Thursday, April 30, 2015

Hymns of Praise, Joyful Mysteries, and Pro-Life Banners

Good Morning Out There! The sun is shining, the birds are singing and there is
a slight nip in the air! A gorgeous Thursday morning! I opened the curtains to let
the sun shine in and raised the windows to let the cool morning air in! I'm going
to go and fill up my coffee mug and then I will visit with y'all!
Ok, I am ready to get started! I warmed up my coffee and grabbed a big red delicious
apple, I really wanted a big fat muffin or something similar but I'm trying to eat
healthier, for today anyway!
The other day I was telling y'all about the banners I ordered. I'm very blessed to have
so many friends and fellow pro-life warriors who support spreading the pro-life
message. I'm very thankful for those who pitched in to help with the cost of the
banners. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
I decided that Tuesday evening would be a good time to get together and hang up
the banners and pray the pro-life rosary. So on Monday I started calling people
and letting them know about my plans. I also posted the time and date on face book.
Little did I know that Tuesday would end up being a chilly, overcast day! I wondered
if I should change the day and decided that no, the banners would go up and those
who showed up would pray with me and it would just be ok!
I loaded my truck up with all the banners, prayer books and hand-outs. I headed to
the courtyard and right when I pulled up people started arriving! My smile was
so big, my heart was so full. Our music minister/choir director came with his wife
and he sang three beautiful songs while we hung up two of the banners. I'm so
thankful for him and how he shares his beautiful gift. He had picked out the perfect
songs, and I was not the only one with tears in my eyes. He headed off to choir practice,
and some more people arrived. We started praying the Joyful Mysteries of the Pro-Life
Rosary. We usually pray the Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesday, but the Joyful Mysteries
seemed appropriate for the event, and also because my heart was so full of joy! People
took turns reading each mystery as we prayed. I'm going to post the Joyful Mysteries so
that you can see what I'm talking about if you have never prayed the rosary before.
First Joyful Mystery
The Annunciation
Luke 1:28
And when the angel had come to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women."
(When we pray the pro-life rosary, we add special intentions after each
 mystery/scripture.)
Mary is troubled by the angel's greeting, yet rejoices to do God's will. Let us pray
that those who are troubled by their pregnancy may have the grace to trust in
God's will.
Second Joyful Mystery
The Visitation
Luke 1:41-42
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out in a loud voice:
"Blest are you among women and blest is the fruit of your womb."
John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mother's womb. We pray that people may realize
that abortion is not about children who "might" come into the world, but is about
children who are already in the world, living and growing in the womb, and are
scheduled to be killed.
Third Joyful Mystery
The Birth Of Jesus
Luke 2:7
She gave birth to her first-born Son and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and
laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the place where
travelers lodged.
God Himself was born as a child. The greatness of a person does not depend on size,
for the newborn King is very small. Let us pray for an end to prejudice against the tiny
babies threatened by abortion.
Fourth Joyful Mystery
The Presentation
Luke 2:22-23
When the day came to purify them according to the law of Moses, the couple brought
Him up to Jerusalem so that He could be presented to the Lord, for it is written in the
law of the  Lord, "Every first-born male shall be consecrated to the Lord."
The Child is presented in the Temple because the Child belongs to God. Children are
 not the property of their parents, nor of the government. They -and we- belong to
God Himself.
Fifth Joyful Mystery
Finding The Child Jesus in The Temple
Luke 2:46
On the third day they came upon Him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions.
The boy Jesus was filled with wisdom, because He is God. Let us pray that all people
 may see the wisdom of His teachings about the dignity of life, and may understand that
this teaching is not an opinion, but the truth.
After each intention, we pray one "Our Father", "Ten Hail Marys",
one "Glory be to the Father",  and one "O My Jesus" prayer. For the Pro-Life Rosary
we add "Jesus, protect and save the unborn" at the end, before starting the next mystery.




-Now back to my story..... It was wonderful! Praying together is such a powerful witness,
so uplifting, so necessary! We looked at all the banners and everyone agreed that each
one was perfect! We will rotate them out every couple of weeks or so. That way people
will see a variety of beautiful, positive, thought provoking pro-life messages as they drive
or walk by the courtyard!  We visited for a while and then people helped roll up the other
banners and we loaded everything back into my truck. Overall, I counted right at 30 people,
including the kids, who came out to the courtyard to see the banners and pray on that chilly
evening. I just want you to know what a blessing that hour in the courtyard was for me. The
fellowship, the music, the prayers, and the wonderful feeling that God was right there with
us helps to keep me motivated to keep up the good fight! There are many days that I pray
and ask God to guide me in how to spread the pro-life message, if I need to do something
else? Then I spend an hour with y'all in the courtyard and I know that He is telling me
to stay the course, continue on this path, and don't ever give up!
Blessings, blessings to you and yours! Please say a little prayer for me on this journey,
and be assured that I will always be praying for each of you!
I am going to close with this scripture:
Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you. (Romans 15:7)
                                                Bye for now, Sharla

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