Deacon John
Dear Deacon,
I'm on the road again!
Louisiana is a special place -- and when they decide
to do something, they go full force ... be it gumbo
or anything else.
Yesterday, I got to meet and pray with the 40 Days
for Life team in Shreveport. I've also heard great
things about the first-time campaign in Baton Rouge.
Everywhere I go -- and every time I check my e-mail --
I keep hearing great stories about local campaigns.
Here are just a few.
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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
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The first 40 Days for Life campaign in Baton Rouge got
off to a fast start with 300 people attending an
interfaith prayer service.
On the campaign's second day, three women with abortion
appointments changed their minds while a group of women
prayed with their children at the vigil outside the
abortion center.
Then there was a day when the facility did not see any
clients -- on a day of the week when they typically see
about two dozen.
Charlotte in Baton Rouge is amazed by the number of
people participating who have never prayed at an
abortion facility before.
"Each person that we have talked with has found it to
be a powerful, transformative experience," she said.
"The reality of seeing the building and knowing that
abortions take place there instills a deeper
conviction to help pray for an end to abortion."
To see some photos of the 40 Days for Life events in
Baton Rouge, please go to:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2384
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
-------------------------------------------------------A building in Ithaca appears to be "a lovely blue
Victorian house," said Mary Anne, the local campaign
coordinator. Inside, however, it's a facility that
provides abortions up to 13 weeks.
"All the prayer volunteers on our team have declared
this is definitely a life-changing experience and they
are all glad they got involved," she said.
Mary Anne said evidence of spiritual warfare is
growing. Passersby can't resist offering opinions
about the vigil.
One shouted, "I don't have any kids and I NEVER
want any!"
A second person called out, "You people can't
proselytize in public! You can't force your beliefs
on others. Planned Parenthood doesn't force their
beliefs on you!"
As one vigil volunteer said, prayers are more
effective when people stand together outside the
abortion facility than when they pray alone in the
comfort of their homes.
To see some pictures of the 40 Days for Life vigil site
in Ithaca, please go to:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2384
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JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
-------------------------------------------------------It rained all day in Jacksonville last Saturday --
except during the procession sponsored by the local
40 Days for Life team.
They prayed at one abortion center -- then walked to a
second abortion facility for more prayer.
"Hundreds of devout pro-lifers faced the wet day and
trusted Him who is in charge of the weather," said
Trudy in Jacksonville, "and clergy of all faiths
prayed to Him to rid our city of abortion."
She reports the parking lots at both abortion centers
were all but empty -- unusual for a Saturday.
To see pictures of the 40 Days for Life prayer
procession in Jacksonville, please go to:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2384
National Director of Priests for Life...
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DAY 17 INTENTION
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May all understand more deeply that the pro-life
message is rooted in the two basic truths of life:
There is a God;
He isn't me
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SCRIPTURE
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And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life; and man became a living being.
-- Genesis 2:7
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REFLECTION by Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
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From the beginning of the Bible until the end, the
theme is echoed that God alone has dominion over
human life. He made it; shared it; died to save it;
will raise it up forever.
The act of creation described in Genesis 2:7, and
earlier in Genesis 1:26-27, is a sovereign act. God
did not have to do it, and would have been happy
forever without us.
Yet without our asking for it or earning it, God
brought us out of nothingness and into life, and
sustains our existence at every moment. And He does
so in Christ. "For by Him all things were
created...in
Him all things exist" (Colossians 1:16-17).
"You are not your own," Paul declares in 1
Corinthians 6. God alone owns us. While He entrusts
us to the care of one another, He does not allow any
human being to own another.
A Southern California abortionist, James McMahon,
once explained how he justified killing children
after 20 weeks gestation by partial-birth abortion.
He did not deny that this was a child, but rather
asked, "Who owns the child? It's got to be the
mother."
The struggle over abortion is really a struggle over
the dominion of God. The Christian individual, and
the Christian Church, cannot sit idly by when others
declare that God is not God.
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PRAYER
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Lord, we are yours. Thank you for breathing into us
the breath of life. Thank you for claiming us as your
own. May our words and actions in defense of human
life proclaim to all the world that you alone are
Lord of life and death, Lord of our freedom and of
our choices. We pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.
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PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
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To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends:
http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2011day17print.pdf
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For Life,
Shawn Carney
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life
PS: What are people in your community saying about
40 Days for Life? Please leave a comment on
today's blog posting at:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2384
40 Days for Life
10908 Courthouse Road
Suite 102229
Fredericksburg, VA
22408
US
