Planned Parenthood has their own version of 40 Days for Life, well, not for Life. I guess it’d be 40 Days for Aborting Life. What I really want to know is…who do they pray to? :/
Read more at LifeNews: Planned Parenthood’s Prayer Vigil Parody: Planned Parenthood’s 40 Days of Prayer for Abortion Condemned.
Went to see October Baby last night, loved it! I’ll tell you more about that later. Part 2 of the rally post will be up later also (see rally post Part 1). Right now I’m too pooped to do much more than this. I’m emotionally drained. Why? Because after Mass this morning (yes, I’m keeping my commitment to attend Daily Mass; pray for me!) a friend stopped as I knelt making my thanksgiving after Holy Communion. She was on her way out the door and wanted to tell me that abortions were in full swing over at Planned Parenthood, so we headed over there.
They’re usually closed on Saturdays but they were closed a lot this past week; they sure made up for lost time today. Their parking lot was packed. So sad. But a church had adopted the day as part of 40 Days for Life, so we had the sidewalk covered with prayer volunteers while there were women inside making the worst decisions of their lives. And ending the possibility for some lives to ever reach the point of making any decisions at all. Ever.
There were women outside the abortion mill, waiting for sisters or daughters or friends who were inside. Many years ago I was one of those women sitting in a car while a friend went inside to make the worst choice she ever made. Strange, isn’t it, how people always call it a “choice” but my friend didn’t feel like she had a choice at all. She felt trapped and terrified and horrible.
I haven’t seen her in years now. Don’t know how she manages to look into the eys of the kids she already had, knowing that there was another one who they will never know. Who she will never know. Who will never know what it means to live or breathe or exist outside the womb that held him until the moment the abortionist tore him apart and vacuumed him out of what should have been the safest place in the world for a little baby waiting to be born. Waiting to be held. Waiting and imagining the face that goes with the voice he’s been hearing as he grows. Never imagining the awful fate that awaits him.
God, have mercy on us. Forgive us the horrible evil that people do in our world. Your world. You have made us for Yourself, You have given us Life and offered us Love and Truth and Goodness and Beauty. And we have chosen to rip each other apart. We have chosen evil and sin and death instead. God, forgive us! Have mercy on us all. Amen.
[The following is a report from my participation in 40 Days for Life, Days 17 and 18.] Friday was abortion day at Planned Parenthood in Birmingham. On Friday afternoon the truck came to pick up what is (euphemistically, I suppose) called “waste material”. On the side of the truck it says “Protecting People. Reducing Risk.”
Ironic, isn’t it? And just a bit sickening. The most defenseless ones of all were certainly not protected and the risk they were in was neither reduced nor even acknowledged. So much for the “compassionate choice.” I’m sure you’ve heard that argument. “It’s compassionate to save a child from possible suffering.” By killing him before he even has a chance to take his first breath outside his mother’s womb? Don’t make me vomit.
Today was a quiet day on the sidewalk. The only person who stopped to talk to me today was someone who seemed familiar at the time, but I couldn’t quite place her. Until later when I remembered the first time we met. She did exactly the same thing to me today that she did that time, during the first 40 Days for Life campaign in which I ever participated back in 2009. She stopped her car in the middle of the street, rolled down her window and said, “I want to ask you a question.” Now this was simply a deception on her part because what she really wanted to do is what she proceeded to do. “Why are you encouraging women to have babies they can’t take care of? There are (blah blah blah, fill in the blank, insert your favorite non-reason here).” And it went downhill from there. She listed the same lame excuses you’ve heard over and over and no matter how many times those excuses are repeated, the repetition of them will not ever make it right to kill a baby. Not ever.
This one got me, though. “Why do you want a baby to come into this world without a daddy? There are so many people in prison now who didn’t have daddies.”
Oh, yeah, I love this one. I replied, “I didn’t have a daddy, or a mommy either. At one time, anyway. I’m adopted and I’m very glad that I’m standing here today to say this to you because someone gave me a chance. And I’m not in prison. I’ve had a wonderful life, thank you very much.”
She went on with her litany, unable to hear or think about what I’d said because she did not want to hear or think. She did not want to ask me a question or hear my answer. She wanted to feel better about some choice she made at some point in her life and she wanted to make me feel useless or worse, even terrible. But it didn’t work. I knew whose voice I was hearing. I knew that the attack was not against me. I’ve learned to recognize the voice that says these things. I’ve learned to recognize his way of acting and thinking. I’m learning what to do when I find myself suddenly face to face with him, and that is to remember that this kind can only be driven out by prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29).
So I did not argue with her. I did not continue the conversation with her. I told her to have a nice day and then I turned away and picked up where I had left off praying my rosary. Only I said a special prayer for her and mentioned her (and others like her) at the beginning of the meditation on each Mystery. I don’t want to get into an argument or a yelling match with someone who is under the ancient enemy’s power. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction. And I don’t want to give him an opening into my own heart and mind.
But there is one thing I wish I’d thought to tell her before she drove away this time. I wish I had told her that I’m glad she was not my mother. Maybe it’s a good thing that I didn’t think of it until later. But maybe I’ll remember it if I ever see her again.
Peace be with you and keep praying. We are making a difference and our ancient enemy is profoundly disturbed. Thanks be to God!
My favorite time of year is not spring or summer or fall or winter. It’s Lent. I enjoy Advent and Christmas. And Easter, of course. But Lent is the season I look forward to all year. Especially since I started participating in the 40 Days for Life campaign to end abortion. There are two campaigns per year, one in the fall and one in spring. The current campaign coincides with Lent, as it did last year. This is a time of penance, fasting, prayer and alms-giving (don’t forget the alms-giving!), and spending time in peaceful prayer vigil out on the sidewalk during these forty days is a wonderful way to enter more fully into the spirit of the Lenten season. Continue reading “Something different for Lent: Don’t just say you’re prolife, prove it”
40 Days for Life, fall 2010 campaign, is in full swing across the country and elsewhere around the globe too. The vigil, which includes prayer and fasting to end abortion, began last week on Sep 22 and continues through Oct 31. We’ve had several people change their minds about abortions at our vigil site outside Planned Parenthood (good grief, is that ever a misnomer). We’ve also dealt with some pretty intense hostility. Continue reading “40 Days for Life Prayer Vigil to End Abortion, Fall 2010 Campaign”
I had a conversation (if you can call it that) over on YouTube with someone who tried very hard to convince me that to pray outside abortion mills would be an entirely useless and wasted effort. Well, not only did I know that wasn’t true then, but I have proof now. The spring 2010 campaign of 40 Days for Life has only been underway for six (6) days and we already have forty-five (45) saves! That’s amazing! And those are the ones we know about! We have no way of knowing about all of the saves that happen every day. Not all women will say anything to anybody about what they went through, the gut-wrenching decisions they faced or how they dealt with their situations. So don’t let anyone tell you that your efforts are wasted. Don’t let anyone stop you from speaking out against the culture of death. We need to pray, fast and keep our vigils. God will do the rest. Our God is an awesome God, quick to forgive, slow to anger, rich in mercy. Praise God!
The reporter was kind and considerate and conducted himself in a very gentlemanly way. He got video footage of our 40 Days for Life vigil site outside our local Planned Parenthood. (Use link or see video on YouTube or below.) He talked with us a while and filmed one of us for a few minutes, allowing her to speak freely and frankly about abortion and about alternatives and about what the 40 DFL prayer vigil is all about. I was delighted with the way he handled his coverage of the story and with my fellow vigil-er’s thoughtfulness and with her presentation of the pro-life message. She wasn’t even scheduled to be there, I think I was scheduled to be alone at that hour. I’m so glad I wasn’t! I’m so glad God led her to be there then! Continue reading “Reporter interviews 40 DFL participant, station declines to air the segment”
40 Days for Life begins on Ash Wednesday. What a perfect way to practice our Christianity in our daily lives! Prayer and fasting are part of Lent every year. Combine these spiritual disciplines with prayerful peaceful vigil outside abortion clinics, and you have a marvelous way to jumpstart your spiritual life. That’s what I experienced last fall when I participated in 40 DFL for the first time. Ash Wednesday is the day after tomorrow and in preparation I’ve been reading John Paul II’s Gospel of Life, Fr. Pavone’s Ending Abortion, Not Just Fighting It along with his Pro-life Reflections for Every Day, and my beloved Bible. Oh, is that Bible ever dog-eared, heavily marked in and highlighted, filled with prayer cards and bookmarks. It’s one of my favorite companions and its cloth zipper cover is beginning to wear out on one corner.
Here’s the Scripture that is speaking to me right now. Continue reading “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood”
Picture this: a car pulls into the abortion mill parking lot, a young woman at the wheel. A group of people standing around talking outside run to intercept her, calling out as they scamper toward her. How do you think this makes the woman in the car feel? Now picture this: two groups of people standing around talking outside the clinic notice the woman’s car pulling in and both groups high tail it over to her, both groups intent on intercepting her before the other group can have their say. True, one group cannot step onto the abortion mill property, and that group is actually acting out of love, wanting to offer hope and help to the woman, but if you were her sitting inside the car, watching all these people scampering toward you, how would you feel? Do you think you would find the whole experience disturbing? I know would. I found it disturbing when I witnessed it. Continue reading “How not to do sidewalk discipleship”
Just when I’m starting to think I’m accomplishing something, the Good Lord sends me a little lesson in humility. Check out the video (below) of the 40 Days for Life prayer vigil on New York City’s Abortion Row where there are around a hundred—that’s 1 0 0—abortion mills plying their trade day after day, along a strip that’s about a mile and a half long, filled with deafening noise from the overhead subway, street and foot traffic, and riddled with crime other than the legalized crime of abortion. A drug-related killing took place at the vigil site just days before the vigil began. Watch this and get inspired to get out there on the street wherever your street may be. And, please, share this with your friends, family, members of your community and church. Get out the word. Then get out there and pray! Continue reading “Taking it to the streets, New York’s Abortion Row prayer vigil”
These are photos from our prayer vigil at 40 Days for Life Fall 2009, more shots of the sidewalk chalk messages. I meant to take more today but I spent most of my time praying, especially after the adventure I wrote about in my last post. Maybe I’ll get more soon, if it doesn’t rain. Peace be with you. (Photos below. Click on any image to see larger version.) Continue reading “Images from the sidewalk, 40 Days for Life, Fall 2009”
I was walking down the sidewalk outside the abortion mill today, rosary in my hands, praying and meditating on the scenes of our Lord’s life called the Glorious Mysteries. I had just turned down the alley and had gone a few feet when I heard a car behind me, pulling, so I thought, into the alley. But he hadn’t turned down the alley. He pulled into the clinic parking lot, then across the alley in front of me to block my path. Continue reading “Keep out of sight, this is our neighborhood”
Catholic Heart and Mind 