I arrived at the Planned Parenthood clinic to do my regular Saturday morning hour for 40 Days for Life, when I got a pleasant surprise.
Usually when I arrive no one is there. I generally spend most of my shift alone. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, a person who is scheduled for the shift after mine arrives early - or someone with a spare moment stops by - and I get to chat and pray with another person.
Today, I arrived to find 8 women finishing a set of Mysteries of the Rosary. They were there from a Catholic study/prayer group. Several of them were first-timers.
Brief introductions, then some of them had to leave. Others stayed and we said the Glorious Mysteries. I love to say the Rosary by myself, but there's something wonderful about saying it with others.
We got a lot of thumbs-up and positive shout-outs from people driving by or going to the vet's across the street.
After the Glorious Mysteries most of the women had to leave, but a college student - a first-timer - remained with me. Turns out she's planning to be a teacher, so we chatted about that. She said it was nice to hear someone talk about teaching positively. I recommended a book to help with classroom management. We talked a little about music - she's planning to be a music teacher and I'm a guitar thumper. We discussed the pro-life cause, being involved in it, and touched on some safety issues. And then we discovered we had a mutual friend, a woman religious whom I knew long before she joined an order and with whom I'd played in church groups, and we talked about her.
The hour passed by quickly. A new group had arrived - praying down the street right in front of the clinic.
We both had to head out. I wished her well.
Those women - and particularly the young ones - give me hope.
Thank you, Lord, for that Saturday morning gift.
Pax et bonum
1 comment:
Thanks for this post. It is true that it is a great consolation when we know that we are not alone, that what we believe and do are believed and done by others. And I do believe that our prayers for an end to abortion are being answered.
I have been praying a rosary each night for years, often alone in front of an abortion clinic. I thought Jesus might answer my prayer by bringing about a change to Roe v Wade, but one day I saw my prayer was being answered, but in a different way. Through various abortion counseling and pro-life groups I knew abortions were be avoided, one baby at a time. My prayers are answered in His way, not mine. And I give thanks.
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