DAY 33
Last night my family joined the Indianapolis 40 Days for Life campaign at 10:30 PM outside a large Planned Parenthood abortion facility.
The temperature was in the low 40’s and Planned Parenthood turned their water sprinklers on to greet us, spraying the right of way with freezing cold water.
In spite of that, there were 53 people bundled up and praying when we arrived — young and old — and many others arrived during the hour and a half we were there, to pray and sing in Spanish and English.
And earlier yesterday morning, the prayer warriors holding vigil outside that facility reported a child’s life saved from abortion (and a mother who was spared from a life of pain and regret.)
What a deeply moving experience, to see God’s people putting their faith into action!
One week from today 40 Days for Life will end.
At that time, we’ll be able to look back in awe at the many miracles God has accomplished across our land…
…And discern how to keep the momentum growing…
…But there are still SEVEN DAYS to help this campaign finish in a history-shaping fashion!
The most important thing you can do to ensure that 40 Days for Life helps to mark the beginning of the end of abortion in America is join tonight’s “BIG EVENT” tele-rally and web simulcast.
In addition to reports about the miracles experienced in many of the participating cities — and a big announcement I will be making at the end of the event about how YOU can join in the exciting conclusion of this effort — you will have a rare opportunity to get on the telephone with pro-life leaders including:
- JIM SEDLAK, STOPP, American Life League
- DR. ALVEDA KING, Niece of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- FR. FRANK PAVONE, Priests for Life
- CARMEN PATE, “Point of View” radio talk show
- U.S. SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK
- STACY MASSEY, Abortion Recovery Intl. Network
- SHAWN CARNEY, Coalition for Life
We have been flooded with registrations, but we anticipated the strong interest this event would generate, so there is still room for you (if you haven’t registered yet) and your pro-life friends, family members, and fellow believers.
It’s absolutely FREE, so don’t delay — sign up right now at:
http://www.40DaysForLifeBigEvent.com
I promise that it will be one of the most exciting pro-life events you’ve ever participated in!
(And even if you can’t attend the conference call or webcast live for any reason, go ahead and register anyway. We’re recording the entire event and will let you know as soon as the audio is available for you.)
Prepare to be amazed!
Here’s the devotional for today by Fr. Frank Pavone…
INTENTION:
Pray that we will have faith to realize that even now our Lord can bring an end to abortion.
SCRIPTURE:
“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.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.’” — John 11:17-26
REFLECTION:
Imagine going to a wake service for a deceased friend and having someone say to you, “If you had been here sooner, your friend would never have died!” One does not dare say such a thing unless one believes that the person being addressed has the power over life and death.
In this case, of course, 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 nobody expects to see Lazarus again, the blessed expectation of seeing him can arise out of the dust.
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…”
Even after tens of millions of aborted children and wounded mothers and fathers, even after multiple reaffirmations of Roe vs. Wade by the courts, even after decades of slow and frustrating efforts to stop the killing, even now the evil of abortion can be stopped.
PRAYER:
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 mind 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, for you live and reign forever and ever. AMEN.
November 14th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article 3 | 40 Days for Life, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.