Replies

Your comments have been pouring in this fall!

At the end of these daily updates, I’ve asked people
to visit the 40 Days for Life blog and tell me a bit
about their own experiences — and many of you have
responded.

Some of you are in cities where campaigns are under
way while others are participating by praying and
fasting from far away — including Prague in the
Czech Republic!

I appreciate EVERYTHING you’re doing! Here are some
of the comments from the blog.

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA

“David Bereit spoke to our little group in Saint Paul,
last night at 9:30,” wrote one person who was there for
this appearance by 40 Days for Life’s national director.

“He had, that day, traveled from southern Minnesota
(Rochester and Mankato), all the way up to Duluth and
Walker, then down to Alexandria, Saint Cloud and then
Saint Paul — encouraging folks at each stop.

“He looked fresh as a daisy and spoke so eloquently and
passionately to us for at least 20 minutes and he still
had plenty of voice. AWESOME! It would tire ME out for
the day, just going to Duluth and back!

“Thank you, David, and ALL who are out there, all who
are praying — wherever you are! Glory to God!”

WHITTIER, CALIFORNIA

“My mother and I were at the Planned Parenthood in
Whittier,” wrote Rosemary. “There were several young
girls being dropped off.”

As they watched one young woman leave following an
abortion, “our hearts were broken for a life lost and
our prayer became more fervent. We cried together as
we prayed yesterday’s daily devotional — so
beautifully moving and centering for this horrendous
task we must do.”

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

Suzanne is doing what she can, as “we don’t have the
numbers here in Prague in the Czech Republic to mount
a campaign at this time.”

“I know that my presence has made a difference already,
since I was approached by a policeman yesterday who
told me that my sign — ‘women do regret their
abortion’ — was offensive to a woman at the hospital
and I would have to leave the area,” she wrote.

“I have wondered whether my prayers and presence was
even being noticed in this country and obviously it
has. Perhaps I’ve also made other women think about
the risks of choosing abortion as a solution to their
unintended pregnancy.”

HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS

“At first, I felt like Jonah being fed to the whale,”
Dennis said upon arriving for his first time to pray at
the 40 Days for Life vigil site. After a few minutes of
prayer, a woman got out of her car and went to join him.
“It was good to have her company.”

Some passersby offered honks of encouragement; a few
others offered rude gestures. Shortly afterward, it
started to rain. But Dennis continued to pray. “I was
completely absorbed in the moment.”

Said Dennis, “Not a bad day.”

Have you had a chance to take part in a peaceful
40 Days for Life prayer vigil yet? If not, here’s
the link to the list of campaign locations:

http://40daysforlife.com/location.cfm

Day 13 - October 10

Intention:

For all fathers who are terrified of being fathers.

Scripture:

A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation.

-- Psalm 68:5

Reflection:

I had a friend many years ago who confided in me that he was terrified of being a father. He and his wife already had two children when this revelation came forth. "I never knew my father," he explained, "and I have no idea what a father is supposed to do." We continued to share about this, as well as pray together. He began to see he had a father's heart for his children. His biggest problem was not a limitation on love but not knowing how to act out this love.

One day we talked about the verse quoted at the top of this page. I shared that he did know his Father… not his biological father but his Heavenly Father, who had rescued him from a life of destruction not many years before. "How did your Heavenly Father guide you?" I asked. He talked about the ways he had seen God's love offered to him and the way the Lord had used circumstances and the Scriptures to mold him and mature him. "Well, the Lord wants to do the same thing through you for your children. Be available to His love and available to your kids. You'll do fine."

How wonderful it is to know that God takes a personal interest in each of us, many times using His faithful people - the Church - as channels of this love. No one is fatherless who lives in the Lord. His fatherly care begins at the moment of our conception, as it is written, "you knit me together in my mother's womb" (Psalm 139:12), and continues to be poured upon us throughout our lives.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we thank you for caring about each of us so deeply. Help us to see and know you as our Father in heaven each and every day of our lives. Your loving hand also rests on every child today carried in its mother's womb. May they be born into this world and come to know fully and personally your endless love. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Randolph Sly
National Pro-life Religious Council