As the annual archdiocesan Respect Life Mass was ending Jan. 19 and people were filing out of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels — many carrying candles in memory of those lives ended by abortion — photographer Victor Aleman spotted a gentleman holding his young daughter, who was most interested in the candle he held. Aleman snapped two quick photos, one of which appeared on the cover of The Tidings’ Jan. 25 issue.On Jan. 29, The Tidings received the following letter via email:“Greetings! I wanted to thank you for the very pleasant surprise my family and I received yesterday. A text message from a fraternity brother alerted us to the picture of my 21-month-old daughter Madeleine and myself on the front page of The Tidings. The picture was taken after the Annual Requiem Mass for the Unborn on January 19. “We were visiting my wife’s cousin and her family in the area when it occurred to us that we might be able to catch a Vigil Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. This was my mother-in-law’s first visit and it was not until later we realized that it was my daughter’s first visit as well. “You could say we gave up and our faith wavered, but fortunately for us, God is most generous when we are least deserving. Our little miracle came when we least expected it.”“This unusual memory lapse was probably brought on by the stress of having to keep up with Maddie as she happily explored the Cathedral. She was particularly drawn to the sculpture of St. Joseph and the child Jesus as she climbed on to the bench and greeted the life-sized statue of the boy Jesus like a friend from Gymboree.“My wife and I have been married for 12 years. We tried unsuccessfully for the first ten years to conceive. We’ve resigned ourselves to the very real possibility that we may have to be content as ‘pet’ parents (our doggies were our children). I guess you could say we gave up and our faith wavered, but fortunately for us, God is most generous when we are least deserving. Our little miracle came when we least expected it.“As fate would have it, my daughter’s first visit to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels was to commemorate this annual event. Maddie, who was prayed for and was so eagerly awaited, was there with us as we grieved for the unwanted — over 55 million abortions to date — while so many of us are praying for the privilege to be parents. “We are grateful to the Archdiocese and to the Roman Catholic Church for its unwavering commitment to the affirmation of life. Hopefully, someday my daughter can live in a world where life is valued from its conception.“Sincerely, Jun Pereyra, St. John the Baptist Church, Costa Mesa.”
