Our Lady Queen of Peace

We are a Roman Catholic family centered in the Eucharist, rooted in our immigrant traditions since the 1800’s and devoted to our Blessed Mother.  Humbly guided by the Holy Spirit, and with the warmth and hospitality that springs from a small community, we seek to share our faith in Jesus Christ through prayer, devotion, education, stewardship, and service to others. 

A Message from Bishop Malesic on October Respect Life Month

All human life is precious, fragile and given directly to us as a gift by God. As such, we are brothers and sisters in our human family, made in the image and likeness of God. We are all called to live out our responsibility to care for, protect and defend the lives of our brothers and sisters.

Sadly, in our great country we focus so much on our individual freedoms that we sometimes forget about our corresponding obligations to be protective of life, respectful and caring to one another. Jesus reminds us to “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Lk 6:27-38)  Consequently, we all have the obligation to defend life because it is the fundamental right from which all other rights flow. St. Pope John Paul II stated, “Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights – for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture – is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.” (Christifideles laici, No. 38)

In our culture today, disrespect for life in the womb has spilled over to a general disrespect for the needs of others outside the womb. If life can be disregarded at its very beginning, why not be dismissive of it the middle and at the end, too? To be truly pro-life we must also respect life after a person is born. This includes striving to end all racism, protecting the environment that we all share together, lifting up the poor, helping the addicted, comforting those in prison, etc. In short, we are all called to practice the corporal works of mercy.

I am disturbed by images of people shouting at one another on airplanes, the disruptions at public board meetings, shootings in our city streets and the mean-spirited unproductive speech that sometimes comes from people who claim to follow Christ. As we go about our day, do we treat people – all of them – as made in God’s image, even if the image is tainted in them? We should want to help those in our society who are struggling to welcome new life, like moms who are pregnant or parenting in difficult circumstances, and seek healing for those parents who are struggling after the loss of a child, including those who regretfully lost their children through abortion. Instead of tearing people down, we must want to raise them up. This begins by praying for them, but it must not end there. Our love of others must be shown in our actions and in how we treat and value all human life. We seek to convert the minds and hearts of those who disregard life by our example of peaceful and steadfast defense of it. 

I wish we could recover the unity we all felt as a nation after the events of 9/11. And I believe we can. But as people of faith, we must lead the way in love. We may disagree with each other, but the correction we give must be gentle as well as steadfast in faith. We must take on the mind of Christ who did not come to condemn us, but to save us. 


Every October, the Catholic Church in the United States celebrates Respect Life Month, and the first Sunday, Oct. 3, is observed as Respect Life Sunday. Let us use the month of October to see one another with the eyes of God, as part of his creation. As we focus on the right to life, let us not be neglectful of our obligation to support life in every stage from beginning to end. We can also use the time to ask for the Lord’s forgiveness for our sins against life, both personal and corporate. 

Because there are so many invaluable life issues, the diocesan Office for Human Life, in collaboration with the diocesan Social Action Office, will be highlighting different aspects of life each week throughout the month of October in order to help build and celebrate the culture of life. I urge you to click here for resource materials that will help us walk with each other in solidarity in the support and protection of all human life.

Let us pray:

We come to you, our God, the author and sustainer of every human life.

Grant us the courage and wisdom to protect your gift of human life from conception to natural death.  Help us to defend our brothers and sisters both born and yet to be born with great love.  Make us good stewards of every life. 
 
May we live by the example of your Son, Jesus, who was always close to the weakest of the weak. Guided by your Holy Spirit, strengthen us to defend the most vulnerable among us, especially the unborn. Give us the grace to courageously live the Gospel of life with gentleness and joy. May our faithful witness soften the hearts and minds of those who reject the gift of life in any way. We entrust our prayer to you through Christ, our risen Lord. Amen.