Dear Deacon, In many communities, abortion is "out of sight, out of
mind." People just DON'T KNOW what's going on in their
own towns, in their own neighborhoods. Do people in YOUR TOWN know? Here are a couple of
examples of campaigns that are getting the word out.
-------------------------------------------------------
OAKVILLE, ONTARIO
------------------------------------------------------- The 40 Days for Life vigil in front of Oakville-
Trafalgar Memorial Hospital is the first for this
Canadian community. "Many people didn't think that abortions occur at this
hospital," said Louise, the local coordinator. But that
fact "has been confirmed by many people who have had an
abortion (or multiple abortions) at this hospital." Louise says the campaign has been very rewarding. "Several women have told us that they regret their
abortion and others have expressed their gratitude
that they did not have an abortion because they have
a beautiful child today." The Oakville campaign has been featured twice in the
local newspaper. "Both coverages reflected positively
on us," she said. For a link to one of the news articles about 40 Days
for Life in Oakville, please go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1928
-------------------------------------------------------
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA
-------------------------------------------------------
Community outreach is an important part of the 40 Days
for Life effort in Anchorage. "We had several teams canvassing the neighborhoods and
commercial buildings near the abortion facilities," said
Haylee, the local coordinator in Anchorage. "We would love to be able to spread out our efforts
and be able to make more people aware of the 40 Days
for Life campaign going on right now," she added. Haylee was interviewed by the local CBS affiliate. It
was not in their plan, she said, but it worked out. In typical fashion, Planned Parenthood complained that
its clients were being harassed by protesters. While
Planned Parenthood was allowed its say in the interview,
the TV news report simply shows a quiet prayer vigil
and no evidence of any "harassment" whatsoever. For a link to the video from KTVA in Anchorage (plus a
bonus photo of a dedicated volunteer praying in a snow
storm!), please go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1928 
Haylee asked for prayer for the Planned Parenthood
executive who appears in that news video. "She has an
office across the street and may be able to see us out
of her window. We need to be there for her."
-------------------------------------------------------
FROM THE 40 DAYS FOR LIFE BLOG
------------------------------------------------------- Another one of the blessings of this campaign is that
people simply going out to pray at their local abortion
center -- whether it's "officially" part of 40 Days for
Life or not. Here's one such story from the 40 Days for Life blog. Five people went to pray outside an abortion facility --
and were permitted to see a miracle. A young woman had arrived for an abortion appointment.
She was pretty angry when she arrived. Her boyfriend
wanted to keep the baby, but she had three children
already and said that was enough. As she walked in, she was starting to have second
thoughts. She would look at an ultrasound, and then
make up her mind. As is often the case, one look was
all it took. "I was going to do it," she said, "but decided not to." "God is so good," said one of the prayer volunteers. Yes, He is! And you know we're going to do this again in September,
right? If you're in one of these cities where people are
starting to pray at the abortion centers more often ...
who knows? Maybe the Lord is calling YOU to help bring
40 Days for Life to your city!
Today's devotional is from Fr. Frank Pavone, national
director of Priests for Life.
------------------------------------------------------
DAY 29 INTENTION
------------------------------------------------------ We pray for the grace to be strong when others
ridicule or oppose us.
------------------------------------------------------
SCRIPTURE
------------------------------------------------------ Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me
cannot be my disciple. --Luke 14:27
------------------------------------------------------
REFLECTION by Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
------------------------------------------------------ To stand up for what is right means we stand against
what is wrong, and that means that those who love what
is wrong will oppose us, just as they opposed Christ.
Taking up the cross means we continue speaking and
standing for the right even when that opposition
comes. We experience this, in particular, when we are out on
the streets, where people are not expecting the
pro-life message and where they did not go to hear it.
We must remember to never take the opposition
personally. When people ridicule or yell at us, we might get a
guilty feeling or be tempted to think we did something
wrong. We did not. The insults are not being hurled at us personally, but
rather at the truth of what we are standing for, and
at the demands of the moral law. There are many who are trying to run away from those
demands, or who have managed to tuck the abortion
problem away into a distant corner of their minds
where it can no longer disturb them. By standing publicly for the cause of life, we have
short-circuited that denial and frustrated those
efforts to ignore the issue. Therefore, some will be
angry, perhaps not fully realizing why.
------------------------------------------------------
PRAYER
------------------------------------------------------ Lord, thank you for the grace of being pro-life, and
of standing strong when others may ridicule or oppose
me. During this 40 Day campaign, may your peace fill my
soul, especially when I may endure the opposition of
others, and may I become more like your crucified and
risen Son. Amen.
------------------------------------------------------
PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
------------------------------------------------------ To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/spring2011day29print.pdf
------------------------------------------------------ Yours for Life, Shawn Carney
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life PS: What's new with 40 Days for Life in your city?
Please share the good news by leaving a comment on
today's blog entry at: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1928
40 Days for Life 10908 Courthouse Road
Suite 102229
Fredericksburg, VA
22408
US
for Life effort in Anchorage. "We had several teams canvassing the neighborhoods and
commercial buildings near the abortion facilities," said
Haylee, the local coordinator in Anchorage. "We would love to be able to spread out our efforts
and be able to make more people aware of the 40 Days
for Life campaign going on right now," she added. Haylee was interviewed by the local CBS affiliate. It
was not in their plan, she said, but it worked out. In typical fashion, Planned Parenthood complained that
its clients were being harassed by protesters. While
Planned Parenthood was allowed its say in the interview,
the TV news report simply shows a quiet prayer vigil
and no evidence of any "harassment" whatsoever. For a link to the video from KTVA in Anchorage (plus a
bonus photo of a dedicated volunteer praying in a snow
storm!), please go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1928
Haylee asked for prayer for the Planned Parenthood
executive who appears in that news video. "She has an
office across the street and may be able to see us out
of her window. We need to be there for her."
-------------------------------------------------------
FROM THE 40 DAYS FOR LIFE BLOG
------------------------------------------------------- Another one of the blessings of this campaign is that
people simply going out to pray at their local abortion
center -- whether it's "officially" part of 40 Days for
Life or not. Here's one such story from the 40 Days for Life blog. Five people went to pray outside an abortion facility --
and were permitted to see a miracle. A young woman had arrived for an abortion appointment.
She was pretty angry when she arrived. Her boyfriend
wanted to keep the baby, but she had three children
already and said that was enough. As she walked in, she was starting to have second
thoughts. She would look at an ultrasound, and then
make up her mind. As is often the case, one look was
all it took. "I was going to do it," she said, "but decided not to." "God is so good," said one of the prayer volunteers. Yes, He is! And you know we're going to do this again in September,
right? If you're in one of these cities where people are
starting to pray at the abortion centers more often ...
who knows? Maybe the Lord is calling YOU to help bring
40 Days for Life to your city!
Today's devotional is from Fr. Frank Pavone, national
director of Priests for Life.
------------------------------------------------------
DAY 29 INTENTION
------------------------------------------------------ We pray for the grace to be strong when others
ridicule or oppose us.
------------------------------------------------------
SCRIPTURE
------------------------------------------------------ Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me
cannot be my disciple. --Luke 14:27
------------------------------------------------------
REFLECTION by Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
------------------------------------------------------ To stand up for what is right means we stand against
what is wrong, and that means that those who love what
is wrong will oppose us, just as they opposed Christ.
Taking up the cross means we continue speaking and
standing for the right even when that opposition
comes. We experience this, in particular, when we are out on
the streets, where people are not expecting the
pro-life message and where they did not go to hear it.
We must remember to never take the opposition
personally. When people ridicule or yell at us, we might get a
guilty feeling or be tempted to think we did something
wrong. We did not. The insults are not being hurled at us personally, but
rather at the truth of what we are standing for, and
at the demands of the moral law. There are many who are trying to run away from those
demands, or who have managed to tuck the abortion
problem away into a distant corner of their minds
where it can no longer disturb them. By standing publicly for the cause of life, we have
short-circuited that denial and frustrated those
efforts to ignore the issue. Therefore, some will be
angry, perhaps not fully realizing why.
------------------------------------------------------
PRAYER
------------------------------------------------------ Lord, thank you for the grace of being pro-life, and
of standing strong when others may ridicule or oppose
me. During this 40 Day campaign, may your peace fill my
soul, especially when I may endure the opposition of
others, and may I become more like your crucified and
risen Son. Amen.
------------------------------------------------------
PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
------------------------------------------------------ To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/spring2011day29print.pdf
------------------------------------------------------ Yours for Life, Shawn Carney
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life PS: What's new with 40 Days for Life in your city?
Please share the good news by leaving a comment on
today's blog entry at: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1928
40 Days for Life 10908 Courthouse Road
Suite 102229
Fredericksburg, VA
22408
US
