Day 23: Halfway Rally Tonight!

Today we are holding our halfway rally at the vigil site, beginning at 6pm this evening. Fr. Kelly our chaplain will lead the prayers, and Bob and Susan will lead the singing. Bring your prayer book and your pro-life signs (including any with the problematic number on them, as described yesterday) and join us for prayer and fellowship!

If anyone has a big extra umbrella, please bring it for Bob! He's going to bring his guitar, but he's not going to play it out in the rain! Finally, please let me know if you have a vigil story to share, and we might be able to incorporate it at the rally tonight! Hope to see you then!

The following is a note from Keith, our outreach coordinator, who relates the following experience from his vigil shift a few days ago:

When we are standing vigil at the Duke Street abortion clinic we expect a range of reactions from passerbys. Many ignore us. A good number wave or give a thumbs up, which makes us feel good. On Tuesday morning, however, we faced a very angry drive-by. As five of us, one a priest from St. Louis, were praying the rosary a young man (early 30s?) drove by in his jeep, honked angrily, gave us a prolonged finger salute and shouted a number of things, including "Get the @(!* out of here." He then sped off.

We were momentarily shocked, or course, but then continued our prayer. At the conclusion we talked about it. One of us apologized to the priest for the behavior, and he acknowledged that it happens. We also discussed how it was good to see the anger. We should confront people with the horror of abortion, we should make them think about it, and we should expect some to react with anger. It's the people who ignore us who concern me. Clearly, that young man has a personal problem that we are bringing to the surface. Perhaps it will end with a change in his heart and mind. We all should pray for those who are similarly angry, and we should never respond with anger. Be ready to talk to them and let them know that we are not judging their actions, but working to bring God's grace to all who are considering the termination of a life.

In our national update for today, national campaign coordinator Shawn Carney references a letter to the editor which he calls "one of the best we've ever seen." In fact, I've read the letter myself, and found it really good. It presents a realistic and hard-hitting response to anti-prolifer violence, such as described above by Keith. You can go to the national blog for Shawn's commentary, or read the letter for yourself here.

VIGIL KEEPERS: Signage Update!

Yesterday we sent an e-mail asking vigil keepers to stop using the "Choose Life" signs that have the phone number 1-800-672-2296. The pro-life organization that sponsored these signs is no longer in existence, and anyone looking for their website is directed to another pregnancy assistance website, with abortion presented in a neutral manner as an option.

This seemed like devastating news; however, the situation is not as serious as originally thought.

After visiting the web site, Mary Ellen, our diligent vigil coordinator, called the phone number on the signs, and was pleased to learn the telephone response is still totally pro-life -- referring women to good pregnancy help centers, including two we know: Alexandria Pregnancy Help Center on Richmond Hwy and the Marih Center on Duke Street.

Thus, if people simply call the phone number, there should be no problem. We will, however, delete that number from future printings of the pregnancy resources page. (You may cross out that number on your flyers.) We also would like to change the number on our signs, substituting the number for the National Pregnancy Hotline (1-800-848-LOVE).

So if you could, kindly return any signs with the number 1-800-672-2296, so we can change it and provide you with a corrected sign.

Signs may be brought to the halfway rally tomorrow, or to the vigil bag or your local church coordinator. We will collect the old signs and replace them with corrected ones as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation!

Vigil Keeper Registration Problem Solved!

A note from Mary Ellen, our friendly vigil coordinator, clears up some of the confusion surrounding vigil online scheduling.

Day 22: A Witness For the Lord

We have some news from Rosalie, a first-time vigil keeper from St. Lawrence the Martyr church, who was praying around lunch time with two other people.

A lady stopped on her way out of the parking lot and waved them over. She told them that she had just spoken with Dr. Ari's daughter in the course of her dermatology appointment (the offices are connected).

Day 21: Come to Our Halfway Rally!

In the spirit of spring poetry, I am sending this update in rhyme. Mark the day and join us!

The call is out, for you to come!

The agenda is set, the work is done.

Come to witness and pray, at 6pm on Thursday!

Together for one hour we'll be -- any questions contact me!

Detailed agenda follows

Day 20: Halfway There!

Here is a representative from our vigil: little Isabel of St. Louis Parish, who attended the vigil with her father!

We are at war, a war that began long before we were born. It did not begin with Roe v. Wade and will not end with its' overturning. This war is primarily spiritual, the battlefield encompassing every living soul. However, sometimes the violence becomes tangible. Though exceedingly rare (40 days for Life vigils cover dozens of hours in hundreds of cities around the world), there have been a few attacks on vigil keepers. As mentioned earlier, one pregnancy resource center was broken into and destroyed. And every year the casualties mount: millions of unborn around the world.

John Paul II writes about this warfare:

We are facing an enormous and dramatic clash between good and evil, death and life, the "culture of death" and the "culture of life". We find ourselves not only "faced with" but necessarily "in the midst of" this conflict: we are all involved and we all share in it, with the inescapable responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally pro-life (Evangelium Vitae, paragraph 28).

Sidewalk counselors and vigil keepers are on the front lines of this warfare. We are victorious in this war, but we must keep in mind our enemies are not abortion workers or those who yell at us but sin, Satan and evil spirits, some of which can only be cast out by fasting as well as prayer.

Our Halfway Rally will be this Thursday, beginning at 6pm at the vigil site (details to follow). Come and join us to pray for life!

Day 19: Vacation in Manassas

Need a break from the Alexandria vigil? We all need a vacation once in a while -- and I suggest taking one if you need it -- by going to the Manassas vigil!

Here's a picture of me with my niece, mom, sister, Shawn Carney (National 40 Days for Life campaign director), Tim Jackson and Mike Baldwin (40 Days for Life Manassas campaign coordinators), and some other friends at the Manassas vigil on Friday!

CBN, the local Christian news station, came to film the 40 Days for Life vigil, and Shawn came along to fire up the troops. Seton and Holy Family Schools sent their youthful prayer teams and there were also local moms with kids, older people and singles. We prayed and held signs, and I was blessed to take a tour of AAA Women for Choice pregnancy center which is right next door to the abortion facility. It was a great time for everyone!

Day 18: Let's Persevere!

We are almost halfway finished with our 40 Days for Life campaign. It is spring but cold, and we may feel tempted to give in to fatigue. Now can be the most difficult time to continue our efforts.

However, we must forge ahead with renewed commitment, and prove our love by fidelity to the task before us. As Christ rejected temptation in the desert, so we must be patient under hardship, persevering in prayer, and faithful in His service.

In Evangelium Vitae, we read of the singular gravity of abortion:

[Those attacks] strike human life at the time of its greatest frailty, when it lacks any means of self-defence. Even more serious ... [they] are carried out in the very heart of and with the complicity of the family -- the family which by its nature is called to be the "sanctuary of life" (para. 11).

Unborn children cannot defend themselves, or even speak. Even their natural reactions are inaudible -- a silent scream. We are the prayer warriors on their behalf. When we keep vigil through the night and the pouring rain, we know our prayers will work for good on behalf of those millions who will never feel the night air, or hold an umbrella in their hand.

Let us pray for God's strength to persevere in the work He has given us to accomplish.

Day 17: Life is a Gift from God

Some may wonder, why does the pro-life movement seem to include only religious people? After all, other human rights issues such as capital punishment and racial discrimination, though often spearheaded by religious groups, also attract large numbers of non-religious people. When life begins is a scientific, not religious, question and people generally seem to value human life. What are we to make of the general apathy, or even hostility, towards the pro-life movement by the secular population?

The answer can only be found in belief in God, since that is the primary difference between the two groups. But how does belief in God change our understanding of the value of human life? As Pope John Paul II writes in The Gospel of Life, our life--indeed all human life--is a gift from God and belongs to God:

For the Jewish people, as for many peoples of antiquity, blood is the source of life. Indeed "the blood is the life" (Dt 12:23), and life, especially human life, belongs only to God: for this reason whoever attacks human life, in some way attacks God himself (para. 9).

Like any other gift, the value is not only in the gift itself, but also as displaying the love of the giver. Imagine a father giving his son a car when he turned 16. Years later, the car, despite being taken care of, is in need of repair. If he tried to sell it, he would be lucky to get anything for it. More likely it would be sold as scrap. For the son, though, the value of the car is derived from more than transportation. It was a precious gift from his father. So, too, our lives are precious in themselves, but even when life is hard and full of suffering, it is still precious because it is a gift from our Father in heaven.

We are exactly 9 months away from Christmas, the due date of Jesus Christ, which makes today the traditional date of conception of Christ, the day that the Holy Spirit entered into Mary when she said "Yes" to God's plan for her. Please pray that all those who are carrying a child within them will similarly say "yes" to God's plan for their lives and choose life.

This past Tuesday a pregnancy care center was robbed and vandalized in Bronx, New York. You can read about it below (and you can donate at the link at the bottom of the story):

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/new-york-city-pregnancy-center-virtually-destroyed

Day 16: Am I My Brother's Keeper?

One of the most common refrains that we hear concerning the abortion debate is "I wouldn't have an abortion myself, but if a woman wants to have one, it should be up to her." This is really just apathy under the guise of tolerance -- an abdication of responsibility to our fellow men. One response could be, "Why wouldn't you have one? Is it because you think it is wrong?" Another could be to ask what the person would have thought about someone before the Civil War who says, "I wouldn't own a slave myself, but if someone wants to have one, it should be up to him"? Clearly, some things are so morally wrong, that we cannot allow others to do them.

In The Gospel of Life, Pope John Paul II discusses the significance of shirking our responsibility to those around us:

"Am I my brother's keeper?" [Gen. 4:9]: Cain does not wish to think about his brother and refuses to accept the responsibility which every person has towards others. We cannot but think of today's tendency for people to refuse to accept responsibility for their brothers and sisters (paragraph 8).

We are our brothers' and sisters' keepers. Let us pray that we may accept responsibility toward our neighbors.

We have two special events in our area tonight and tomorrow. Tonight in DC, National Director Shawn Carney and his wife Marilisa will share the story of how 40 Days for Life began. We have a Facebook event: to RSVP or for more information, click here. Here are the event details:

Thursday, March 24 -- 8:00 PM
Our Lady of Victory Hess Auditorium
4835 MacArthur Blvd. NW, Washington, DC

Tomorrow, Shawn will be attending the Manassas prayer vigil to be filmed by CBN:

Friday, March 25 -- 12:00 PM
Amethyst Health Center For Women, Inc.
9380-B Forestwood Lane, Manassas, VA 20110

I hope you will be able to join me at one or both of these events! Even if you are not able to come, let's continue together in prayer, as we work to build a culture of life one step at a time!