SO I ARRIVED in san Francisco for the west coast walk for life a day before the event and attended mass at St. Dominics Church
I love the various houses in san Francisco...so well-kept and historic
people finally putting their Christmas trees out on the curb
one of the fellow walkers-4-life
one group of walkers carried beautiful yellow balloons...
before the rally and walk many attended the 930am mass at St. Mary's Cathedral
above: this is Frank Pavone, one of the Catholic priests most often seen at pro-life rallies , and a speaker for the cause
the Knights of Columbus are BIG supporters of the right-to-life movement
lots of different groups from all over the country
the beauty of st. marys cathedral
“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to His service.”
“This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other."
many of the bishops (red caps) from around California attended the St. Mary's mass
more knights of Columbus
“The Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”
san Francisco bell ringers added
to the spiritual atmosphere
leaving st. Mary's cathedral, walking towards san Francisco city hall
“For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Luke 11.10
outside st Mary's cathedral
I think this was a Lutheran church nearby
a whaling wall in san Francisco !
homeless problem in san Francisco
nearing the majestic san Francisco city hall
,many different groups at city hall...mostly faith-oriented groups, but NOT all...there are also secular groups for life as well as atheist for life...I'm not sure if the feminists for life are faith-based or not
the prolife fiddler is a nice guy...I've seen him at other events...
...sometimes he plays for the crowd
“Blessed is the [person] who perseveres under trial, because when he [or she] has stood the test, he [or she] will receive the crown of life that God has promised to
those who love him [or her].”
the crowd begins to gather
before the speakers take the stage
sidewalk advocates for life
a lot of nuns attended the rally
and walked with us ;
and EWTN radio was also at the event
I met one of the leaders of this group ( www.californiaprolife.org )at the los angeles rally...his name is Brian...I think I saw him briefly, but didn't interact with him...if he sees this, THANKS for the t-shirt Brian at the LA event! I've handed out some of their pamphlets...however they are not affiliated with any church or religious group...they are "non-sectarian"...Brian says he personally is a Christian (former Catholic) but the group does not promote or affiliate with any religion...their pamphlet speaks mostly about the problem of our government paying for abortion...and asks people to sign a petition to stop the government (ie our tax money) paying for abortion
I saw this guy at the Oakland rally as well...last name MOSS if I recall correctly (from Ohio?) ..yes, I found this online about him:
Pastor Walter Moss is Pastor of the Foursquare Church in Canton. Quote: "I am not ashamed to say I am a Black Pro-Life Pastor and that the African-American church is guilty of not taking the lead on issues like abortion. As Pastors, we need to be able to come together and have a civil conversation about how abortion is affecting us and we need to be equipped with the information to help our people deal with it." http://www.issues4life.org/oakland.html
vitae organization...don't know much about them.. but I like their slogan
YES !
THE POLICE were very nice and helped protect us from the protestors ...yes there were a group of protestors who are against the pro-life movement and make a point of coming out at every pro-life event to try to disrupt us...they did so at the Oakland event as well, the day before (I was there!)
beautiful weather, blue sky as we walked !
I first met this guy at the burger king before the rally...he had various Bible verses written on h is t-shirt, as well as the image of Mother Mary...we talked a bit, and we exchanged literature..nice guy in my prayers....
the speakers began giving their inspiring testimony...
here's a good view of how many people were at the event...as far as the eye could see
I love this banner...I had this bumper sticker on my car for a while as well
LOTS of PRIESTS WALKED with us
yo so la generacion pro-vida ...we are the pro-life generation !!!
now we begin to walk, leaving san Francisco city hall ...and heading towards the bay
lots of signs were very KIND & CARING towards those who are post-abortive (ie have already had an abortion and may be conflicted...
I try to capture the "local color" of the community I am in at the moment..including things such as movie theatre signs ...and what is playing at the time as you can see here.. not sure what this movie is about...it's not an endorsement..just "local color"
here you can see the line of police protecting us from the protestors..
there goes a red heart balloon !
local color !
cute
this was the "finish line" ! ...more protestors here as well
this was MY SIGN !!!
hand-crafted !
I rested for a few moments at the finish line and then turned around and went back "up-stream" to get back to my car
I love this sign...
another great sign !
yes, what if you are wrong? what if what you call a fetus is a human life? what have you done if you abort a human life ? Think twice, or thrice, or many more times before you decide to abort. Please don't do it.
“We wait for the blessed hope of the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
“Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.”
“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. “
a gal in a wedding dress....
just married as I walked by !
just married as I walked by !
back at st. dominics
“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
"God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons."
MOTHER MARY
TRUSTED GOD ...
and
gave
birth to Jesus
Christ...any woman
may have
a
future
saint...a
great person... a
person
appointed by God
in her
womb...trust God
enough to deliver
the
baby and
allow the child to
live a great life
for God !
But even if the
child does not
become a “great”
person (in the
eyes of the church
or world), the
child is
valuable…as a
baby,
as a youth,
and as an adult…
allow God’s
providence to
reign !
