Prayer for Life – Update

This morning, I received a request to pray for a young woman who has an appointment next Friday for an abortion. Like many young women, she feels totally unprepared and overwhelmed by her new reality. I posted to her the following message, and I ask that you might join me in praying for her in a special way. This post is dedicated to her, and to the many young women who are going through the confusion an unprepared pregnancy brings.

May the Lord God who brought you into the world, give you the grace and support you need. You say in your post, “Please don’t tell me not to do it – I can’t raise a child, nor bring it to term.”

I read your post carefully, and with love I am asking you: What about the child within you? Are you thinking about what is best her him/her? Would she/he choose to want to live?

These words are not meant to sound insensitive to your plight. But truly I say them because your situation is that serious and real to me too. You see, when my mother was pregnant with me, her doctors told her she would be better off if she had an abortion. She was sick while she carried me, and because of her illness, I should have been born blind, retarded, and malformed. She already had five children at home, and very little resources to care for them. And the doctors, with their science, and for ‘mercy’s sake’ thought it would be better for everyone involved to not let me live. This is the first time I have made this public – it was meant for you to hear. The good news is, I was brought into the world for you. That you might know how very precious life is.

My mother would tell you she too was scared, and uncertain if she could do it – to bring me to term despite her own illness. She didn’t know how she would take care of a child with many physical problems. Ask her, “Why did you do it?” She will tell you she knew it was the right thing to do. Everyone around her – including the professionals – told her not to. And I thank God every day, she sacrificed everything to let me live.

During this week, I ask you, please, to at least hear the stories of other young women, pregnant like yourself – both those who have had an abortion, and those who have let their babies live – and how their lives turned out. I leave you with two resources:

Stand Up Girl: http://www.standupgirl.com/ (young women helping other young women through their unplanned pregnancies). There are help lines linked at the bottom of the page).

and some other resources: http://www.priestsforlife.org/crisis.html (alternatives, and help services, to help you during this difficult time).

You are not alone. I came across your post because a friend of mine sent it to me, asking me to pray for you and for your child. We – more than 100 people in the last 30 minutes – are praying today, and will continue to pray for you throughout the week, from all over the country. If you wish to contact me, or just talk, I am here.

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Update: Another resource for you: http://www.silentnomoreawareness.org/

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Resources for post-Abortion sufferers:

Rachel’s Vineyard – retreats and healing for men and women: http://www.rachelsvineyard.org/

Why do we need post-abortion healing ministries: http://www.priestsforlife.org/images/post-abortion-healing.htm

A Message from the late Pope John Paul II to women who have had an abortion:

I would now like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion. The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly. If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you his forgiveness and his peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. You will come to understand that nothing is definitively lost and you will also be able to ask forgiveness from your child, who is now living in the Lord. With the friendly and expert help and advice of other people, and as a result of your own painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone’s right to life. Through your commitment to life, whether by accepting the birth of other children or by welcoming and caring for those most in need of someone to be close to them, you will become promoters of a new way of looking at human life. Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), #99

Note:  All the posts are reviewed first before showing up on this blog.