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March 20, 2010

Day 32 - March 20

Intention:

May we come to know that divine life, in relationship, creates human life.

Scripture:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

--John 1:1-3

Reflection:

"In the beginning" was God. Always, before all times, there was God. This particular God -- the God of the Bible, the God of St. John's Gospel -- is different from all other gods. This God is alive and full of life. This God is not the picture of deadness and death, aloneness and isolation. This God is the picture of life, relationship, and unity. For within this God, within this one God, there are three divine persons who live, who love, and who work -- together. This is the glorious mystery of the Trinity. The Trinity means divine life. The Trinity means three, living Persons -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- who relate to each other. The Trinity means mutual love and service among three Persons.

The Word was always with God the Father. This Word was, is, and will be the Trinity's second person. The Word is also the Son of God or, as revealed in time, Jesus Christ. God the Father and God the Son live, love, and work for each other. As one, they create "all things" together: the Father creates all things, including all human life, through the Son.

So the Father, through the Son, creates all human lives. The little one swimming in his mother's womb, the infant smiling in his father's arms, the child crying in pain in a hospital bed, the energetic teen running another mile, the old man gasping for his last breath -- all were created, at their beginning, by the Father through the Son. No exceptions. Divine life creates human life.

Prayer:

O God, may we always be quick to call you Father. And when we call you father, let your Spirit remind us that we, and all people, from their beginning to their last day, are your children. We praise you, Father, that you sent your Son to reveal to the world that all people are His brothers and sisters, that all people are your children. Through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

Rev. Paul Stallsworth
President, Lifewatch (United Methodist Church)

Info about new Planned Parenthood Clinics. Pray to shut them down before they even open up!

Planned Parenthood often receives special focus during
a 40 Days for Life campaign.

It is the largest abortion chain in the United States,
and, according to its most recent annual report, it
performed 305,310 abortions during a 12-month period.

During this 40 Days for Life campaign alone, vigils are
being conducted at 76 Planned Parenthood locations.

Two of those sites are in Houston, Texas. One is an
office building that’s being refurbished into one of
the largest abortion centers in the Western Hemisphere.

No abortions have been performed there yet — but
already, a baby has been saved.

Fr. Carlos in Houston tells of a 17-year-old who showed
up recently, telling vigil participants she was there
for an abortion. “She didn’t realize the clinic was not
open ‘for business’ yet,” he said.

Her boyfriend was pressuring her into an abortion.

“She was going to go through with it,” Fr. Carlos said,
“because she didn’t know what else to do.”

The Gabriel Project quickly rounded up support for this
young mother and her child.

Members of a local church have already placed a
billboard near the new Planned Parenthood mega-center.
It reads, “Take my hand, not my life.”

Click here to see the billboard:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=784

The second 40 Days for Life location in Houston is a
Planned Parenthood abortion center. It was there that
Mikel Fair, a local video director, said he was
inspired to put together a short feature on the
40 Days for Life campaign.

“It was a rewarding experience,” he said, “and I hope
that this video will encourage other pro-lifers like
myself to take a peaceful stand against abortion
centers throughout the world, in a kind and loving
way through prayer.”

Click here to see Mikel’s video.

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=784

There’s a 40 Days for Life vigil going on at another
reported Planned Parenthood construction site in
Virginia Beach, Virginia. The local newspaper reported
on this campaign’s midpoint rally.

“Planned Parenthood makes teens believe that sex is
recreational,” local volunteer Charles Gorski said.
“They’re basically saying if you get pregnant by
accident, just take care of it by killing your baby.”

Click here to read the full story:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=784

The 40 Days for Life vigil in Canton, Ohio is at a
Planned Parenthood center that does not perform
surgical abortions. And that raises many questions.

A young woman, who was waiting outside the building,
asked the prayer volunteers, “How much do you guys
get paid to stand out here?”

“We do not get paid,” the vigil participant answered.
“We stand out here in the cold and snow to saves the
lives of unborn babies.”

The woman responded, “They don’t do that here, do they?”

“This Planned Parenthood refers, suggests and counsels
women to abort their baby,” the volunteer explained,
“and a portion of every dollar spent for services in
this facility helps to kill the unborn.”

“She was shocked and disgusted,” said Linda in Canton.
“She thanked us and went back to the building to wait.
A seed was planted.”

Click here to see a picture of the vigil in Canton:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=784