Soldiers of Christ
When I was confirmed at age 14 and I was told I was now a “Soldier of Christ,” I didn’t really understand the meaning of the phrase. It wasn’t until my first pro-life action of marching and praying outside a Rochester, NY hospital many years ago that I began to understand the meaning, and importance, of the phrase.
Now, after a dozen years of praying on Liberty Avenue, that phrase is embedded in my being. I’ve learned that it takes courage to be a prayer-soldier on the street and to stand for the Truth outside an abortion clinic. Soldiers and law enforcement officers Protect and Serve. Those who pray on the sidewalk during these 40 Days try to protect the preborn babies still in their mothers’ wombs and try to serve pregnant women. How? By offering information on free, local, resources such as free ultrasounds, free diapers, free baby clothing, adoption services, and free housing. What a contrast to the money-making machine at 933.
If you’ve been thinking about coming downtown and praying with us, but have been hesitant, please take courage and join us. We will welcome you with open arms, pray with you, and pray for you. God knows, we need as many prayers as possible said outside the gates of Hell on Liberty Avenue.
“Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou O Prince of the heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.”
-Chris
Stories from the Sidewalk
We set everything up and had a lot of rain during our shift that mostly subsided by the end. We had three non-employee women go in during the shift. Two ignored us and one younger one seemed like she really didn’t want to be there. She looked at us for multiple seconds without saying anything but her (we’re assuming) mom seemed much more gung-ho about it, so they both went in. I gave a description to the 9am shift just in case they’re able to reach her as she’s coming out if she hasn’t gone through with it yet.
Ethan
The two-hour shift before us had slow traffic into Planned Parenthood (PP.) However, we experienced a lot of apparent abortion traffic into PP on our shift.
Linda asked me to share a moving story from a passerby. This woman (let’s call her “Mary”) was a lively woman in her early 60’s walking south on Liberty Avenue en route to Mike & Tony’s Gyro restaurant. On the street, I usually say, “Have a great day, miss.” The vast majority of people kindly say in response, “Same to you.” I typically say either “Thank you” or “God bless you,” depending on the person’s initial response. Mary’s response was a sincere, “God bless you, too.”
About 5-10 minutes later, Mary walked by again. She then emotionally told me her story. She vividly recalls having an abortion in 1982 at this PP slaughter house. These meat-processing workers never told her what they were doing to her. This was 41 years ago and she still mourns the sacrifice of her child!
About ten years ago, she told this same story to a few people praying outside PP. They had 3-D models of unborn babies just like the ones that 40 DFL displays on the sidewalk. It appeared that she feared what these folks would say or accuse her of. Instead, these Prayer Warriors all knelt down and prayed for healing with and for her. She continues to be touched by this non-accusatory, loving response.
After about ten minutes, Mary walked North carrying her gyro in a bag. I gave her a big bear-hug. She then went over to my colleagues, Linda and Maggie. In tears she shared with these loving 40 DFL mothers. This wasn’t a save of a baby, but possibly an equally important save of a grieving woman.
Mike
Our shift started out slow, but then became very busy with couples going into Planned Parenthood. No one was interested in taking our literature. One post-abortive woman came out, and it was obvious she was not well and hurting. Our praise was that the rain had stopped and we were rain-free for the entire shift.
Linda
Most of our shift was rain free. Thank you, Lord! It’s always a blessing to be on the sidewalk with our faithful friends from St. Matthew’s Parish. They prayed the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet while I handed out resources. Most coming out and going into PP either had the resources already or didn’t want them. There were many conversations with passersby and information shared. These are the blessings of being on the sidewalk. There were three servicemen that passed by us that we thanked for their service. They in turn thanked us for what we were doing! God is so good!
God, please change this culture of death to a culture of life. May your Holy Spirit fall afresh on our churches, homes, cities, state, country, world and each and every heart. We thank You for the Great Awakening that is coming and will not be stopped because You are sovereign over all. We believe Pittsburgh will be a Sanctuary For Life. Thank you, Jesus! It’s in your mighty name we pray. Amen.
Donna
Thank you for the beautiful report Mike! And thanks Chris for the reminder that we are soldiers for Christ, and St. Michael is fighting for us!
I pray for you…NIKKI