‘40 Days for Life’ prayer campaign aims to end abortion
Determined pro-life supporters brave heavy rain as they begin the more than two-mile march from the St. Augustine Home for the Aged Chapel in Indianapolis to the Planned Parenthood abortion facility on Sept. 19 following the “40 Days for Life” opening prayer rally. (Submitted photo/Daniel Roy)
By Mary Ann Wyand
Heavy rain drenched stalwart pro-life supporters who resolutely marched more than two miles through the storm on Sept. 19 en route to the “40 Days for Life” opening prayer vigil outside the Planned Parenthood abortion center in Indianapolis.
Even with umbrellas, the rain soaked the marchers’ clothes and pro-life signs, which attracted the attention of surprised motorists on West 86th Street as they trudged along flooded sidewalks from the St. Augustine Home for the Aged Chapel to the state’s largest abortion facility at 8590 N. Georgetown Road.
It didn’t matter to them that the abortion center was closed on Sunday. They wanted to witness to people about the horror of infanticide, and to pray the rosary again in front of the building where unborn babies are killed in abortion.
“What a picture it was—stepping out into a stormy and uninviting world in faith and prayer, carrying the banner of life,” said Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary parishioner Joseph Lehner of Indianapolis, the “40 Days for Life–Indy” coordinator.
Later, as they bowed their heads to pray in front of the abortion facility, the rain stopped and the sunshine dried their clothing.
This year’s “40 Days for Life” fall prayer campaign began on Sept. 22 and continues until Oct. 31 in front of abortion centers in Indianapolis and hundreds of other cities throughout the United States.
Before the pro-life march, Peter and Margie Breen of Chicago, the prayer rally keynote speakers, emphasized the urgent need to work harder to end abortion.
Margie Breen, the interim director of the Respect Life Office in the Archdiocese of Chicago, also serves on the leadership team for the “40 Days for Life” prayer campaign in Chicago.
“We need to have Jesus at the center of our lives,” she said. “We have to start with him, and then everything flows from that. We need to pour ourselves out for others like Jesus did [for us] on the cross. … We need to go the extra mile. We need to look at the crucifix and Jesus. He sacrificed greatly for us, and we’re only putting up with a little bit of inconvenience. But we offer that up as well because that’s going to save souls. It’s a great witness for the woman going into the [abortion] clinic that is thinking about ending the life of her child in the womb.”
Expectant mothers struggling with crisis pregnancies need to see that there is something better than abortion, she said, and the pro-life witness of faith-filled people praying outside clinics is critically important.
“Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver recently pointed out that, ‘Grace doesn’t come cheap,’ ” she said. “… The Church really wants us to do this ‘40 Days for Life’ campaign to help end abortion and heal our land. … You are answering the call of the Church of Christ and of God to go out there and pray that our culture becomes a culture that respects life, and that protects all people from conception until natural death.
“There is a saying that, ‘God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips the called,’ ” she said. “… God will equip you to do what he wants you to do in the world. … Keep emptying yourself for others—imitating him—and you will be able to do great things for him in this world, and help build a culture of life.”
Peter Breen serves as the executive director and legal counsel of the Thomas More Society, a national public interest law firm based in Chicago. He founded two pregnancy care centers and a pregnancy care network of 30 church communities in suburbs west of Chicago.
“You need to take what the Lord is telling you to do and do it,” he said. “You all are here today because the Lord touched your heart. Instead of ignoring him, like some folks do, you listened, and you will keep coming out for the next 40 days because you will continue to listen to the Lord.”
Indianapolis is the site of the largest abortion clinic in the state, he said. “That is an incredible burden and an incredible gift. … You’re it. You are the special forces … of the pro-life movement in the state of Indiana. … Half of the abortions in the state are happening at the one place where you are going … to fight this great evil that you have right in your backyard.”
Six years ago, Lehner said, the ecumenical “40 Days for Life” grassroots prayer movement began in College Station, Texas, with “a few people praying about how they could help end abortion.”
They felt called to change laws and hearts by starting peaceful prayer vigils outside abortion clinics throughout the U.S., he said. “Now, ‘40 Days for Life’ has extended to 238 cities in six countries. Since it started, … six facilities have shut their doors forever, and more than 2,800 women decided not to have an abortion because of the interaction and prayers of ‘40 Days’ volunteers.”
After the prayer rally, Lehner said, “the Holy Spirit must have been at work because … we processed two and a half miles through a rainstorm to pray at Planned Parenthood.”
(For more information about the pro-life prayer campaign, log on to www.40daysforlife.com.) †
