40 Days for Life...

There are a couple of our local parishes participating in the 40 Days for Life campaign. Basically there are 24 hour shifts of people covering the local abortuary to counsel and pray for the lives of the unborn and for the woman that carry them and the people that transport them as means of "support".... Have you ever spent time in front of an abortuary?... It is so sad to see young couples enter that building with the thought that this is their ONLY choice. Girls feeling pressured by their boyfriend, fiance, spouse to get rid of this inconvenience, or terrified of their parent finding out.... What I think is sadder, still are the mother's that escort their daughters, thinking that this is doing them a favor.... As a woman that has HAD children of her own, how is teaching her daughter to kill her own flesh and blood a favor?

For those that are able, take some time this Lent and head for the local abortion clinic. If nothing else, stop and say a few prayers, for the unborn, for their mothers, for those who think that they are "helping" by supporting this choice... Pray for hearts and minds to be opened to the Truth of Jesus Christ and the value of life. Pray that they see the value in their OWN life AND the life of their unborn child. And don't forget to pray for the fathers. For the dads that never knew they had a child, for the ones who felt they had no other choice but to support an abortion, and for the ones that were forced in to supporting it. Today's gospel from John 9 was about the blind gaining their sight. Pray that those blinded by the sin of abortion will regain their sight. Pray that our own spiritual blindness be healed and that we may look upon all the victims of abortion with the compassion of Jesus Christ. And lastly, pray for those that are afraid to stand up for Truth, for fear... fear of ridicule, fear of job loss, fear of confrontation...

Incidentally, if you are able to spend some time at an abortion mill there are occasional moments of blessing, when God will give you the opportunity to see a girl or guy, change their mind and decide to choose life. There is nothing better than those moments to see God answer our prayers encouraging us to keep fighting the good fight!

If you are currently pregnant and considering abortion, please check out Priests for Life website for options to abortion. If you are seeking healing after an abortion, please check out Rachels Vineyard or Silent No More Awareness. Finally, there is a book now available called Motherhood Interrupted that is a compilation of the personal stories of women bearing the pain, grief and regrets in their decisions to have abortions so that others might find healing.