It’s Day 40 — the final day of this fall’s 40 Days for Life effort.

Together we have witnessed God accomplishing amazing miracles through His faithful people, and I really believe that we are witnessing the beginning of the end of abortion in our land.

THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for being a part of the most profoundly touching 40 Days for Life campaign yet. As we wrap up the fifth coordinated 40 Days for Life effort, the seeds you have planted are beginning to bear incredible fruit.

One sign of that is the level of opposition that has been seen in many communities.

The abortion industry is starting to squirm.

Ann Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League sent photos of people praying at the 40 Days for Life vigil in Chicago — and a picture of people actually demonstrating against 40 Days for Life.

On the day the demonstrators were there, she said, “they managed to create enough of an obstruction along the street that no one came in for an abortion.”

Now that’s what I call utterly amazing — and it’s clearly the hand of God at work. “Little do they realize,” Ann said, “they are saving babies by their presence.”

Here are the pictures from Chicago:

A nurse walked out of the Planned Parenthood location where the 40 Days for Life vigil is being held in Houston, Texas. One of the vigil participants wished her a cheerful “Good morning!” and asked how she was doing.

The answer was quick and unexpected. “I need a new job now,” she said. This may, in fact, have been her first day at Planned Parenthood. But it was also the last.

“I went in one of the rooms,” the nurse said, “and this is not for me.”

Planned Parenthood, of course, bills itself as a health care organization. What this nurse found there was certainly NOT health care.

Vigil participants suggested a few leads for finding a REAL health care position, and asked if there was anything else she needed.

“Not really,” the nurse responded. “I’m going home to hug my children.”

This nurse becomes the EIGHTH employee to leave an abortion industry job during this 40 Days for Life campaign. Praise God!

In Psalm 119:18, the psalmist prays to God, “Open my eyes to see clearly the wonders of your teachings.”

Thanks to you, many eyes have been opened during this 40 Days for Life campaign.

A prayer volunteer in Reno, Nevada who has spent many hours at the 40 Days for Life vigil has noticed a trend at the abortion center. Business has been down significantly — and there’s no doubt that the prayers of faithful volunteers, especially during the 40 Days for Life campaigns, are being heard.

When the first 40 Days for Life vigil was held there two years ago, the clinic was open five days a week. Now it is open only three days a week. The abortionist used to arrive around 9 am. Now he often doesn’t show up until 11.

Two years ago, the prayer volunteers say the clinic had about 15 patients each day. Now it is only around five. Staff members are working fewer hours. They often have days — even weeks — between shifts.

Carol Marie noted that one of the prayer volunteers in Reno had set a goal of praying for at least 40 hours during the 40 Days for Life vigil. She has met and exceeded that goal.

“She’s not finished yet,” Carol Marie said, “nor does she expect to stop when the campaign ends. She realizes that while she’s tired and her spirits are hard pressed to continue what she’s doing, she knows that we’re making a difference. She has seen that lives are saved.”

Day 40 is not the end. It’s only the beginning!

Here’s today’s devotional from Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life and President of the National Pro-life Religious Council…

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DAY 40 INTENTION
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Let us keep our eyes fixed on the New Jerusalem, where death will be no more.

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SCRIPTURE
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He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

–Revelation 21:4-5

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REFLECTION by Fr. Frank Pavone
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Every activity we undertake in defense of the sanctity of life is prophetic, inasmuch as it points to the day when “death will be no more.”

Every victory we have when an act of abortion is prevented is prophetic of that day when death itself will be definitively conquered.

Every triumph of grace in this world, whereby someone is brought to see the value of life and given the strength to welcome it, is a breaking into our history of that definitive future in which the old order of things will have passed, and all things will be made new.

As pro-life warriors, we must keep our eyes fixed on heaven, and our hearts secure in the hope that the day is coming when all evil will be conquered. It is the future that shapes the present; it is victory that informs the battle; it is the destination that determines the journey.

Daily, we are called to reflect on heaven. When we weep, we are to think of the day when every tear will be wiped away.

When we face the destructive power of death, we are to think of the day when death is swallowed up in victory. When we labor against abortion, we are to think of the day when we will have the rest and peace of the final triumph of life.

Heaven is as real as earth, and its joys will be as real as our present sorrows.

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PRAYER
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Father, you are the God of hope. Your word fills us with the vision of the world to come, when every tear will be wiped away, and death will be no more. Father, how we need that hope, how we are strengthened by that vision!

Keep our hearts focused on heaven, and diligent in the labors of earth. As we struggle against the culture of death, root our souls in the assurance of victory. We pray through Christ our Lord, 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/fall2009day40print.pdf

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For Life,

David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life

Today is Day 39, and we’re in the home stretch of this fall’s 40 Days for Life effort. As we rapidly approach tomorrow’s finish line for this campaign, I just posted another short on-location video that I think you will love.

This hope-filled 4-minute clip comes from Peoria, Illinois — in the middle of the American heartland.

You’ll hear from several volunteers and the new president of the statewide right to life group about the blessings they have experienced as part of 40 Days for Life — and how they went from a previous campaign that really struggled to this fall’s effort that has involved hundreds of new people. Enjoy:

If you’ve missed any of the other short video reports (which have been getting THOUSANDS of views!) they’re all posted online at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/dbereit

Amazing things continue to happen during 40 Days for Life!

The 40 Days for Life team in Providence, Rhode Island report the story about a woman who had an abortion appointment at Planned Parenthood — and abortion facility escorts who tried to prevent her from hearing the truth.

Joanne said the woman “hesitated when she saw and heard the children praying” as part of the 40 Days for Life vigil. When she saw there was a member of the clergy praying with the children, “she stopped right in the middle of the road, her eyes filling with tears.”

Still, she permitted the escorts to hustle her into the clinic.

Fifteen minutes later, however, she walked back out. “She had found herself unable and unwilling to go through with the abortion,” said Joanne.

The escorts at Planned Parenthood didn’t like this one bit. “They shooed her away repeatedly, ending her stay by insisting that she was not to talk there,” Joanne said. “She was so unnerved at being pushed away by the escorts that she finally drove off, still crying. She remains in our hopeful prayers.”

Here’s a picture of the 40 Days for Life vigil in Providence:

People are also praying faithfully outside another Planned Parenthood center — in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Janet said the 40 Days for Life vigil participants have “shared the amazing gift of life, miracle of the preborn, and the devastating effects and aftermath that the abortion ‘choice’ has over our families and communities.”

Here’s a picture of the 40 Days for Life vigil in Honolulu:

Honolulu is also home of the “tow truck ministry.” Rocky is a tow truck driver whose job includes removing the vehicles of people who have parked in a nearby lot without paying. That often includes people who are visiting Planned Parenthood.

Rocky came to check on the vigil recently and said it was a real blessing to see everyone praying during 40 Days for Life. He also told Isaiah the story of a teenage boy who came to pick up his car, which had been towed from the lot.

“The boy was trying to reason that he only went into the clinic for a few moments,” Isaiah said. “Rocky was bold enough to admonish the boy over being too concerned over paying for his towed car rather than the life of the child that was aborted. The boy’s head dropped down in realizing the reality of what Rocky was speaking to him. We prayed for God’s blessing over Rocky as he continues to be a voice for life to those teenagers he encounters there at the clinic through his tow truck ministry. God bless you, Rocky!”

Here’s a picture of Rocky and Isaiah:

Here’s today’s devotional from Carmen Pate, Co-host of the “Point of View” radio talk show…

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DAY 39 INTENTION
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Pray that God will continue to bless the efforts that have gone into the 40 Days for Life campaign, as we trust Him for the results.

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SCRIPTURE
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Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name.

– Nehemiah 1:10-11

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REFLECTION by Carmen Pate
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Nehemiah provides an awesome blueprint for volunteers in God’s service, particularly those responding to the devastation abortion has caused our nation.

Nehemiah grieved for God’s reputation as he witnessed the condition of the city walls of Jerusalem. The walls were broken down which was seen by neighboring people as a sign of weakness on the part of Jerusalem’s God. No wall meant no security for the city and its people.

We learn from his story that he covered every detail in prayer; inspired others to join the cause; organized others to help do the work; confronted opposition directly and turned to God when discouraged; and finally celebrated what was accomplished and gave God all the glory!

Like Nehemiah, we must acknowledge God’s sovereignty as we serve Him before a mocking world. We too need to be reminded that we are “fighting” for our families. We too must have an attitude of confession and repentance before a Holy God. We must pray for strength, refute slander, and not be diverted from our work.

Like Nehemiah, we will draw attention from the enemy when we are seeking to protect the well-being of God’s people. We too must stand firm and seek God’s help to persevere until the task is done. We too will be victorious.

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PRAYER
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Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in heaven and in the earth is Yours.

We pray for your continued guidance and protection throughout the remainder of this 40 day campaign. May we be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in Your work, knowing that our labor will not be in vain. We pray in the name of Jesus, 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/fall2009day39print.pdf

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For Life,

David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life

Jennifer in Cherry Hill, New Jersey has been thankful that the 40 Days for Life campaign in her community has the support of the local Catholic bishop in the Diocese of Camden. Just recently, Bishop Joseph Galante participated in the prayer vigil outside the abortion facility — and more than 100 other people were there to join him.

Here’s a photo of Bishop Galante at the vigil:

But there’s someone else in that picture that I’d like to call to your attention — the young woman in the wheelchair next to Bishop Galante. Her name is Maricruz, and I would ask that you pray for her, her birth family in Central America, and her adopted family in New Jersey.

Maricruz is an abortion survivor.

Twenty-one years ago, her mother tried to abort her. This was an attempted chemical abortion; her mother took a pill, which was assumed to be RU-486. It is believed that the drug was being used experimentally in Central America at the time.

To make a long story short, the abortion pill didn’t work. Maricruz was born three months premature. She survived, but was left severely handicapped and must use the wheelchair. Maricruz has three siblings in Central America — and four others who were aborted.

The woman next to Maricruz is her adopted grandmother, an active pro-lifer who’s been honored for her efforts on behalf of the unborn. She is also the mother of 13 — including Jennifer.

Yes, the woman who helped bring 40 Days for Life to Cherry Hill, New Jersey (it’s just outside of Philadelphia, in case you were wondering) is also Maricruz’s adopted mom.

Please share this story with the next person who complains that pro-lifers care nothing about “unwanted” children after they’re born!

Said Jennifer, “God provides for us in our lives when we accept His plan for our lives.”

Jennifer also tells a story of the horrifying truth about abortion, the operation that its supporters call a “safe, legal medical procedure.”

Two prayer vigil participants saw a woman leave the clinic, crying hysterically. She said she was 18 weeks pregnant — and the abortionist had given her baby a lethal injection to end the child’s life. She had apparently known very little about the actual procedure, only that she had a “choice” that would permit her to become un-pregnant.

She cried that God would never forgive her for what she had done. Volunteers suggested going to the emergency room to see if the baby could be saved. Sadly, it was too late. She would have to return to the clinic the next day to have the dead child removed from her womb.

The woman told the volunteers that she wanted to stand on the sidewalk to warn the clinic’s clients about what abortion really is. But please pray that she recognizes her own need for healing and spiritual renewal at this most challenging time in her life. Please pray that the Lord will help her understand that He CAN forgive her and is willing to do so — and most importantly, that she herself can accept God’s forgiveness.

Here’s today’s devotional from Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life and President of the National Pro-life Religious Council…

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DAY 38 INTENTION
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Pray that we become vessels of hope to all around us, especially to those who minister in the pro-life movement.

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SCRIPTURE
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On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!”

– Luke 24:1-5

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REFLECTION by Fr. Frank Pavone
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This meditation, based on a sermon I once heard, is adapted for pro-life concerns.

It’s Friday. Jesus is on the cross. He has been killed by his enemies; he is off the scene. But that’s because it’s Friday. Sunday’s comin’!

It’s Friday. Abortionists continue their work 3,300 times a day, tearing off the arms and legs of little babies and crushing their heads. But that’s because it’s Friday. Sunday’s comin’! It’s Friday. Pro-abortion groups receive blood money from billionaires who are as deceived as they are. But that’s because it’s Friday. Sunday’s comin’!

It’s Friday. Liars attempt to speak for all women and hide the pain of abortion, and ignore the evidence of how it harms women, and call abortion a blessing. But that’s because it’s Friday. Sunday’s comin’! It’s Friday. People of hardened hearts guard the clinics and usher desperate women in to have their abortions while keeping them from the pro-life people who want to give them hope. But that’s because it’s Friday. Sunday’s comin’!

Hope does not mean that we ignore or minimize the evils around us. It means, rather, that we see the whole picture, which is that evil is conquered because of what happened one Sunday morning. The power of sin and death has been broken by the Resurrection of Christ. We are called to proclaim, celebrate, and serve that victory, waiting in joyful hope for Christ’s return and the full flowering of the Culture of Life! Indeed, Sunday’s comin’!

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PRAYER
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Lord, fill your people with new hope. Make us vessels of hope to all around us, especially to those who minister in the pro-life movement, that as we engage in the difficult work ahead, we may experience the peace and joy that come only from you and that nobody can take away from us. We ask this through Christ our Lord, 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/fall2009day38print.pdf

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A final note…

As we near the finish line of this 40 Days for Life, I am in Jacksonville, Florida, and in a few hours will be driving down to visit the 40 Days for Life site in Ocala.

There are a gazillion people here in town for the Florida-Georgia football game Saturday, and it just hit me that last year I was also in Florida right before that big showdown — and had the opportunity to sit down with Pam and Bob Tebow, parents of Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Tim Tebow.

Tim’s mom shared with me how doctors had advised her to abort Tim when she was pregnant with him … And why she refused.

That day last fall, Pam and Bob recorded a short audio clip to share their story and to encourage YOU to persevere in your 40 Days for Life efforts.

I think you’ll be blessed by this seven-minute audio…

David & Margaret Bereit with Pam & Bob Tebow

Listen to the Audio Online (click “Play” button to start audio):

As the top ranked college team takes the field on Saturday, led by quarterback Tim Tebow, keep his powerful story in mind!

Yours for Life,

David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life

Here’s where you can see the latest short video report from the front lines of the 40 Days for Life in Charlotte, North Carolina.

During the brief video, you’ll hear from Protestants, Catholics, a maternity home director, and will get to meet Andrea — a wonderful post-abortive woman who, two years ago, helped us recognize that 40 Days for Life was supposed to be a national effort.

You will really be inspired by this one:

Now for the BIG NEWS!

In the last few hours, 40 Days for Life reached a major milestone, and I had to share it with you!

Through the grace and mercy of God — and the faithful prayers and fasting of well over 200,000 people standing vigil outside abortion facilities — an incredible miracle has taken place.

Starting with the first-ever 40 Days for Life campaign in Bryan/College Station, Texas in 2004, and continuing through the international 40 Days for Life effort that is under way this fall, we now have received cumulative reports of …

… OVER 2,000 BABIES whose lives have been saved from the tragedy of abortion!

Who knows what wonders each of these children will bring to the world!

Two thousand children would be enough to fill at least 80 classrooms. Two thousand children would be enough to make up 180 teams of little soccer players — and just as importantly, 180 teams of soccer moms — women who will enjoy watching their children run and jump and shout, blessings they would have never known if they had fallen for the lies that are so often disguised by the rhetoric of “choice.”

Here’s the story of just one of those 2,000 lives.

It was a stormy day at the 40 Days for Life vigil in Bakersfield, California. Yet people ignored the wind and rain as they stood and prayed outside the abortion center.

A young woman from outside the Bakersfield area soon arrived at the clinic for an abortion appointment. She was already stressed out; the drive across the mountains and through the storm left her in no mood to listen to the Christians on the sidewalk.

She looked at the group, shouted profanities, and told the vigil participants to leave her alone. One of the people on the sidewalk told her that if she thought the sky was dark, it was nothing compared to the darkness abortion could bring into her life.

She ignored the words and walked in.

But the “simple procedure” she had come for turned out not to be so simple — and she might not be able to have the abortion that day. She had come for the abortion pill, but the staff said she lived too far away to return to the clinic if any complications developed.

When she learned that, she became even angrier at the people praying out on the sidewalk — she even went back out to yell at them several times. Finally, after she realized there would be no abortion, she gave up and left the clinic.

But on her way out, the prayer supporters on the sidewalk offered to pray with her. As they did, the sun suddenly broke through the clouds and the sky instantly became bright.

It was like a new day.

The vigil participants explained the situation to Terri, one of the counselors, who helped arrange an appointment for an ultrasound at the pro-life pregnancy help center.

Terri could tell that the ultrasound had a significant impact on the young woman. “I knew that it was a good sign when I heard her talking to her baby,” she said.

After the ultrasound, Terri and the woman hurried back to the vigil site. Bursting with joy, the woman showed the prayer supporters the ultrasound picture of the baby she had intended to abort, exclaiming “your Jesus heard your prayers!”

Here are some of the 40 Days for Life prayer volunteers in Bakersfield — along with the young woman holding the ultrasound image of her baby:

Here’s today’s devotional from Carmen Pate, co-host of the “Point of View” radio talk show…

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DAY 37 INTENTION
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Pray that we will each submit ourselves this day as a living sacrifice to God, giving all that we have in us for those being sacrificed on the altar of convenience.

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SCRIPTURE
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I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

– Romans 12:1

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REFLECTION by Carmen Pate
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Since all things are for His glory, we are to offer ourselves for that purpose. This of course is in sharp contrast to those who are being swayed by the enemy to sacrifice their babies on the altar of convenience, rather than choosing to surrender their all, including their unborn child, to the Lord for His purposes.

A career, education goals, or even a boyfriend can unknowingly become an idol for some young women. In their minds, abortion is a convenient way to “rid themselves” of an obstacle in the way of their “worship.”

In light of the sacrifice Christ made on our behalf, and the fruit of God’s mercies on our lives, we owe God our highest form of praise and worship. Presenting our bodies as living sacrifices is therefore reasonable service.

We were made to worship God and God alone. The enemy who seeks worship for himself distorts God’s truth regarding worship, sacrifice, idols, and children.

As you have given of yourself to rescue those who are perishing — the young woman and her child — you are worshiping God in the truest sense of the word.

May your example lead an abortion minded client to turn from her idols to worship the one true God, sparing her child from the altar of convenience, and sparing herself from a lifetime of regret.

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PRAYER
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God Almighty, You alone are worthy of our praise and worship. Having accepted Your Son’s sacrifice on my behalf, I in turn present my body to you as a living sacrifice. Thank you for deeming me holy and acceptable because of Christ’s shed blood for me.

I pray that you would use me as your vessel to rescue others who are perishing. Through Christ who is Our Glory, 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/fall2009day37print.pdf

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For Life,

David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life

*** SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ***

Don’t forget that Shawn Carney, our 40 Days for Life campaign director, is on international TV tonight at 6:30 PM Eastern on the EWTN network.

This episode of the Being Human series is called “What Is It?” The program dives into what many people in our nation attempt to avoid — the reality of abortion. This powerful, moving and challenging episode captures the viewer’s mind through reason and inspires the viewer’s heart through honesty.

EWTN is available on many cable and satellite TV services. The program may also be seen online at http://www.ewtn.com. At the time when the show starts, click on “television,” then on “watch live.”

A few days ago, I mentioned that Shawn Carney, our 40 Days for Life campaign director, was headed to New York City. Shawn made a short video account of his visit to the 40 Days for Life campaign in the city labeled “the abortion capital of America.”

If you only watch one video during this 40 Days for Life, it HAS to be this amazing clip.

During the brief video — which was filmed right on the street in Queens — you will:

• Hear from a volunteer who puts in 6-10 hours EVERY DAY outside of two of the largest abortion centers in the United States
• See hundreds of passers-by receiving a pro-life education on the street
• Discover the challenges of holding a campaign in a crime and drug infested area — on the spot where a murder took place right before 40 Days for Life
• Meet a sidewalk counselor who shares how they are saving lives in the midst of the hustle and bustle
• Learn JUST HOW MANY lives have been saved in the Big Apple due to 40 Days for Life campaigns over the last two years — prepare to be amazed in the last 20 seconds of the video!

The video is loud. Everything’s in motion. It’s got attitude. But hey — it’s New York City!

Watch this video now. You’ll be glad you did!

By the way, Shawn is going to be on international TV tomorrow night! The third installment of the Being Human series makes its broadcast debut at 6:30 PM Eastern time on the EWTN network (5:30 Central, 4:30 Mountain, 3:30 Pacific). This episode interviews a physician, former abortion providers, and philosophy professor Peter Kreeft. They answer the question of when life begins and what personhood means.

EWTN is available on many cable and satellite TV services. The program may also be seen online at http://www.ewtn.com where you can click on “television,” then on “watch live.”

Chris Slattery, who is featured in Shawn’s video clip above, not only coordinates the 40 Days for Life campaigns in Queens and The Bronx; he also directs Expectant Mother Care Frontline Pregnancy Centers.

This organization offers internships for young people to learn first-hand about various aspects of pro-life ministry.

The interns’ blog tells a story of life on the sidewalk at Dr. Emily’s Women’s Health Center, the 40 Days for Life vigil location in The Bronx.

It was 11:30 in the morning, and the interns were going to a pro-life conference. As they were leaving, they watched two young women leave the clinic. Once they reached the sidewalk, one of the 40 Days for Life volunteers handed one of them a brochure.

One intern saw this, walked up beside them, and started asking questions. “Have you had an abortion? How far along are you? Have you been allowed to see a sonogram?”

She learned that the women had only been inside the clinic for a short time — it was already too late in the day to schedule an abortion. The two were sisters, she learned. The older sister was there for the abortion, the younger one for support.

The intern saw an opportunity.

“I offered her a free sonogram appointment and began to tell her about fetal development. She was so surprised to find out that her baby’s heart started to beat at 17 to 21 days,” the intern said. “She thought that wouldn’t happen until the sixth month. I asked her what she knew about the abortion procedure, what had they told her in the clinic? She knew nothing, so I started to explain.”

The woman who had tried to schedule the abortion said she wasn’t feeling very well, so the intern offered to treat her and her sister to lunch.

As they walked to the burger shop, the intern and the younger sister had to steady the older sister.

About that time, some clinic escorts walked towards them — and then walked right past. “They saw a girl in obvious distress who had just come out of the clinic,” said the intern. “They just didn’t seem to care!”

The pro-life people on the sidewalk tell the women going into the clinic that they are there to help them. “Of course, the ‘clinic escorts’ scoff at the idea,” the intern said, “but when it counts, the proof is in the pudding.”

They sat in that restaurant talking for a long time — “almost two hours,” said the intern. “She started to feel better. In the end, she decided not to abort her baby!”

By the time lunch was over, this young woman knew that even if she faced hardships or had to make sacrifices, it would all be worth it for the life of her child.

God bless pro-lifers in the Big Apple — and all around the world!

Here’s today’s devotional from Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life…

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DAY 36 INTENTION
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We are the defenders of true freedom. May our witness unveil the deception of the “pro-choice” slogan.

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SCRIPTURE
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Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

–2 Corinthians 3:17

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REFLECTION by Fr. Frank Pavone
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Norma McCorvey (the former Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade) used to work at an abortion mill named “A Choice for Women.” She now realizes what a cruel irony that title was.

She saw first hand, just as pregnancy resource center counselors see, that women don’t get abortions because of freedom of choice, but rather because they feel they have no freedom and no choice.

They feel trapped, abandoned, desperate and afraid, and have been led to believe that abortion is their only option.

As Frederica Mathewes-Green has written, no want wants an abortion like she wants a Porsche or an ice cream; rather, she wants it like an animal caught in a trap wants to gnaw off its own leg.

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” That doesn’t mean that the Spirit allows us to do whatever we want or to decide for ourselves what’s right and wrong.

Rather, it means that the Spirit gives us the freedom to do what is right, the power to choose what is good, when we see it before us and yet feel pulled in the opposite direction. Liberty means that we no longer have to feel doomed to do what we know is wrong.

We are the people of the Spirit of the Lord, and when we take action on behalf of life, especially by being present at abortion mills, we are acting on behalf of true freedom, and imparting to those who are in bondage the power to do what is right.

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PRAYER
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Come, Holy Spirit. You are the Spirit of freedom, the source of all that is good, the power to do what is right. Fill us, and fill those who are in bondage today, feeling doomed to do what is wrong. Set them free, and help us to hasten them on the road to freedom, where your grace overcomes every temptation. We ask this through Christ our Lord, 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/fall2009day36print.pdf

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For Life,

David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life

Here’s the latest video, a touching three-minute report from the frontlines in Toledo, Ohio:

As we enter the final days of this 40 Days for Life campaign, please keep in mind that God does not always grant the blessing of seeing immediate results from our efforts.

Such is the case in one 40 Days for Life community where the campaign has been conducted several times. Participants knew that because of their peaceful, prayerful witness outside the abortion clinic, lives had been saved from abortion. But what was really going on inside that building?

One person found out in a most surprising way. This person was not scheduled to pray at this particular day and time, but stopped by the vigil following a meeting. The clinic manager stepped outside to clean windows, so the vigil participant saw an opportunity. “I spoke kindly and introduced myself.”

About half an hour later, the manager came out and asked to talk — “and invited me into the clinic!”

To say the least, what followed was an interesting conversation.

The manager wanted to explain and justify what goes on at the clinic, but it seemed like this clinic staffer was offering excuses for being involved in the abortion business. Furthermore, the manager professed to be a Christian who was certain “in my heart” that this was God’s calling, and that what goes on in the clinic is not wrong.

“I asked if the manager’s heart had ever been wrong,” said the vigil participant, “and did my best to lovingly communicate my disagreement and the reasons I am passionate about defending both the unborn and their mothers. I said that Jesus cared for children, and that it does not matter what anyone thinks about when a fetus is a person or whether abortion is wrong. What matters is what God thinks; what Jesus thinks.”

If not for 40 Days for Life, this vigil participant would have been somewhere else, would not have spoken to the clinic manager — and would certainly not have been invited inside for this discussion that planted many seeds.

Is the clinic manager reconsidering the abortion business? We pray! Or as the vigil participant said, “Please pray that God would use my small efforts and words to accomplish big things!”

And sometimes it does take time.

Again with today’s reports, I’m not mentioning locations because these are “works in progress,” and I don’t want publicity to unsettle any hearts that may be in the process of changing — or give the abortion industry a reason to threaten or pressure workers who are considering quitting. Just pray!

At another 40 Days for Life vigil, the prayer team has been praying specifically for a security guard — ever since the first coordinated 40 Days for Life campaign in 2007.

Last week, the security guard and a clinic escort approached the local coordinator with a request — to pray that another pro-lifer, who was not associated with 40 Days for Life, would leave. This particular individual was described as “harsh.”

“Well, you pray for everything else,” said the security guard, “so I thought maybe…”

The coordinator said praying for the person to leave was out of the question, “but I could ask him to reconsider the tone of his message, and we could pray that he would say what God gave him to say. They were actually happy with that response, and thanked me.”

While the local coordinator took all this with a grain of salt, they have been praying for this security guard for more than two years now. “It comes as a sign to me,” the coordinator said, “and I am overjoyed! A beginning is a beginning. Blessed be God!”

Here’s today’s devotional from Carmen Pate, co-host of the “Point of View” radio talk show…

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DAY 35 INTENTION
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Pray for post-abortive women who cannot forgive themselves; may they understand that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

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SCRIPTURE
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Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sin is covered. Blessed is the one to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.

– Romans 4:7-8

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REFLECTION by Carmen Pate
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In the passage above, the Apostle Paul making a point about justification by faith, refers back to David’s words in Psalm 32:1-2. In spite of the enormity of David’s sin — adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband — and the utter absence of any personal merit, David in his brokenness, understood the imputed righteousness of God. David’s response was not continued guilt over his sins, but praise for his freedom from guilt, and God’s power to live life differently.

Once your relationship with God has been restored, your guilt has served its purpose and should no longer be given place in your life. This is true regardless of the sin, including the sin of abortion. As a post-abortive woman, I too struggled with this issue until I realized that punishing and hating myself after receiving God’s forgiveness was an insult to God.

It was as though I were minimizing Christ’s work on the cross as insufficient to cover my sin. I was denying Him the opportunity to bring glory to His name for the healing and restoration He wanted to do in my life. I was giving victory to the enemy who having lost the battle for my soul, was bent on destroying my testimony as I accepted the continual guilt he heaped on my mind.

It is my joy to continually sing of God’s grace rather than give the devil a foothold in my life. Don’t waste God’s mercy! Accept His forgiveness and forgive yourself as testimony of His amazing grace.

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PRAYER
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Our Most Gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for your amazing grace that saved a wretch like me. I come against the enemy of my soul who would have me feel cast down and dejected.

Lord, keep your children from falling prey to the accusations of the father of lies. Turn our mourning into dancing and may we bring praise to you as we give testimony of Your healing and restoration in our lives. For by His grace we are saved, 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/fall2009day35print.pdf

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For Life,

David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life

The words a sidewalk counselor spoke to a woman entering the abortion center in Dallas, Texas summed things up so accurately. “I know the baby is not the problem,” the counselor said, “but it’s the situation you are in.”

The woman took information from the counselor but continued into the clinic — while 40 Days for Life vigil participants prayed for her and her child.

An hour later, the woman came out of the clinic in tears. She was married, she said, but thinking about abortion — though she doesn’t know why it got to that point. But when she saw people praying, she knew abortion was not the answer, and that indeed, it was her situation that was the problem, not the baby.

There are two other stories from Dallas with a similar theme — and the same outcome.

A woman entered the clinic — and left 30 minutes later, telling people on the sidewalk she was scared, and that the conditions in the clinic were troublesome. She was invited to go instead to the very clean clinic across the street — the pro-life pregnancy resource center. She found that help was indeed available, and chose life for her child.

A short time later, a couple walked into the clinic but left about 40 minutes later. The woman held her head down and appeared quite troubled. She, too, told the people at the vigil she was scared. But as she kept watching the people praying on the sidewalk, she found the courage to reject abortion as a “solution” to her problems.

Here are some of the 40 Days for Life vigil participants in Dallas:

Choosing life — a blessing that God has provided …

… 411 times during this fall’s 40 Days for Life campaign thus far!

Here’s the story behind another of those blessings:

A mom in Atlanta, Georgia went to pray at the 40 Days for Life vigil with her 7- and 10-year-old daughters. At the time, they were the only ones at the clinic. But after Paige explained to her girls why they were there, they all began to pray and sing.

When a woman got out of her car and walked towards the clinic, on of the girls said, “Let’s sing ‘Jesus Loves Me.’”

“They sounded so sweet,” Paige said. “I know the lady could hear them.”

A bit later, a man pulled up and got out of his car to talk. “He was very noticeably angry,” said Paige, and he wound up making a threatening remark before driving off.

“I told the girls what Jesus said, ‘Blessed are you when they persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you, because of me.’ But it was hard staying there.”

It’s a good thing they stayed! The woman that the girls had sung for earlier in the hour walked out of the clinic and towards the parking lot — all the time, looking at a sign with the number of a pro-life pregnancy counseling hotline. She picked up her cell phone and made a call.

As she pulled out of the parking lot, the woman made a point of looking right at them, giving thumbs-up and shaking her head in an emphatic “yes.” She was smiling at them, though it looked like she had been crying.

“The girls were thrilled,” said Paige. “We really have no idea of the good that may come of people standing outside of clinics.”

Here’s today’s devotional from Rev. Paul Stallsworth, President of Lifewatch (United Methodist Church)…

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DAY 34 INTENTION
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May we come to know that divine life, in relationship, creates human life.

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SCRIPTURE
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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

–John 1:1-3

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REFLECTION by Rev. Paul Stallsworth
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“In the beginning” was God. Always, before all times, there was God. This particular God — the God of the Bible, the God of St. John’s Gospel — is different from all other gods. This God is alive and full of life. This God is not the picture of deadness and death, aloneness and isolation. This God is the picture of life, relationship, and unity.

For within this God, within this one God, there are three divine persons who live, who love, and who work — together. This is the glorious mystery of the Trinity. The Trinity means divine life. The Trinity means three, living Persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — who relate to each other. The Trinity means mutual love and service among three Persons.

The Word was always with God the Father. This Word was, is, and will be the Trinity’s second person. The Word is also the Son of God or, as revealed in time, Jesus Christ. God the Father and God the Son live, love, and work for each other. As one, they create “all things” together: the Father creates all things, including all human life, through the Son.

So the Father, through the Son, creates all human lives. The little one swimming in his mother’s womb, the infant smiling in his father’s arms, the child crying in pain in a hospital bed, the energetic teen running another mile, the old man gasping for his last breath — all were created, at their beginning, by the Father through the Son. No exceptions. Divine life creates human life.

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PRAYER
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O God, may we always be quick to call you Father. And when we call you father, let your Spirit remind us that we, and all people, from their beginning to their last day, are your children. We praise you, Father, that you sent your Son to reveal to the world that all people are His brothers and sisters, that all people are your children. Through Jesus Christ we pray, 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/fall2009day34print.pdf

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For Life,

David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life

P.S.- Stay tuned for a few more videos over the next few days. The computer I’ve had with me on the road has been crashing while trying to edit videos, but later today I’ll have access to another computer that should be able to handle the job.

I’m in Galesburg, Illinois this morning. Over the last 48 hours, I’ve been to 40 Days for Life vigils in Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as Glen Ellyn, Downers Grove, and Chicago, Illinois. Later today I’ll be driving over to the Peoria campaign.

Everywhere I go, I continue to be encouraged by the stories of change brought about through 40 Days for Life — not just changes for women and their babies, or clinic workers and abortion supporters, but deep, lasting, spiritual changes in the hearts of those who answer the call to pray, fast, and stand vigil for an end to abortion.

Such is the case with a man my family and I had the privilege of meeting during our New England 40 Days for Life visits just over a week ago. His name is Tom Dwyer of Hartford, Connecticut — one of more than 250,000 people who’ve prayed with 40 Days for Life.

Tom first heard about 40 Days for Life in the fall of 2007, when the first coordinated national campaign was just about to begin. “I felt that I could participate in the prayer and fasting,” he said, “but I did not feel the need to go to the abortion clinic.”

Tom went through most of the 40 days and faithfully prayed and fasted, but had the feeling that he wasn’t really doing all he should. “I asked my wife, Joyce, if she was willing to go to the abortion clinic,” he said. “She agreed to go.”

He e-mailed the coordinator in Norwich — it’s an hour from his home in Hartford, but it was the closest location — saying that he and his wife wanted to pray on a specific day from 10 to noon. “I received an e-mail back stating that ‘God must have sent you to us.’ They had no coverage for the hours that we selected.”

So Tom and Joyce drove to Norwich. “Since this was my first time at an abortion clinic I was a little apprehensive,” Tom admitted, “but after I saw a car go by and give a thumbs-up, I felt better.”

Joyce had to leave the vigil for a few minutes, leaving Tom as the only person praying.

“I experienced a feeling unlike any I had ever experienced before,” he said. “I had never been to an abortion clinic and now I was the only person there witnessing for the unborn babies. I felt a great deal of responsibility and at the same time a great surge of strength that made me want to publicly state my opposition to abortion. At that one point in time and at that location, I was the sole representative publicly proclaiming that abortion is wrong. I knew from that point on, that witnessing at abortion clinics was something I needed to do.”

Here’s a picture of Tom taken by my 7-year-old son Patrick:

In 2008, Tom took part in a new 40 Days for Life campaign in Hartford. And he didn’t stop there. “Joyce and I now spend two days a week, year round, at the abortion clinic in Hartford,” he said.

“When I retired in 2007, I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to spend time working on my golf game,” Tom said. “I had planned to spend a few days a week practicing and lowering my golf handicap significantly. But 40 Days for Life made me go in a different direction.” Tom now spends most of his free time on pro-life activities.

“40 Days for Life has changed my life,” he said, “and I am so grateful.”

Here’s my wife and children with Tom and other members of the Hartford 40 Days for Life team:

There are many more stories just like Tom’s — people who have come to profoundly understand the importance of humbly, peacefully, prayerfully standing witness.

Have you gone out to pray at a vigil yet?

There’s still one week left in this fall’s 40 Days for Life campaign. Like Tom, you can join a vigil even in the final days.

There are 212 cities participating. To find the location nearest to you, visit:

http://40daysforlife.com/location.cfm

Here’s today’s devotional from Fr. Terry Gensemer, National Director of the Charismatic Episcopal Church for Life…

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DAY 33 INTENTION
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May we absorb the truth that God is paying attention to us, and to each human life, personally and individually.

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SCRIPTURE
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When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.

– Psalm 8:3-9

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REFLECTION by Fr. Terry Gensemer
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How often we ignore the phrase, “stop and smell the roses” and instead submit to the all too “urgent” task at hand. Is this tendency what keeps us, at least in part, from acknowledging that God’s care for His sacred creation is paramount in His own mind?

The Psalmist speaks of God’s handiwork: the heavens, the work of his “fingers,” and then points to God’s masterpiece – human life. He declares to us that God is mindful of us. God keeps His masterpiece in His thoughts.

God, the creator of the awe-inspiring heavens, is not distracted by the tasks before Him. He is not pulled away, as we might be, by thoughts of something “more important.”

God is paying attention to and attending to His crowning glory, His masterpiece of creation, which cannot be duplicated or replaced, which surpasses the beauty of all other created things — the human being.

There is no way to adequately describe how God feels about us as human beings. There are no words to fully portray His love, compassion or desire to be in communion with us.

Perhaps, the closest we can come, is to contemplate the thoughts of a mother as she gazes for the first time at her newborn child. God cares for Life.

We, as His followers, should take time to consider the life He has created and called upon us to love and protect.

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PRAYER
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Lord, you are the creator of all things. Guide my thoughts to consider your creation in all of its majesty, beauty and holiness. Guide my heart especially to your creation of precious human life.

Help me to comprehend how essential life is in your own heart. Teach me to appreciate, love and protect all human life through your son, Jesus Christ our Lord, 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/fall2009day33print.pdf

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Have a blessed Lord’s Day!

For Life,

David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life

Throughout this 40 Days for Life campaign, God has blessed us with more than 400 stories of babies spared from abortion — and mothers spared from abortion’s aftermath.

We also know, of course, that too many women unfortunately continue to make a very poor “choice” when it comes to the lives of their unborn children.

We stand and pray for them as well.

One of those women had an abortion at a Planned Parenthood center. The very next day, a friend was at the clinic, and spoke to the people praying at the 40 Days for Life vigil.

The woman who had the abortion, the friend said, “was now depressed and not like her usual self at all.”

Another woman arrived at the 40 Days for Life vigil in Manchester, New Hampshire last week. Vigil participants watched as she walked up with flowers and laid them against the clinic fence. She had been there just weeks before — for an abortion.

“People praying on the sidewalk spoke to her and offered her words of hope,” said Julie in Manchester. “It appears that this woman feels very badly about the abortion she had. Please pray for her, and know that your prayers may have led to her change of heart.”

From coast to coast, people with abortion experiences are joining the 40 Days for Life campaign in an effort to let women know that abortion leaves a lasting imprint — and to let those who have had abortions know that Christ forgives and Christ heals.

Here’s a photo from the 40 Days for Life campaign in Miami that illustrates this outreach:

Abortion is often portrayed as a “women’s issue.” But of course, every abortion impacts both a mother AND a father.

Six men were praying outside the abortion center in San Antonio, Texas one night at 10:30. At that hour, of course, the clinic was closed. But a car pulled into the parking lot, and a young couple got out and wanted to talk.

The man told the 40 Days for Life vigil participants that before he became a Christian, he had taken a former girlfriend there for an abortion. He is now painfully aware that abortion is a sin.

“The man asked us to pray for him,” said one of the vigil participants. So they did, “asking that God would grant him peace and forgiveness.” The couple then drove into the night.

Thankfully, he is on the road to healing. Others still need to find the way.

That is one of the reasons that Operation Outcry, a post-abortion healing outreach, is calling on its friends to join 40 Days for Life vigils all across America today.

Theirs is a story that must be told — and must be heard by those who are contemplating the life-changing decision to abort.

We know what happens when no one is there to share the truth.

A car pulled up next to the 40 Days for Life vigil in Houston, Texas recently, and the woman inside motioned for vigil participants to come over. One person walked over, and quickly saw that the woman in the car was crying.

When she was 27 years old, she had an abortion at this same Planned Parenthood facility — a decision she regrets tremendously.

If someone — anyone — had been there praying, she said, she would not have gone through with the abortion. But no one was there.

Your presence in prayer at a 40 Days for Life vigil really does make a difference!

Here’s today’s devotional from Carmen Pate, co-host of the “Point of View” Talk Show…

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DAY 32 INTENTION
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Pray that we display an attitude of humility as we stand in peaceful vigil, as we fast, as we knock on doors in our communities. Though we proudly proclaim Christ’s truth, may our boasting be only in His grace.

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SCRIPTURE
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These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.

– Proverbs 6:16-19

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REFLECTION by Carmen Pate, “Point of View” Talk Show
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The Lord who made us knows us well. I can’t help but think that perhaps as He inspired these words, He knew that our tendency might be to make the judgment call on which sins should be labeled as detestable.

He wants us to be absolutely clear, however, that the sinfulness of man encompasses much more than the external sins that we easily identify.

Lest we assign a particular sin as that of an abortionist, or a worker in an abortion facility, or an abortion activist, the Holy Spirit insured that our sin of pride would be listed first.

In this passage that speaks of eyes, tongue, hands, heart, and feet we realize than every part of our being is subject to the curse of sin.

We all need Jesus Christ who saved us from the penalty of sin, saves us from the practice of sin as we abide in Him, and will one day remove us from the presence of sin. Praise His Holy name!

Proper self-esteem in a follower of Christ is a matter of recognizing and confronting yourself in your humanity, including the tendency to sin. It is also a matter of embracing Jesus’ work on the cross — His grace that covers a multitude of sins.

The Apostle Paul sums it up best in 2 Corinthians 10:17-18: “But he who glories let him glory in the Lord. For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.”

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PRAYER
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Dear Father, guard my heart. Prick my conscience and may I be receptive to your rebuke at any moment I drift towards pride. May I remember in fear and trembling that You cause the proud to fall, but the humble You raise up.

Lord, may I never forget my true identity is in Christ and that apart from Him I am nothing. By His grace, I pray, 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/fall2009day32print.pdf

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For Life,

David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life

Here’s today’s AMAZING video report, this time from Jacksonville, Florida:

If you have trouble watching the video here, watch it on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK2dxclzVtc

In this three-minute clip, you’ll see pastor Ed Martin, local 40 Days for Life campaign coordinator, leading a Jericho March — marching seven times back and forth between two abortion facilities — during which a woman changed her mind and chose life!

Hope you enjoy it!

Well, it’s Friday, and 40 Days for Life campaign director Shawn Carney is on the road headed to New York City — a location described as “the abortion capital of America.”

That phrase is the title of a New York Magazine article. It was published a few years ago, but the story still paints an accurate picture of the uphill battle pro-lifers face in the nation’s largest city.

More than 100,000 abortions are performed in New York City every year. There are almost three dozen abortion facilities there.

To quote from the magazine article:

In absolute terms, there are more abortions performed on minors, more repeat abortions, and more late abortions (over 21 weeks) in New York City than anywhere else in the country. In parts of the city, the ratio of abortions to births is one to one.

Fortunately, people are willing to do something about it. One of those people is Chris Slattery, who runs a group of pregnancy resource centers and a variety of other pro-life outreaches.

Chris is also helping lead 40 Days for Life campaigns in two of New York’s boroughs, Queens (where there are two abortion clinics side by side) and The Bronx.

The New York City team just posted a marvelous slide show of 40 Days for Life in action on the sidewalks of America’s abortion capital. Check it out:

In each of the past 40 Days for Life campaigns in New York City, through God’s blessings, dozens of lives have been saved from abortion through these sidewalk efforts.

One New Yorker, who is known for his strong pro-life stand, headed west this week – and he stopped at the 40 Days for Life vigil in Kalispell, Montana. Fr. Benedict Groeschel had traveled to Montana for speaking engagements.

Karen in Kalispell said Fr. Groeschel’s detour to the vigil there was “unexpected and much appreciated.” Fr. Groeschel is a Franciscan friar who is familiar in Catholic circles through his regular appearances on the EWTN network.

Here’s Fr. Groeschel (second from left) with 40 Days for Life vigil participants in Kalispell:

While the abortion toll in New York City almost defies belief, Fr. Groeschel’s trip to the clinic in Kalispell underscores the fact that abortion would still be a tragedy even if it only claimed one life.

Abortion also remains a deadly reality in Ithaca, New York (roughly a four-hour drive from New York City). The very thought that abortions were being performed in their community brought a small group of Cornell University students out to pray at the 40 Days for Life vigil recently.

A staff physician saw them – and didn’t like it. So she went out to complain to the students that they were “harassing” her customers. “Of course,” said Mary Anne in Ithaca, “they were very peaceful and were doing no such thing.”

The woman came out a second time to complain – and then a third. The last time, she told the students she would call the police if they didn’t leave.

“The students did better and went to the police themselves,” Mary Anne said. “The police said as long as they were not cursing, threatening or following people, that what they were doing was fine. We will keep this physician in our prayers.”

In cities both large and small, 40 Days for Life is having an impact. The power of prayer is very real!

Here’s today’s devotional from Rev. J. Kirk van der Swaagh, Pastor, Conservative Congregational Christian Conference…

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DAY 31 INTENTION
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For the medical community, that the truth they know about the human body may become awe and wonder at the God who made it.

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SCRIPTURE
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Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.

–Psalm 139:16

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REFLECTION by Rev. J. Kirk van der Swaagh
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Human beings — God’s tapestries.

Psalm 139 is a psalm that reveals the enormity and otherness of God. His divine attributes are on display: omniscience (2-4), omnipresence (7-12), loving-kindness (17-18), justice (19-20), righteousness (23-24), and omnipotence.

Yet, when it came to express this last attribute, what example did the psalmist use — God’s creation of mountains, seas, or far-flung galaxies? No, he used none of these. To express the wonder of God’s unparalleled creative power the writer mentions the fashioning of the human in the womb (14-16).

The Hebrew word used to express God’s forming of us in the womb, raqam, is the same term for needlework or embroidery. In other words, we are a tapestry that displays God’s artistic mastery.

And, like the artist who knows his creation down to the last detail, God intimately knows us. This reality provokes the writer to awe and wonder. He proclaims, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

What is true for this psalmist is true for each human being. Each is fashioned by God and known by him and we can proclaim on behalf of each, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

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PRAYER
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Gracious God, help us to appreciate the wonder and beauty of Your creation. Help us proclaim on behalf of every one of our fellow human beings, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” May the knowledge that we are intimately known by You shape our lives and actions. 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/fall2009day31print.pdf

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For Life,

David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life