DEACON FOR LIFE

Were there to be no support in the whole history of ethical and moral thought, were there no acknowledged confirmation from medical science, were the history of legal opinion to the contrary, we would still have to conclude on the basis of God's Holy Word that the unborn child is a person in the sight of God. He is protected by the sanctity of life graciously given to each individual by the Creator, Who alone places His image upon man and grants them any right to life which they have.

Thursday, September 24, 2020

40 Days For Life: DAY 2: First vigil-site turnaround!

Omar's 40 Days for Life campaign in Downey, California, got off to an interesting start.

No sooner had he arrived at the vigil site to set up for Day 1 than a motorist drove by, cursing and angrily extending a middle finger.

"Well, they know we're here!" Omar said.

Omar wasn't deterred. He spent most of the 91-degree (33 Celsius) day in the hot sun praying.

His prayers were answered when he talked an expectant mother into leaving the abortion facility--before she even went inside!

Having spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon at his vigil site, Omar left to get out of the heat...

...but just for an hour before he came back. With dedication like that, this probably won't be the only baby Omar helps save this 40 Days for Life campaign!

A few campaigns couldn't wait for Day 1 to hit the sidewalks. They went out early and saved babies from abortion!

Santa Teresa, New Mexico

Mark Cavaliere, who helps lead the vigils in Santa Teresa, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas, reported the first saved baby during each of the previous two 40 Days for Life campaigns.

This time, his team didn't even wait for Day 1 to start saving lives.

"Yesterday, two prayer volunteers actually showed up a day early but decided to stay and pray anyway since they were already there," Mark and his team reported. "A young woman came running out of the abortion facility to...ask for help after choosing life for her baby!"

Houston, Texas

An abortion-bound woman in Houston made a last-minute decision to stop and talk with a sidewalk counselor outside the largest abortion facility in the Western Hemisphere.

She was getting no support from her family--or even from the father of her baby.

But when the sidewalk counselor walked the frightened mom over to the Big Blue Bus mobile ultrasound unit, everything changed. She chose life and now plans to attend maternal assistance classes.

"There is nothing like the excitement, joy and relief of seeing a pregnant mother choose life for her pre-born child and reject the deadly threat of abortion," wrote the Houston team.

In those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.

— Acts 6:1

Father, in the Church’s desire to engage our communities with the Gospel, let us gain wisdom from those who have gone before us and cherish their experiences and perspectives. Help us to appreciate every soul in the body of Christ and minister properly to everybody.

See today's full devotional

For life,

Shawn Carney
President/CEO, 40 Days for Life

40 Days for Life 4112 E 29th St. Bryan, Texas 77802 United States (888) LIFE-316

LIFE IS SACRED

An example of the traditional magisterial teaching which indicates that it is never morally licit to intentionally kill a child through abortion in order to “save the life of its mother” comes from the teaching of Pope Pius XII:

“Every human being, even the infant in the mother's womb, has the right to life immediately from God, not from the parent or any human society or authority. Therefore, there is no man, no human authority, no science, no medical, eugenic, social, economic or moral ‘indication’ that can show or give valid juridical title for direct deliberate disposition concerning an innocent human life-which is to say, a disposition that aims at its destruction either as an end in itself or as the means of attaining another end that is perhaps in no way illicit itself. Thus, for example, to save the life of the mother is a most noble end, but the direct killing of the child as a means to this end is not licit.”