After three years, a ministry of public prayer drawing attention to respect for life and honoring families continues to grow, rising from a pandemic era call of “let’s take this on the road.”
Founding members of the Family Rosary for Life say the Holy Spirit has buoyed their efforts to promote prayer and fellowship as they tackle no shortage of ills that are presenting themselves in the nation and world.
“What’s been really great is that when I stand up and look out at the group, you see people active in Respect Life, with Knights of Columbus, and we have people who work for the Women’s Care Center,” said Mark Gabrione, group founder and St. Joseph, Dyer parishioner. “They are so passionate.”
Gabrione said he has worked with willing partners such as St. Joseph pastors, deacons and the diocesan director of pro-life activities, Father Rick Holy, pastor of St. Edward in Lowell. The prayer group leader aims to double the number of churches the fellowship visits in the years ahead, reaching out through email, a Facebook page and in church announcements and bulletins.
Hosting rallies modeled on the nationwide activities of groups like America Needs Fatima, Catholic prayer warriors from the Region first gathered in October 2020 at a prominent place near St. Joseph, facing the heavily traversed Route 30, which provided visibility and “maximum impact.”
An initial invitation to the invocation garnered 25 participants. At recent events, such as a prayer service at St. John the Evangelist in St. John, about 75 faithful were counted.
Events are typically announced weeks in advance via an extensive list of interested individuals to whom Gabrione sends reminders. Those who click on the emails will see thank-yous to priests who have recently hosted the group, as well as encouraging greetings.
A consistent message and preeminent concern in the fellowship’s prayers is the intention of “making abortion unthinkable,” or simply “ending abortion.”
Gabrione said while they do not focus on the numbers who attend public prayer sessions, they remain aware of mournful statistics that resulted from ¬permissive abortion laws.
“One statistic that we always bring up at each service is that up until now from the time Roe v. Wade went into effect (in January 1973), over 63 million children in the United States were aborted. And that is just staggering,” Gabrione said.
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade in their Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision, where, in a 6-3 vote, the highest court in the land ruled that the Constitution does not confer the right to an abortion.
Elected state legislatures, executives and courts now govern abortion law. In August, the Indiana Supreme Court voted 4-1 to deny the American Civil Liberties Union’s request for a rehearing of a case they hoped would delay Senate Bill 1, a law which has since taken effect to greatly protect unborn children from abortion.
For the Family Rosary for Life group, such a seismic shift in the legal landscape for the respect life movement does not lessen the focus on the issue of protecting the unborn and caring for mothers. Sheila Lachcik, a founding member of the prayer fellowship, hopes participants can “be those people,” who bring truth and compassion to the public square.
Lachcik said as a convert to the Catholic faith, she is of “the more the merrier” mindset when showing up for good, old-fashioned prayer and activism. “God smiles upon us.”
“There’s an invitation, always. Just come and join us and see what we’re about,” said Lachcik, who has presented and advised those working at crisis pregnancy centers. “I’ll do whatever I can to be encouraging.”
Lachcik credits the “saving grace of God,” for bringing her in communion with the Catholic Church and leading her to the fellowship of the prayer group. Being post-abortive, she wishes to “do whatever I can” to advance the respect for life from conception to natural death.
Another draw to the group is the emphasis on honoring the natural family, according to Jackie Keenan. The strong Marian devotion of the fellowship and the act of praying the Rosary, which highlights the lives of Jesus and the Blessed Mother, was a powerful attraction second only to her desire to be present for Eucharistic Adoration.
She and her mother joined the Catholic Church in a double conversion 21 years ago, when the former Lutherans sought out the Eucharistic Lord and intercession of Mary.
Her family life with her “Cradle Catholic” husband John Keenan, son Jake Keenan, 10, and daughter Mary Keenan, 8, has prospered since she became an active member in the Family Rosary for Life. She said she is inspired by the “true devotion” within the prayer group and at Eucharist-centered worship.
Founding members joked about the group’s original name, which was “First Saturday Traveling Rosary Prayer Service for Life group” ¬ give or take a few words. They said they are happy to keep the shortened version, which sounds less like a zany 1960s rock group and more like the simple goal of the group: to publicly pray and uplift family values.
“I believe that once you say, Lord increase my faith, I don’t think there is any stopping us,” said Keenan. “The beauty of the Family Rosary for Life is that the Rosary keeps us together as a family.”
Family Rosary for Life prayer rallies often coincide with First Friday and Saturday devotions to Jesus and Mary, but are linked to other Catholic observances and pro-life advocacy. Whether in a spring drizzle or on a mild late summer day, area faithful may see the Family Rosary for Life group gathered at their parish. Members hope many others join them.
For more information about Family Rosary for Life, contact Mark Gabrione at (847) 630-5990, by email mgab15lu@gmail.com or visit the group’s Facebook page (https://m.facebook.com/groups/388327556220598/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT).
Caption: Family Rosary for Life founder Mark Gabrione (center) leads in prayer during a rally on Sept. 9 at the gazebo on Lake George in Hobart. Through public Rosary recitation, devotional invocations and singing spiritual songs, the prayer group founded three years ago has prioritized seeking God's assistance as they advocate for the end to abortion and the protection of religious liberty. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)