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Wonderfully Made: A pro-life photography series

Carmen Briceño

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January is a pro-life month. During this month it is important to remind our culture that every life has been created with a mission and a purpose. Each child conceived is created in the image and likeness of God and deserves to be respected and reverenced. Unfortunately, we live in a society that treats babies as a consumer product. If the “product” is “defective” then it can be thrown away.

Have we ever asked what God’s purpose was in creating this unique and unrepeatable human life? If God in his infinite wisdom has called forth this life, who are we to stand in the way? Why do we believe that doctors have the right to decide and encourage parents what child should or shouldn’t live? It is sad to see that in many countries, 80-90 percent of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted.

To highlight the incredible gifts that people with special needs have and how they are a blessing to their families, we have created a photographic series entitled, “Wonderfully Made,” based on Psalm 139:14 where the psalmist praises God for his life and for having been “fearfully and wonderfully made.” It is our mission to show the culture that these children with their unique gifts have been “wonderfully made.” As one mother, Carole Tessier, so beautifully shared: “It is my sincerest belief that the Lord desires more of these children in our midst, not less. They offer a hope and light that we so desperately need.”

In this series, we showcase amazing families that have had the courage to stand up against abortion by accepting their child’s diagnosis and trusting in God’s providential care. 

Every day a different family will be highlighted. You will read about the Marquina family and how their twins, Elmer and Jacob, who have cerebral palsy, are “like angels that have been sent to us to teach us authentic love.” You will also meet the Hernández family who were encouraged to have an abortion after they found out that their son had spina bifida. Chris, now 21 years old, has graduated from high school and makes rosaries to raise funds to build a church for the St. Gabriel Catholic Mission. You also will read the testimony of the Rogers family and how their daughter Gabbi, who was born with Mowat-Wilson syndrome in addition to multiple congenital heart defects, nonverbally evangelizes through her “smiling ministry.”

In this photographic series you will meet more than a dozen heroic families who show us through their stories the true meaning of life and love. I invite you to read each of their testimonies and to share them through social media especially during January as pro-life witnesses. It is our desire through this series to bring hope and encouragement to any family who may find themselves confronting a difficult diagnosis. May they give their fiat, their yes, to God, as Sandra Rogers beautifully states, and see how abundantly he will provide each step of the way. As one mom, Telma Rivas, said, “If your family has been given a child with special needs it is because your family has a special mission.”

Briceño, a consecrated virgin, is dedicated to evangelization through art with her ministry sacredprint.com

Find out more

Go to sacredprint.com/wonderfully-made, or check out Facebook and Instagram, @sacredprint.

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