The obnoxiousness of the Los Angeles Dodgers Pride Night on Friday insisting on celebrating the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” is made worse by the fact that Friday is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Catholic liturgical calendar. I suppose the Dodgers have inadvertently worked a miracle, because people are doing what we ought: uniting behind prayer.

Earlier this week, the U.S Catholic bishops urged Catholics to pray of the Litany of the Sacred Heart on Friday. From the statement:

“Catholic Christians traditionally recognize June as the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. During this time, we call to mind Christ’s love for us, which is visible in a special way in the image of His pierced heart, and we pray that our own hearts might be conformed to His, calling us to love and respect all His people.

“This year, on June 16 — the day of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus — a professional baseball team has shockingly chosen to honor a group whose lewdness and vulgarity in mocking our Lord, His Mother, and consecrated women cannot be overstated. This is not just offensive and painful to Christians everywhere; it is blasphemy.

“It has been heartening to see so many faithful Catholics and others of good will stand up to say that what this group does is wrong, and it is wrong to honor them. We call on Catholics to pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart on June 16, offering this prayer as an act of reparation for the blasphemies against our Lord we see in our culture today.”

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has likewise urged praying the Litany and other prayers:

The forthcoming Dodgers event honoring a group that mocks women religious, and worse, desecrates the Cross, profanes the Eucharist, and disrupts Holy Mass has caused disappointment, dismay, and pain in our Catholic community, as well as among our fellow Christians and people of good will. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles stands for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which means we stand against any form of bigotry, hate, or sacrilege.

The Archdiocese calls on Catholics to stand together in prayer. The hurt on our hearts can only be healed by the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Likewise, we can be set on fire by his love to witness to the sacred truth, goodness, and beauty of our faith with conviction and courage.

We invite all parishes to pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Friday, June 16, the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, at Mass or during a Holy Hour with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Additionally, in the days ahead of this special moment of prayer, we encourage parishes to include the petitions provided below in the Prayer of the Faithful at daily and Sunday Masses.

Los Angeles archbishop Jose Gomez will be saying Mass at the cathedral midday as part of the day of prayer. On social media, he said:

“We will be praying in a special way for our city and our country, for an end to prejudice, and for renewed respect for the religious beliefs of all Angelenos and all Americans.”

There are other efforts and campaigns, but there’s something powerful about Christians making clear that prayer is one of the most important actions to take in the face of evil. And mocking Jesus and women who dedicate their lives to Him is evil.

And there is another layer to this Perpetual Indulgence celebration by the Dodgers happening on the feast of the Sacred Heart. The solemnity moves around in June from year to year — whenever the third Friday after Pentecost is. Last year, it coincided with the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. So I’m thinking of this Friday as a kind of religious anniversary of the end of Roe v. Wade. That there would be a doubling down of evil isn’t surprising under the circumstances.

Abortion in America is never going to end without the kind of radical hospitality that women religious live — and until we sort out what exactly the human person is again (and stop making it harder for parents to raise children in families with fathers and mothers). The Dodgers aren’t helping any of that, and are instead contributing to the darkness, confusion, and human misery that comes with rejecting God’s designs.

Let us definitely pray.