Day 13: A Note From the Vigil Manager!

As we approach our halfway point, I really want to thank you for all your support so far in this campaign! We have succeeded in maintaining a peaceful, prayerful presence at our vigil location for a much better extent than last fall, and this is thanks to your prayers and witness for life! I look forward to a successful wrap up of the first half of our campaign, and even more enthusiasm and support in our second half!

The following is a note from our friendly Vigil Manager, Zachary Foreman:

One of the benefits of participating in 40 Days for Life is the opportunity to meet many interesting people. Another is the chance to persuade others of the value of human life. However good these things are, they are not the core mission of 40 Days for Life. As Vigil Manager, I want to exhort all vigil keepers to take advantage of any opportunity to pray with other vigil keepers. As Our Lord said in Matthew 18:20, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

When only one person is keeping vigil, personal prayer and even handing out flyers is fine, of course. But when there are two or three, I would encourage you to pray together from our Prayer Handbook or in other ways together. Singing is good, too. I must admit I have been guilty of preferring private prayer to joining others, but I realize that, while I can always pray my rosary at home, I have few opportunities to pray with like-minded Christians on the front lines of the battle for life.

Prayer opens avenues of grace, allowing those who wander in the darkness of the Culture of Death to return to the Light of Truth. No one is too far gone to receive God's mercy, and we must always be prepared to be an instrument of grace. As Pope John Paul II wrote in Evangelium Vitae, the possibility of repentance is open to all:

"Even in the midst of difficulties and uncertainties, every person sincerely open to truth and goodness can, by the light of reason and the hidden action of grace, come to recognize in the natural law written in the heart (cf. Rom 2:14-15) the sacred value of human life from its very beginning until its end, and can affirm the right of every human being to have this primary good respected to the highest degree" (para. 2).

Don't forget to mark your calendar for our Halfway Rally, to be held at our Vigil location on the evening of Thursday, March 31 (beginning around 5:30 or 6pm). Our chaplain Fr. Kelly is assisting us to plan this event with local clergy. As Zachary encourages us, this will be a great opportunity for some common prayer, and we also hope to share more details with you about this event soon!