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Day 41 - November 2

Intention:

Pray that the witness of 40 Days for Life bears abundant fruit, and that we begin again each day to storm the gates of hell until God welcomes us into the gates of heaven.

Scripture:

On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

-- Matthew 16:18

Reflection:

When we read this verse, we usually think that the Lord is promising that the church, which is His Body, will withstand all the attacks launched against it. Of course, that is true. But when we think about it more carefully, we realize that in a battle, the gates do not run out into the battlefield to attack the enemy. Rather, they stand still to defend the city from the enemy attacking it. So when the Lord says that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church, who is doing the attacking? It is the church storming the gates!

The church, all of God's people in Christ, is called to take the offensive, to run into enemy territory, and to gain ground for Jesus Christ. We do not wait for an invitation; we already have a command. We prepare, but we do not wait for circumstances to be perfect; we already have one who has gone before us.

During these 40 days, we have stormed the gates. We have taken the offensive. We have pushed forward the boundaries of the kingdom. And we must keep doing so, in numerous ways. Indeed, the gates of hell will not prevail. The gates of falsehood will flee in the presence of truth. The gates of sin will melt in the presence of grace. The gates of death will fall in the presence of the church, the People of Life!

Prayer:

Father, we praise you. We have heard the voice of your Son, and therefore we can make our voices heard. We have done battle with the power of evil, and therefore we can have compassion on those still within its grip. We have been freed from the kingdom of darkness, and therefore we can bear witness to your Kingdom of Light. May the witness of all your people through these 40 Days for Life bear abundant fruit, and may we begin again each day to storm the gates of hell until You welcome us into the gates of heaven. We pray in the victorious name of Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.

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

Today's email:

It's now the day after the end of the fall 40 Days
for Life campaign.

Go ahead and take a deep breath -- you need it! It's
important to re-charge after 40 intense days of
prayer, fasting, vigil and outreach.

But you know what? Your efforts are working. So after
you catch your breath, please don't stop!

All the reports are still coming in, but as of now we
know of at least ...

... 534 babies -- and their moms -- spared from
abortion during this fall's campaign!

The credit belongs to God -- and YOU!

A report from Houston, Texas shows just how much the
abortion industry hates it when there are people on
the sidewalk praying and offering real alternatives
to women.

There's a pro-life pregnancy resource center around
the corner from the Planned Parenthood facility where
the Houston 40 Days for Life vigil was conducted. A
counselor met two women outside the abortion facility
recently -- and convinced them to go to the pro-life
center rather than entering Planned Parenthood.

The clinic escorts were furious.

The head escort told the women that if they didn't
move their cars out of the Planned Parenthood parking
lot, she would have them towed.

Our Houston team reports, "The chances of these two
women ever returning to Planned Parenthood are
probably pretty slim based on the behavior of the
escort. It is great when people are able to witness
for themselves some of Planned Parenthood's true
colors."

Planned Parenthood wasn't the only one whose true
colors were on display this fall. YOUR true colors
also shined brightly for all to see! And we have
pictures that tell the story.

Here's a photo taken outside of Planned Parenthood in
Phoenix, Arizona. The building's on a corner, so the
40 Days for Life vigil was able to almost surround
the place with prayer. Check it out at:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=496

St. Cloud, Minnesota conducted its first 40 Days for
Life campaign this fall. Here's where you can see a
picture of a faithful group praying outside Planned
Parenthood (photo courtesy of Sue Schulzetenberg of
The Visitor, the Catholic newspaper in St. Cloud):

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=496

Also along for their first 40 Days for Life campaign
this fall was the team in Kitchener, Ontario -- where
it started getting chilly as the days got shorter:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=496

"We continue to be a small group, but we are strong
and do our best to be a witness to those who come to
Planned Parenthood," said Michelle in Lufkin, Texas.
"We are confident that our prayers change lives even
when we do not know the outcome. We will continue to
pray in front of Planned Parenthood throughout the
year."