THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ATTENDED -- I hear Father Joe was amazing and very inspiring with his talk about his experience at the clinic. Thank you Sue and Jenny for bringing this all together--and for doing the recap. Thank you Karen and The Magdalena's for sharing your musical gift (and thank you Shelley for the pictures--even though they are a bit blurry, they are memories!). Thank you Father Joe for your dedication and example of how to be a committed prayer warrior for LIFE! I'm sad to have missed this culmination of our prayers and perseverance during the past 40 days...but, as many of you know, my time was dedicated to the circumstance with my father-in-law (God, bless his soul!). (Maribeth)
Since the witness of 40 Days for Life is rooted in prayer, we opened our End Celebration with these prayers: Answering the Call to Be a Prayer Warrior, Prayer for the Unborn, and Prayer for Priests.
We were blessed by the beautiful songs from Karen Zawadski and the Magdalenas- Shelley Asbury and Robin Sitko.
Sue traced the evolution of Sterling Heights 40 Days for Life. Our first campaign consisted of many dedicated prayer warriors who have continued to grow in their commitment to life for eight campaigns. At the suggestion of one prayer warrior, Adopt a Day was initiated and continues. Priests, Deacons, and clergy have conducted many prayer vigils at the clinic. Jenny Pozniak singlehandedly built a "Chapel Without Walls" where she is joined by prayer warriors on Thursday evenings year round and every evening during the Spring and Fall Campaigns. We have begun Family Prayer Vigils on the Lord's Day during the campaigns. For a half hour at 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm, we pray and ponder the blessing of faithful families. We know that so goes the family, so goes society. So, we pray for strong faith-filled families. We are planning to have these family vigils every Sunday, not just during the official campaigns. We are looking for prayer warriors who would be willing to lead a vigil. We also have a super dedicated prayer warrior who has prayed every day, for two hours at the clinic during all of the campaigns. Outside of campaign times she prays every Friday at the clinic from 9 am - 11 am. It can be difficult for some to pray at the clinic unless they know that they would not be alone. So remember: Thursday evenings, Friday mornings, and soon Sunday afternoons there will be prayer warriors present so that you will not be alone. This is a major spiritual battle, we really need to be a peaceful, prayerful witness more than 80 days a year! The devil never rests and neither should we disengage from the battle.
Just a reminder, every Thursday at 6 pm,Jenny will be there for an hour of prayer for the end of abortion. The first 1/2 hour will be dedicated to praying out of the Family Prayer Booklet -- then either the Chaplet, Rosary, or Stations of the Cross. All are welcomed to this beautiful Chapel Without Walls.
The evening continued with witness from several of the prayer warriors--such as: Post-abortive woman stopped & held the sign of another post-abortive woman & they shed tears together & prayed together. Folks not realizing that WomanCare is a baby killing place. Folks liking the I Pray to End Abortion button & the prayer warrior giving them their button. Folks riding by on a bike & thanking them for praying there. (Many of our “instances” can be found on our Blog -- http://40daysforlifesterlingheights.blogspot.com/
Father Joe shared his heart with the grouip: Going back to 1948 talking about his mom & dad meeting, falling in love & getting married. Fr. Joe being their first born (which they offered up to God... not ever telling Fr. Joe). He went on to college & law school & was practicing law. Then one day, after hearing Pope John Paul II talk, he realized he had a vocation. He worried about how his parents would feel about his call to the priesthood. When Fr. Joe talked to his parents about his call, they told him that they had offered him up to God when he was born & were praying that he would become a priest. Fr. Joe was never alone while praying at the abortion mill because different folks from St. Malachy took various days each week to be there with him. It was not easy all the time: cold, snow, rain, and hail, but those who stopped by with their thanks or hot chocolate and kind words made it all worth while... even the negative folks. According to Father, This was much better then throwing a big party to celebrate his 25 years of priesthood. Father also noted that taking a Pro-Life position requires that you pay a price. Not every one agrees to pro-life truths, so some parishioners walk away. We can relate to that because a number of us feel the tension when we speak the truth about the sanctity of life to friends and sometimes even family members. Father Joe, by his example and reflections, gave us encouragement to not grow weary in our witness and prayer.
We ended the evening with a very warm, friendly, group of folks sharing wonderful treats in the Gathering Center after a beautiful time spent together in church. About eighty folks attended! Many mentioned how they really enjoyed this evening. We were assured that we are not alone in our pro-life convictions. We could not help but be filled with hope!
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