Respect Life Month at Our Lady of Hope

by Fr. John Granato  |  10/12/2025  |  Words from Fr. John

My Dear Friends,

During this month of Respect Life, Our Lady of Hope, with the advice from our Pro-Life committee, is offering some events for us to unite with the 40 Days for Life campaign that the Catholic Church in the United States participates in every year. On this Wednesday, October 15th, we will prayerfully witnessing to Life on the grounds of Immaculate Heart of Mary, from 7 am to 6 pm, followed by a Mass for Life at 7 pm. The Mass will be celebrated in Latin.

Please do not let the Latin language stop you from participating in the Mass. In the past, our parish would travel to West Hartford or Hartford and witness to life in front of a building that performs abortions. It can be difficult to get people to travel during the day to witness there, so we decided to witness at the corner of 118 and route 4, which sees much traffic throughout the day. On Tuesday, October 21st, we will begin our 24 hour adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

We begin in Immaculate Conception Church in New Hartford immediately following the 8 am Mass and we will finish on Wednesday morning right before the 8 am Mass in Immaculate Heart of Mary in Harwinton. From 8 am to 8 pm we will need adorers in New Hartford. There should be at least two for every hour. I am asking people to sign up on the sign up sheets in the back of the church. At 8 pm we will end the adoration in New Hartford and begin the adoration at 8 pm Tuesday night in Harwinton. I need adorers who are willing to adore overnight. We chose this day for two reasons.

First, Immaculate Heart of Mary in Harwinton has a morning Mass at 8 am, so we should end adoration at the Harwinton church for that reason. It is also the safer church for overnight adoration, and I live next to the church in case something happens. The second reason is that the 22nd of October is the feast day of Pope St. John Paul II, the great defender of life. He wrote extensively on the need to protect life from the moment of conception. The third event we will have is on Saturday, October 25th, immediately following the evening Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church.

We will be showing The Sound of Freedom, a movie about child trafficking. It is a PG 13 movie, so if you want to come and have little children, we will also be showing Horton Hears a Who. There will be pizza and refreshments for those who attend the movie. Above all, one thing we can all do is pray, especially the Holy Rosary, for a greater respect for life in our country.

God bless!