Dear Deacon John,
We are at the halfway point! Have you participated in the 40 Days for Life campaign yet? If not ... there is plenty of time. And here's some motivation.
Halfway through these 40 days of prayer and fasting, we are aware of 199 babies whose mothers chose life at the very last moment!
Here are the stories of just a few of those babies.
Halfway through these 40 days of prayer and fasting, we are aware of 199 babies whose mothers chose life at the very last moment!
Here are the stories of just a few of those babies.
Dallas, Texas
Volunteers in Dallas say they have “two jubilant reports” from the sidewalk outside the Planned Parenthood abortion mega-center where the 40 Days for Life vigil is going on.
In one instance, the vigil participants were able to talk to a woman who “just needed someone to help” ... and she quickly learned that the help she really needed was not available at Planned Parenthood. One of the volunteers says it brought tears to her eyes when the woman chose life for her child.
In one instance, the vigil participants were able to talk to a woman who “just needed someone to help” ... and she quickly learned that the help she really needed was not available at Planned Parenthood. One of the volunteers says it brought tears to her eyes when the woman chose life for her child.
A
second woman stopped her car near Planned Parenthood when she saw
someone with a sign that said “Pregnant? Need help?” The sign also had a
phone number … which the woman started to call.
She said she was thinking about abortion – she’d had one before, and now had two children in diapers. Her simple plea: “I need help!” Counselors put her in touch with a pregnancy center that would offer the assistance she – and her baby – would need.
She said she was thinking about abortion – she’d had one before, and now had two children in diapers. Her simple plea: “I need help!” Counselors put her in touch with a pregnancy center that would offer the assistance she – and her baby – would need.
Portland, Oregon
One of the newer volunteers in Portland was able to start a conversation with a young woman who was on her way into Planned Parenthood.
It was her boyfriend who was encouraging the abortion. “She felt she couldn't take care of another child,” said Therese, the local leader. “She has three children and said she didn't have enough resources. She was in a tough situation.”
The volunteers told her there were many types of help available, and that the older children would love their new baby brother or sister. “After some more encouragement, she was showing us pictures of her other children,” Therese said. “And smiling!”
She then left … knowing where she could find help and support following her decision to reject abortion.
One of the newer volunteers in Portland was able to start a conversation with a young woman who was on her way into Planned Parenthood.
It was her boyfriend who was encouraging the abortion. “She felt she couldn't take care of another child,” said Therese, the local leader. “She has three children and said she didn't have enough resources. She was in a tough situation.”
The volunteers told her there were many types of help available, and that the older children would love their new baby brother or sister. “After some more encouragement, she was showing us pictures of her other children,” Therese said. “And smiling!”
She then left … knowing where she could find help and support following her decision to reject abortion.
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore volunteers watched a woman leave the abortion center after having been there for four hours. Usually, that’s bad news. But in this case, the woman walked up to the people praying outside and said, “I will keep my baby.”
She was four months along in her pregnancy, she told the vigil participants, who said she seemed overjoyed with her decision.
“A miracle happened,” said Kim in Baltimore, “and all who witnessed it are forever changed. A life was saved through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ … and none can deny His merciful heart and His mighty hand in action.”
Today's devotional is from Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life.
Baltimore volunteers watched a woman leave the abortion center after having been there for four hours. Usually, that’s bad news. But in this case, the woman walked up to the people praying outside and said, “I will keep my baby.”
She was four months along in her pregnancy, she told the vigil participants, who said she seemed overjoyed with her decision.
“A miracle happened,” said Kim in Baltimore, “and all who witnessed it are forever changed. A life was saved through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ … and none can deny His merciful heart and His mighty hand in action.”
Today's devotional is from Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life.
Day 20 intention
May God’s people understand that the Lazarus of the 21st Century is the unborn child, and respond accordingly.
May God’s people understand that the Lazarus of the 21st Century is the unborn child, and respond accordingly.
Scripture
There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, “Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.”
But Abraham replied, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
“And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.”
There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, “Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.”
But Abraham replied, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
“And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.”
— Luke 16:19-31
Reflection
The
rich man did not go to hell because he was rich. He went to hell
because he ignored the other man. He thought that because Lazarus had
less that he was worth less.
He failed to recognize that Lazarus was his brother. Lazarus was waiting at the door of the rich man for scraps of food; the Lazarus of our day, the unborn child, is waiting at the door of the womb for birth itself. God does not only prohibit aborting the unborn; he prohibits ignoring them.
He failed to recognize that Lazarus was his brother. Lazarus was waiting at the door of the rich man for scraps of food; the Lazarus of our day, the unborn child, is waiting at the door of the womb for birth itself. God does not only prohibit aborting the unborn; he prohibits ignoring them.
Prayer
Father, I thank you for the life that I possess, and for the birth that you granted me. I hear the cries of the Lazarus of our day; I see them sitting at the door. Grant that I may never ignore them, and that through this 40 Days for Life campaign, I may stir many others to pay attention to them as well. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Father, I thank you for the life that I possess, and for the birth that you granted me. I hear the cries of the Lazarus of our day; I see them sitting at the door. Grant that I may never ignore them, and that through this 40 Days for Life campaign, I may stir many others to pay attention to them as well. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Printable devotional
To download today's devotional as a formatted, printable PDF to share with friends:
http://40daysforlife.com/media/fall2014day20print.pdf
To download today's devotional as a formatted, printable PDF to share with friends:
http://40daysforlife.com/media/fall2014day20print.pdf
For Life,
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SHAWN CARNEY
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life
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