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This is the biggest 40 Days for Life campaign yet in
Canada, with 18 locations from coast to coast.

Over the years, I’ve been to four 40 Days for Life
campaigns in Canada ... and last year, I spoke at a
national Canadian pro-life dinner in Calgary. In all
of my visits, I’ve been inspired by enthusiastic,
vibrant, diligent — and young — pro-lifers.

Here’s just one example of a Canadian campaign where
faithful people are praying and fasting for an end
to abortion ... overcoming challenges ... and changing
individuals and communities.

CALGARY, ALBERTA

“Community is a pretty special thing,” said Paige, a
40 Days for Life blogger in Calgary.

For this campaign, the leadership team has made an
effort to encourage different communities to take
blocks of time and pray together — congregations,
bible studies and small groups, for instance.

“We believe it will make our communities stronger as
we hear from God, and allow ourselves to be changed
by Him,” she wrote. “As a result, we’ve seen more full
days taken, more people borrowing courage from their
friends and fellow believers and more hours covered
in prayer. We are encouraged — and believe that this
will be our most successful campaign to date.”

Calgary’s team has some built-in challenges, thanks
to local restrictions. There’s a bubble zone
surrounding the place where abortions are performed,
so vigil participants are restricted to a small area
on the sidewalk across the street. And they are not
permitted to have more than four people praying at
a time.

“We’re facing a difficult situation here at the
Kensington clinic,” one volunteer said. “We’re not
allowed to speak unless spoken to.” Because of that,
a lot of thought has gone into the signs that some
people hold while they pray.

“The signs that we wear at the Kensington clinic are
likely the last pro-life messages that these women will
see before making a final decision about the wee life
they are carrying,” she said. “We want the signs to be
compelling — because this is life and death we’re
talking about.”

The messages are short and sweet— so they can be
read by women driving to the abortion center:
* You are loved
* Life is a gift
* It’s your child
* Look at the ultrasound

Some of the women with abortion appointments arrive by
taxi. One volunteer took note of that as she prayed for
the people going in and out of the building. “I prayed
for taxi drivers,” she said. “I prayed that God would
work through these taxi drivers.”

She wasn’t seeing anything, but did feel that God was
at work. She kept praying, but everyone who arrived at
the abortion facility went in. When a taxi pulled up,
“I prayed like crazy — don’t let her go in God!”

The door opened, and stayed open for a moment. But no
one got out. The door closed again, and the taxi drove
away with the passenger — a young woman — still inside.

Had she come for an abortion but changed her mind?
There was no direct way of knowing, but the young
woman “looked relieved and at peace. This was in harsh
contrast to the other women that came out of the clinic,
every one weeping, limping and broken ... now I believe
we are making a difference!”

“And so we’ll pray on the sidewalk in groups, and
overflow into the park when we pass our limit of four
on the sidewalk,” Paige said. “We’ll pray on our feet
— stomping out the cold — or on our knees when He bids
us come … and our communities of faith will powerfully
change the community at large by our peaceful,
prayerful presence and outreach.”

To see pictures of the 40 Days for Life vigil in
Calgary, go to:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=3563

Day 27 - October 22

Intention:

We pray for humility in our work for God's Kingdom.

Scripture:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

-- Philippians 2:5-8

Reflection:

There is no limit to what we can accomplish when we don't care who gets the credit.

Jesus Christ's life on earth exemplifies a total submission to the will of the Father. His humility, compassion, gentleness and thoughtfulness are reflected over and over again in the New Testament. He was God incarnate, yet He chose to be born to a humble, working class home.

How absurd it must have seemed to the rich and powerful that the Son of God, the Messiah, the one foretold by the prophets, the 'King of the Jews' was born and raised as a simple peasant.

During His thirty-three years on earth, He sought no riches, claimed no secular power and gathered no possessions. Yet, His short time on earth changed more lives, softened more hearts, and gave hope to more people, than all the rich and powerful human 'kings' combined. And, at the end of His life on earth, by dying on the cross, He opened the door to eternal life for those who heed his words and follow in his footsteps.

Prayer:

O Lord, help us follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Let us humbly and diligently work to restore legal protection for the unborn, the disabled, the medically dependent and all innocent children of God whose lives are threatened. Let us remember the old adage that "He can never lead who has not first learned to obey." And, Lord, grant us a peaceful heart as we labor in your name. Amen.

Ernest Ohlhoff
Outreach Director, National Right to Life