Saturday, September 26, 2009

Day 3: 9/25/09

It was raining as Ben and I arrived to replace a trio of young people who apparently didn't care that it was raining. An unused umbrella sat on the sidewalk. Because of the rain, there was virtually no sidewalk traffic. Given the late hour the liquor store was already closed.

I've spent some time thinking about how I got involved in all of this to begin with.

Undoubtedly I was pro-life, but I was passively pro-life. I was not the type to protest or proselytize. If the topic came up I was happy to share my view. When I heard of this thing called 40 Days for Life I thought, this was something right up Christine's alley but certainly not mine.

Christine begged me to join in the vigil. I just couldn't bring myself to do it at first. But then things got desperate. They really needed men praying in the late evenings and overnight hours. Reluctantly I went. That first night was relatively uneventful, but the prayer was very fruitful. And so I went again..and again...and again. My life was touched and changed forever by the people we met (especially Scott and Shalynn). My heart broke as I heard stories of brokenness, abuse and despair. I felt hope as those lives seemed to be touched in some small way by God's mercy. We prayed the rosary. We chanted the Divine Mercy Chaplet. We prayed with people and for people.

Yes, we could have prayed anywhere for the unborn, the post-abortive women, the pregnant women with no apparent way out, for the men who brought their girl friends to this place and for those who work in this savage industry. We could pray anywhere, but there is little doubt that prayer in this place is a powerful thing. The neighborhood itself longs for prayer. It is an amazing thing to be a part of that outpouring of God's Grace. As we endured the gentle rain that night, I pray that Grace would pour down gently on the entire the neighborhood for the next 40 days.

1 comment:

  1. Glad you're blogging. I sent you some link-love here: http://kyleeller.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/40-days-a-saturday-bookend-and-a-sunday-soak-for-my-breviary/. Will see you down there soon.

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