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Day 2 - September 29

Intention:

Pray for those who work in the abortion industry, and for those who have repented of committing abortions and have resolved to defend life.

Scripture:

Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man."

-- Luke 23:46-47

Reflection:

"Those of us who have participated in the killing of unborn children are the Centurions of today. We have dropped our swords against the unborn child. Now we must recognize the depth of our guilt and deal with the ramifications... To revitalize our humanity we need to forgive and be forgiven, to reconcile and be healed."

These words come from a brochure of the Society of Centurions, an organization for former abortion providers. These words convey in a beautiful and moving way what is happening across the nation as hundreds of abortionists and their staff members experience repentance, conversion, and healing.

How does this conversion begin? Dr. Philip Ney writes, "The factors that changed their opinion on performing abortions, in the following order of frequency, were: evidence of the infant's humanity, a spiritual experience, personal distress, evidence of the mother's distress, scientific articles, being accepted as a person, a personal relationship with a pro-lifer, pro-life pickets." (The Centurion's Pathway, p. 77).

The journey is not easy. But the Jesus who heals us calls us to face the truth of what we've done, make restitution where possible, and engage in the hard work of mending relationships. Let's pray for the Centurions; may their numbers increase!

Prayer:

Lord, we thank you for those who have repented of committing abortions and have resolved to defend life. We too repent and resolve. We repent of every instance in which fear has made us silent when we should have spoken. We repent of the ongoing bloodshed in our land, and for thinking that we can deprive the unborn of protection but keep it for ourselves. We resolve that we will advance the cause of righteous candidates for public office, and that we will be more afraid of offending you by our silence than of offending others by our speech. We resolve that we will proclaim your name to the nations, through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.

Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life

have to say that the ENTHUSIASM I’m seeing and
hearing is really uplifting — and also humbling.

The dedication and prayers of so many — like you —
have made this the largest 40 Days for Life campaign
ever ... and prayer always sustain us through
adversity. Here are a few examples.

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS

The people who arrived for the 40 Days for Life kickoff
event outside the abortion center in Fayetteville got
a bit of a surprise — a brand-new sprinkler system,
with the sprinkler heads pointed directly at the prayer
volunteers.

“The owner of the business complex turned the sprinklers
on as soon as we set up all our equipment,” said Tiffany
in Fayetteville. “And they kept the sprinklers on for
two hours.”

One co-owner spent the entire two hours “pacing and
walking up and down the parking lot, yelling at us and
telling the police to arrest us,” she said. “Needless
to say, the police officers were polite and explained
they could not arrest us.”

The prayer volunteers were then greeted with loud,
obscene music from inside the building. “We sang and
played worship music and lifted our voices to God,”
Tiffany explained. “Our God songs drowned out the
vulgar music.”

Through it all, the prayer volunteers refused to be
discouraged. “The bottom line — God triumphed,” she
said. “Praise the Lord!”

TOCCOA, GEORGIA

Bright and early on Day 1, a young woman stopped by
the 40 Days for Life vigil site in Toccoa and gave
Mary a great big hug.

“Please know that people are noticing what you are
doing,” the woman said. With tears in her eyes, she
showed Mary a picture of her son.

This young mom said she had been on her way to have
an abortion when her car broke down. She had to use
the money she had saved up for an abortion to get
her car fixed. Soon after, she decided to keep her
baby — and now was so very happy with her choice.

“She also agreed to stop back and sign up to join our
campaign,” said Mary. “We are looking forward to
seeing her again, and hope to be able to send more
stories like this.”

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

About 75 people came out for the 40 Days for Life
kickoff in Las Vegas. “The sun was hot,” said Linda,
one of the local leaders, “but many were willing to
brave the heat ... in support of the dignity of human
life.”

The event began with music — and the sound of the
shofar, the traditional ram’s horn. “Pastor Wally
Smith of House of Israel Fellowship proclaimed a
Bible passage and called us to bravely fight the
evil of abortion that occurs here in our city nearly
every day,” said Linda.

“Let’s stand ready to storm heaven with prayer,” she
said, “and then humbly await God’s will.”

To see a photo of the kickoff event in Las Vegas,
please go to:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2255