What if we were alone?
I took this picture last Tuesday night at our 40 Days for Life kick off event, as I was surrounded by almost 200 fellow Christians, kneeling in the middle of Liberty avenue. I felt moved to take this photo in order to remember how I was feeling at that exact moment. As we all prayed, I looked down at the bricks beneath my knees, and I was struck by the fact that we were kneeling in the middle of a very busy intersection of downtown Pittsburgh, in front of an abortion clinic. This was the most dangerous place in the world for a bunch of people to be kneeling…on the spot where thousands of vehicles drive daily...and yet, I felt completely safe and at peace.
I was struck by the seeming contradiction of that moment. In the middle of a chaotic downtown setting, kneeling on a filthy brick street, I felt almost like I was home…on my couch. I had the thought that I could have stayed here for a long time. How do you suppose that could be?
The very next day I was there again, but the feeling of safety and peace had vanished. It was just my husband and I…and we felt very alone, in the midst of many who are so lost and in need of our Lord. It was very difficult to be there, and I was so glad when we left.
It’s amazing how much easier it is to have a strong faith when surrounded by others who share it...but so difficult to hold on to that faith when we are alone.
This experience reminded of a video I had recently watched about a convent of Carmelite nuns who were executed during the French revolution. As religion had recently been outlawed, they were in hiding, but had been discovered and sentenced to death by the guillotine. When the time for execution arrived, the 16 nuns stood in the middle of the street, surrounded by a blood-drunk crowd who gathered to watch the “entertainment”. While waiting to be beheaded, they sang hymns. At first there were 16 beautiful voices, singing to God. Then, 15. Then, 14. 13. 12. 11. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. Finally, there was the last nun. She was the oldest, the Mother Superior. She had asked for her daughters to go before her, so she would be there to comfort each one as they climbed the scaffold. Now, she was the only one left. She continued to sing…until she couldn’t.
As I stood on that crazy sidewalk with my husband, looking at the spot where, just the night before I had felt such peace…I realized that God sometimes tests our faith to see if it is genuine. Sure, we can sing when we have each other…but will we continue to sing when we are alone? I know it’s hard. But the witness of one person, who is willing to keep their faith while surrounded by unbelievers, is more effective than multitudes. Those 16 nuns who kept the faith till the end was the witness that shamed the blood-drunk crowd and snapped them out of the demonic trance that had taken them over. The bloody revolution ended just 10 days later. You can watch the 20 minute video HERE if you are interested.
May we remember the power of our witness when we stand alone. May God give us the strength to be courageous when we are few in number. We trust in God to use us to bring an end to the executions that take place daily in our city through abortion.
May God bless you, Nikki
Keep reading to find out what happened on the sidewalk today…
Cathy & Peggy
Mary B. joined us again today for our prayer and witness. One couple and a few others went in, refusing information. We can only hope something they saw on a sign (a message from God) made an impression and they change their minds. Cathy
Julie & Conrad
About 6 women went into PP. A few took literature. Most had partners. About 3-4 exited with paper bags. Several passer byes stopped to talk. Julie gave or attempted to give literature to many women. Her joy and kindness touched many. Conrad
Larry
Only a few couples in and one or two out. Angie and Beth Ann prayed all four mysteries of the rosary from 11:00 till just after noon and Nikki and I prayed the Joyful mysteries after 12:15 PM. One passerby had a very nasty comment early on, but then several positive comments later! Larry
Kevin & John
John and Kevin from Regina Coeli parish of the North Hills were joined by Marc from Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Carnegie for the Wednesday, 1 to 3 pm prayer vigil. It was relatively quiet with more people leaving PP than going in. While we prayed the rosary, passersby made both positive and negative comments as expected. One woman was very interested in the fetal models display and stopped to examine it up close. The weather was typically cold and windy in spite of the 45-degree temperature and sunshine. Oddly, a plastic cup of what appeared to be Ranch dressing was lying in a parking spot and a car pulling out ran over it, splattering John and Kevin, the sidewalk, and some of the signage and displays. Kevin
Jeff & Katie
It was a pretty quiet but very windy shift; we had a few positive remarks from passersby and some couples were exiting PP. But Jeff showed me an old mural around the corner that I had walked past probably thousands of times and probably never would have noticed had he not pointed it out! “Jesus is Lord”! I wish the building owner would restore it but it was encouraging to see!!
Every day on the sidewalk highlights the good, the bad, and the ugly. Most uplifting is seeing the mural. We saw it years ago while on shift. I think Nikki pointed it out to us. Glad to see it’s still there. We know He always is. Especially on the sidewalk. Thank you for witnessing today.