Spreading the Pro-Life Message on a Daily Basis

Good Morning Out There! The sun is shining, the birds are singing and there is a slight nip in the air! A gorgeous Thursday morning! I opened the curtains to let the sun shine in and raised the windows to let the cool morning air in! I'm going to go and fill up my coffee mug and then I will visit with y'all! Ok, I am ready to get started! I warmed up my coffee and grabbed a big red delicious apple, I really wanted a big fat muffin or something similar but I'm trying to eat healthier, for today anyway! The other day I was telling y'all about the banners I ordered. I'm very blessed to have so many friends and fellow pro-life warriors who support spreading the pro-life message. I'm very thankful for those who pitched in to help with the cost of the banners. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart! I decided that Tuesday evening would be a good time to get together and hang up the banners and pray the pro-life rosary. So on Monday I started calling people and letting them know about my plans. I also posted the time and date on face book. Little did I know that Tuesday would end up being a chilly, overcast day! I wondered if I should change the day and decided that no, the banners would go up and those who showed up would pray with me and it would just be ok!

I loaded my truck up with all the banners, prayer books and hand-outs. I headed to the courtyard and right when I pulled up people started arriving! My smile was so big, my heart was so full. Our music minister/choir director came with his wife and he sang three beautiful songs while we hung up two of the banners. I'm so thankful for him and how he shares his beautiful gift. He had picked out the perfect songs, and I was not the only one with tears in my eyes. He headed off to choir practice, and some more people arrived. We started praying the Joyful Mysteries of the Pro-Life Rosary. We usually pray the Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesday, but the Joyful Mysteries seemed appropriate for the event, and also because my heart was so full of joy! People took turns reading each mystery as we prayed. I'm going to post the Joyful Mysteries so that you can see what I'm talking about if you have never prayed the rosary before.

First Joyful Mystery The Annunciation Luke 1:28 And when the angel had come to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women." (When we pray the pro-life rosary, we add special intentions after each mystery/scripture.) Mary is troubled by the angel's greeting, yet rejoices to do God's will. Let us pray that those who are troubled by their pregnancy may have the grace to trust in God's will.

Second Joyful Mystery The Visitation Luke 1:41-42 Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out in a loud voice: "Blest are you among women and blest is the fruit of your womb." John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mother's womb. We pray that people may realize that abortion is not about children who "might" come into the world, but is about children who are already in the world, living and growing in the womb, and are scheduled to be killed.

Third Joyful Mystery The Birth Of Jesus Luke 2:7 She gave birth to her first-born Son and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the place where travelers lodged. God Himself was born as a child. The greatness of a person does not depend on size, for the newborn King is very small. Let us pray for an end to prejudice against the tiny babies threatened by abortion.

Fourth Joyful Mystery The Presentation Luke 2:22-23 When the day came to purify them according to the law of Moses, the couple brought Him up to Jerusalem so that He could be presented to the Lord, for it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every first-born male shall be consecrated to the Lord." The Child is presented in the Temple because the Child belongs to God. Children are not the property of their parents, nor of the government. They -and we- belong to God Himself.

Fifth Joyful Mystery Finding The Child Jesus in The Temple Luke 2:46 On the third day they came upon Him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. The boy Jesus was filled with wisdom, because He is God.

Let us pray that all people may see the wisdom of His teachings about the dignity of life, and may understand that this teaching is not an opinion, but the truth. After each intention, we pray one "Our Father", "Ten Hail Marys", one "Glory be to the Father", and one "O My Jesus" prayer. For the Pro-Life Rosary we add "Jesus, protect and save the unborn" at the end, before starting the next mystery.

-Now back to my story..... It was wonderful! Praying together is such a powerful witness, so uplifting, so necessary! We looked at all the banners and everyone agreed that each one was perfect! We will rotate them out every couple of weeks or so. That way people will see a variety of beautiful, positive, thought provoking pro-life messages as they drive or walk by the courtyard! We visited for a while and then people helped roll up the other banners and we loaded everything back into my truck.

Overall, I counted right at 30 people, including the kids, who came out to the courtyard to see the banners and pray on that chilly evening. I just want you to know what a blessing that hour in the courtyard was for me. The fellowship, the music, the prayers, and the wonderful feeling that God was right there with us helps to keep me motivated to keep up the good fight! There are many days that I pray and ask God to guide me in how to spread the pro-life message, if I need to do something else? Then I spend an hour with y'all in the courtyard and I know that He is telling me to stay the course, continue on this path, and don't ever give up! Blessings, blessings to you and yours!

Please say a little prayer for me on this journey and be assured that I will always be praying for each of you! I am going to close with this scripture - Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you. (Romans 15:7)