40 Days of Prayer, Fellowship, and Blessings!

Good Morning out there! The fall 40 Days for Life Campaign is over! I received
an email from the 40 Days headquarters letting me know that 546 babies were
saved during this campaign! Isn't that amazing? I'm so thankful for all the people
who took the time to go and pray. Peaceful, prayerful vigils. I can only imagine
what these young ladies are thinking when they are taken to an abortion facility.
I'm so glad that there were people who care standing outside in prayer, telling them
that there is help available.
We don't have an abortion facility where I live, the Planned Parenthood closed
down in September 2013. They did not do surgical abortions, but they did give out
the pill that would cause a chemical abortion. We use to pray in front of the Planned
Parenthood during the 40 Days for Life Campaigns until it closed down.
We still wanted to be involved, and found out that we could still have a campaign
in our city as long as it was outside where we would be visible.
Our campaign was held in the courtyard of our parish, Sacred Heart Cathedral.
Our vigil hours were from 7:00 am - 7:00 pm each and every day from Wednesday,
September 24 - Sunday, November 2, 2104. We had many people come and
pray throughout the days of the campaign. Several people came 4 and 5 times a
week. Some people came daily. Many stayed and prayed for more than 1 hour at
a time. We had rosary groups come and pray in the courtyard. People would stay
and visit after their prayers or devotions. It was an amazing time of fellowship.
We came together to pray for the unborn, for their families, for the whole world.
The courtyard use to be a place we walked through to get inside the school building.
It has now become a place of prayer. A peaceful place where you feel the Holy Spirit.
You can feel God's Presence there. Time just seemed to slip by as you prayed. You
never felt alone there, even if you were the only one there.
The big oak trees gave us shade, the daily visits from a squirrel, the birds singing, our
courtyard has become a peaceful place of prayer!
We did have trouble with pesky mosquitos! They were vicious! We kept bottles of
repellant on the table! But those mosquitos were a small nuisance! The blessings we
all received from the devotion to our prayers was indescribable. My life will never be
the same. I will hold forever in my heart the beautiful, humbling witness of God's
faithful people coming together in prayer. New friendships made, a closer bond
with old friends, the joy of worship, the joy of fellowship!
At the beginning of the 40 Days for Life Campaign, we would pray the Divine Mercy
Chaplet together when the church bells would ring at 3:00 pm. Mid-way through the
campaign, we would tentatively sing the chaplet, and towards the end, we would
sing with confidence, knowing that our voices lifted up as one made a beautiful
melody, a song of praise to our God. One day last week when I had gone home, the
ladies shared with me that while they were singing the Divine Mercy Chaplet, a man
was standing outside the courtyard, listening to them. The ladies stopped singing
before they started the next decade to ask him if he needed something, if they could
help him? He replied that he didn't want to disturb them, the song was so beautiful.
He explained what he needed, and then they finished singing the Divine Mercy
Chaplet.
As I'm writing this post, I can hear the rain pouring outside. We had beautiful
weather during the campaign. Here in West Texas, rain is always a welcome blessing.
I thank God for the rain, and for the babies saved. I pray for the families of these
babies, that they will be given the guidance and help they need.
I thank God for all the people who participated in 40 Days for Life Campaigns
everywhere. I'm going to close with a refrain from a song we sing at Mass.


     "Lead me Lord, lead me Lord, by the light of truth, to seek and to find
            the narrow way. Be my way, be my truth, be my life, my Lord,
                                 and lead me Lord, today."


                             Blessings to you all! Bye for now, Sharla