Oahu parishioners are invited to a National Night of Prayer for Life, 7-11 p.m., at Star of the Sea Church, Waialae-Kahala, on Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

“If you can only come for an hour, come,” said Mely McGivern, organizer of the annual event. “Let us bow down in unison with other churches across the nation on this night of continuous prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in adoration and reparation for the sins against the lives of the unborn, being slaughtered in today’s society.”

Over the course of the evening’s four hours, participants will offer special prayers including the 20-decade rosary, sing Marian hymns and close with Benediction.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose feast day is observed four days later on Dec. 12, is honored as the protectress of the unborn. It was she who brought to an end child sacrifice in Mexico in the 1500s.

Hundreds of churches from coast to coast participate each year in the National Night of Prayer for Life, praying in unison for the end of abortion. In Hawaii, the event is organized under the auspices of the Third Order of Mary, the Holy Name Society and the Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Association.