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Day 7 - September 29

Intention:

May we have a heart and a zeal to save the poor and release the oppressed.

Scripture:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.

-- Luke 4:18-19

Reflection:

This passage is a very familiar one. It has been preached on many occasions, even made popular in books and songs. Though the quote is about Jesus, all Christians take this commission seriously as a directive on how to reach the world with the gospel. We, like our Savior, are to bring the good news to the poor, the broken hearted, those in captivity, those who cannot see, and the oppressed.

The commission given to us in this passage is clearly a charge to care for those for whom God cares the most. I wonder though, whom do we look for to be touched by the Holy Spirit as we go out into the world?

Who are the poor, if not those unborn children who have been abandoned by their parents before they ever leave the womb? Who are the broken hearted, if not those unborn children whose only example of love is having their mother take them to an abortion clinic to be destroyed, or the mother of a child who has been deceived by everyone around her into believing that what she is doing is best for her and her child? Who are the captives, if not those unborn children who are bound over to death by the "choice" of abortion? Who is more blind than an unborn child in the darkness of a womb that has become a waiting room for their death? And who is more oppressed than those unborn children whose oppression has been legitimized by their government, their church and even their family and loved ones.

Prayer:

Lord, You empower us with Your Spirit to do your will in the earth. Send us to the poorest, the most broken, the most captive, the most blind and the most oppressed in the world, the innocent pre-born children in their mother's wombs that are scheduled for destruction. Help us to bring them healing, liberty, sight and justice through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Fr. Terry Gensemer
National Director, Charismatic Episcopal Church for Life

Sad email testimonial today.

I received a report from Houston that was both
eye-opening and heartbreaking.

People participating in the 40 Days for Life vigil
watched as a young man who appeared to be in tears
walked into Planned Parenthood with his girlfriend
and her mother.

When they left some time later, he was most certainly
crying -- and obviously quite upset.

I'll let one of the prayer vigil participants pick up
the story...

I watched him head down the street, alternating
between wiping the tears from his face and punching
the buildings in anger and frustration as he passed
them. Eventually he headed back toward the parking
lot. As he approached, I went to him first. All I
could think to say was that I was so very sorry for
his loss. He began to cry again.

Then a truck pulled up leaving the parking lot with
his girlfriend and her mother inside. The girl's
mother yelled at him to get in and cursed him as he
opened the door. He had one foot inside, then
stepped back out and closed the door. As she drove
away he promptly sat down on the curb and cried
like a baby. Three of us sat down beside him -- all
men -- and cried with him.

Eventually, he began to talk. He was probably in
his very early twenties. He told us that his
girlfriend did not want to keep the child because
she feared they would not be able to provide for
him. He asked her how she could destroy a life
based on a hunch. He told her this child had a
heartbeat and a soul and deserved to live. He even
tried to convince her to, at the very least, put
the child up for adoption.

I was struck by the fact that this young man knew
all this simply because his heart told him it was
true. He was wise well beyond his years and he was
hurting terribly.

I was struck by the clear reality that fathers have
so little to do with whether their own children
live or die. I also couldn't help but notice that
despite the high volume of Planned Parenthood
volunteers around, none of them approached him.

Before I left him, he stood up to hug me. All I
could tell him was what I truly believed -- that
today, his child knows that his/her father fought
for it. That to his child, he is a hero and that
someday he would know that also.

Please pray for this young man and others like him.
The tragedy of abortion is real and happening every
day. No one knows that better than he.

I sincerely hope this young man comes to embrace the
exceptional advice he was given; but that will most
certainly take time. I cannot even begin to imagine
the anguish.

This is a first-person account of what abortion does
to fathers. Who knows how many others have walked in
his shoes, as there are more than a million abortions
every year -- and more than 50 million since the 1973
Roe v. Wade decision that opened the floodgates to
abortion on demand.

Let's pray even harder!