18 Gulf Pine Catholic • February 27, 2026 Collection March 14 & 15 A small portion of collection pays for this advertisement. AdoPtion ChoosinG Life From page 16 Hanlon and Kirk identify three main barriers to adoption: Misinformation and confusion, social pressures for other options and emotional concerns. Among other things, they advocate for informing expectant parents that private domestic adoption is not foster care; that they can choose the adoptive family; that open adoptions are standard; that emotional, legal and financial support is available; and that most adoptees and birth parents see their adoption experiences positively. They say this education -- this information -- empowers women to make real choices. And perhaps, by examining ourselves, we can know something else as sons and daughters of God through adoption. We can see that adoption is a gift and that it comes at a cost. We can see that it spells out pain and sacrifice and promises new life and hope. Most of all, we can see that it means we are radically loved and called to radically love. Birth mothers embody this radical, self-sacrificial love by wanting what is best for their children even if that means placing them with another family. Adoptive parents participate in it by loving another’s child as their own. For the young woman in the ad, this is what adoption as an option should look like: Away to love and a way to choose life for her baby. Katie Yoder writes for OSV News from Maryland. Grace-Filled celebration marks Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes in Waynesboro WAYNESBORO -- Father Tomasz Powroźnik celebrated a special Mass on Feb. 10 at St. Bernadette Catholic Church, joined by Deacon Richard Hollingsworth and members of the parish community. The liturgy was followed by Eucharistic Adoration and a prayerful procession around the church grounds, bringing parishioners together in a visible expression of faith and devotion. The celebration coincided with the Church’s commemoration of Our Lady of Lourdes and the apparitions received by St. Bernadette in Lourdes. Parishioners gathered in a spirit of gratitude and joy, marking what many described as a gracefilled day for the parish family in Waynesboro.
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