Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Rolling into Week 2!

From our C'ville director:

Dear Friends,
Thank you all for your prayers and support. This is such an incredible time for our community and I would like to share with you a few thoughts.

* If you are feeling like your participation won't make much of a difference, think of all the women who changed their minds about having abortions after speaking with or even just seeing someone praying outside the abortion mill. Nationally, there are incredible fruits coming from this ministry. And locally, we already have many great stories. If you feel alone, remember 200 cities are joining you at any moment you are praying.

* If you are feeling too busy, consider Bernard Nathanson, who co-founded the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, while working 2 and 1/2 other jobs. He continued to take on more responsibilities, such as overseeing new hospitals performing abortions, and running medical clinics that taught doctors how to perform abortions. If the enemy can muster motivation and determination in one man in order to spread the oppression of abortion, what can God do in you to bring healing, peace, and an end to this bloodshed?

* If you're feeling too tired, remember that God sent Moses Joshua and Aaron to hold up his arms according to the Lord's command. Remember that God fed Elijah the necessary food to complete a superhuman journey. Remember that Jesus was tired and hungry, but prayed as he continued to fast. Sometimes God doesn't just ask us to do difficult things, but impossible things. That way, we know it is Him doing it through us, like closing down Planned Parenthood. "Nothing is impossible with God."

* If you're feeling discouraged, remember St. Paul's words, "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." And Isaiah who said, "He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might, he increases strength...they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not be faint."

* If you're feeling encouraged, remember that it wasn't good enough for St. John simply to believe. Everyone else had to believe it too. He said, "we are writing this that our joy may be complete." If you can't come out and pray, you can tell new people about the 40 Days. Encourage ones who know about it to continue to be involved. In particular, encourage your Pastors. Tell them that this ministry is bringing the love of Christ to our community - because IT IS.

Please put your families first. Do not neglect your job. But I ask you to examine your days and your week. What are your priorities? I ask you to consider when you could sacrifice an hour of your time to pray for these little one. One hour can effect another person's eternal life!

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is still in much need of volunteers.

If you decide to cover an hour of prayer, make sure to sign up online so that everyone else sees that time is covered. Even if you decide to go at a spur of the moment, please call me and I'll put you down.

I have decided to remove Sundays from our vigil time, because it seems most people are very involved at their Church's throughout the day.

Don't forget about the blog that is linked through our main page: www.40daysforlife.com/charlottesville and send any stories, pictures, or reflections to Eleanor.

I will keep you posted. May God bless you!

Monday, September 28, 2009

SING a little louder



I lived in Germany during the Nazi holocaust. I considered myself a Christian.

I attended church since I was a small boy. We had heard the stories of what was happening to the Jews But like most people today in this country, we tried to distance ourselves from the reality of what was really taking place. What could anyone do to stop it?

A railroad track ran behind our small church, and each Sunday morning we would hear the whistle from a distance and then the clacking of the wheels moving over the track. We became disturbed when on Sunday we noticed cries coming from the train as it passed by. We grimly realized that the train was carrying Jews. They were like cattle in those cars!

Week after week that train whistle would blow. We would dread to hear the sound of those old wheels because we knew that the Jews would begin to cry out to us as they passed our church. It was so terribly disturbing! We could do nothing to help these poor miserable people, yet their screams tormented us. We knew exactly at what time that whistle would blow, and we decided the only way to keep from being so disturbed by the cries was to start singing our hymns. By the time that train came rumbling past the church yard, we were singing at the top of our voices. If some of the screams reached our ears, we'd just sing a little louder until we could hear them no more. Years have passed and no one talks about it much anymore, but I still hear that train whistle in my sleep. I can still hear them crying out for help. God forgive all of us who called ourselves Christians, yet did nothing to intervene.

Now, so many years later, I see it happening all over again in America. God forgive you as Americans for you have blocked out the screams of millions of your own children. The holocaust is here. The response is the same as it was in my country -- SILENCE!

* 6,000,000 Jews were killed during the Holocaust. Over 47 million unborn babies have been killed by abortion since 1973.
* During the holocaust Jews were not recognized as legal "persons". Today, the Supreme Court does not recognize unborn children as legal "persons".


Spread the word about 40 Days for Life. Evil is a powerful force in Charlottesville. It takes a great deal to mobilize this town, to shake the people out of their complacency or willful ignorance and accomplish what we need to accomplish. We are able to move forward because of the sacrifices made by our incredible crew of volunteers. But THIS IS NOT ENOUGH.

The question of the hour has become -- WHAT WOULD CVILLE DO?
Are we to be left with this appalling answer? -- APPARENTLY, NOT MUCH!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Turn Evil Around

Last night, one of our volunteers pointed out something simple but really remarkable. Turn "EVIL" around -- and you get "LIVE".

This is not the frenzied and morally questionable mantra espoused by Auntie Mame (however excellent Rosalind Russell may undoubtedly be); this gestures toward the great existential gift given to us by our Creator. We are. We live. And we should strive daily to protect this gift, especially on behalf of those who are unable to defend themselves.

Sign up now. After a hard weekend, we're ready and waiting for volunteers to flood our weekdays!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Weekend Plans - VOLUNTEER NOW!

It is the weekend! The time of leisure, especially when the weather precludes yard work. Can it be that the weekend is also the time for our vigil? Yes, indeed, and we are MUCH in need of you all. Both Saturday and Sunday require sacrifice. There are few people who would give up an afternoon at the movies to pray in the rain, and even fewer who would want to offer up Sunday donuts to kneel on a sidewalk, but that is precisely what we need you to do. We cannot fail to stand strong now, even when you would much rather sleep!

As shown from our Friday photo spread, we welcome emails and photos!

Why Kneel?

(From our C'ville director)

“At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow.” Philippians 2:5-11

Does the Resurrection of Christ negate the importance of kneeling? I offer two reflections to answer this. The first is from Romano Guardini:

WHEN a man feels proud of himself, he stands erect, draws himself to his full height, throws back his head and shoulders and says with every part of his body, I am bigger and more important than you. But when he is humble he feels his littleness, and lowers his head and shrinks into himself. He abases himself. And the greater the presence in which he stands the more deeply he abases himself; the smaller he becomes in his own eyes.

But when does our littleness so come home to us as when we stand in God's presence? He is the great God, who is today and yesterday, whose years are hundreds and thousands, who fills the place where we are, the city, the wide world, the measureless space of the starry sky, in whose eyes the universe is less than a particle of dust, all-holy, all-pure, all-righteous, infinitely high. He is so great, I so small, so small that beside him I seem hardly to exist, so wanting am I in worth and substance. One has no need to be told that God's presence is not the place in which to stand on one's dignity. To appear less presumptuous, to be as little and low as we feel, we sink to our knees and thus sacrifice half our height; and to satisfy our hearts still further we bow down our heads, and our diminished stature speaks to God and says, Thou art the great God; I am nothing.

Therefore let not the bending of our knees be a hurried gesture, an empty form. Put meaning into it. To kneel, in the soul's intention, is to bow down before God in deepest reverence.

On entering a church, or in passing before the altar, kneel down all the way without haste or hurry, putting your heart into what you do, and let your whole attitude say, Thou art the great God. It is an act of humility, an act of truth, and everytime you kneel it will do your soul good.


The second reflection is taken from a book by Joseph Cardinal Ratziner (now Pope Benedict XVI), who named this writing after Guardini’s reflections quoted above, “The Spirit of the Liturgy.”

…However, St. Luke, who in his whole work (both the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles) is in a special way the theologian of kneeling prayer, tells us that Jesus prayed on his knees. This prayer, the prayer by which Jesus enters into his Passion, is an example for us, both as gesture and in its content….Now we understand why the Son’s loving way of addressing the Father, “Abba”, is found in this place (Mark 14:36). St. Paul sees in this cry the prayer that the Holy Spirit places on our lips (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6) and thus anchors our Spirit-filled prayer in the Lord’s prayer in Gethsemane.

…Secondly…the gesture of falling to one’s knees before another, which is described four times in the Gospels (Mk 1:40; 10:17; Mt 17:14; 27:29)…A leper comes to Jesus and begs him for help. He falls to his knees before him and says: ‘If you will, you can make me clean.’…What we have here is…a supplication expressed fervently in bodily form, while showing a trust in power beyond the merely human.

…The bodily gesture itself is the bearer of the spiritual meaning, which is precisely that of worship. Without the worship, the bodily gesture would be meaningless, while the spiritual act must of its very nature, because of the psychosomatic unity of man, express itself in the bodily gesture. The two aspects are united in the one word [proskynein, which means adoration on one’s knees, appearing 11 times in St. John’s Gospel], because in a very profound way they belong together. When kneeling becomes merely external, a merely physical act, it becomes meaningless. On the other hand, when someone tries to take worship back into the purely spiritual realm and refuses to give it embodied form, the act of worship evaporates, for what is purely spiritual is inappropriate to the nature of man. Worship is one of those fundamental acts that affect the whole man. That is why bending the knee before the presence of the living God is something we cannot abandon.


Ratzinger goes on to explain that in the Old Testament Hebrew, the knee was associated with strength, so to kneel was “to bend one’s strength before the living God, an acknowledgment of the fact that all that we are we receive from him.” This expression of worship can be seen with Solomon (2 Chron 6:13), Ezra (Ezra 9:5), Sts. Peter and Paul and the whole Christian community (Acts 9:40, 20:36, 21:5), which in these later cases take place after the Resurrection. Stephen, the first martyr, models Jesus and prays on his knees as he witnesses to Christ showing us his “entry into the prayer of Jesus (in Gethesemane). Kneeling is not only a Christian gesture, but a christological one…The man who learns to believe learns also to kneel…”

Friday Photos: 5pm









Friday, September 25, 2009

Day 3 for Life

A message from our Cville director:

Dear Friends,

Thank you all for your prayers and sacrifices for the sake of these innocent children. You are not only helping save lives but also showing every woman with child that she deserves better than the detriment of abortion. From other parts of the country there are already stories of one mother whose child was saved and of a clinic worker who quit because of the 40 Days! This is the impact of our efforts!

We really need volunteers to fill many spots this weekend. For those of you who have recently asked to be added to this list, please sign-up for a time to pray on our website: If you are planning on going to the abortion mill but don't sign up, the time will appear to be vacant. So make sure to sign up if you plan to pray.

Make sure to check out our regularly updated blog [HERE!].

I also wanted to mention that I will be giving a talk entitled "Building the Culture of Life: Our Crucial Calling" at St. Thomas Aquinas Hall this Sunday at 10:15 AM. I hope you can make it (directions).

Keep spreading the word about this life saving ministry. Who doesn't have time to save a life? May God bless you all tremendously.

"The Pro-Life Movement will succeed only to the extent that pro-life people are willing to be inconvenienced." David R. Scott, Jr., Life Decisions International

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" -- Matthew 25:40.


PLEASE NOTE OUR NEED FOR WEEKEND VOLUNTEERS!!!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Day 2 for Life

Our hours are filled, by God's grace and the generosity of our volunteers. But the army we need to stand up against a bastion of genocide like Charlottesville has not yet come to light. Is there a valley of bones handy? (Cf. Ezekiel 37)

Sign up! If you have signed up already, sign up again! Persuade your friends to sign up! Talk to your neighbors! Beseech your fellow parishioners!

40 Days for Life: St. Louis

The 40 Days for Life team in St. Louis began a day of preparation prior to the campaign with prayer at a local church, followed by more prayer on the sidewalk in front of the Planned Parenthood abortion center -- prayer that was joined by more than 100 people.

At the St. Louis kickoff rally that evening, "we sang, prayed and had a chance to meet many new
people," said local coordinator Brian Westbrook. "God truly blessed us with an exciting night."

But the excitement was just beginning. At the end of the long day, Brian went home, checked his e-mail and found this message:

"I just wanted to let you know that today just before we left the clinic, as we were wrapping up and praying together, one of the sidewalk counselors came over and let us know that a couple who had gone into the clinic in the morning had just left and decided to keep their baby. So praise God, I believe that's the first fruits of what's to come over the next 40 days."

Brian said, "What an incredible start to these 40 Days for Life. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us this fall. Keep praying and fasting and one day we will see an end to abortion."

Positive reports from kickoff events and news stories about 40 Days for Life are pouring in from across North America as the campaign is getting off to an incredible start in over 200 locations.


God is Good. Come on, Cville!

Victory in Kirksville!

Inspiring news from Missouri. God is Good.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Isn't that a little...extreme?



A woman, kneeling down to pray as she took part in the vigil today, was accosted by a driver.

"Isn't that a little...extreme?" asked the driver. "What about the Resurrection? You should stand up!"

Then she pressed down on the accelerator and drove off.

In a world where suffering is something we medicate, and prayer is something allocated to the deepest corner of private life, far from the public eye so that no one be made to feel uncomfortable -- horror of horrors! -- is it to be wondered at that we be urged not to kneel?

By "extreme", do we mean "the greatest or highest degree"? By "extreme", do we mean "drastic"? What is the scale on which we measure? Shall we not measure it against the Cross? We cannot understand the Resurrection without the Crucifixion. Nor can we have any hope of victory in this battle against evil unless we recognize that the Cross is itself our victory. A bloody, painful victory. An EXTREME victory.

Gaze upon the crucified Lord, with the suffering of the infant martyrs held close upon your heart. Is not life itself worth a few knee callouses?

"I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints." (Colossians 1:24-26)

An email from the front

Hi,

I drove by around 8:30 and no one was there so I took my 2 year old with some toys and planned to pray a rosary. A Gentleman from Staunton showed up, William, and we prayed a rosary together. Caroline sat and played with her toys between us. I was kneeling so I was able to keep her contained. Amazingly enough she sat through the whole rosary! How is that for God's grace. Keeping a two yr old quiet and still for 18 minutes during a rosary! I am excited to show up and get seeds planted in hearts and minds!

thanks,

Michelle W.
Earlysville


Thanks, Michelle! We're appalled to learn that the post was vacant this morning, but rejoice in the benevolent grace of God Who drew you and William to hold down the fort! Blessings abound in the midst of all challenges.

Day 1 for Life

An announcement from the 40 Days for Life Cville director:

Praise God! The 40 Days for Life begins Today! We have such an incredible opportunity to impact our community in positive way. We are praying for God's mercy that He may bring an end to abortion in our local community and in every community. Please continue to spread the word about the 40 days. If you are planning on covering a certain hour of prayer at Planned Parenthood, or know of someone who is, please make sure that you/they sign up for that time online because that is our Master Schedule. Otherwise, it appears that no one is covering it. We still need coverage on Wednesdays and Weekends especially.

www.40daysforlife.com/charlottesville

On our site you'll find:

* the master schedule for the prayer vigil and instructions how to sign up.
* info about upcoming events and news.
* our blog [THAT'S US!] that will be constantly updated, which includes photos, write-ups, articles, stories of positive experiences, etc. If you have anything you'd like to put on the blog, please email Eleanor at wimseysqk@gmail.com
* We also hope to have a spiritual bouquet where you can post types of fasts, prayers, and more. Stay tuned for this.

Important note about parking: Albemarle Baptist Church is allowing us to use their lot. It is located across the street from Planned Parenthood. Make sure to take the spots furthest from the Church and be careful crossing the road!

Please be vigilant with your prayers and sacrifices during the next 40 days. May God hear our prayers and bring his love and justice. God bless you all!

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Tomorrow...

...LIFE HANGS IN THE BALANCE.



Have you volunteered yet?

40 Days for Life Rally

The Rally went well, and was attended by a lovely cast of pro-lifers with many adorable children in tow.






A Myriad of Ways to Say It

* Choose Life!
* If it's not a baby, you're not pregnant.
* He's a child, not a choice.
* She's a child, not a choice.
* Only the woman gets a "choice".
* The natural choice is life.
* Life - what a beautiful choice!
* The right to choose should mean choose what's right.
* I love babies, born and pre-born.
* Real feminists don't kill babies.
* Careful, former fetus driving.
* I think, therefore I'm Pro-life!
* Adoption is the caring option.
* One abortion = One dead, one wounded.
* PP kills over 132,000 children a year.
* Choose Life, your mom did!
* Real doctors don't kill babies
* Life - The choice of the next generation
* Abortion doesn't make you unpregnant, it makes you the mother of a dead baby.
* Abortion stops a beating heart.
* Adoption saves a beating heart.
* TECHNICALLY...you're just a blob of tissue too!
* Abortion needs aborting.
* A fetus is not "your body".
* Abortion KILLS
* Abortion HURTS
* Abortion - Just say no.
* Be a hero, save a whale... save a baby, go to jail.
* Equal rights for unborn women.
* Abortion kills children.
* God is Pro-Life!
* Smile - your mother was Pro-Life.
* Abortion - the ultimate child abuse.
* Abortion - pick on someone your own size.
* Only BIG BABIES are pro-choice.
* Abortion is NOT "health care".
* How much does abortion cost? One human life.
* Babies are not spare parts.
* Abortion is violence.
* Children are a gift from God.
* As a former fetus, I oppose abortion.
* Pro-woman, pro-child, PRO-LIFE
* LIFE - it's a gift, not a choice.
* What's "pro-family" about killing children?
* Peace in the womb...abortion is violent!
* "Safe and legal"...for whom?
* It's a child...there IS no choice.
* What's a "safe" abortion?
* Pregnancy is not a disease.
* Some babies die by chance... no baby should die by choice.
* Every third child dies by choice.
* It took two to conceive...where's the man's "choice"?
* A fetus is a life with potential...not potential life.
* Abortion? The supreme court also legalized slavery...
* Stop Euthanasia, the life you save may be your own.
* ABORTION... a baby can LIVE without it.
* Defend the helpless... vote Pro-Life!
* Take my hand, not my life.
* Abortion enslaves women.
* Everyone was a fetus once.
* Something inside dies after an abortion.
* Abortion: One Heart Stops...Another Heart Breaks.
* Life begins at conception and ends at Planned Parenthood.
* Pro-Life is the radical notion that babies are people.
* Half of the patients entering an abortion "clinic" never come out alive.
* Planned Parenthood...got death?
* Real men stand by their children.

Monday, September 21, 2009

WOULD YOU REMAIN SILENT?

If I were to suggest that a third of the African-American population be brutally put to death in the streets... WOULD YOU REMAIN SILENT?

If I were to endorse the wholesale oppression of women, reducing them to objects for male pleasure and stifling their genius... WOULD YOU REMAIN SILENT?

If I were to suggest that all men be openly emasculated, their self-respect crushed, and their very being reduced to brute-like despair... WOULD YOU REMAIN SILENT?

If I were to endorse a program that persecuted the poor, weeding them out as "undesirables"... WOULD YOU REMAIN SILENT?

If I were to endorse a holocaust far beyond that accomplished by the Nazi regime... WOULD YOU REMAIN SILENT?

This is the true story of abortion -- racism, sexism, discrimination, and oppression -- hidden under a tissue of lies. The blood of the infant martyrs cries out to us from the ground. We can no longer be silent.

Sign up for our prayer vigil. It's not just 40 days -- it's for LIFE.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

40 Days for Life Kick-off Rally

Join us Mon, Sep 21, 7-8PM at The Covenant School (lower campus across from McIntire Park in the Multi-Purpose Room) as we gear up for the 40 Days for life. For 40 days, Christians will be gathering together from all around the Charlottesville area to pray to end abortion. We will have ice cream, prayer, and more information about how you can participate in saving lives and spreading the Gospel. For more information contact Irene Xenos at 227-6055 or icx6z@virginia.edu.

40 Days for Life and Charlottesville, Virginia

Evil is insidious and works best under cover of darkness. Many are not aware of the pervasiveness of abortion in our own community. That is why Christians throughout Charlottesville and Albemarle are coming together to participate in the National 40 Days for Life effort from this Wednesday, September 23rd through November 1st.

These 40 days of peaceful prayer and fasting for an end to abortion focus particularly on increasing community awareness by our prayer vigil outside of the Planned Parenthood near Albemarle High School. We need to be a visible presence, and are asking each of you to volunteer for one or more hours during the 40 days, and to help to spread the word to others about this important life-saving effort. The unborn, particularly in underprivileged and minority families against whom most abortions are performed, need you to stand up against the brutal slaughter of infants, to reach out to those in need of healing, to speak out against injustice, to give voices to silent screams, and to combat evil with prayer, which St. James tells us is powerful and effective. This is your opportunity.

Here we are, standing strong against this appalling genocide. Join us!

God bless.