October 25, 2009
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."
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."
To see pictures of Tom and other members of the 40
Days for Life team in Hartford:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=453
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
** OOPS! ** Yesterday the link I sent was incorrect
for the printable day 32 devotional. Sorry about
that! I guess that happens when I write e-mails at
all hours of the night. :-) Here is the correct link
for yesterday's devotional:
http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2009day32print.pdf
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Have a blessed Lord's Day!
For Life,
David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life