Peggy Forrest, President and CEO of Our Lady’s Inn Maternity Homes gave the keynote address at the Annual Gospel of Life Prayer Breakfast (hosted by the St. Louis Chapter of Legatus) on Friday, April 28 at the Ritz-Carlton.

Some excerpts from Peggy’s address:

“The culture of life as we refer to a life lived- embracing the sacredness of life as God’s creation – promoting love and charity, virtue and fidelity-is all encompassing of each life in every circumstance-from the moment of creation in the womb to our natural death.

God is the sole authority over life and death; and as God’s creation, made in His Image, every human being has worth for that very reason. There are NO OTHER QUALIFIERS necessary for a life to have worth. Yet society today has attempted to impose all manner of qualifiers on a human person’s worthiness to live while stealing from God His authority over life and death.

I cannot help but dream of a world in which every human being understood what we know—that they are made in God’s image and offered salvation through His Son. In that world, abortion would be unthinkable as would euthanasia. Slavery and genocide would never exist. Women and children would not be abused. Kids would not be shooting kids. Students would be safe in schools, worshippers safe in our churches, and neighbors in our communities. No one would be marginalized for their circumstances, their origins, their physical or mental abilities.

All the social evils inflicted upon this world today have their roots in an utter disrespect for the sanctity of life and denial of God’s authority over it.

Wanting to live in the God-centered world He created for us, we follow Jesus -His Son.  We work, sacrifice, pray, and share the truth of God’s love for us. We understand our responsibility to care for and protect human life, especially the lives of the most vulnerable.

We labor for the right to life for the unborn and the right for every human being to live a life of dignity–this is our calling— our sacred mission.

Even as we are each called to live out the Gospel of Life, we work in different capacities using the special gifts God has given us. Some educate and enlighten through their preaching, classroom teaching, writing, testimony, and film.  Others focus on influencing legislation and still others defend the right to life and religious freedoms in courts of law.

Some work with pregnancy-help agencies; others work to bring dignity to the marginalized and the sick. Countless pro-lifers work in the medical field; some devote their lives solely to prayer.

Everyone has a vital role to play, and when we work together, we effect change-locally, nationally, and internationally. One by one, we can change a mother’s life, one by one we make it possible for a child to be brought into the world. One by one, we change hearts and minds.”

In this post-Roe society, our work is far from over—in fact we likely have more to do than when we started: new legal battles, endless legislative maneuvering, and more hearts hardened by deceit to win over.

And today, more than ever before, women need us to help them make the choice for life and support them in that choice. The familial and societal pressures against giving birth and raising children have escalated to new heights; the pressure is pervasive and intrusive.

We need to protect her from the culture of death in which nothing is sacred. This cult of death uses deception, obfuscation, and lies; and takes advantage of pain, insecurity, and despair as opportunity to enter in and instill fear and false belief.

The focus will have to be on new methods to get the message of pregnancy help to women and to men. It is imperative that we educate our succeeding generations in the Gospel of Life. Catechesis is the key to ending abortion.

Until that day, we will pray unceasingly.

We will place our faith in God’s promise, our hope in the salvation bought for us by His Son.”