If you want to save your life…

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

Matthew 16:25

Does it seem like evil is heating up in our world today? Are you tempted to give up the fight for our most vulnerable brothers and sisters in the womb? Are you fearful of getting sick? Fearful of persecution? Do you think that our right to publicly witness our pro life views and our Christian faith is at risk of being taken away from us? If so, this blog post is for you.

I have had two images that have been sticking in my mind lately.

First, I am thinking of the image of Shadrach, Mesach and Abednego in the fiery furnace. I keep thinking of how that must have felt…to be in the midst of a raging fire, but not burned. Imagine for a moment that you are there with them in the furnace, enclosed in a protective bubble. You watch as the white hot flames consume everything around you…but they don’t touch you. You are safe, with God’s Angel at your side.

The other image I am thinking of is a painting that I saw on someone’s blog recently. It showed a group of early Christians…men, women and children, huddled together in the middle of the Roman Colosseum, with a large lion in the foreground. The Christians looked so pitiful. One of them was a young child. There was a man trying to lead them in prayer to help them to be courageous. The spectators in the stadium were proud and powerful, while the poor Christians, dirty and dressed in rags, were foolishly giving up their lives…for what? What…or should I say…WHO were they giving up their lives for? Our early Christian brothers and sisters believed that by giving up their lives for Christ, that they would find eternal life.

These two images are not leaving me. I wonder which awaits us?

I truly believe that God WILL protect us. I really do! I think that when we are faithful and obedient, and especially when we work to rescue His most precious and vulnerable babies from abortion…that we have a special place in his heart and that He will preserve us. So, we must press on…until we can’t. This is too important to give up…until we must.

So, if we were of the world…if this world WAS our home…right now I would be telling you that we have to take a break from 40 Days for Life. It is just too risky. But, thankfully, this world IS NOT our home!!! And so we strive on towards that beautiful finish line and we look forward to the day when we can say, as St. Paul said:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

2 Timothy 4:7-8

And now for our big announcement!

Not only are we continuing to press on and plan for our Lenten 40 Days for Life (Feb. 17 – Mar. 28)…but we are going to be part of the brand new program that 40 Days for Life is now launching…called…40 Days for Life 365!!!

Yes, 40 Days for Life is now happening YEAR-ROUND in more than two dozen cities and Pittsburgh is one of them!!! To start with, we will work on filling four days a week, in order to be there on abortion days. That will be on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. We have four dedicated team members who have agreed to be the schedulers for this new program. If you are interested in becoming a regular “pray-er” as part of 40 Days for Life 365, you can contact any one of these wonderful people (depending which day you are interested in signing up for):

Tuesdays: Steve Dristas – steve.dristas@gmail.com

Wednesdays: Katie O’Brien – fezysmama@yahoo.com

Fridays: Katie Breckenridge – kbreck57@gmail.com

Saturdays: Jen McDevitt – jenmcdevitt@gmail.com

This is still all very new, so please bear with us as we continue to work out all the details. Stay tuned for more emails and blog posts with more information!

Lent Campaign Kick-Off Event: Tuesday, Feb. 16th

6:00 pm Epiphany Church – Mass with Bishop Waltersheid and Fr. Chris Donley.

7:00 pm Eucharistic Procession from Epiphany Church to Planned Parenthood.

May God bless and preserve you in 2021!

In Christ,

Nikki

P.S. Please pray for our 40 Days for Life friends in Croatia! Kruno and Ante (who many of you remember from their visit to Pittsburgh two years ago), are asking for prayers for Croatia after a terrible earthquake destroyed three cities early this week! They continue to experience tremors and after shocks every day, which is very frightening. Many lost their homes and some lost lives. Thank you for your prayers!