Posted on 03/29/2009 10:21:40 AM PDT by Faith
40 Days for Life consists of 40 days of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion,
40 days of constant, peaceful vigil outside abortion centers and Planned Parenthood offices
and 40 days of active pro-life community outreach.
Your community may be participating in this prayerful vigil.
If so, please join others in your area
or unite with thousands across America
during the 40 days of Lent
in praying for an end to abortion in this nation.
Let us affirm the unborn children by our language.
SCRIPTURE
Anyone who says to his brother, "Raca," is answerable to the Sanhedrin... anyone who says, "You fool!" will be in danger of the fire of hell.
-- Matthew 5:22
REFLECTION by Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
Before the schoolyard bully beats up his victim, he calls him names. This is a way to dehumanize the victim, and therefore make it easier to justify attacking him.
In this verse from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that using dehumanizing language is sinful. "Raca" was an Aramaic term of contempt.
The respect and love we are called to have for other human lives is not limited to action alone; it also has to manifest itself in language.
Professor William Brennan, in his book "Dehumanizing the Vulnerable: When Word Games Take Lives," traces the dehumanizing language used to oppress various groups of people in history, such as our African-American brothers and sisters, or our Jewish brothers and sisters in the Holocaust.
He then shows that the same kind of dehumanizing language is used against the unborn, who have been called "parasites," "tissue," and "medical waste," among other things.
What are we to do instead? We are to affirm one another, including the unborn, with ennobling language that inspires respect and love.
The unborn are precious children, they are our brothers and sisters, they are the image of God. Let us multiply the language of affirmation, as we hasten to the day of their protection!
PRAYER
Lord, we ask your forgiveness for any times our words have dehumanized our brothers and sisters.
We also ask you to send your grace to those who speak and write in degrading terms about the children in the womb. Convert those who do not see the dignity of these children.
Loosen the tongues of those who do not know how to acknowledge the humanity and sacredness of these tiny lives.
Keep us all aware of the power of language, and help us to use it rightly in the cause of life and justice. We pray through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Holy God,
Help us to stand for Your powerful truth and to recognize that the babies that are being mercilessly killed are our own brothers and sisters in Christ-—fully human, fully created by You, our God.
Let us remain silent no more.
In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Deaths in America per year
1,400,000 people die from abortion
650,000 people die of heart disease
560,000 people die of cancer
143,000 people die of stroke
75,000 people die of diabetes
Another perspective:
18,000 - Deaths by death penalty in American history (all the way back to the 1600s).
1,315,000 - Deaths in all American wars combined.
45,000,000 - Deaths by abortion since Roe v Wade
Well done did 2 hours this rainy morning out PP... Plenty of Positive support!
February 25 – April 5, 2009
Day 33— 292 babies saved
God bless you, Philly! The Lord will reward your faithfulness! You have put your beliefs into action! You have brought glory and honor to the Creator!
Salvation, I thank you for the beautiful prayer and for the good news from the 40 Days campaign. The prayers and presence of the people DO make a difference!
Beautiful
Our Master, we Come to You Thanking You for Your Love and Your Grace. Be Magnified, our God, for Your Compassion for Your Unborn Lambs. Please Raise Up a Holy Army, Lord, who will Intercede Unfailing for them. Please Shield the Innocent Babes, Father, with Your Strong and Loving Hand. Please Change the Hearts of the Pro-Abortion People in our Land to Treasure Life. Help them, Your Excellency, to See that Every Soul is Precious. Help us, Lord, to Place an Infinite Value Upon these Helpless Ones. We Look to You for Mercy, Lord God of Eternal Grace.
May the Day Come, Father, when the Abortuaries will All be Closed. Our Righteous King, Please Forgive and Help our USA.
Thank You for Your Lovingkindness, Lord, and Your Caring, Merciful Heart. In Jesus' Name, for the Glory and Honor of the King, amen.
As a companion to the Face the Facts status for today (3/17/09), I wanted to share the following collection of quotes -- a good reminder of *who* we're standing and speaking out for -- from an article on the Cry Action blog:
Already Dreaming?
"By midpregnancy the fetus has begun to explore its own body and environment using its hands. It often holds on to the umbilical cord, and when a thumb approaches its mouth, it will turn and begin to make sucking motions with its lips... The fetus is also using its sense of hearing for orientation. Its most familiar sounds are surely the noises of the mother's digestive system and the swishing from her major blood vessels, but gradually the fetus also begins to perceive the sounds of the mother's world, such as music and the father's voice. The eyes of the fetus are sensitive to light, even though the eyelids are still shut tight..."
-Lennart Nilsson and Lars Hamberger, A Child is Born, 4th edition. New York: Bantum Dell, 2003. p. 141
"Does a fetus see anything? It is known that the eye can sense light as early as the third month of pregnancy. Sometimes when an endoscope is inserted into the amniotic sac, a fetus tries to protect its eyes from the light on the instrument, either by turning away or by using its hands and fingers."
-Lennart Nilsson and Lars Hamberger, A Child is Born, 4th edition. New York: Bantum Dell, 2003. p. 146
"During her odyssey in the womb [a fetus] will smile, recognize her mother's voice and maybe even dream."
-In the Womb, National Geographic, 2005
"One of the many things revealed by the 4D scans is the fact that babies have rapid eye movement sleep. This is a period of sleep when the eyes slicker around behind the eyelids. Later in life, this is an indication of dreaming. This gentle flicker of an eye could be a sign that the fetus, still with a month to go before being born is already dreaming."
-In the Womb, National Geographic, 2005
"Twins, and other multiples, are known for a particular characteristic in utero. Scientists have even witnessed them playing games together... Scientists think their prenatal behavior [carries] over into early childhood."
-In the Womb, National Geographic, 2005
"In the top drawer of my desk, I keep [a picture of my son]. This picture was taken on September 7, 1993, 24 weeks before he was born. The sonogram image is murky, but it reveals clear enough a small head tilted back slightly, and an arm raised up and bent, with the hand pointing back toward the face and the thumb extended out toward the mouth. There is no doubt in my mind that this picture, too, shows [my son] at a very early stage in his physical development. And there is no question that the position I defend in this book entails that it would have been morally permissible to end his life at this point."
-David Noonin, "A Defense of Abortion"
"Never, never will we desist till we . . . extinguish every trace of this bloody traffic, of which our posterity, looking back to the history of these enlightened times will scarce believe that it has been suffered to exist so long a disgrace and dishonor to this country."
-William Wilberforce
"When my wife and I visited the Yad Vashim Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, we were most deeply touched by the children's memorial. It has 1500 candles, with mirrors designed to reflect each candle a thousand times, representing the 1.5 million children killed in the Holocaust. We stood in the darkness hearing the names of individual children read one by one.
I was struck by the number, because at the time it was the same number killed by abortion in America each of the previous few years. The fact that most of these children haven't been given names doesn't diminish their worth. I have stood at memorials for the unborn where parents have given names to their children and written them in expressions of love and grief. If we could only hear the names of each of these children whispered to us in the dark, perhaps we would wake up."
-Randy Alcorn, ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments. p. 301
Fascinating information! Many thanks, Mountain Flower. May God bless you in your defense of the unborn.
Thank you for posting the beautiful Psalm, Salvation. May the Word of God be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths.
Standing with you, sister!
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