This beautiful little boy is Patrick. He is alive because some people were praying outside the facility where his mother was scheduled to have an abortion. With him is Shawn Carney from 40 Days for Life, an organisation that encourages people to fast, pray and hold vigils outside abortion facilities during the forty days of Lent. This year 400,000 people from 247 cities in the USA participated, as well as groups in England, Ireland, Spain, Armenia, Georgia and Australia. (NZ hasn't caught on as yet!) Over 600 babies have been saved this year because of their efforts. Patrick is just one of these hundreds who have been saved simply because there were people outside the abortion facility who brought a peaceful and compassionate message of hope to women seeking an abortion. How amazing to see this little boy's beautiful face and to realise that he came so close to being just another sad statistic, a number in the abortion body count, that we can grasp with our intellects but that our hearts don't comprehend. These are the moments when I'm reminded that the reason we're prolife is not to defend abstract concepts or philosophical theories. We are here for children like Patrick- real, unique, precious and unrepeatable human persons of infinite worth and value.
I was also moved by one of the daily devotionals that come with the campaign updates. It is by Fr. Frank Pavone, the national director of Priest for Life and a tireless prolife advocate. You can read it here.
In the audio clip that comes in this blog post, Shawn tells about how he boarded a plane only to find himself seated next to "Doctor" LeRoy Carhart, a high-profile late-term abortionist. Shawn's grace and compassion for everyone, even people like Dr. Carhart, is such an inspiration to me.
You can read stories from participants and daily updates at the 40 Days for Life site.
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