Dear Deacon John,
We live in a society that condones, encourages – even celebrates abortion as a legitimate “choice.”
Even
someone you’d least suspect can be tempted. It could be someone in the
next car … the next house … even the next pew in church. We’re all
human.
So keep praying hard! Those prayers can plant seeds that only bear fruit years later.
Dayton, Ohio
Holly
in Dayton tells of a young woman who spoke to prayer volunteers outside
the abortion center. “About four years ago, she had participated in the
40 Days for Life campaign and had received the emails and devotionals
daily,” she explained. “But then hard times set in.”
While she was pregnant, she learned that her husband had been unfaithful. When he left the marriage, she didn’t know what she was going to do. Even thoughts of abortion crossed her mind.
“But the emails and devotionals from the 40 Days for Life team continued to come to her,” Holly said. “And she read them. And they brought her hope – the hope that she needed to hang on, to respect the precious life growing within her, and to let God help her through this trial.”
Her former husband is out of the picture. But today, this young mother is happy that she stayed strong when she was tested.
“Although she grieves over having even considered abortion, God brought healing to her that day as she returned to the place where she once prayed,” Holly said. Her message to the 40 Days for Life team is one of deep gratitude.
“She offers thanks for their encouragement to all people to be strong during the good times as well as during those dark days of despair,” she said. “This beautiful young mother now promises to return to help others to choose the most precious gift of all – life.”
While she was pregnant, she learned that her husband had been unfaithful. When he left the marriage, she didn’t know what she was going to do. Even thoughts of abortion crossed her mind.
“But the emails and devotionals from the 40 Days for Life team continued to come to her,” Holly said. “And she read them. And they brought her hope – the hope that she needed to hang on, to respect the precious life growing within her, and to let God help her through this trial.”
Her former husband is out of the picture. But today, this young mother is happy that she stayed strong when she was tested.
“Although she grieves over having even considered abortion, God brought healing to her that day as she returned to the place where she once prayed,” Holly said. Her message to the 40 Days for Life team is one of deep gratitude.
“She offers thanks for their encouragement to all people to be strong during the good times as well as during those dark days of despair,” she said. “This beautiful young mother now promises to return to help others to choose the most precious gift of all – life.”
Hartford, Connecticut
This is the sixth year for the 40 Days for Life campaign in Hartford. Mary Lou sent along a story and a picture from Hartford for us to share.
The report is short but very sweet: “Good news: One save on our first day!” Mary Lou later wrote back to say two more mothers have chosen life for their babies in the days since then.
The picture shows a young prayer volunteer at the Hartford vigil. And since we always like pictures of cute kids, here it is!
This is the sixth year for the 40 Days for Life campaign in Hartford. Mary Lou sent along a story and a picture from Hartford for us to share.
The report is short but very sweet: “Good news: One save on our first day!” Mary Lou later wrote back to say two more mothers have chosen life for their babies in the days since then.
The picture shows a young prayer volunteer at the Hartford vigil. And since we always like pictures of cute kids, here it is!
Here's today's devotional from Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life...
Day 17 intention
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
Scripture
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
Day 17 intention
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
Scripture
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
Reflection by Fr. Frank Pavone
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.
Prayer
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.
Printable devotional
To download today's devotional as a formatted, printable PDF to share with friends:
http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2013da
For Life,
 |
SHAWN CARNEY
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life
|
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=4852
