I have had something on my mind lately that I think the Lord is prompting me to write about. It happened to me the Sunday before last, as I was praying at Mass after having received Holy Communion. I found myself thinking of a specific scene from the movie “Cabrini”. It seemed so random that I thought I had allowed myself to be distracted from my prayer…but now I think it was exactly where the Holy Spirit was leading me.
The movie “Cabrini” is set in New York City in the late 1800’s. Italian immigrants were living in deplorable conditions in the inner-city slums and families suffered much from hunger, disease and discrimination. Here is the scene that came into my mind during my prayer at Mass:
A little boy…about 7 years old…filthy dirty and dressed in rags, with tear-stained cheeks…is frantically pushing a wheelbarrow through the streets. He is pushing with all his strength, his little heart beating out of his chest, near exhaustion…but not giving up. His dying mother is laying lifeless in the wheelbarrow. He tries unsuccessfully to push the wheelbarrow up a step to get her into a hospital, so he has to abandon her there while he runs as fast as his little legs will carry him into the hospital. He desperately screams for someone to help him…to help his dying mother. He is scolded and told to leave. He runs back to his mother in the wheelbarrow and begins to push her as fast as he can, crying out for someone to help him. No one does. His mother dies. In a wheelbarrow. Her now orphaned son sobs uncontrollably. He is all alone in a big city. A little boy with no one. No one.
So, for some reason, as this scene came unexpectedly into my mind after I received Communion, I began to feel a deep empathy for the plight of this little boy…to the point of tears. I hadn’t seen the movie in many months, so it seemed very random. But I thought about how vulnerable an immigrant family is, and how scary it would be to be all alone in a strange place…with no one to help and not even knowing the language. My heart broke for this little boy as I thought about his desperate struggle to save his mom. I thought about his heart beating out of his little chest as he strained with every last bit of strength to save her.
It seemed random…and then suddenly…it didn’t. I felt the Lord tell me that what I was seeing in my mind was an image of how much HE suffers whenever He loses a soul. In place of the little boy pushing the wheelbarrow, I could see that it was Jesus who was trying so hard to save His beloved children…you and me. I could see that, like the little boy in the movie, it was Jesus that was desperately begging for help…help to save souls!
I told Him in my prayer that I wanted to help Him. I am not very good at fasting, but I will try to do better. I am not excited about praying in front of Planned Parenthood every Thursday, but I will continue…because an abortion worker might see me and it might plant the seeds of repentance in his or her heart.
Yesterday, a mom was spared from taking the life of her own child at Planned Parenthood. A man told us as he left with his crying daughter, “We are not going to get the abortion…I am going to be a grandfather!”
Good things happen when we answer God’s call for help! Conversions happen and lives are saved! Will you help Jesus save lives and souls this fall? If so, here are some ways you can help:
- Our fall 40 Days for Life begins on September 25th and ends on November 3rd. You can help us to save lives and souls by signing up for a weekly hour or two by going to www.40daysforlife.com/pittsburgh or emailing Jen at pghsaland365@gmail.com.
- Mark your calendars now to attend our Kick-off Mass & Eucharistic Procession on Tuesday, Sept. 24th. FLYER IS HERE.
- Help us keep our volunteers safe during these fall 40 Days by helping us to raise money to pay for security on the sidewalk. An easy (and inspiring) way to do this is to purchase a ticket to see a one-time showing of Abby Johnson’s new documentary film, “Unthinkable”. In this film, Abby exposes the darkness of the abortion industry with the testimonies of dozens of former abortion workers who have now left the abortion industry, thanks to her ministry, “And Then There Were None”.
You can purchase tickets online at https://mightydistributors.ticketspice.com/unthinkable-an-abby-johnson-film-hosted-by-40-days-for-life-pittsburgh
Thank you for joining us as we help Jesus to save lives and souls this fall!
God bless you!
Nikki
Nikki,
Your post about the immigrant boy resonated in my heart. Yesterday on the sidewalk, after the morning’s glorious save, a woman approached us, seemingly asking about parking in front of Planned Parenthood. She spoke only Spanish. I was able to give her the Spanish language “women’s free resources” brochure. When she returned from the parking garage, I approached her again, offering more help, using the Google translator on my phone. She refused any help. In our “conversation” with gestures, she indicated that she had 3 children already, and that she was pregnant with twins! I did all I could to beg her to reconsider, to no avail. Especially if you speak Spanish, you are NEEDED on the sidewalk now more than ever!
That is so tragic Linda. Twins. So sad. Thank you for trying your best. They weren’t abandoned. Someone loved them and fought for them.
Nikki,
That was a powerful image. One that I hope stays with me.