| Dear Deacon, When you peacefully pray outside an abortion center … your presence there matters. When we pray at the 40 Days for Life vigil, we all yearn to be there when a baby is saved from abortion. Sometimes, we get to see it happen. On occasion, two babies are saved in one day. In one local campaign, though … THREE babies were saved recently on the same day! It’s just a reminder that God can work through us … in what can, at times, feel like a hopeless effort.
“We had never had three babies saved in one day!” said Rachael in Columbus. “Praise the Lord!” The first took place when a woman pulled in right next to where one of the prayer volunteers was standing. It didn’t take long for her to show the woman that there were far better options for both her and her baby. A bit later, a volunteer noticed a woman sitting alone in a red SUV. The woman explained she was waiting for her sister, who was in for an abortion. And she herself was a single mom – pregnant and considering abortion. The volunteers prayed. The woman in the truck never went into the building – and her sister came out. She didn’t have the abortion. Later, a man told prayer volunteers he was there with his ex-wife, who was pregnant with another man’s child. Abortion was a possibility – but he admitted that she might consider adoption. The volunteers directed him to a local group that could help. So he went into the abortion center and came out with his ex-wife. No abortion!
 “Thursday is the only day they do abortions here in Fort Wayne,” said Evelyn, “but the customers come in for counseling on Mondays and Tuesdays as well, so we have worked hard to get an even larger presence on those days.” The Fort Wayne team has a tent where people can gather to pray. Just recently, students from a local school arrived by bus to join the vigil.  “Despite the cold they bundled up and prayed at the site and their presence was a wonderful reminder of the youth that are stepping up to try and end this blight of our time,” Evelyn said. The group has a display of crosses that represent the number of abortions for each day. “We have been told that some of the cars driving by who cannot stop often look to see how many crosses are out and say a prayer,” she said. “Thanks for all you do and keep up the good work!”
 Lisa in Tempe recalled the verse, "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you" (James 4:8). “The last two days on the sidewalk have done exactly that,” she said. Two churches took full days at the vigil and three different ministries each took multiple hours. “We have seen people reach out for information, ask questions and request prayers,” she said. “We praise and glorify God for sending these prayer warriors to be the light to those in darkness.”  Lisa is thankful for “all who felt the call to stand witness and … show the love and passion so many have for our unborn sisters, brothers and their parents. Continue to pray for all involved in the abortion industry.” Today's devotional is from Randolph Sly of the National Pro-life Religious Council.
May the mystery of the Incarnation increase our zeal for defending life.
Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." -- Luke 1:30-33
"God has assumed Humanity, joining it with Divinity, and kindled in men's hearts new love of me." These words were written by a Roman poet in the Fourth Century. He spent his life finding ways to express the greatest mystery of the world: the incarnation, in which God became man. The womb has been referred to as the "first home of the whole human race." It is the place where life begins, where our stories start. In the womb the great men and women of history began their magnificent march through life. In the womb Divinity met humanity, and God the Son was born into the world. As one of the Fathers of the early church, St. Leo the Great, declared, "Within her spotless womb Wisdom built itself a house and the Word became flesh." I was at the hospital for the birth of my fourth grandchild. Looking through the nursery window at the rows of newly born babies, I began to think of the great stories that would be written about these tiny lives. During his visitation with the Virgin Mary, the angel prophesied to Mary about the life of her child. Here in this hospital, I pondered, what would he say about each of these? Would they meet the one who also came from His mother's womb to redeem the world and kindle our hearts afresh for God? I thanked God for each baby alive and prayed for each story yet to be written.
Heavenly Father, you have made the womb of each woman Help us to hold fast to the sanctity of this first home of humanity, remembering the wonderful mystery, that God inhabited the womb of a young woman and came forth as the savior and deliverer of the world. We ask this in the Name of the one who came forth, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
To download today's devotional as a formatted, printable PDF to share with friends: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/spring2013day16print.pdf
Yours for Life, Shawn Carney PS: What's new at 40 Days for Life in your community? Please share any blessings by replying to today's blog entry: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=4095
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