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Today’s email from Shawn Carney. I’m sure there will be a couple more updates.

Well, the largest 40 Days for Life campaign ever is
history — for now!

What an amazing 40-day journey we’ve been on, as
247 cities in nine countries prayed, fasted, stood
vigil and conducted outreach to end abortion.

Thanks to YOU for responding to the Holy Spirit this
spring! These efforts have been richly blessed.

I just got home late last night from speaking at the
closing event in Germantown, Maryland. Before that,
I was in Los Angeles, California at a closing rally.

The L.A. rally lasted into the night. It was too
dark for my video camera — but I do have the audio
from that event for you.

As you listen to the audio recording, you’ll hear the
incredible story about how 40 Days for Life began for
me personally this spring ...

... and the HUGE blessing in how it ended for me —
meeting TWO of the babies saved from abortion during
previous campaigns in Orange, California!

Along with the audio, I’ve included a picture of me and
baby Patrick as a thanks to YOU for all you have done
over these 40 days ... and as a reminder of what this
campaign is really all about.

Here’s a link to the audio and the photo from
California:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2115

I hope you get lots of encouragement as we all discern
how to move forward from here!

40 Days for Life is a community-based campaign that
recognizes abortion as a local problem ... and you have
shown the willingness to act on your faith to be the
local solution.

Many cities that have conducted 40 Days for Life
campaigns have asked ...

... “What’s next?”

Here are some of the things going on in just a few of
the cities that just wrapped up 40 Days for Life:

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA

The Alexandria team recognizes that prayer at the
abortion center can’t stop. The local coordinators
are launching an effort to have people praying on
the sidewalks at least on the days that abortions
are performed. It’s a proven fact that this prayer
presence can change minds.

LAWRENCEVILLE, GEORGIA

Local leaders in Lawrenceville have noted a decline
in activity at Planned Parenthood — fewer customers
obviously means fewer abortions. They know that means
they can’t stop. There are also plans to network with
other Georgia campaigns to increase opportunities for
sidewalk counseling.

BEAUMONT, TEXAS

The Beaumont campaign used its closing rally to invite
volunteers to keep praying at the abortion center —
and more. “We are more determined than ever for the
formation of a permanent group in our area for an
ongoing prayer group to diligently pray daily against
abortion,” said Eileen in Beaumont.

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE

In a posting on the 40 Days for Life blog, Rae summed
up this time of discernment very clearly.

“Our campaign has been marked by a growing awareness
that abortion is not a problem in a vacuum, but a
product of the despair and hopelessness that is a way
of life where Christ is not known,” Rae wrote.

The women and men entering the abortion center all
lacked hope. “We are finding ourselves more dedicated
than ever to being Christ for the world, here where
life and death are as palpable as on the streets of
Jerusalem when Jesus carried His cross and walked
through the clueless crowds towards His death.”

Rae said the group found, to their surprise, “that
trying to save the babies has led us to a more intimate
relationship with Christ and a thirst for helping Him
in His saving mission to the world.”

And that’s exactly why we carry on. We’ll have much
more to say in the weeks and months ahead, but for
now we’ll take a break from daily e-mail so we, too,
can refresh, recharge and renew.

Day 40 - April 17

Intention:

Let us keep our eyes fixed on the New Jerusalem, where death will be no more.

Scripture:

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"

--Revelation 21:4-5

Reflection:

Every activity we undertake in defense of the sanctity of life is prophetic, inasmuch as it points to the day when "death will be no more." Every victory we have when an act of abortion is prevented is prophetic of that day when death itself will be definitively conquered. Every triumph of grace in this world, whereby someone is brought to see the value of life and given the strength to welcome it, is a breaking into our history of that definitive future in which the old order of things will have passed, and all things will be made new.

As pro-life warriors, we must keep our eyes fixed on heaven, and our hearts secure in the hope that the day is coming when all evil will be conquered. It is the future that shapes the present; it is victory that informs the battle; it is the destination that determines the journey.

Daily, we are called to reflect on heaven. When we weep, we are to think of the day when every tear will be wiped away. When we face the destructive power of death, we are to think of the day when death is swallowed up in victory. When we labor against abortion, we are to think of the day when we will have the rest and peace of the final triumph of life. Heaven is as real as earth, and its joys will be as real as our present sorrows.

Prayer:

Father, you are the God of hope. Your word fills us with the vision of the world to come, when every tear will be wiped away, and death will be no more. Father, how we need that hope, how we are strengthened by that vision! Keep our hearts focused on heaven, and diligent in the labors of earth. As we struggle against the culture of death, root our souls in the assurance of victory. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life and President, National Pro-life Religious Council