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Reports from Rhode Island and Hawaii in today's email:

Today is Day 39, and we're in the home stretch of
this fall's 40 Days for Life effort. As we rapidly
approach tomorrow's finish line for this campaign, I
just posted another short on-location video that I
think you will love:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=487

This hope-filled 4-minute clip comes from Peoria,
Illinois -- in the middle of the American heartland.

You'll hear from several volunteers and the new
president of the statewide right to life group about
the blessings they have experienced as part of
40 Days for Life -- and how they went from a previous
campaign that really struggled to this fall's effort
that has involved hundreds of new people.

If you've missed any of the other short video reports
(which have been getting THOUSANDS of views!) they're
all posted online at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/dbereit

--------, amazing things continue to happen during
40 Days for Life!

The 40 Days for Life team in Providence, Rhode Island
report the story about a woman who had an abortion
appointment at Planned Parenthood -- and abortion
facility escorts who tried to prevent her from
hearing the truth.

Joanne said the woman "hesitated when she saw and
heard the children praying" as part of the 40 Days
for Life vigil. When she saw there was a member of
the clergy praying with the children, "she stopped
right in the middle of the road, her eyes filling
with tears."

Still, she permitted the escorts to hustle her into
the clinic.

Fifteen minutes later, however, she walked back out.
"She had found herself unable and unwilling to go
through with the abortion," said Joanne.

The escorts at Planned Parenthood didn't like this
one bit. "They shooed her away repeatedly, ending her
stay by insisting that she was not to talk there,"
Joanne said. "She was so unnerved at being pushed
away by the escorts that she finally drove off, still
crying. She remains in our hopeful prayers."

To see a picture of the 40 Days for Life vigil in
Providence, go to:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=487

People are also praying faithfully outside another
Planned Parenthood center -- in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Janet said the 40 Days for Life vigil participants
have "shared the amazing gift of life, miracle of the
preborn, and the devastating effects and aftermath
that the abortion 'choice' has over our families and
communities."

To see a picture of the 40 Days for Life vigil in
Honolulu, go to:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=487

Honolulu is also home of the "tow truck ministry."
Rocky is a tow truck driver whose job includes
removing the vehicles of people who have parked in a
nearby lot without paying. That often includes people
who are visiting Planned Parenthood.

Rocky came to check on the vigil recently and said it
was a real blessing to see everyone praying during
40 Days for Life. He also told Isaiah the story of a
teenage boy who came to pick up his car, which had
been towed from the lot.

"The boy was trying to reason that he only went into
the clinic for a few moments," Isaiah said. "Rocky
was bold enough to admonish the boy over being too
concerned over paying for his towed car rather than
the life of the child that was aborted. The boy's
head dropped down in realizing the reality of what
Rocky was speaking to him. We prayed for God's
blessing over Rocky as he continues to be a voice for
life to those teenagers he encounters there at the
clinic through his tow truck ministry. God bless you,
Rocky!"

To see a picture of Rocky and Isaiah, go to:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=487

Day 40 - November 1

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