The 40 Days kickoff last week was on the feast of St. Matthew. I am always amazed how Jesus called him and he immediately left his despicable job. It does not seem that he took time to wrap up any of his business dealings or tie up any loose ends…he just left it all and followed Jesus. The Pharisees scoffed at Jesus when he had dinner with him, but Jesus knew Matthew. As Fr. Tim said in his homily, Jesus had the vision to see Matthew’s potential to turn away from sin and turn towards mercy, forgiveness, goodness and truth. His heart had been prepared and when he was called, he turned without hesitation.
Sometimes when people are approaching us on the sidewalk, I have my own idea of whether they will be supportive of us or not. I have often been surprised that someone I expected to be hostile to our message actually has a positive response. Every person passing us, working at or going into Planned Parenthood has the potential to embrace mercy, forgiveness, goodness and truth…maybe their heart has been prepared and by your witness will turn away! God knows their heart!
Tracy 7am-9am
Shawn, Beth, and Jon kept company on the early morning shift. It was cooler and windy, but not raining, thank God! There was minimal traffic going into PP, but definitely saw the doctor entering the building. Such a sad business.
Beth 9am-11am
Great to see Shawn, Beth and Tracy from St. Peter parish in Steubenville along with Anthony from Blessed Trinity. Bill H. was with us, blessing us and the building. Usual clientele, usual sidewalk folks going to work. And it was good to hear Fr. Chris’s homily at today’s noon Mass at St. Mary’s at the Point. It was a call to join 40 Days at PP. His parish is a Tuesday regular. Thanks to Fr. Chris for the wonderful encouragement .
Sheila 11am-1pm
There were quite a few couples entering the clinic today. Elsie reminded me that they did not perform abortions on Saturday, so looks like they were making up for it today. We were privileged to have a big group of prayer warriors from Blessed Trinity Parish with us.
Linda 1pm-3pm
Today from 1:00 to 3:00 PM, we had dedicated prayer warriors covering the entire shift with prayer. Dolores, Kim, Mike and Anthony from Divine Mercy parish prayed continual rosaries and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Michael from St. Mary of Mercy parish silently prayed on the other side of the circle.
Sandy and Linda with Sidewalk Advocates worked the sidewalk, trying to minister to passers-by, and those entering and exiting Planned Parenthood. ~Linda
Nikki 3pm-5pm
There was a nice witness on the sidewalk when I arrived for my 3 to 5 shift. Anthony, from Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church, came to the vigil in his wheelchair, God bless him for his dedication to precious unborn life! His parish has adopted the entire day tomorrow but he cannot make it so he came today instead. Also on the sidewalk were shift managers and buddies Kim, Mike and Linda, along with Sandy who was sidewalk advocating. It was wonderful to see so many good-hearted Christians there this afternoon in the sunshine!
Dolores from Divine Mercy Parish and shift manager buddies Kim and Mike
Steve, Bob Newman‘s favorite son-in-law, came to pray with us
As Steve, Barb and I prayed during the 3 to 5 shift, the sun was shining directly on our fetal models and they looked so beautiful. We were praying the joyful mysteries and so I was looking at these tiny babies and realizing that our Lord was once the same size in the womb of his mother. It occurred to me that there really is no rational way that anybody can claim to be a Christian and still think abortion is OK. There’s no way they can argue it reasonably.
Barb who was my shift buddy from 3 to 5
I was glad to have the unexpected company of two strong prayer warriors, Steve and Anthony, for the entire two hour shift. Barb had kindly signed up so I wouldn’t be alone, but it was great to have the extra prayer support of these two wonderful men! We prayed for the first hour, all four mysteries of the rosary. I watched as many school children and teenagers crowded past us, all straining their necks to see the fetal models behind us. One group of giddy young girls walked past while watching us…with nervous laughter, one of them got up the nerve to give us the finger briefly, before running away. Poor girls, indoctrination at the schools is strong. One young man said he needed a fetal model to show to someone “who needs to see it” and thanked us for being there. All the staff left, including the two abortionists…(Beatrice and her assistant). The clinic manager was the last person to exit. The killing was finished for the day…may God have mercy on us all. Towards the end of my shift the hustle and bustle died down, and I left a quiet and mostly empty sidewalk in the prayerful hands of Johanna and Larry as they arrived for the final shift of the day. Thanks to all who came to pray today!
Joanna 5pm-7pm
Larry and Johanna arrived for the 5 to 7 shift
