Dear Deacon John,
Right now ... 40 Days for Life campaigns are happening in 297 cities in 13 countries. Which one is closest to you? Find out here:
http://40daysforlife.com/browse-campaigns/ Yesterday, Steve Karlen, our North American outreach coordinator, and I spoke at the Madison, Wisconsin campaign kick off. David Bereit, our national director, talked in Dallas and Austin. And our international outreach coordinator, Robert Colquhoun, visited Nigeria. We're on the road ... and on the radio. I had an opportunity to share the word about 40 Days for Life with Matt Swaim on the Son Rise Morning Show, which is carried on many radio stations across the United States via the EWTN network. Here's a link to a short clip from that interview:
http://40daysforlife.com/2014/09/24/sonrise/
While we can't cover every location ... you can take part in your local campaign and see God's hand at work. Here are a few early examples.
St. Cloud, Minnesota
“40 Days for Life is really growing in St. Cloud,” said Judy, the local coordinator. These past days and weeks, Judy and her team were out in their community promoting their campaign – and it’s paying off.
At one event, a number of volunteers enthusiastically signed up. “Many of the ladies attending this event already do vigil with us,” she said, “and helped us encourage and explain 40 Days for Life to others.”
Judy also noted a homeschooling mom and her five daughters, who are involved in a spiritual adoption project. The idea is to pray for a baby who is in danger of abortion.
Participants are encouraged to name their babies. The girls helped make beaded bracelets with the names of their adopted baby. The bracelets are a reminder to pray for the babies every day.
“We know this day brought many individual daily prayers for an end to abortion in this very personal, individual way,” she said.
Birmingham, England
Birmingham’s seventh 40 Days for Life campaign is under way – but this is one of many cities where prayerful vigils continue after Day 40. “Some of our volunteers are so enthusiastic they keep on coming between campaigns,” said Isabel, the local coordinator.
At one time, the abortion facility had been open seven days a week. Now it has cut back to four days a week – the prayer is indeed making a difference.
Isabel said she recently learned of a woman who had become pregnant last year. “It was an unexpected event, as the mother's other children were growing up fast. She discussed it with her husband and they decided on abortion. “
They scheduled the abortion at the Marie Stopes facility where the 40 Days for Life vigil is held.
“Fortunately it was October,” Isabel said. “And as they drove up the street they saw people praying as part of last year's autumn 40 Days for Life campaign. This prompted them to pull the car over and have another talk together. The result is they now have a lovely new baby they wouldn't swap for the world.”
Isabel said she gets lots of reports of cars turning around and driving away without anyone getting out. “It's great to hear the bigger story of one such event.”
Here's today's devotional from Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life:
Day 2 intention
Pray for those who work in the abortion industry, and for those who have repented of committing abortions and have resolved to defend life.
Scripture
Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." —Luke 23:46-47
Reflection
"Those of us who have participated in the killing of unborn children are the Centurions of today. We have dropped our swords against the unborn child. Now we must recognize the depth of our guilt and deal with the ramifications... To revitalize our humanity we need to forgive and be forgiven, to reconcile and be healed." These words come from a brochure of the Society of Centurions, an organization for former abortion providers. These words convey in a beautiful and moving way what is happening across the nation as hundreds of abortionists and their staff members experience repentance, conversion, and healing. How does this conversion begin? Dr. Philip Ney writes, "The factors that changed their opinion on performing abortions, in the following order of frequency, were: evidence of the infant's humanity, a spiritual experience, personal distress, evidence of the mother's distress, scientific articles, being accepted as a person, a personal relationship with a pro-lifer, pro-life pickets." (The Centurion's Pathway, p. 77). The journey is not easy. But the Jesus who heals us calls us to face the truth of what we've done, make restitution where possible, and engage in the hard work of mending relationships. Let's pray for the Centurions; may their numbers increase!
Prayer Lord, we thank you for those who have repented of committing abortions and have resolved to defend life. We too repent and resolve. We repent of every instance in which fear has made us silent when we should have spoken. We repent of the ongoing bloodshed in our land, and for thinking that we can deprive the unborn of protection but keep it for ourselves. We resolve that we will advance the cause of righteous candidates for public office, and that we will be more afraid of offending you by our silence than of offending others by our speech. We resolve that we will proclaim your name to the nations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Printable devotional
To download today's devotional as a formatted, printable PDF to share with friends:
http://40daysforlife.com/media/fall2014day02print.pdf
For Life,
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SHAWN CARNEY
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life
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PS: Please pray for Sandra Cano. Sandra was the “Doe” of the US Supreme Court’s Doe v. Bolton abortion decision, a companion case to Roe v. Wade. In reality, she never wanted an abortion and feared having an abortion performed on her against her will. Sandra is now being treated for cancer and other complications. She wants to live and to see the end of abortion – and the reversal of that Supreme Court case. Would you please pray for her safety, healing and life? And please join with Sandra in praying for an end to abortion.
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