Prayers ascend today as many pilgrims walk toward la Basilica in honor of the Virgin of the Angels. This year the virgin wears a dress with the phrase “Yes to life,” a motto the Catholic Church chose to use for the celebration, adding an activism aspect to the August 2 holiday.
Pilgrims walking with a light blue scarf on their neck are doing so to march under that slogan representing the right to life. My prayer is that these pro-life activists are also doing something to help the children born into situations of risk, that they volunteering in orphanages or adopting children born to unready parents, respecting the rights that come after the right to life such as the right to safety and love and home.
Many are participating in the pilgrimage to ask for miracles or show their gratitude for miracles and blessings received. One mother participated with her son before he was hit by a car and now does so again to ask for his healing. An elderly couple promised the virgin they would try but might not get all the way to Cartago. They thank her for their marriage of 45 years. A man participates to thank the virgin for saving his father from his deathbed and giving him 15 more years of life.
