March 10, 2009
Today, on the day the abortion industry callously
celebrates "Abortion Provider Appreciation Day," at
40 Days for Life vigils across North America, you may
see signs that are a bit different from the usual
posters and banners.
These signs say "I regret my abortion" and "I regret
lost fatherhood."
The people holding these signs represent the Silent No
More Awareness Campaign -- people who have personally
experienced the pain of abortion; people who have also
found Christ's healing touch and forgiveness.
Read the 40 Days for Life press release about today's
activities at:
http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/227769643.html
Learn about the Silent No More Awareness campaign
partnering with 40 Days for Life at:
http://tinyurl.com/d9mcjn
The need for healing is real.
The abortion total since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court
decision in 1973 is over 50 million -- 50 million
innocent children who have perished, plus untold
millions of mothers, fathers, grandparents, extended
family members and friends who have experienced
emotional and spiritual pain -- some of them for many,
many years.
Beth in Portland, Oregon shares a story that shows the
ongoing need to reach out with the love of Christ to
those who are suffering.
Planned Parenthood is currently building a massive
abortion mega-center in Portland, Oregon. And that's
where two people were praying on a busy street on a
rainy Sunday morning.
As they prayed, they noticed a young man across the
street who was calling to them. Beth reluctantly
motioned to him to come over.
At first he seemed to be yelling, and she didn't know
what to expect. But he quickly showed that he just
desperately needed to talk.
"I have to tell you something," he said. "My
girlfriend had an abortion and it is the worst thing I
have ever been a part of in my whole life. She suffers
from mental instability, so she figured she was doing
the kid a favor -- you know, doing the right thing."
At this point, the young man paused a few moments to
collect himself. "I had no idea," he said. "If I had
known how it would be -- how it would feel afterwards
-- I would have begged her not to do it!"
"He went on like this until he was sure we understood
the complexities and the desperation of his
situation," Beth said.
"He also shared that he went to a clinic with a friend
who needed pregnancy counseling. The first thing the
friend was told was that she should get an abortion
and where to get it."
The young man told the agency employees how utterly
wrong their advice was; that his friend should be
given real options. Of course, he was asked to leave.
Sharing this story was obviously painful. He kept
saying, "I can't really talk about this." But he
struggled through until he had said everything that
was on his heart.
"We thanked him for sharing his true and painful
circumstances of his personal story," Beth said, "and
asked him to keep sharing it with others -- to give
them hope and direction -- and to accept for himself
the forgiveness that is his for the asking."
"We said our goodbyes and then continued to pray,
sharing our message of hope on a busy street, on a
rainy Sunday morning, in Portland, Oregon."
Today's devotional was prepared for you by Fr. Frank
Pavone, the national director of Priests for Life...
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DAY 14 INTENTION
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Pray that we will have faith to realize that even now
our Lord can bring an end to abortion.
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SCRIPTURE
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On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already
been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than
two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to
Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their
brother.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out
to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. "Lord," Martha
said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would
not have died. But I know that even now God will give
you whatever you ask."
-- John 11:17-22
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REFLECTION by Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
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Martha was right. Jesus is Lord of life and death.
She knew that, which is why she was able to make this
statement, yet at the same time she had to wrestle
with the fact that Lazarus died anyway.
Jesus indeed is Lord over life and death, but here the
power of death was still displayed right in front of
her.
Yet in this clash between the conviction of faith and
the evidence of human experience, Martha allowed hope
to shine through. "Even now, God will give you
whatever you ask."
Even now. Those words show the power of hope, born of
faith. Even now, when death has already done its work,
life can be victorious.
Even now, when the last word seems to have been
spoken, we can hope that a word will be spoken again
to restore life.
Even now, when Lazarus has already been laid in the
tomb and it seems impossible to do anything about it,
things can change. And things did change. The Lord
raised Lazarus from the dead.
We live in a society where many believe the abortion
issue has been settled, and its practice so deeply
ingrained in our policies and attitudes that it is
unrealistic to think we can stop it.
Yet we are the people who say to Jesus, "Even now..."
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PRAYER
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Lord Jesus, even now, you are master of life and
death. I come before you as Martha did after Lazarus
has died. I come before you after countless brothers
and sisters of mine have died from abortion.
And I pray to you: even now, you can stop the forces
of death. Even now, you can bring us into a culture of
life. Come, Lord Jesus. Speak your word yet again, and
free our nation from the shackles of death. Amen.
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PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
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To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends:
http://40daysforlife.com/docs/spring2009day14print.pdf
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If there's any way you can go out to pray at a 40 Days
for Life vigil today to stand with these courageous
women and men who are willing to bear witness about
the pain caused by abortion, I know it would mean a
tremendous amount to them!
Find your nearest location at:
http://www.40daysforlife.com/location.cfm
Yours In Christ,
Shawn Carney
Spring Campaign Director
40 Days for Life