The Eucharist is being used more and more as a way to save unborn children and convert those who favor abortion.
As the United States prepares to mark the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, adoration chapels across the country are being set up next to abortion businesses. It’s a growing movement that Father Steve Imbarrato, chaplain of Holy Innocents Chapel in Albuquerque, N.M., says he hopes will increase.
“I want to promote Eucharistic adoration to fight abortion,” Father Imbarrato said. As the director for Project Life, he said everything he does to promote life involves the Eucharist. “The chapel is the spiritual center of all our pro-life work,” he stated.
By setting up a Eucharistic chapel, Jesus has a close, permanent presence right next to the enemy. “Our Lord has been across the street from the Planned Parenthood clinic here for almost 12 years,” Father Imbarrato said. “It began when our bishop gave permission for the Eucharist to be kept in a tabernacle in an office cubicle across the street.” When the priest was asked to oversee the chapel in 2004, he formed a 501(c)(3) for Project Defending Life. The landlord, not happy with the makeshift chapel, was threatening to throw them out.
That’s when another 3,000 square-foot office space became vacant just 50 feet from the facility. The group moved there and renamed it Holy Innocents Chapel. Mass is celebrated there three days a week.
“We’ve been taking Our Lord in procession after Mass, two days a week, and we just added a third day,” Father Imbarrato said. An average of 30 or more participants join in a Rosary and other prayers before processing back.
When Father Price Oswalt, a priest of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, heard Father Imbarrato’s story on Catholic radio, he said he knew he wanted to get the Eucharist as close to the local abortion facility as he could. “If we can get people praying with Our Lord on the front lines, we can change everything,” he said. “Darkness cannot exist in light; the presence of God’s goodness will change hearts and minds.”
‘Everything Has a Price’
When the question of financing came up, Father Oswalt said Father Imbarrato told him not to worry. “Father said, ‘Just let people know about your plan, and God will provide the money.” That is exactly what happened. “People started donating, including a $25,000 and a $35,000 check,” Father Oswalt said. “I was going to rent a building, but people said, ‘Why don’t you buy one?’”
A building is in the process of being purchased. Father Oswalt said the Holy Innocents Chapel will be operational as soon as possible. His goal is perpetual adoration to pray without ceasing against the evil taking place next door. “The clinic doctor murders scores of babies six days a week,” he said.
Initially, a building nearby was not even for sale, but a pro-life businessman assured Father Oswalt, “Father, everything is for sale for a price.” Sure enough, the owner of a building 21 feet from the abortion business was looking to pay off a debt, so he accepted an offer. Ironically, he warned the future buyers, “The only thing wrong with this building is that there’s a doctor next door who does women things, so sometimes there are protesters.” The buyers did not reveal that they were the protesters.
Although money readily came forward, many details had to be addressed. The bishop needed to give permission to reserve the Blessed Sacrament, which he did as long as the chapel can be properly staffed with volunteers for perpetual adoration. There need to be at least 168 people — two per hour — to commit to an hour a day, seven days a week, before the Blessed Sacrament. Attorneys volunteered to file the legal papers for Holy Innocents Foundation of Oklahoma’s nonprofit status. They also made sure the chapel would be in compliance of city rules for setting up churches and holding processions.
After all this work, what if the abortionist moves to some quieter location? “If he moves, we move,” Father Oswalt said. “We will follow him wherever he goes.”
‘The Lord Is There’
In Robbinsdale, Minn., right next to an abortion facility, there is a renovated home that has served as a Eucharistic chapel for three years. The Eucharist is reserved in a back bedroom, and a 10-foot crucifix and five-foot statue of Mary sits in the front yard. Father Thomas Duffner meets with a group on the property every Saturday, rain or shine, where they pray 15 decades of the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
“The Lord is there,” Father Duffner said. “There’s no question that there is power in this. I have no doubt whatsoever.” He said that just as the whole Church is being renewed through perpetual adoration, so too the fight against abortion is being renewed through the Eucharist. “We go to the abortion clinic, to the foot of the cross, where Jesus is suffering; and through the Eucharist, he is there with us.”
In North Dakota, there are no abortionists and only one business. Practitioners come from out of state, usually on Wednesdays, to perform abortions. Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo said that the Visitation Chapel opened on the third floor of an office building directly across from the abortion facility this past June. “I opened it with the first Mass,” the bishop said. “There is Mass every Wednesday at 8am and adoration from 8:30 until 4pm, the time abortions are done.”
The Fargo Respect Life Office directs the chapel, but it relies completely on donations from the laity. “The response has been very positive,” said Bishop Aquila. “People come from all over to pray here. They see the chapel as a real witness to the dignity of the unborn.”
Bishop Aquila, who presides over an annual Eucharistic procession on Respect Life Sunday, cautions that it is important to involve the local bishop and study the rules for establishing a chapel and holding processions.
“Certainly, with our belief in the Eucharist as the body, blood and divinity of Jesus Christ, we are putting our trust in the second Person of the Trinity to assist in the battle against the culture of death,” he said. “Jesus is the one who gives life. We know that Our Lord is with us in this battle.”
Register correspondent Patti Maguire Armstrong writes from Bismarck, North Dakota.
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I am astounded by the lack of Comments to this article.
The culture of death is directly opposed to the culture of life.
Jesus is LIFE. “Jesus said to him: I am the way, and the truth, and the LIFE. No man comes to the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)
The war against Life is against Jesus. He will lead the culture of Life against the enemies of Life but we must follow and fight in order to win this war.
The enemies of Life first want to destroy the Holy Eucharist and are doing so. Reportedly, forty million Catholics have left the Faith in the USA in as many years. Sacrilegious Communions are destroying souls. Thank God for Pope Benedict’s renewal of Sacred Liturgy.
This is a wonderful idea, and so much more fruitful than only protesting, because prayer is one of the strongest weapons we have.
This is a Wonderful story of the Church HEALING itself from no protecting children to doing the right thing. We need more actions like this from Mother Church.
When I read the headline I broke in to applause. The first time I’ve ever done that. Praise be to God! What a WONDERFUL idea. How can we make this happen at our local abortion mills?
Thank you for this article, it is a great encouragement.
Arthur, I just found the article myself. Be patient.
My only comment is the danger of taking the Holy Mysteries near an abortuary where They might be profaned by pro-death zealots.
I saw a video of a Eucharistic flash mob. A Franciscan priest and laity held Adoration and Benediction on a public street, and I had similar concerns.
I hope this idea spreads far and wide. The power of God can chase away evil. We must align ourselves with Jesus in the Eucharist to fight against abortion.
Holy Eucharist, Holy Rosary and… a strong commitment to St Joseph, the antithesis of satan, according to St Rabanus Maurus, a Fulda’s monastery abbot. He said that four actors played the role of our fallen, Adam, Eve, the tree and satan. The same order had embraced God to rescue us, using the new Adam-Jesus, the new Eve- Mary, the tree of the Cross, and St.Joseph, alleluia!
The Lord of Life Himself against the Culture of Death. What a blessed and effective way to defend the unborn under the patronage of those mighty Saints the Holy Innocents!
God bless your efforts!!
When I saw the title of this article and saw the Monstrance in procession all I could think of was the Movie “The Mission"This is the scene when the Portuguese were about to wipe out the Village and all the babies surrounded Father with the Blessed Sacrament. The Soldiers killed the babies and Father, and A little boy picks up the Monstrance and leads all to eternal life! Jesus is bigger then insults and slander. If pro abortion people want to take our lives I want to be like that Jesuit, lifting my Jesus high up to glorify Him! Just like St Christopher was the Christ bearer let us hoist Him high and carry Him into the world. (with permission of course)
Thank you for the wonderfully written information in this article. The Lord continues to walk among his children, and this is a profound example of this… to bring him in this way to the abortion mills, I believe with all my heart is his desire. I am reminded of the gospels where he was scoffed at, scorned and judged for eating and sitting with “sinners and tax collectors” (a dangerous pursuit) and yet it is here we find often his most passionate responses of mercy, love and forgiveness. Although very difficult to bring light into the darkness, he was not afraid to walk this walk, -and as his children, no should we.
There is a Facebook page devoted to prayer and advocacy for a Eucharistic Chapel to be built across from an abortion clinic in Aurora, Illinois.
Aurora calls itself the “City of Lights”, but it is really a very dark place! Aurora is “home” to the largest abortion facility in the Midwest. Planned Parenthood literally snuck into town under false pretenses. Unfortunately, the City saw $$$ and allowed the god of death to begin its gruesome sacrifices in earnest. 150- 175 children die here every week! But there is an empty field right across the alley from this disgraceful presence. If a chapel of Perpetual Adoration is opened in the vicinity of an abortion facility, that “clinic” will close! ...
http://www.facebook.com/groups/ECoftT2/
As a Pro-Life activist, I think this is a fantastic idea. I doubt that the Liberal Bishop and Priests in my dioceses will ever do such a thing. It’s against their religion.
I’ve been praying for this to happen for a looong time!! We used to have Eucharistic Processions outside of the Church for all kinds of “special” feast days!! Back in the early days of the Church, it was done routinely. Because, people REALLY believed that Jesus is truly Present there, & “walking” with us. A 24 hr adoration chapel of some kind, close to the killing clinics will eventually wipe out those clinics!! There are so many great aspects to this! Authentic Bishops of the Church will make themselves known to the laity, as will the heretics. BUT….we, the laity, MUST take to the streets ourselves!! Our Church didn’t get to this point just because of the bishops & priests!! There have been thousands of lay people pushing them on!! JPII told us that Jesus would be showing us many Eucharistic Miracles!! Bet this is a BIG one!
God bless you, Father Imbarrato. Institute the perpetual recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet in the Adoration Chapel along with the Holy Rosary. Jesus dictated this Chaplet to Saint Faustina with the central purpose of fighting the mass murder of unborn babies.
While doing this lets also work to remove abortion influences from the Catholic Church. Abortion estimates show that approx. 10 million Catholic women have had abortions since 1973. Since Girls Scouts has a connection to Planned Parenthood(biggest abortion provider in the US), we should disassociate ourselves from Girl Scouts
Sites concerned with the GS connection to Planned Parenthood
Our mission group includes 1 former Girl Scout Leader, 4 former Girl Scouts, 4 families and a spiritual director. We launched http://www.girlscoutswhynot.com/ on May 8th, 2010. Our mission group is exposing the connection of Girl Scouts to Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion advocacy groups and individuals. We are asking all Catholic parishes and schools worldwide to sever ties with GSUSA and WAGGGS…..
http://www.girlscoutswhynot.com/default.html
http://www.honestgirlscouts.com/
100 questions for the Girl Scouts http://www.100questionsforthegirlscouts.org
Aternatives to GS ~ Little Flowers Girls’ Club® is a Catholic program for girls ages 5 and up based on learning Catholic virtues through the lives of Catholic saints, Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church…...
http://www.eccehomopress.com/Little-Flowers-Home.html
American Heritage Girls http://www.ahgonline.org/
AHG–Catholic Brochure: http://www.ahgonline.org/uploads/catholicbrochure.pdf
~~~
Also so that Catholic women in the future are not lied to about prenatal development, get the DVD The Biology of Prenatal Development http://www.ehd.org/shoppingcart/products/The-Biology-of-Prenatal-Development.html it is the best window into the womb dvd and share it with your kids ages 12 and above.
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