“You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”
My dad recently sent me this famous quote of Vice Admiral Stockdale. It struck me immediately as applicable in the fight against abortion.
Many Christians are content to doze, appearing to use the reality of Christ’s victory as an excuse to refrain from action. Maybe they think if Christ has already won, then we have already won, and that means we can just sit tight and play the long game. But although the war itself is won, individual battles continue to rage fiercer than ever and will until the end of time. If we actually want to experience Christ’s victory, we, and all of humanity, still have to make it off the battlefield of life spiritually alive. And as imitators of Christ, we have a responsibility not only to be concerned with ourselves but also with the well-being of our neighbor. How can we be confident in personally experiencing Christ’s victory if we don’t come to the aid of his beloved children who are doomed to die by abortion? Similarly, what if we abandon wayward parents who make such choices to whatever their fate may be?
We must wake up our fellow Christians to the hopeful yet desperate battle at hand. Mobilize and inspire those around you. Invite your friends to the vigil this 40 Days. Share your pro-life stance with as many people as possible. In the words of Flannery O’Connor, “Push back against the age as hard as it pushes against you.” Andrew
Tracy & Bill 7:30-9:00
Just my team (Bill, Anthony and Jackie) and me this morning. Mostly staff going in. One couple, one mother-daughter pair, and a young lady entered on our watch. Nobody took the time to listen to our offers to help nor did they take any info in with them. We prayed. The sidewalk was quieter (but wetter) today. -Tracy
Beth & Linda 9:00-11:00
PP was definitely in business today. The usual number of customers and workers. So sad to see. -Beth
Barb K & Rose 11:00-1:00
Today the sidewalk was relatively quiet. I was joined with my husband, John and faithful Rose. Bob stopped by to pray a Rosary with us. Only 3 clients went in. We approached each of them with no success. One couple was particularly disturbing. They were Asian and seemingly not impoverished. They went in with a child in a stroller. After a while the man and the child came out. The woman remained inside, most likely to be rid of their second child. Most of the passer byers were pleasant. One man said to me,” God spoke to me last night and he said abortions are fine but you cannot mix fabrics.” (Leviticus 19:19) I asked him to repeat it to strike up a conversation, but he just wanted to send an attack our way. He knows the bible but does not believe in the 10 commandments! -Barb
Sandy, Kim & Mike C 1:00-3:00
Great vigil. 12 people from Our Lady of Mount Carmel prayed with us the whole two hours. Said all 4 mysteries. Helped one pregnant mother and gave away a fetal model and little feet to a small boy and mother. No rain😁 It was a slower day for PP as we saw many workers leaving early.
Bill E & Virginia 3:00-5:00
The foot traffic at this time is moderate with several repeaters that go back and forth in almost a random pattern. Some appear to be uncertain as to where they are going or the plans change and they are not sure of directions. Several workers leave the PP building during this time, mostly between 3-4:30, none are interested in the literature and only 1 female left with the “brown paper bag”. Most all who exit the building go straight across the street, avoiding the often heavy traffic and the voices of volunteers offering help.
One lady did stop and asked some political questions that she then connected with one candidate that is pro-abortion and voiced her strong approval, loyalty and support. Young students passed by, very respectful. -VIrginia