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DAY 6 INTENTION
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Pray that those tempted to abort may understand that their child is already present, and already a real person.
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SCRIPTURE
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And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy."
-- Luke 1:41-44
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REFLECTION by Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
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Jesus not only loves unborn children -- He was one himself!
Think about this for a moment.
We often hear people speak of a pregnant mother by saying, "She's expecting a child."
Now if one is expecting a package, the package is not yet there.
As reflected in our verse for today, however, this is not the case with the mother.
Her gift is already there.
The pregnant woman, a mother already, does not have a child "on the way," but has a child, already present and in full possession of his or her human rights, starting with the right to life.
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PRAYER
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Jesus, open my eyes to your presence in the life of every child. Open my heart to joy in the birth of every child, a birth that reflects the joy of your own birth in Bethlehem.
As you shared life in the womb of Mary, so now send your protection upon every child still in the womb, and grant to their mothers the strength and joy that comes from welcoming the gift of life. We pray through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Here are just a few of the wonderful stories behind the amazing numbers...
"Seventeen churches were represented today, and many had never done abortion clinic ministry before. We had one saved baby in the first four hours! We had a great rally last night and people are fired up."
-- Mike in Riverside, California
"We know of at least two women who had appointments at Planned Parenthood today who left after speaking to the sidewalk counselors and went to the downtown pregnancy help center! Please remember them in your prayers."
--Christine in Houston, Texas
"At 7:30am, Gloria and her daughter were the only ones praying. Minutes after they arrived, a man was already leaving Planned Parenthood. He asked them why they were there. She said, 'We are pro-life and we don't accept abortion. We are praying to end abortion.' The man burst into tears and said that his wife was inside the clinic. But that he didn't want her to have the abortion. He went inside to talk with his wife. Two hours later, the man came out in tears and said, 'I got her out! Thank you!' By then more volunteers had joined the vigil and were celebrating!
See photo at:
"As Gloria was waving goodbye to the prayer group, she saw volunteers talking to another woman that was leaving the clinic. She stopped at the prayer team and thanked them for their prayers, saying, "I didn't do it! Thank you!"
--Alejandra in Orange County, California
"A newspaper reporter covering our event was asking one of our counselors what she did and if any women ever changed their minds. She replied that she handed out pro-life materials and tried to speak to the women, and yes, women did change their minds. Just then, essentially during the newspaper interview, a woman -- we'll call her Gwen -- came out of the abortion center. Our counselor asked her if she had changed her mind and she said yes! The newspaper reporter then asked if she could interview Gwen, and she agreed."
--Major in Huntsville, Alabama
The most amazing thing about this account is that the reporter for the Huntsville Times, a secular newspaper, wrote the story of this woman rejecting abortion -- and the paper actually printed it!
Read it for yourself at:
"We couldn't have asked for a better start to our 40 Days for Life Campaign," said Major. "The keys to effective baby-saving, as you well know, are prayer, presence and fasting. God is SO GOOD when we make a sincere effort to honor Him with our sacrifices. He honors those efforts in the most gratifying ways. To God be the Glory! Amen."