Happy Feast of the Annunciation! Christians celebrate this day because the tiny, concealed, indetectable, unborn baby Jesus was from the very beginning fully the savior we see so clearly when He hangs on the cross and rises from the dead. Our Lord’s incarnation in Mary’s womb is a great testament to how entirely present one’s humanity is from the very first moments of existence! How sad it is that we live in a time when so many (some even self-professed Christians) don’t recognize the reality and sanctity of life in the womb.
The angel Gabriel conveyed a message of joy to the most willing and loving of mothers. We who stand in front of Planned Parenthood must strive to express the joy that a baby brings to those who seek abortion, in contradiction to any annoyance, apathy, or fear a woman may feel towards her pregnancy. May St. Gabriel and our Blessed Mother Mary help us in this endeavor!
-Andrew
SIDEWALK REPORTS
7:30-9 AM +++ Tracy, Bill, and Jackie
TRACY: First Evangelical Free Church of McKeesport was with us today. Dean and Roy took the early shift. It’s always great to have their community onboard. Not a lot of customers going in this morning, I’m glad to report!
9-11 AM +++ Beth and Linda
BETH: Here’s Linda with our new vests and Patti ( from FEFC of McKeesport) trying to stay in the sun on a blustery morning. Very busy unfortunately with more than usual amount of English as a second language clients which makes one wonder if there’s a feeder organization recommending PP. The parking patrol came early; we advise people to park. elsewhere. Gave literature and a few blessing bags but no offers of help were taken. Sad
11 AM-1 PM +++ Sheila, Rose, and Barb
SHEILA: It was a regular day on the sidewalk. I did meet a very interesting guy, who seemed to have walked right out of the early 70’s. He checked out the fetal model display and asked what it was all about. I told him about the work we do vs. the work that Planned Parenthood does. When I showed him the sign that shows how many babies they kill per year, he bent over as if he had been punched in the stomach. He said, “That’s disgusting. I don’t dig that.” Neither do we. That’s why we keep coming back to the sidewalk.
1-3 PM +++ Kim, Mike, and Peggy
KIM: A peaceful and surprising day. Peg, a newer sidewalk advocate was with us from 1-3 praying and passing out brochures. Peg brought a first class relic of St Faustina along with a few other relics. So it was miraculous when two men dressed effeminately stopped by and asked us to pray a chaplet of divine mercy for them. We said we could pray it now for them and invited them to pray with us- “it only takes ten minutes.” They said yes! They were very emotional, one of them tearing up. They prayed the whole chaplet with us! At the end he shared that his grandma had suffered and died of lung cancer – that she always quietly prayed the chaplet in their home. His grandmother told him that she would be his greatest advocate praying for him from heaven. Thinking of her praying from heaven with us was very emotional for him. He asked if Mike and I would have a mass said for the two of them. We said -“Yes of course we will!” and they gave us their names. And then they hugged us. We have had people ask us for prayers but nothing ever quite like that before. We attribute it to Saint Faustina present with us thru the relic and the Blessed Mother’s intercession on the Feast of the Annunciation. It was fairly quiet in front of PP. Then around 2pm Chris from St Teresa of Calcutta, surprised us by stopping by to pray with us until 3pm. Praising God for all the blessings of this day!
3-5 PM +++ Virginia, Bill, and John
VIRGINIA: Our shift was quiet, but with lots of foot traffic. There was a scuffle at 3:15 among the school kids coming onto Liberty Avenue all at once, but nothing serious. A middle-aged couple went into PP, maybe to support a client that they knew? The couple came out about an hour later, took no cards, no eye to eye contact and no idea of their purpose or intention. There are individuals that pass the PP building in one direction
and a few minutes later they come by in the opposite direction. There must be a “state store” (liquor) close by, a few men walked by with a bottle somewhat visible and drinking. The shift was peaceful, a few people quietly commented a positive thumbs up sign.
What a beautiful encounter of Divine Mercy! Thank you for being there.