Day 27
As clouds, wind and the threat of rain seemed to be the norm of the day praying at Planned Parenthood, today was just a “normal day.” Intent on praying our rosaries, Don, my prayer partner, and I didn’t pay attention to the noisy car rolling past until it suddenly made a U-turn and parked on the shoulder of the road across Georgetown Road. The flashers came on and the female driver jumped out hurriedly and ran to the opposite side of the car.
Don asked, “wonder what this is?” Not wanting to read too much into it, I replied that maybe she had car trouble. She busied herself in the backseat and then it became apparent that she was removing a child from his car seat. As they sprinted across the road, one could notice she was dressed rather oddly. Don stated that if she was coming to pray, she was underdressed for the type of day it was. I replied that I would have to give her my coat. I’m not sure how to describe the way she was dressed. It reminded me of how a damsel or a “lady in waiting” would be dressed a long time ago.
Standing in front of me, she didn’t say anything for a long time. I couldn’t help but wonder why she had a tiara on her head. I felt very tall and at 5’7”, I towered over her. Don and I casted glances at each other wondering what to make of this when I figured I’d better make the first move. But before I had the chance, she, while panting and out of breath, proceeded to introduce herself and her nine year old son, Shawn whom she introduced as “the light of my life.”
She was very, very excited and it was somewhat difficult to keep up with her. She talked very urgently and I don’t recall what she was rattling on about. I must confess and I am a bit ashamed to admit that I didn’t have an initial favorable impression of her and I even thought that maybe she was high on something. As it turns out, she was “high” on life. Did I mention that she was dressed very oddly and wore a tiara on her head and that she talked very, very fast?
There was a bit of a lull in the conversation when she suddenly blurted out, “he was supposed to be aborted.” She was referring to her son Shawn who wasn’t listening. He was busy being rambunctious and munching on a caramel apple. She went on to say she stopped by to “tell everyone here that you’re making a difference.” I was caught completely off guard by her initial statement, so it took just a while for her words to sink in. She must have read the “deer caught in the headlights” look on my face because she said, “yeah, I was going to have an abortion but someone, I don’t even know who it was, called me before the appointed time and told me they knew what I was planning and told me all these reasons why I shouldn’t go through with it.” She further explained, “I figured that was the voice of God! Who would call me like that, someone I didn’t even know? So there was no way I was going through with the abortion.” My only comment was a very sincere “Praise God!” and as she continued to talk, I kept repeating it. I felt the urge to give her a hug too.
She told us another story that she had an older son, the result of rape, and that she had him adopted and is now with a “nice, Christian family.” She continued to praise everyone for our efforts and told us that we should know “people notice the work you are doing.” She also wanted information on crisis pregnancy to give to a friend who is interested in starting that mission in the town where she is from, near Illinois. Giving her all the pamphlets and links that might be of use to that end, we thanked her for taking the time to tell us her very heart warming story, her words of encouragement, and brightening what was until then, a very gloomy afternoon….she left as she came, running with Shawn in tow and Don and I saying, Wow!
So take heart fellow prayer angels; people do notice us out there!
Oh, as for the odd way she was dressed… she was returning home from the Renaissance Fair…that explained a lot!
Jerry Mattingly
Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary
Monday, October 19, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Keep Praying
Day 24
It’s Friday at 11am. I found myself running a little late. I was still trying to get my 16 month old of the car seat; with his new winter coat this was a little harder. Once I had my son out of the car, I carefully walked across the street. I stopped and talked with the sidewalk counselors. They told me the great news that yesterday three women chose life. This lifted my spirits on this bitterly cold day.
As a greeter and member of the core team, I greeted the prayer partners that were with me for this hour. Once I got settled in I started my rosary. Since I was carrying my son, who is heavier with his new winter jacket, I couldn’t carry my rosary. I found myself getting extremely distracted. The coldness and the extra weight were weighing me down. I decided that it might be too cold for my son to stay the full hour and since my hour usually has more than two people I knew it was okay. So, I decided I would leave after the half hour prayer time.
Since I couldn’t pray my rosary, I decided to just try talking to God and asking him to protect the women that went in for an abortion, their unborn babies and for the conversion of all those who worked inside those treacherous walls.
After praying at this abortion facility for almost four years, I know what usually happens. Today the police officer who was here because it was a killing day left before his usual time. This is not normal because they usually stay until the last woman has come for her abortion appointment.
Then a sheriff car pulled into the parking lot. I thought all of this was strange. After about five minutes the police officer pulled forward like he was going to leave, but he didn’t. He got out of his car and started walking towards me. I was shocked. In my head I was wondering how he knew I was the greeter.
He came to me not because I was the greeter but because he had received a complaint about a woman with a small child who had been outside of the abortion facility for the last 2 to 3 hours. I told the officer I had only been there since 11am. He smiled warmly and asked if I was okay, I replied yes. Then he asked if my son was okay, and I replied yes. He said he had to come out because of the complaint. He smiled again and told me to have a good day. Then he walked to his car and left.
A few minutes later, the first police officer came back.
This incident is perplexing to me. I am thankful that someone is worried enough about the health of my son to call the police. I only wish this same person, or persons, had the same compassion about the hundreds of babies that are being KILLED inside those treacherous walls. What a contradiction!
I also find it interesting that they would resort to lying by telling the police officer I was out there for several hours. I wonder why they feel the need to lie.
However, this situation did not distract me from what I was supposed to do. After I told my prayer partners what the officer talked to me about, I led them in the 40 Days for Life Prayer that we wrote for our prayer campaign.
Please don’t let any distractions keep you from what you are called to do from the Lord. Keep praying! Keep coming out!
Dear Lord, help me to open my heart to you during these 40 days of prayer and fasting for the end of abortion in our world. Help me to inspire those in my community to stand against this evil we are facing. Be in the hearts, minds, and words of all those who are participating in the 40 Days for Life Campaign. We ask you to protect the unborn, heal those affected by abortion, and convert the hearts of those supporting abortion. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Elaine Alvarez
St. Luke Catholic Church
It’s Friday at 11am. I found myself running a little late. I was still trying to get my 16 month old of the car seat; with his new winter coat this was a little harder. Once I had my son out of the car, I carefully walked across the street. I stopped and talked with the sidewalk counselors. They told me the great news that yesterday three women chose life. This lifted my spirits on this bitterly cold day.
As a greeter and member of the core team, I greeted the prayer partners that were with me for this hour. Once I got settled in I started my rosary. Since I was carrying my son, who is heavier with his new winter jacket, I couldn’t carry my rosary. I found myself getting extremely distracted. The coldness and the extra weight were weighing me down. I decided that it might be too cold for my son to stay the full hour and since my hour usually has more than two people I knew it was okay. So, I decided I would leave after the half hour prayer time.
Since I couldn’t pray my rosary, I decided to just try talking to God and asking him to protect the women that went in for an abortion, their unborn babies and for the conversion of all those who worked inside those treacherous walls.
After praying at this abortion facility for almost four years, I know what usually happens. Today the police officer who was here because it was a killing day left before his usual time. This is not normal because they usually stay until the last woman has come for her abortion appointment.
Then a sheriff car pulled into the parking lot. I thought all of this was strange. After about five minutes the police officer pulled forward like he was going to leave, but he didn’t. He got out of his car and started walking towards me. I was shocked. In my head I was wondering how he knew I was the greeter.
He came to me not because I was the greeter but because he had received a complaint about a woman with a small child who had been outside of the abortion facility for the last 2 to 3 hours. I told the officer I had only been there since 11am. He smiled warmly and asked if I was okay, I replied yes. Then he asked if my son was okay, and I replied yes. He said he had to come out because of the complaint. He smiled again and told me to have a good day. Then he walked to his car and left.
A few minutes later, the first police officer came back.
This incident is perplexing to me. I am thankful that someone is worried enough about the health of my son to call the police. I only wish this same person, or persons, had the same compassion about the hundreds of babies that are being KILLED inside those treacherous walls. What a contradiction!
I also find it interesting that they would resort to lying by telling the police officer I was out there for several hours. I wonder why they feel the need to lie.
However, this situation did not distract me from what I was supposed to do. After I told my prayer partners what the officer talked to me about, I led them in the 40 Days for Life Prayer that we wrote for our prayer campaign.
Please don’t let any distractions keep you from what you are called to do from the Lord. Keep praying! Keep coming out!
Dear Lord, help me to open my heart to you during these 40 days of prayer and fasting for the end of abortion in our world. Help me to inspire those in my community to stand against this evil we are facing. Be in the hearts, minds, and words of all those who are participating in the 40 Days for Life Campaign. We ask you to protect the unborn, heal those affected by abortion, and convert the hearts of those supporting abortion. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Elaine Alvarez
St. Luke Catholic Church
Friday, October 16, 2009
St. Teresa of Avila Pray for us!
Day 23
Feast of St Teresa of Avila, Oct 15th
At times it is hard for Pro Life people not to become discouraged. The news reports often are less than edifying, and many aspects of society seem to be immersed in the culture of death. We can become despondent.
We can take solace in the words of St. Teresa of Avila, 16th Century Carmelite mystic who (along with her friend St. John of the Cross) brought along much-needed reform in the Church. Teresa became the first female doctor of the Church.
Often when we become despondent about abortion in our society, we focus on the human element- and how little we can do. The truth is, there is little we can do, but we can all do something, and through prayer, God can bring about change. In the mean time, we are called to trust in Him and be at peace.
St. Teresa wrote:
Let nothing disturb you
Let nothing frighten you
Everything passes
God never changes
Patience attains everything
He who has God wants for nothing
God alone is enough.
Joseph Lehner
Our Lady of The Most Holy Rosary
Feast of St Teresa of Avila, Oct 15th
At times it is hard for Pro Life people not to become discouraged. The news reports often are less than edifying, and many aspects of society seem to be immersed in the culture of death. We can become despondent.
We can take solace in the words of St. Teresa of Avila, 16th Century Carmelite mystic who (along with her friend St. John of the Cross) brought along much-needed reform in the Church. Teresa became the first female doctor of the Church.
Often when we become despondent about abortion in our society, we focus on the human element- and how little we can do. The truth is, there is little we can do, but we can all do something, and through prayer, God can bring about change. In the mean time, we are called to trust in Him and be at peace.
St. Teresa wrote:
Let nothing disturb you
Let nothing frighten you
Everything passes
God never changes
Patience attains everything
He who has God wants for nothing
God alone is enough.
Joseph Lehner
Our Lady of The Most Holy Rosary
Special Alert
Thursday, October 15th three women turned away from the abortion facility and chose life for their babies. Please keep these women and their unborn babies in your prayers.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Devotion
Day 15
Please read through the Day 15 devotional by clicking on the link before continuing...
http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2009day15print.pdf
It is miraculous to me that this particular devotional comes on the day after Evangelium Vitae's, the Gospel of Life's, Introduction and First Chapter were proclaimed from 5PM to 6:30PM last evening at the Planned Parenthood abortion mill in Indianapolis. In Evangelium Vitae, the Gospel of Life, section 25 we read:
"You have come to the sprinkled blood" (cf. Heb 12: 22, 24): signs of hope and invitation to commitment
25. "The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground" (Gen 4:10). It is not only the voice of the blood of Abel, the first innocent man to be murdered, which cries to God, the source and defender of life. The blood of every other human being who has been killed since Abel is also a voice raised to the Lord. In an absolutely singular way, as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us, the voice of the blood of Christ, of whom Abel in his innocence is a prophetic figure, cries out to God: "You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God ... to the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel" (12:22, 24).
The blood of Christ, while it reveals the grandeur of the Father's love, shows how precious man is in God's eyes and how priceless the value of his life. The Apostle Peter reminds us of this: "You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot" (1 Pt 1:18-19). Precisely by contemplating the precious blood of Christ, the sign of his self-giving love (cf. Jn 13:1), the believer learns to recognize and appreciate the almost divine dignity of every human being and can exclaim with ever renewed and grateful wonder: "How precious must man be in the eyes of the Creator, if he gained so great a Redeemer' (Exsultet of the Easter Vigil), and if God gave his only Son' in order that man should not perish but have eternal life' (cf. Jn 3:16)!". 20
Furthermore, Christ's blood reveals to man that his greatness, and therefore his vocation, consists in the sincere gift of self. Precisely because it is poured out as the gift of life, the blood of Christ is no longer a sign of death, of definitive separation from the brethren, but the instrument of a communion which is richness of life for all. Whoever in the Sacrament of the Eucharist drinks this blood and abides in Jesus (cf. Jn 6:56) is drawn into the dynamism of his love and gift of life, in order to bring to its fullness the original vocation to love which belongs to everyone (cf. Gen 1:27; 2:18-24).
It is the sprinkled blood. A symbol and prophetic sign of it had been the blood of the sacrifices of the Old Covenant, whereby God expressed his will to communicate his own life to men, purifying and consecrating them (cf. Ex 24:8; Lev 17:11). Now all of this is fulfilled and comes true in Christ: his is the sprinkled blood which redeems, purifies and saves; it is the blood of the Mediator of the New Covenant "poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Mt 26:28). This blood, which flows from the pierced side of Christ on the Cross (cf. Jn 19:34), "speaks more graciously" than the blood of Abel; indeed, it expresses and requires a more radical "justice", and above all it implores mercy, 19 it makes intercession for the brethren before the Father (cf. Heb 7:25), and it is the source of perfect redemption and the gift of new life.
It is from the blood of Christ that all draw the strength to commit themselves to promoting life. It is precisely this blood that is the most powerful source of hope, indeed it is the foundation of the absolute certitude that in God's plan life will be victorious. "And death shall be no more", exclaims the powerful voice which comes from the throne of God in the Heavenly Jerusalem (Rev 21:4). And Saint Paul assures us that the present victory over sin is a sign and anticipation of the definitive victory over death, when there "shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory'. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' " (1 Cor 15:54-55)."
While reading the truth to the darkness, with love and the understanding that victory is now, sprinkled with the precious blood of Jesus, the light rain subsided and the darkness could see the futility of its efforts...Hope was present in the grassy area as we stood getting to know one another better.
If you wish, plan to join in this Saturday morning's 7AM to 8:30AM second run through of Evangelium Vitae's, the Gospel of Life's, Introduction and First Chapter. Also, know that Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4 & the Conclusion will be proclaimed / read aloud on these same days and times (Tuesdays 5PM to 6:30PM and Saturdays 7AM to 8:30AM) during the next three consecutive weeks following this first week.
God Bless You!
Ron Kramer
Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Please read through the Day 15 devotional by clicking on the link before continuing...
http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2009day15print.pdf
It is miraculous to me that this particular devotional comes on the day after Evangelium Vitae's, the Gospel of Life's, Introduction and First Chapter were proclaimed from 5PM to 6:30PM last evening at the Planned Parenthood abortion mill in Indianapolis. In Evangelium Vitae, the Gospel of Life, section 25 we read:
"You have come to the sprinkled blood" (cf. Heb 12: 22, 24): signs of hope and invitation to commitment
25. "The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground" (Gen 4:10). It is not only the voice of the blood of Abel, the first innocent man to be murdered, which cries to God, the source and defender of life. The blood of every other human being who has been killed since Abel is also a voice raised to the Lord. In an absolutely singular way, as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us, the voice of the blood of Christ, of whom Abel in his innocence is a prophetic figure, cries out to God: "You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God ... to the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel" (12:22, 24).
The blood of Christ, while it reveals the grandeur of the Father's love, shows how precious man is in God's eyes and how priceless the value of his life. The Apostle Peter reminds us of this: "You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot" (1 Pt 1:18-19). Precisely by contemplating the precious blood of Christ, the sign of his self-giving love (cf. Jn 13:1), the believer learns to recognize and appreciate the almost divine dignity of every human being and can exclaim with ever renewed and grateful wonder: "How precious must man be in the eyes of the Creator, if he gained so great a Redeemer' (Exsultet of the Easter Vigil), and if God gave his only Son' in order that man should not perish but have eternal life' (cf. Jn 3:16)!". 20
Furthermore, Christ's blood reveals to man that his greatness, and therefore his vocation, consists in the sincere gift of self. Precisely because it is poured out as the gift of life, the blood of Christ is no longer a sign of death, of definitive separation from the brethren, but the instrument of a communion which is richness of life for all. Whoever in the Sacrament of the Eucharist drinks this blood and abides in Jesus (cf. Jn 6:56) is drawn into the dynamism of his love and gift of life, in order to bring to its fullness the original vocation to love which belongs to everyone (cf. Gen 1:27; 2:18-24).
It is the sprinkled blood. A symbol and prophetic sign of it had been the blood of the sacrifices of the Old Covenant, whereby God expressed his will to communicate his own life to men, purifying and consecrating them (cf. Ex 24:8; Lev 17:11). Now all of this is fulfilled and comes true in Christ: his is the sprinkled blood which redeems, purifies and saves; it is the blood of the Mediator of the New Covenant "poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Mt 26:28). This blood, which flows from the pierced side of Christ on the Cross (cf. Jn 19:34), "speaks more graciously" than the blood of Abel; indeed, it expresses and requires a more radical "justice", and above all it implores mercy, 19 it makes intercession for the brethren before the Father (cf. Heb 7:25), and it is the source of perfect redemption and the gift of new life.
It is from the blood of Christ that all draw the strength to commit themselves to promoting life. It is precisely this blood that is the most powerful source of hope, indeed it is the foundation of the absolute certitude that in God's plan life will be victorious. "And death shall be no more", exclaims the powerful voice which comes from the throne of God in the Heavenly Jerusalem (Rev 21:4). And Saint Paul assures us that the present victory over sin is a sign and anticipation of the definitive victory over death, when there "shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory'. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' " (1 Cor 15:54-55)."
While reading the truth to the darkness, with love and the understanding that victory is now, sprinkled with the precious blood of Jesus, the light rain subsided and the darkness could see the futility of its efforts...Hope was present in the grassy area as we stood getting to know one another better.
If you wish, plan to join in this Saturday morning's 7AM to 8:30AM second run through of Evangelium Vitae's, the Gospel of Life's, Introduction and First Chapter. Also, know that Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4 & the Conclusion will be proclaimed / read aloud on these same days and times (Tuesdays 5PM to 6:30PM and Saturdays 7AM to 8:30AM) during the next three consecutive weeks following this first week.
God Bless You!
Ron Kramer
Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Vignette
Day 10
Outside of the abortion processing machine, in the cool wind and cloudy skies, witnesses gathered together for a common cause: relief to the scourge of abortion. It was spiritually jarring and emotionally disturbing to stand in close proximity to such a thoroughly malevolent asylum. Beginning with recitation of the Holy Rosary one nevertheless finds a way to accept the graces offered to enter into a deep meditation.
But then – mirabile dictu – through the hubbub of Georgetown Road, there was a tiny whisper of sanity: Nothing is more precious and sacred than the gift of human life. Emmanuel – God with us – is here.
Noted Pro-life apologist Stephanie Gray remarks “There is something very important and beautiful about the nature of women: that they are to be mothers (whether in spiritual or physical form). A pregnant woman becomes a tabernacle enveloping a person made in the image of the Divine”. The supreme exemplar of this insight is the Incarnation of Our Savior in the most blessed womb of Mary the Great Mother of God.
In its most profound reality, love is essentially a gift; love begins with the couple but does not end with them, because it makes them capable of the greatest possible gift, the gift by which they become cooperators with God for giving life to a new human person. Thus the couple, while giving themselves to one another, give not just themselves but also the reality of children, who are a living reflection of their love, a permanent sign of conjugal unity and a living and inseparable synthesis of their being a father and a mother (cf. Familiaris Consortio, 14).
Yet, contesting authentic giftedness stands the prevailing attitudes of the clique (this small, sectarian coterie of mainstream abortioneers). Abortion opposes love; the evil of abortion dissolves unity; the organized slaughter of innocents extends its weeping darkness to fill yet another vast cemetery.
Perceiving hidden and secret things before us in the depths of Planned Parenthood’s building, fortified and guarded with arms as it was, the realization that prayer alone has the power to break through the steel, brick, and security glass happens. Watching Dr. Havoc drive off in his glamorous sports car after his laborious day at the office emptying tummy bumps was chilling.
Pope Benedict XVI’s reflection reminds us all of the deepest meaning of authentic love.
“Love is Suffering”
We must think of love as suffering. Only if we are ready to endure it as suffering and thus ever again to accept each other and once again take the other to ourselves, only then can a lifelong relationship develop. If, on the contrary, we say when we get to the critical point, I want to avoid that, and we separate, then what we are really renouncing is the true opportunity that is to be found in man and woman being turned toward each other and in the reality of love (Pope Benedict, God and the Word).
Ad Jesum per Mariam,
Timothy J.A. O’Donnell
St. John Vianney Parish
Outside of the abortion processing machine, in the cool wind and cloudy skies, witnesses gathered together for a common cause: relief to the scourge of abortion. It was spiritually jarring and emotionally disturbing to stand in close proximity to such a thoroughly malevolent asylum. Beginning with recitation of the Holy Rosary one nevertheless finds a way to accept the graces offered to enter into a deep meditation.
But then – mirabile dictu – through the hubbub of Georgetown Road, there was a tiny whisper of sanity: Nothing is more precious and sacred than the gift of human life. Emmanuel – God with us – is here.
Noted Pro-life apologist Stephanie Gray remarks “There is something very important and beautiful about the nature of women: that they are to be mothers (whether in spiritual or physical form). A pregnant woman becomes a tabernacle enveloping a person made in the image of the Divine”. The supreme exemplar of this insight is the Incarnation of Our Savior in the most blessed womb of Mary the Great Mother of God.
In its most profound reality, love is essentially a gift; love begins with the couple but does not end with them, because it makes them capable of the greatest possible gift, the gift by which they become cooperators with God for giving life to a new human person. Thus the couple, while giving themselves to one another, give not just themselves but also the reality of children, who are a living reflection of their love, a permanent sign of conjugal unity and a living and inseparable synthesis of their being a father and a mother (cf. Familiaris Consortio, 14).
Yet, contesting authentic giftedness stands the prevailing attitudes of the clique (this small, sectarian coterie of mainstream abortioneers). Abortion opposes love; the evil of abortion dissolves unity; the organized slaughter of innocents extends its weeping darkness to fill yet another vast cemetery.
Perceiving hidden and secret things before us in the depths of Planned Parenthood’s building, fortified and guarded with arms as it was, the realization that prayer alone has the power to break through the steel, brick, and security glass happens. Watching Dr. Havoc drive off in his glamorous sports car after his laborious day at the office emptying tummy bumps was chilling.
Pope Benedict XVI’s reflection reminds us all of the deepest meaning of authentic love.
“Love is Suffering”
We must think of love as suffering. Only if we are ready to endure it as suffering and thus ever again to accept each other and once again take the other to ourselves, only then can a lifelong relationship develop. If, on the contrary, we say when we get to the critical point, I want to avoid that, and we separate, then what we are really renouncing is the true opportunity that is to be found in man and woman being turned toward each other and in the reality of love (Pope Benedict, God and the Word).
Ad Jesum per Mariam,
Timothy J.A. O’Donnell
St. John Vianney Parish
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