 Dear Deacon, First of all, happy St. Patrick’s Day! Being from the Bible belt prepared me for the pro-life movement where Catholics, Protestants and Evangelicals are united in prayer and action to defend life. This unity is something we should be proud of ... and it is certainly something the abortion industry notices as we strengthen each other in our common faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. As a Catholic who grew up in east Texas, I know a good Baptist when I see one. Recently the Southern Baptist Convention did a huge story on 40 Days for Life and a great article on one amazing Baptist woman -- our friend Katherine Hearne. Katherine has everything you could love about the south ... including her faith, courage and beautiful Carolina accent. Katherine and her friend, Andrea Hines, a Catholic, led 40 Days for Life campaigns in Charlotte since the beginning of this effort and as a result have helped save hundreds of lives. See what God can do when we stand together for His children ... and be encouraged as you read these two articles from the Baptist Press along with media coverage from around the world. BAPTIST PRESS One article is an interview with me and David Bereit, and it talks about how 40 Days for Life sprang from one hour of prayer around an old wooden table in College Station, Texas in 2004.  PHOTO: BAPTIST PRESSThe other report focuses on Katherine Hearn and 40 Days for Life in Charlotte, North Carolina – even before the project’s coast-to-coast debut in 2007.You can read about the successes of the Charlotte campaign in chapter 8 of the 40 Days for Life book … and there’s also a story about Australia’s campaigns in chapter 38. Speaking of Australia … let's head even farther south. BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA  PHOTO: BRISBANE CATHOLIC LEADERThe Brisbane Catholic Leader profiled Brendan and Judy Wong, the couple who helped start Australia’s first-ever 40 Days for Life campaign … and are now directing their fifth campaign.Brendan grew up in Australia, but Judy is from the United States. They met in Germany – at World Youth Day in 2005 when they both ended up in the same discussion group. The following year, they got married. Fast forward to 2008, when Judy’s mom in Pennsylvania mentioned something called 40 Days for Life that was spreading across America. It didn’t take long after that for 40 Days for Life to start spreading across Australia as well. MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE  PHOTO: NEW HAMPSHIRE UNION-LEADERAlthough the New Hampshire Union-Leader characterized 40 Days for Life vigil participants as “demonstrators,” the campaign had a great opportunity to tell the community about their efforts.Planned Parenthood’s spokesman gave the organization’s typical response: "These protest marathons are designed to intimidate the many patients who seek basic health care services from Planned Parenthood." One of the volunteers held a poster with the message, “Look at the ultrasound.” That suggests Planned Parenthood’s main concern here – losing business. BOISE, IDAHO The Idaho Statesman newspaper featured an account of Boise’s 40 Days for Life vigil. "Our goal is to save babies and the only way we can do it is through prayer," said one of the Boise volunteers. "Sometimes this is hard," another participant said on a cold, windy morning. "But we just have to trust that when we show up, God shows up, and He's doing the work." Today's devotional is from Rev. John Ensor of Heartbeat International. DAY 33 INTENTION As we pray for the end of abortion, let us pray for the expansion of the pregnancy help center movement worldwide. SCRIPTURE The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne. -- Revelation 12:4-5 REFLECTION by Rev. John Ensor, Heartbeat International You don't need to be a theological scholar to get the essential point of Revelation 12. Something BIG is afoot. It has something to do with the birth of Christ and the children of God. It involves a war in heaven, with powers and principalities beyond our expertise. But the battles are fought here on earth. The crux of the matter centers around the babe of Bethlehem and the cross of Calvary. It continues to unfold down through the ages, through us, the children of God, who put their faith in Christ and take up their cross and follow him. We are waging a war of love against all things that destroy body and soul. The intensity waxes and wanes, but like labor pains, they grow and culminate in new life. The unleashing of legal abortion nearly 40 years ago stirred up prayer (lamentation really). Many were then led to start pregnancy help centers and maternity homes. Today there are over 3,000 such ministries that did not exist 40 years ago. They reflect a movement of God on our watch: Christians driven to give their time and charity to end abortion one woman at a time. Let's pray this movement expands worldwide. Let's pray for thousands more Christians to start, serve and support pregnancy help centers. PRAYER O God, from generation to generation, you have called your people to be the very aroma of life amidst a culture of death. Now it is our turn. Prepare me. Send me. Use me. I am eager to do my part. Stir your people everywhere to take up this great work. PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL To download today's devotional as a formatted, printable PDF to share with friends: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/ ------------------------------ Yours for Life, Shawn Carney Campaign Director 40 Days for Life PS: Are you a first-time participant in 40 Days for Life? If so, thanks for joining the campaign! Please share your impressions by replying to today's blog entry at: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/
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40 Days for Life
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