We Christians have a serious obligation in charity to the poor. If the poor were dying in mass of hunger in our city, it would be our obligation as Christians to feed them. We recall the account of the last judgment. The babies who die from abortion are the poorest among us. They have nothing except their lives, and even that is taken from them with the consent of the very people who God appointed for their care and protection. They die not for lack of food but for lack of love. But it’s not only the babies who are poor. As Mother Teresa stated, “Any country that accepts abortion is the poorest of the poor.” In the era of ever-decreasing material poverty, spiritual poverty runs rampant. Thus we are called to also minister to all who accept or perpetrate this evil. These people need the gospel desperately. I need to remind myself of this fact often. As I am anxious to save the life of a poor baby, I should also be anxious to spread the message of repentance to a poor soul. After all, we all need God’s mercy. Many people carry great weights from their previous involvement with abortion. Let’s all be eager to help as many people as possible find relief and healing in God’s mercy.
-Andrew
SIDEWALK REPORTS
7:30-9 AM +++ Tracy and Bill
TRACY: PP’s alarm was going off when we arrived this morning. (Angels sending out a warning to whoever might enter?) Eventually, it was turned off. St. Pete’s of Steubenville, OH accompanied us today. Beth, Shawn, and Kathy joined Bill, Anthony and me. Anthony led us in all four sets of mysteries of the Holy Rosary. Time passed by quickly. Two couples entered, very determined to go through with their abortions and three single ladies went in, as well. No one took our info, although a friend dropping off a couple did. One young man almost took a pamphlet, but his partner glared at him, so he changed his mind. Oh well, we’ll just keep trying. I love the posters with the collage of pics of children saved from our PP. Those should be up all year round! I wish we could have more images. It seems so easy to dismiss the reality of a life lost in the aftermath of abortion. Those pictures of the precious children really bring it home. This is a life and death matter.
9-11 AM +++ Beth and Linda
BETH: Just a chilling morning at a cold place. Busy, sad business.
11 AM-1 PM +++ Rose and Barb
BARB: Several couples and a few girls with escorts went into PP during our shift. Two women listened for a few minutes to our offerings of support and took materials. We were able to talk to one girl via a phone translator and gave her the Spanish pamphlet. Everyone entered despite our efforts. Passersby were friendly and many accepted materials. A few stopped to talk. Bob came by to pray for a while.
1-3 PM +++ Sandy, Kim, and Mike
SANDY: After the blustery frigid days of the past few months, it was almost a pleasure to be at PP today- especially with the prayerful team of Peggy, Mike & Kim, Michelle and Jenny. It always seems that with extra prayer support there is a different, more positive energy. Peggy commented it’s the first time she wasn’t cursed since becoming a regular. Nicer weather led to a lot more foot traffic and opportunities to engage in conversations. As people slow down a bit and notice the fetal models and signs it presents an opportunity to see what they’re thinking. For one woman it stirred a tearful reminder of a miscarriage and holding that tiny 9 week baby in her hand and sadness that anyone would choose to end the life. For a gentleman it reminded him of a son who was not aborted, but whom he hadn’t been in touch with in quite a while and his need to do so. There were the usual refusals of literature, but there were also some who gratefully accepted it. The time went by quickly. We thank God for his grace and entrust each of those we encountered today to his loving hands.
3-5 +++ Virginia, Bill, and John
JOHN: We had an easy sunny day weather wise. We prayed the Rosary and Stations of the cross. A couple of heckles. Sadly about a dozen women in and out. Tuesday 3-5. Let’s pray to the Guardian Angels to protect all the babies in danger of abortion. Angel of God…….
VIRGINIA: Due to a Trolley delay, I was 30 minutes for the shift. There was no specific parish or group, there were 5 of us (terrible on names) the “regulars” at this time slot. No one going into PP and close to 4 PM, the exit begins.
The security guard is one of the first to leave, then the “army” of girls/ladies carrying backpacks going straight
across the street, so avoiding any literature or conversation interaction to the right or left. One girl chastised our group because we were not recognizing of PP’s commitment to treating cancer, killing unborn babies was immediately mentioned. We ended the shift with Stations of the Cross.