As we celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi yesterday, here is a portion of a nice reflection on Corpus Christi from the Daughters of St. Paul entitled We are Called to Nourish One Another.

“For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me, and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me” (John 6:56-57).

The Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) invites us to pause and reflect upon the gift of the Eucharist in our own lives. Our reception of the Eucharistic bread and wine is not a “me and Jesus” feel good experience, but rather an encounter with the Real Presence of Christ that is meant to send us into the world to be Eucharist for one another. Jesus assures us that “whoever feeds on me will have life because of me.” The life that we receive in the Eucharist summons us to love and care for our neighbor: the poor, the marginalized, the ignorant, and the sinful. For us to care for someone, we must be willing to meet people where they are on their spiritual journey, and not where we think they should be.”

Please come to the sidewalk this week and meet others where they are.

Monday, 6/23; Tuesday, 6/24 and Friday, 6/27 are all 100% filled – Praise God!

Wednesday, 6/25 – 95% filled; 1 needed at 2p.

Thursday, 6/26 – 80% filled; 2 needed at 5p.

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STORIES FROM THE SIDEWALK

On Wednesday, 6/18 – A prayer warrior out to the sidewalk for his first time was able to have conversations with two different young women.  After a short conversation with each one of them, these young women left Planned Parenthood.  Thanks be to God and to this new prayer warrior.

On Thursday, 6/19 – Vigil for Life was blessed to be visited by the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa as she makes her way across the U.S. in the Ocean to Ocean Pilgrimage in Defense of Life.  A special thank you to Fr. Peter West and his driver, Chris, for making the sidewalk a stop on the pilgrimage.  Another big thank you to Amy Lang for coordinated this awesome visit.  Fr. Peter West led all in attendance at the prayer vigil in the Rosary and gave us some background information on the icon.  All in attendance were given a prayer card with a picture of the icon on the front – all in attendance were able to touch the prayer card to the icon for a special memento.  The Mass at 7 p.m. was held at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Monona.  It was a most beautiful Mass with Fr. Peter West as the Celebrant.  A special thank you to Fr. John Silva for welcoming the pilgrimage into IHM for the Mass and to Fr. Eric Sternberg for his assistance with the Mass.  Our Lady’s graces will be flowing from this visit for many days to come.

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YOU ARE INVITED TO:  A Prayer Rally for Purity organized to spiritually combat the impurity that permeates throughout our society and our culture. On Tuesday, July 1st during the Hour of Mercy from 3pm to 4pm we are asking people throughout our country to unite in a Prayer Rally for Purity.

To Register for this event or for more information visit – www.reclaimthekingdom.org

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VIGIL FOR LIFE SIDEWALK COUNSELOR TRAINING

If you are interested in sidewalk counselor training – mark your calendars for Wednesday, July 16th at 6:30p.m.  Veteran sidewalk counselor and head of the Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Will Goodman, fellow servant, Jen Dunnett and head of Rachel’s Vineyard in Madison, Mary Mead – will conduct the training.

If you are already a sidewalk counselor and wish to come just to share stories with others, feel free to join with this training group.

The location is still TBA.

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PLANNED PARENTHOOD FOND DU LAC CLOSING

This past week Planned Parenthood Wisconsin announced that they will be closing their Fond Du Lac birth control center.  PRAISE THE LORD!!

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Redeemer in the Womb prayer By: Priests for Life

Lord Jesus Christ, You took our human nature upon Yourself.

You shared our life and death, our childhood and adulthood.

You also shared our time in the womb. While still God, while worshiped and adored by the angels, while Almighty and filling every part of the universe, You dwelt for nine months in the womb of Mary. You were our Redeemer in the womb, our God who was a preborn child.

Lord Jesus, we ask You to bless and protect the children who today are in their mothers’ womb. Save them from the danger of abortion. Give their mothers the grace to sacrifice themselves, in body and soul, for their children. Help all people to recognize in the preborn child a brother, a sister, saved by You, our Redeemer in the womb.

Amen.

In today’s first reading, Moses pleads with God to be compassionate to the Israelites, “…This is indeed a stiff-necked people, yet pardon our wickedness and sins and receive us as your own.” (Exodus 34: 9) Just as Moses asked for God’s mercy to be shown to his people, we pray that God will “have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

Please bring your prayer of the Divine Mercy Chaplet to the sidewalk this week.

OPEN HOURS

Tuesday, June 17th – 94% filled on this Abortion Day – 12p.m. – 1 person needed.

Wednesday, June 18th – 90% filled on this Abortion Day – 1 needed at 10a.m. and 1 needed at 12p.m.

All other days and hours for the week are filled!  Thanks be to God!

To sign up for hours go to: vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview

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STORIES FROM THE SIDEWALK

On Tuesday, June 10th, one of our morning prayer warriors was able to speak to a young couple who were heading into Planned Parenthood.  With the help of our prayer warrior – the young couple decided instead to go over to the Women’s Care Center.  Praise God!  They left the Women’s Care Center smiling and laughing with each other.  Please keep this young couple in prayer.

On Thursday, June 12th, our prayer warriors discovered that Planned Parenthood was CLOSED FOR THE DAY!  It was such a beautiful day!  Our prayer warriors were able to send about six young women who were trying to go to Planned Parenthood to the Women’s Care Center.  We are so grateful to God for:  PP being closed for the day; for the Women’s Care Center being right across the street from PP and for LIFE!

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“Ocean to Ocean Campaign in Defense of Life” pilgrimage to visit Madison

After traveling 40,000 miles through 24 European nations, the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, already viewed by millions and venerated by hundreds of thousands of Christians, landed on the shores of America in August 2013 for the next leg of an historic pilgrimage in the movement to build a Culture of Life.

The Black Madonna, a replica of the original in Jasna Gora monastery in Poland, was received at a ceremony on Saturday, August 24, 2013 on St. Clement’s Island, Maryland – the exact site of the first landing of Catholic pilgrims in the American British colonies of the 17th century. Tradition holds that the original icon of the Black Madonna was painted by St. Luke on a cypress table used by the Holy Family.

The Human Life International-sponsored “Ocean to Ocean Pilgrimage in Defense of Life” will visit Madison on Thursday, June 19th, 2014.   The Black Madonna will be on the sidewalk outside of Planned Parenthood on Orin Road for a 3 p.m. prayer vigil and at a 7 p.m. Mass with Father Peter West of Human Life International as Celebrant at Immaculate Heart of Mary, Monona.

For more information on the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa go to:

www.hli.org/hli_campaigns/ocean-ocean-pilgrimage/

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Prayer to Mary, Mother of the Life Within

By: Priests for Life

O Mary, Mother of the Life Within,

all life we entrust to you;

The life of every expectant mother

and the child within her womb:

The life of every human body,

the life of every human soul;

The life of every newborn child

and the life of all grown old.

You held the Lord to your own heart

and drew Him in so close.

So draw us close now in all our needs,

O Mother of the Life Within.

Amen.

As of Monday, 6/9, night – we have no open hours for this week!  PRAISE GOD!  It is sure to be a beautiful week!

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“Ocean to Ocean Campaign in Defense of Life” pilgrimage to visit Madison

After traveling 40,000 miles through 24 European nations, the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, already viewed by millions and venerated by hundreds of thousands of Christians, landed on the shores of America in August 2013 for the next leg of an historic pilgrimage in the movement to build a Culture of Life.

The Black Madonna, a replica of the original in Jasna Gora monastery in Poland, was received at a ceremony on Saturday, August 24, 2013 on St. Clement’s Island, Maryland – the exact site of the first landing of Catholic pilgrims in the American British colonies of the 17th century. Tradition holds that the original icon of the Black Madonna was painted by St. Luke on a cypress table used by the Holy Family.

The Human Life International-sponsored “Ocean to Ocean Pilgrimage in Defense of Life” will visit Madison on Thursday, June 19th, 2014.   The Black Madonna will be on the sidewalk outside of Planned Parenthood on Orin Road for a 3 p.m. prayer vigil and at a 7 p.m. Mass with Father Peter West of Human Life International as Celebrant at Immaculate Heart of Mary, Monona.

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Pro-Life Teen Retreat

June 14, 2014 – 9:15a-6p – Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 5250 Justin Road, La Crosse

Join Pro-Life Wisconsin youth for a fun day of education, networking with other pro-life youth, prayer, and spiritual strengthening!  Recommended age range 14-17.

Register online at www.prolifewisconsin.org or call 262-796-1111.

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Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Spirit of wisdom and understanding, enlighten our minds to perceive the mysteries of the universe in relation to eternity. Spirit of right judgment and courage, guide us and make us firm in our baptismal decision to follow Jesus’ way of love. Spirit of knowledge and reverence, help us to see the lasting value of justice and mercy in our everyday dealings with one another. May we respect life as we work to solve problems of family and nation, economy and ecology. Spirit of God, spark our faith, hope and love into new action each day. Fill our lives with wonder and awe in your presence which penetrates all creation. Amen.

(www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php)

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1: 8)

Jesus spoke these words to his apostles just before ascending to heaven as the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon them.  We, however, have already received the Holy Spirit at our Baptism into Christ and then sealed with the Holy Spirit more completely at our Confirmation.  We have been configured to Christ to be his witnesses.

Come to the sidewalk and be a witness for Christ Jesus.

OPEN HOURS

Monday, 6/2: 100% filled; Praise God!

Tuesday, 6/3: Just 69% filled on this Abortion Day; 1 needed at 2p; 2 needed at 3p and 2 needed at 4p.

Wednesday, 6/4: Only 40% filled on this Abortion Day; 1 needed at 8a; 2 needed at 9a; 2 needed at 12p; 1 needed at 2p; 2 needed at 3p; 2 needed at 4p and 2 needed at 5p.

Thursday, 6/5: 100% filled: Praise God!

Friday, 6/6: 100% filled: Praise God!

To sign up for hours go to: vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or call Gwen Finnegan at (608)393-8545 or e-mail info@vigilforlife.org.

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Stories from the sidewalk

BABY AND MOTHER SAVED FROM ABORTION!!!!!!!!!!!

On Tuesday, 5/27, Vigil for Life prayer warriors were able to speak with a young couple and help them choose life for their baby!  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!  The prayer warriors exchanged contact information with the young couple so that ongoing support can take place.  The mother of the young woman is still pushing her to have an abortion as are many of her other family members.  The young woman has adamantly told her family that she is choosing life for her baby.  Please pray for this young couple and their baby!  The baby is due in January 2015.

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Griswold v. Connecticut anniversary prayer vigil and event will be held outside of Planned Parenthood onThursday, June 5 at 11a.m.

Brief history on Griswold v. Connecticut (from thepillkills.org/history.php):

“1961:

Dr. C. Lee Buxton, Yale Medical School’s OB-GYN department chairman, and Estelle Griswold, executive director of Planned Parenthood, open four Planned Parenthood clinics in Connecticut, where the use of birth control is illegal. They are arrested and the Griswold v. Connecticut case begins to work its way through the court system.

1962:

Serious side effects from the pill, such as blood clots and heart attacks, begin to be publicized. Searle receives reports of 132 blood clots, 11 of which were terminal, but denies that they are caused by the pill.

1965:

The U.S. Supreme Court decides Griswold v. Connecticut by overturning the law prohibiting the use of birth control, thereby decriminalizing poison in the form of the pill.”

It is no surprise that Planned Parenthood was behind the creation and legalization of the birth control pill.

Come out to hear from Emma Scuglik of Pro-Life Wisconsin and to learn more about Griswold v. Connecticut and the devastating effects of the birth control pill so you can bring an awareness of what you learn to others.

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Pro-Life Teen Retreat

June 14, 2014 – 9:15a-6p – Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 5250 Justin Road, La Crosse

Join Pro-Life Wisconsin youth for a fun day of education, networking with other pro-life youth, prayer, and spiritual strengthening!  Recommended age range 14-17.

Register online at www.ProLifeWisconsin.org or call 262-796-1111.

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HOLY SPIRIT NOVENA FOR LIFE

By:  Priests for Life

Holy Spirit,

At the dawn of creation,

You brought order out of chaos,

Light out of darkness,

Life out of nothingness.

Breathe on us once again,

And change this culture of death

Into a Culture of Life.

Inspire in your people

A spirit of generous welcome

For each and every life,

No matter how unexpected or dependent

That life may be.

Holy Spirit,

You are the Advocate.

As you fill us with Yourself,

Make us advocates

For the unborn and all the vulnerable,

Until we are all united

In the endless life and joy

of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

One God, forever and ever. Amen.

In today’s 2nd reading, Saint Peter reminds us, “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.” (1 Peter: 3-17)  Do we really suffer while out on the sidewalk?  This past winter was very cold, so we may have suffered a little from the cold.  Now, that the weather is so beautiful we won’t suffer from the cold.  Perhaps, the real suffering we experience on the sidewalk is from what we know happens within the walls of Planned Parenthood:  Young mothers are injured emotionally, spiritually and sometimes physically; Young fathers’ hearts are broken and the lives of such precious babies still being formed within their mothers’ wombs are ended very abruptly!  So – we must come to the sidewalk to witness for Christ’s Gospel of Life because “…it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.”

Please come to the sidewalk this week!

OPEN HOURS

Monday, 5/26 – HOLIDAY!  Please pray from home or better yet in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

Tuesday, 5/27 – 81% filled on this Abortion Day: 1 needed at 11a; 1 needed at 1p and1 needed at 2p.

Wednesday, 5/28 – Only 65% filled on this Abortion Day; 1 needed at 8a; 2 needed at 9a; 2 needed at 4p and 2 needed at 5p.

Thursday, 5/29 – 80% filled; 2 needed at 5p.

Friday, 5/30 – 100% filled; Praise God!

To sign up for hours, go to: vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or call Gwen Finnegan at (608)393-8545 or e-mail info@vigilforlife.org.

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Griswold v. Connecticut anniversary prayer vigil and event will be held outside of Planned Parenthood on Thursday, June 5 and 11a.m.

Brief history on Griswold v. Connecticut (from http://thepillkills.org/history.php):

“1961:

Dr. C. Lee Buxton, Yale Medical School’s OB-GYN department chairman, and Estelle Griswold, executive director of Planned Parenthood, open four Planned Parenthood clinics in Connecticut, where the use of birth control is illegal. They are arrested and the Griswold v. Connecticut case begins to work its way through the court system.

1962:

Serious side effects from the pill, such as blood clots and heart attacks, begin to be publicized. Searle receives reports of 132 blood clots, 11 of which were terminal, but denies that they are caused by the pill.

1965:

The U.S. Supreme Court decides Griswold v. Connecticut by overturning the law prohibiting the use of birth control, thereby decriminalizing poison in the form of the pill.”

It is no surprise that Planned Parenthood was behind the creation and legalization of the birth control pill.

Come out to hear from Emma Scuglik of Pro-Life Wisconsin and to learn more about Griswold v. Connecticut and the devastating effects of the birth control pill so you can bring an awareness of what you learn to others.

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Pro-Life Teen Retreat

June 14, 2014 – 9:15a-6p – Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 5250 Justin Road, La Crosse

Join Pro-Life Wisconsin youth for a fun day of education, networking with other pro-life youth, prayer, and spiritual strengthening!  Recommended age range 14-17.

Register online at www.ProLifeWisconsin.org or call 262-796-1111.

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“Be a forceful witness of love for life, which is God’s gift to you.  Be a prophet of life!  Then your words and deeds will give hope for those who have no hope.”  St. John Paul II

Witness prayer by St. John Paul II

Beloved God, thank you for the gift of life.  Help me

to use it well, not just for myself but for all of those

you place in my path.  May my words and deeds offer

hope, and may I never dampen the spark of hope in

others.  Give me courage, please, that I might go out

and be a witness by sharing the good news that you

are a God of love and life.

Amen.

“Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6: 9)

Please bring your prayers to the sidewalk this week! (Beautiful weather is in the forecast for this week.)

OPEN HOURS

Monday, 5/19 – 100% filled; Praise God!

Tuesday, 5/20 – Only 44% filled on this Abortion Day!  1 needed at 10a; 1 needed at 11a; 1 needed at 12p; 1 needed at 1p; 2 needed at 2p; 2 needed at 3p; and 1 needed at 4p.

Wednesday, 5/21 – Only 45% filled on this Abortion Day!  1 needed at 8a; 2 needed at 9a; 1 needed at 12p; 1 needed at 1p; 1 needed at 2p; 1 needed at 3p; 2 needed at 4p and 2 needed at 5p.

Thursday, 5/22 – Just 70% filled; 1 needed at 4p and 2 needed at 5p.

Friday, 5/23 – Just 50% filled; 1 needed at 1p and 1 needed at 2p.

To sign up for hours go to: vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or call Gwen Finnegan at (608)393-8545 or e-mail info@vigilforlife.org.

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Griswold v. Connecticut anniversary prayer vigil and event will be held outside of Planned Parenthood onThursday, June 5 and 11a.m.

Brief history on the birth control pill and Griswold v. Connecticut (from thepillkills.org/history.php):

“1912:Radical feminist Margaret Sanger conceives of a “magic pill” contraceptive. Sanger later founded the American Birth Control League, which eventually became the Planned Parenthood Federation.

1930:On August 15, the Lambeth Conference (a periodic meeting of the Anglican Church’s bishops) approves the use of contraceptives. This was a radical departure from the constant Christian tradition of considering contraception immoral. After 1930, other Protestant denominations begin to allow contraception. On December 31, Pope Pius XI issues the encyclical Casti Connubii (Of Chaste Marriage), which, among other things, reaffirms the Catholic Church’s constant teaching against contraception and abortion.

1951:Sanger obtains a Planned Parenthood grant for Dr. Gregory Pincus, a biologist, to research hormonal contraceptives, but the funding soon runs out. Earlier, Pincus had shocked the public by his in vitro fertilization of rabbits.

1953: Sanger convinces Katharine McCormick, a radical feminist and wealthy philanthropist, to fund the pill research project and Pincus continues his research.

1954: Pincus and Dr. John Rock, a Catholic ob-gyn who violates Church teachings by advocating contraception, begin human trials of the pill. To bypass Massachusetts’s anti-birth control laws, they claim the study is about infertility. Fifty female infertility patients volunteer to participate in the study, but the pill is also given to 12 female and 16 male psychiatric patients without their direct consent.

1955: The pill is proven to prevent ovulation in all 50 women. Pincus presents the findings at the Fifth Annual International Planned Parenthood League conference in Tokyo, Japan and Rock does the same at the Laurentian Conference on Endocrinology in Canada. The news that a birth control pill has been developed then spreads rapidly among scientists.

1956: Large-scale human clinical trials of the pill begin, to gain approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Pincus chooses Puerto Rico as the location because it provides a large pool of poor, uneducated women who can be easily monitored. The local doctor in charge of the study tells Pincus that the pill causes “too many side reactions to be generally acceptable.” However, Pincus and Rock dismiss her findings and do not investigate what causes the side effects, nor do they investigate the cause of death for three women who die during the trials.

1957: The FDA approves usage of the pill to treat severe menstrual disorders and requires that its packaging include a warning that it will prevent ovulation.

1960: The pharmaceutical company G.D. Searle obtains FDA approval to sell the pill as a contraceptive, despite the FDA’s initial misgivings about its long-term safety. It becomes the first FDA-approved drug to be given to healthy patients for long-term use and for social purposes.

1961:  Dr. C. Lee Buxton, Yale Medical School’s OB-GYN department chairman, and Estelle Griswold, executive director of Planned Parenthood, open four Planned Parenthood clinics in Connecticut, where the use of birth control is illegal. They are arrested and the Griswold v. Connecticut case begins to work its way through the court system.

1962:  Serious side effects from the pill, such as blood clots and heart attacks, begin to be publicized. Searle receives reports of 132 blood clots, 11 of which were terminal, but denies that they are caused by the pill.

1965:  The U.S. Supreme Court decides Griswold v. Connecticut by overturning the law prohibiting the use of birth control, thereby decriminalizing poison in the form of the pill.”

It is no surprise the Planned Parenthood was behind the creation and legalization of the birth control pill.

Come out to learn more about Griswold v. Connecticut and the devastating and often deadly effects of the birth control pill so you can bring an awareness of what you learn to others.

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Pro-Life Teen Retreat

June 14, 2014 – 9:15a-6p – Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 5250 Justin Road, La Crosse

Join Pro-Life Wisconsin youth for a fun day of education, networking with other pro-life youth, prayer, and spiritual strengthening!  Recommended age range 14-17.

Register online at www.ProLifeWisconsin.org or call 262-796-1111.

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Prayer to the Virgin Mary (from Priests for Life)

O Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mother of us all, we turn to you today as the one who said “Yes” to Life. “You will conceive and bear a Son,” the angel told you. Despite the surprise and the uncertainty about how this could be, you said yes.

“Be it done unto me according to your word.”

Mary, we pray today for all mothers who are afraid to be mothers. We pray for those who feel threatened and overwhelmed by their pregnancy. Intercede for them, that God may give them the grace to say yes and the courage to go on. May they have the grace to reject the false solution of abortion. May they say with you, “Be it done unto me according to your word.” May they experience the help of Christian people, and know the peace that comes from doing God’s will.

Amen.

“If my people, upon whom my name has been pronounced, humble themselves and pray, and seek my presence and turn from their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven and pardon their sins and revive their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Statistics from the Spring 2014 40 Days for Life campaign

252 campaigns worldwide (over 100,000 participants)

728 lives saved

14 total abortion facility worker conversions (1 was an abortionist)

8 more abortion facilities closed

Statistics from the past 6 years of 40 Days for Life campaigns

3039 locations with a 40 DFL campaign (In 539 cities and 24 diff. countries)

8,973 LIVES SAVED

101 abortion facility worker conversions

50 abortion facilities closed

When reading through the above statistics, one can see how God works through 40 Days for Life campaigns.  [“Praise him, O praise him, Alleluia! Alleluia!”]  Our prayer and peaceful presence are two of the ways that God works through us to SAVE LIVES and to SAVE SOULS!

Vigil for Life’s next 40 Days for Life campaign will run from Sept. 24, 2014 – Nov. 2, 2014.  (Sign up early, Sign up NOW!)  Many people are not aware that Vigil for Life has a year round presence on the sidewalk outside of Planned Parenthood, Madison as well as participating in the fall 40 Days for Life campaign.  We do and we call it 365 for Life!  (Spread the word!)

We need you and we need you NOW!

OPEN HOURS

Monday, 5/12 – 100% filled; Praise God!

Tuesday, 5/13 –  100% filled; Praise God!

Wednesday, 5/14 – Only 65% filled on this Abortion Day – 1 needed at 8a; 1 needed at 9a; 1 needed at 10a; 2 needed at 4p and 2 needed at 5p.

Thursday, 5/15 – 100% filled; Praise God!

Friday, 5/16 – Just 75% filled; 1 needed at 2p.

To sign up for hours go to vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or call Gwen Finnegan at (608)393-8545 or e-mail info@vigilforlife.org.

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STORIES FROM THE SIDEWALK

On Tuesday, 5/6  when our prayer warriors showed up to the sidewalk to pray they discovered that Planned Parenthood was closed!  It was later confirmed by the Unifirst uniform delivery guy that the sign on the door said that Planned Parenthood was closed for the whole day.  The note did not say why – just that they were closed.  Whatever the reason — PRAISE GOD!  The fact that they were closed meant that no hearts were broken, no mothers were injured emotionally, spiritually and possibly physically and, last but certainly not least, it meant that NO BABIES DIED there that day!  We are so grateful to God for the gift of that day!  While they were closed, our prayer warriors still came to the sidewalk to pray and one was able to send two women who wanted to go into Planned Parenthood to the Women’s Care Center.

On Wednesday, 5/7, one of our prayer warriors was able to have a good conversation with a man who came out while waiting for someone inside Planned Parenthood.  In the middle of the conversation, the man was beckoned back into Planned Parenthood by an employee of PP.  A little while later the man came out with a young woman and an older woman.  The man asked our prayer warrior if the Women’s Care Center was open.  Our prayer warrior let him know that it was open.  Although they did not go over to the Women’s Care Center at that time – they did leave Planned Parenthood without having had an abortion!  (“Praise him, O praise him.  Alleluia! Alleluia!”)

On Thursday, 5/8 – one of our prayer warriors stayed late to cover an open hour and was blessed with an opportunity for evangelization.  A young woman parked her car across the street, approached our prayer warrior with a smile and told our prayer warrior that she lived in the apartments next to PP.  She had been wondering for a long time what we are doing out there, “I see you in the summer, in the snow, in the rain – what are you doing out here?”  Our prayer warrior told her what we are doing out there.  The young woman asked our prayer warrior about reading the Bible.  Our prayer warrior was able to instruct her on reading the Bible and directed her to start with reading the Gospels.  They also had a short conversation about praying the rosary and about St. John Paul II.  Seeds of faith were definitely planted.  Please pray for this young woman.

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Pro-Life Teen Retreat

June 14, 2014 – 9:15a-6p – Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 5250 Justin Road, La Crosse

Join Pro-Life Wisconsin youth for a fun day of education, networking with other pro-life youth, prayer, and spiritual strengthening!  Recommended age range 14-17.

Register online at www.prolifewisconsin.org or call 262-796-1111.

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Prayer to be prayed during a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

Unity (Priests for Life prayer)

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the gift of the Holy Eucharist, Your Sacred Body, by which You unite us as one body in You. “For we, many though we are, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf”(1 Cor. 10:17)

As we receive You, O Lord, You also receive us. As You draw us up to Yourself, You draw us also into one another. “You are the Body of Christ, and individually members of it” (1 Cor. 12:27).

Lord, grant that we may never exclude any of the other members of Your Body from our love. As we receive Your Body in Communion, so let us receive and welcome all the members of Your Body, no matter how inconvenient they may be.

Help us especially to welcome those who have become the most unwelcome members of our world, namely, those who have just entered it. Bless our brothers and sisters in the womb. Rid our world of the sin of abortion, which divides parents from their own children, from one another, from their very selves, and from You, O Lord.

Grant that the power of Unity which we find in the Eucharist may overcome the fear of the unborn child, and may enable us to welcome that child as a brother, a sister, a member of Your Body. Amen.

Also, while visiting with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, please pray from your heart for the closure of Planned Parenthood, Madison

In today’s Gospel (Luke 24: 13-35), two of Jesus’ disciples unknowingly meet up with Jesus on the road to Emmaus.  The disciples are so confused and distraught about the recent events that they don’t even recognize Jesus.  In general, these two disciples lack faith in the resurrection of Christ as told to them by the women who “reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive.”  As they walk, Jesus opens up the Scriptures to them to clear away their confusion, distress and lack of faith.  Eventually, the two disciples recognize that it was Jesus with them on the road all along, “…he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.  With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.”

Like the disciples, we too are sometimes slow to recognize all of the ways that Jesus is with us.  Indeed, Jesus is with us until the “end of the age”.  He will never leave us.  He will always love us.  If we find ourselves confused, distraught or lacking in faith, we should say, “Jesus, I trust in you.”  In that we do trust Jesus, he will clear away any confusion, distress or lack of faith for us.  He will help us to see what we did not recognize before.

Please bring your trust in Jesus to the sidewalk this week.

OPEN HOURS

Monday, 5/5 – 100% filled; Praise God!

Tuesday, 5/6 – Only 31% filled on this Abortion Day!  1 needed at 11a; 2 needed at 12p; 2 needed at 1p; 2 needed at 3p; and 2 needed at 4p.

Wednesday, 5/7 – Only 20% filled on this Abortion Day! 1 needed at 8a; 2 needed at 9a; 1 needed at 11a; 2 needed at 12p; 2 needed at 1p; 2 needed at 2p; 2 needed at 3p; 2 needed at 4p and 2 needed at 5p.

Thursday, 5/8 – Just 70% filled; 1 needed at 4p and 2 needed at 5p.

Friday, 5/9 – Just 75% filled; 1 needed at 2p.

To sign up for hours go to: vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or call Gwen Finnegan at (608)393-8545 or e-mail info@vigilforlife.org.

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Life chosen!

On Friday, April 25th – A prayer warrior called to say that as a young couple was leaving Planned Parenthood they stopped, opened their car window and the young woman let our prayer warrior know that , ” I just couldn’t do it.”  Isn’t that beautiful?  LIFE is such a beautiful choice!

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Pro-Life Benefit Dinner

Our Lady of Hope Clinic and The Women’s Care Center of Madison are co-sponsoring a Celebration of Life benefit dinner on Saturday, May 10 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.  A social hour will start at 6:00and dinner is at 7:00 p.m.  Cost is $75 per person or $500 for a table of eight.  Space is limited.  Please RSVP @ CELEBRATELIFEMADISON.ORG. (www.celebratelifemadison.org/benefit-dinner.html)

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Pro-Life Wisconsin Pro-Life Boot Camp with nationally acclaimed speaker Pam Stenzel

Thursday, May 8th at St. Dominic Catholic Church, 18255 W. Capitol Dr., Brookfield, WI.

Event is free.  Pre-registration is required.  Call 262-796-1111 or visit Pro-Life Wisconsin.org

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Pro-Life Teen Retreat

June 14, 2014 – 9:15a-6p – Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 5250 Justin Road, La Crosse

Join Pro-Life Wisconsin youth for a fun day of education, networking with other pro-life youth, prayer, and spiritual strengthening!  Recommended age range 14-17.

Register online at www.ProLifeWisconsin.org or call 262-796-1111.

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Rescue the Pre-born

By: Fr. Terry Gensemer

O God of Beginnings, You are the Creator of all life. As we begin this week, be near us as we unite with our Pre-born brothers and sisters who are scheduled for death. May you by your Holy Spirit and by the voice of your church lead your people to rescue from death the innocent children and bring those who participate in their death to true repentance that they may taste of your goodness and mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Saint John Paul II, pray for us!

Saint John Paul II, a real hero and now a Saint for the Pro-Life movement, was the first to coin the terms “culture of life” and “culture of death”.  This actually gave a clearer definition and a renewed vigor to the pro-life movement.  At World Youth Day in Denver, the recently canonized Saint spoke of the spiritual battle we face today:

” Death battles against life:  A ‘culture of death’ seeks to impose itself on our desire to live life and life to the full.  There are those who reject the light of life, preferring the “fruitless works of darkness” (Ephesians5:11).  Their harvest is injustice, discrimination, exploitation, deceit, violence.  In every age, a measure of their apparent success is the death of the innocents.  In our own century, as at no other time in history, the ‘culture of death’ has assumed a social and institutional form of legality to justify the most horrible crimes against humanity: genocide, ‘final solutions’, ‘ethnic cleansing’, and the massive ‘taking of lives of human beings even before they are born or before they reach the natural point of death’ (cf. Dominum et Vivificatem 57).”

Saint John Paul II laid out the task ahead of us with great urgency that echoes for us today, “At this stage of history, the liberating message of the Gospel of life has been put into your hands.  And the mission of proclaiming it to the ends of the earth is now passing to your generation.  Like the apostle Paul, you too must feel the full urgency of the task : “Woe to me if I do not evangelize.” ( 1 Cor. 9:16).  Woe to you if you do not succeed in defending life.”

(www.lifenews.com/2014/04/25/blessed-pope-john-paul-ii-saint-and-pro-life-hero)

Let us use the canonization of Saint John Paul II as a call to make the fire of urgency for the Pro-Life mission of Vigil for Life – Madison burn ever brighter!!

Please bring your prayers to the sidewalk this week!

OPEN HOURS

Monday, 4/28 – 100% filled; Praise God!

Tuesday, 4/29 – Only 50% filled on this Abortion Day; 1 needed at 11a; 1 needed at 12p; 1 needed at 1p; 2 needed at 2p; 2 needed at 3p and 1 needed at 4p.

Wednesday, 4/30 – Only 55% filled on this Abortion Day; 1 needed at 8a; 1 needed at 12p; 1 needed at 1p; 1 needed at 2p; 1 needed at 3p; 2 needed at 4p and 2 needed at 5p.

Thursday, 5/1 – 90% filled; 1 needed at 3p.

Friday, 5/2 – 100%filled; Praise God!!

To sign up for hours go to:vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or call Gwen Finnegan at (608)393-8545 or e-mail info@vigilforlife.org.

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Pro-Life Benefit Dinner

Our Lady of Hope Clinic and The Women’s Care Center of Madison are co-sponsoring a Celebration of Life benefit dinner on Saturday, May 10 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.  A social hour will start at 6:00and dinner is at 7:00 p.m.  Cost is $75 per person or $500 for a table of eight.  Space is limited.  Please RSVP @ CELEBRATEMADISON.ORG.

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Pro-Life Wisconsin Pro-Life Boot Camp with nationally acclaimed speaker Pam Stenzel

Thursday, May 8th at St. Dominic Catholic Church, 18255 W. Capitol Dr., Brookfield, WI.

Event is free.  Pre-registration is required.  Call 262-796-1111 or visit www.prolifewisconsin.org

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National Day of Prayer – Thursday, May 1st

12p – 1p

Capitol – King Street Entrance

Madison, WI

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Pro-Life Teen Retreat

June 14, 2014 – 9:15a-6p – Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 5250 Justin Road, La Crosse

Join Pro-Life Wisconsin youth for a fun day of education, networking with other pro-life youth, prayer, and spiritual strengthening!  Recommended age range 14-17.

Register online at www.prolifewisconsin.org or call 262-796-1111.

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A Pro-Life Prayer For Our President And Public Officials

– from EWTN

Lord God, Author of Life and Source of Eternal Life,

Move the hearts of all our public officials and especially our President, to fulfill their responsibilities worthily and well to all those entrusted to their care.

Help them in their special leadership roles, to extend the mantle of protection to the most vulnerable, especially the defenseless unborn, whose lives are threatened with extermination by an indifferent society.

Guide all public officials by your wisdom and grace to cease supporting any law that fails to protect the fundamental good that is human life itself, which is a gift from God and parents.

You are the Protector and Defender of the lives of the innocent unborn. Change the hearts of those who compromise the call to protect and defend life. Bring our nation to the values that have made us a great nation, a society that upholds the values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all.

Mary, the Mother of the living, help us to bear witness to the Gospel of Life with our lives and our laws, through Christ, Our Lord.

Amen.

Happy Easter!  The Lord is risen!  He has risen indeed! Alleluia!  Alleluia!

St. Augustine wrote, “The resurrection of Christ was God’s supreme and wholly marvelous work.”  What more needs to be said?  What a glorious day!  Jesus’ rising from the dead conquered both sin and death so that one day we may all spend eternity with the Angels and Saints praising God!  Such immeasurable Joy!

Please bring your Easter Joy in the Risen Jesus Christ to the sidewalk to witness for life this week!!

OPEN HOURS

Monday, 4/21 – 100% filled; Praise God!

Tuesday, 4/22 – Just 63% filled on this Abortion Day; 1 needed at 12p; 2 needed at 1p; 2 needed at 2p and1 needed at 3p.

Wednesday, 4/23 – Only 55% filled on this Abortion Day; 2 needed at 8a; 1 needed at 12p; 1 needed at 2p; 2 needed at 3p; 1 needed at 4p and 2 needed at 5p.

Thursday, 4/24 – Just 80% filled; 1 needed at 3p and 1 needed at 5p.

Friday, 4/25 – Just 50% filled; 1 needed at 1p and 1 needed at 2p.

To sign up for hours go to: vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or call Gwen Finnegan at (608)393-8545 or e-mailinfo@vigilforlife.org.

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Pro-Life Benefit Dinner

Our Lady of Hope Clinic and The Women’s Care Center of Madison are co-sponsoring a Celebration of Life benefit dinner on Saturday, May 10 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.  A social hour will start at 6:00 and dinner is at7:00 p.m.  Cost is $75 per person or $500 for a table of eight.  Space is limited.  Please e-mailRSVP@CELEBRATELIFEMADISON.ORG to register.

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Pro-Life Wisconsin Pro-Life Boot Camp with nationally acclaimed speaker Pam Stenzel

Thursday, May 8th at St. Dominic Catholic Church, 18255 W. Capitol Dr., Brookfield, WI.

Event is free.  Pre-registration is required.  Call 262-796-1111 or visit Pro-Life Wisconsin.org

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National Day of Prayer – Thursday, May 1st

12p – 1p

Capitol – King Street Entrance

Madison, WI

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Father Frank Pavone’s “Spiritual Adoption” of Abortion Clinic

Father, all life is in Your care.

You have entrusted us to one another,

that we may show our brothers and sisters

the same love You have for us.

We pray, then, for the least among us,

the children in the womb.

Protect them from the violence of abortion.

We pray for those that are scheduled to die at Planned Parenthood, Madison.

Save them from death.

Give new hope to their parents,

that they may turn away from the desperate act of abortion.

Grant conversion to the abortionist and to the staff.

Show us how we are to respond to the bloodshed in our midst,

And lead us to the day when this place of death

Will be transformed into a haven of life.

Guard us with your joy and your peace,

For in You, life is victorious.

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.