Friend Team at St. Raphael's, please contact Carol DeGraba, cdegraba@gmail.com.
St. Raphael’s Respect for Life Committee (RFL) seeks to promote a greater reverence in both our parish and faith community, for the dignity of human life from conception to natural death. We approach this task with a readiness to nurture and sustain this precious gift of human life through pro-life education, advocacy, works of charity and prayer. In an effort to successfully promote a culture of life in an increasingly complex world, we share the Catholic Church’s teachings on a wide range of life issues, such as abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, euthanasia, Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS), contraception, infertility procedures and the death penalty. We humbly commit ourselves to spreading the message of God’s Word and Love as it pertains to the infinite values of each human life created in His very image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). We support St. Pope John Paul II’s comments during his 1999 visit to St. Louis: “And so, America: If you want peace, work for justice. If you want justice, defend life. If you want life, embrace the truth, the truth revealed by God.”