On Wednesday the House of Commons voted to make DIY abortions at home a permanent feature in English law. The Welsh government had already decided to do this in Wales. The Bill to do this will now go back to the House of Lords on Tuesday 5th April, where we are informed that it cannot be defeated as the amendment to allow the continuation of the abortions at home originated in the House of Lords. However, we must remember that all things are possible with God. The DIY abortions that were brought in during the corona virus pandemic have been truly horrendous. More than 10,000 women have needed hospital treatment after their abortion.
Friday, 1 April 2022
DIY Abortions, Make The First Five Saturdays and Fast on Monday
On Wednesday the House of Commons voted to make DIY abortions at home a permanent feature in English law. The Welsh government had already decided to do this in Wales. The Bill to do this will now go back to the House of Lords on Tuesday 5th April, where we are informed that it cannot be defeated as the amendment to allow the continuation of the abortions at home originated in the House of Lords. However, we must remember that all things are possible with God. The DIY abortions that were brought in during the corona virus pandemic have been truly horrendous. More than 10,000 women have needed hospital treatment after their abortion.
Saturday, 29 May 2021
London Abortion Centre Closes After Nearly 11 Years of Daily Prayer Vigils
Marie Stopes Flagship, central London abortion centre closed down yesterday, Friday 28th May. The 5 storey building in the heart of London’s Fitzrovia, named Marie Stopes House closed it’s doors on abortion just after noon, and sent its - now redundant - staff home with doughnuts and flowers.
Regular pro-life vigils began at this site in 2010. The first '40 Days for Life' Campaign in the UK began at Marie Stopes, Whitfield Street. The Good Counsel Network (GCN) had been working with Robert Colquhoun to get this off
the ground. We had suggested this particular location to 40 Days because it was
the Marie Stopes ‘flagship’ building. The building is the 'first descendant' of
her first 'Birth Control Centre' in Holloway, London, which moved to Whitfield
Street in 1925.
We also suggested Whitfield Street as the site for the first
UK 40 Days Campaign because unlike the other abortion centres in London (there
were 7 major abortion centres back then as opposed to a few dozen small ones
now) this one had never had a regular pro-life vigil.
There was a large Helpers of God’s Precious Infants/Youth 2000 Vigil at the site on
28 December 2000 and over the years a few caring souls stopped there to pray a
Rosary for mums of babies when they could.
The aim now was to establish a regular presence offering women
alternatives to abortion.
The 40 Days Vigil, managed spectacularly by the wonderful
Poppy, whose job it was to fill the schedule, went extremely well. Several women changed
their minds and kept their babies.
At the end of the 40 Days Campaign, GCN decided that in order to serve other women in need, we
needed to have a presence there every day if possible and the daily vigil was
born. This meant we would be there all year round offering women help and
support.
The next Whitfield Street '40 Days' was a 24 hour vigil. One
of GCN’s volunteers, Annabel, was working 25 hours a day to fill the schedule,
and managed to against tremendous odds. We wrote here about this 40
Days Campaign and its stories, which involved reciting the Litany for Life at 7am surrounded by medical students from the building opposite the Marie
Stopes Centre (Student Halls of Residence) who were sent out into the cold in
their pyjamas by the fire alarm drill in their building.
The students had plenty of fun mocking our vigil too.
But we had the last laugh; the students were first years who
arrived mid-September to find a 24 hour 40 Days vigil on their doorstep. When
the vigil finished at midnight on the last day, the students opened their
windows and blared “Bye bye baby” by the Bay City Rollers out at us. They cheered as we packed up and went home, glad to see the back of us. When they woke up the next
morning our normal daily vigil was up and running. They stared at us crestfallen!
Another thing we have never blogged about is how during one of several 40 Days at Whitfield Street Marie Stopes were doing internal building work. The builders often arrived very early, so Marie Stopes staff started leaving the clinic front door key in the flowerpot on the doorstep for the builders to let themselves in.
I kid you not - an abortion provider was leaving its front
door key in a flowerpot on the doorstep overnight. And they were doing this
during a 40 Days for Life Vigil, you know, with those allegedly violent,
harassing pro-lifers standing opposite, observing.
It became a running joke between ourselves and the builders
that the key was being left. And yet no pro-lifer ever interfered in any way
with the abortion centre.
Many people witnessed this practise of leaving the key
there. And we do have some photos. I will share one here of the key in the flowerpot. I’m sorry to report
that yes, this is genuine, and yes the keyring is appropriately tasteless.
During our 11 years of praying at this site, we have been
able to offer help to tens of thousands of women and provide ongoing support to
many including Alina and Aurelia, who have shared their stories publicly.
We have had to assist some women to seek hospital treatment
for a variety of problems after their treatment here, including at least one
case of missed ectopic pregnancy which ruptured after the woman left the
centre. We have also met many women who regretted taking the first abortion pill and were desperately hoping they could still carry their baby to term.
In recent years some Marie Stopes Staff have come to us
seeking help to find alternative jobs. They told us they thought the job with
MS would involve helping vulnerable pregnant women who were aborting because of difficult situations but found that
they were often facing abusive clients with aggressive partners, and that there
was a big focus on money rather than on client health or staff wellbeing.
Thankfully these staff were able to get out and get work.
They told us this branch may close soon. That was the
beginning of the hopeful whisper ‘This branch may close soon!’ It echoed around
our heads for probably 3 long years before it became a positive statement.
For a few years now we have been praying to GK Chesterton
for the closure of this and other clinics.
In October 2017, the relics of Jacinta and Francisco were
brought to the vigil.
There are some who will point to new MSI centres springing up like weeds as a reason why we should not rejoice at the closure of this centre. But we do rejoice, for the Mothers and children who have been hurt and killed there. And because we see the rush to open as many little centres as they can as what it is; a desperate attempt to increase the number of abortions and to reduce costs in an "industry" that has trouble recruiting and retaining staff at every level.
But for those who doubt God's hand in the closure of this centre, this is how we heard the news that the centre would close on Friday:
On Tuesday the following conversation appeared on our staff
message group.
Staff member Marco “Photographer is here at Marie Stopes
taking photos of the building. It’s for an estate agents. I decided to stand
aside in case they thought I came with the building”
Me: Lol! I really hope that is why he’s taking photos.
Marco: It is definitely no doubt. He is here on behalf of Chestertons
Estate Agents. And the locals are all saying the staff have been made redundant
Friday is their last day.
Me: Wow! Please God that’s all true. Chestertons Estate
agents is that for real? You know they were actually owned by his GK Chesterton’s
family (though they aren’t now).
Marco: Gosh I hadn’t even thought of what I was saying.
J: Google says its permanently closed.
Marco: I’m even flying the flag today (*attaches picture of
his jacket*, see below)
By the way did I mention that Friday 28 May is the ‘Vigil’ of Chesterton’s Birthday? Meaning Whitfield Street will wake to an abortion free day, today - on GK’s Birthday.
A huge thank you to all the faithful staff, volunteers, vigil leaders, especially Siobhán the current Vigil leader, and all the Priests, religious, sisters and faithful pray-ers who have prayed and worked for the closure of this centre.
Gilbert & Frances Chesterton, pray for England, for the
end of abortion and pray for us! Amen.
Clare McCullough
Friday, 23 April 2021
St George's Day 2021, 3rd Anniversary of Ealing Buffer Zone
During the lockdowns we have had many women contacting us in distress to seek help or counselling after taking the abortion pill. Some have opted to seek medical help to try to reverse the effects of the pills they have taken, usually successfully. Others have contacted us after losing their child seeking a listening ear and moral support.
Today I have been speaking with Jenna, a young Christian mum who took the first abortion pill because her children's father is totally unwilling to commit to her and she is trying to work and study so she can support her children more fully. Without his support it is almost impossible. But she does not think it was the right decision. She has not taken the 2nd pill and is hoping she can keep her baby. She wept as she told me how hard it has been, how wrong she believes abortion is, but how she is struggling to cope. She wept even more as I told her about the help we can offer with childcare to enable her to complete her studies so that she can support her children, and how much support we can give her around this. "If only you were there to tell me about this when I went to the abortion centre" she said "I would never have taken that pill."
Yes, if only.
3 years on from the establishment of the Buffer Zone, women who are coerced into abortion are more isolated and pressured than ever. Ealing Council has decided after their "Consultation" (if you read that document, you will understand why it seems a travesty to call it that) earlier this year to renew the Buffer Zone for another 3 years.
If you can help at our prayer vigils in Whitfield St, Central London and in the "Designated Area" on Mattock Lane, please get in touch here: info@goodcounselnetwork.com
St George, Patron saint of England, slay the dragon of abortion and give Our Lady back her dowry!
Wednesday, 21 October 2020
9 Million Babies Lives Lost to abortion since 27th October 1967
The UK Abortion Act was passed in Parliament 53 years ago next Tuesday. Over nine million Babies have been aborted here since then. What will you do next Tuesday?
You could join in our National Day of Prayer and Fasting for Life on this terrible anniversary. Invite your friends and Family to join us via this Facebook event.
Fast
from all food except bread and water for the day
Or
Fast from a particular food or luxury, e.g. chocolate,
alcohol, cigarettes, TV.
Fast from whatever you can given your state of health etc, but make sure it is something that involves a sacrifice to yourself.
We are asking people to say a Rosary (or an extra Rosary if you say it daily already).
You could also offer an extra effort such as going to Mass (or an extra Mass) on the day, or going to Adoration. You can even pray before a closed tabernacle if Adoration is not available near you
There are two Good Counsel Peaceful Pro-Life Prayer Vigils outside abortion centres in London that day, one in Ealing and one in Central London, telephone 02077231740 or email info@goodcounselnetwork.com for details and to book to attend. For vigils outside of London see; https://www.40daysforlife.com/vigil-search.aspx
Wear something Pro-Life on the day and change your profile picture to something Pro-Life for the day, you could use one of these photos;
[You can buy the Blue badge here and the Pink one here]Tuesday, 8 September 2020
Ending Abortion, Consecration to Our Blessed Mother
‘Nations will be annihilated’ but
‘In the end My
Immaculate Heart will Triumph'
In our last blog post we focused on the immense importance of Eucharistic Adoration in fighting abortion. Now we move on to the next most important weapon we have, which is Consecration to Our Blessed Mother.
In July 1917, Our
Blessed Lady appeared to three Portuguese children in Fatima. The children were
shown a vision of hell, following which, Our Lady told them "You have seen
hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in
the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many
souls will be saved and there will be peace … I shall come to ask for the
consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation
on the First Saturdays".
It is important to note that Our Lady said that the purposes of consecrating Russia to her were: to save sinners from hell and to bring peace to the world. It is also important that she said that if this Act of Consecration was not made and if devotion to her Immaculate Heart was not established in the world, that Russia would spread her errors around the world and nations would be annihilated.
The
years following the message of Fatima saw the rapid spread of communism around
the world and the influence of it even in countries that are not officially
communist ruled. In the time between the apparitions at Fatima and the second
world war, dictators such as Stalin and Hitler perfected the annihilation of
nations. As well as war, abortion quickly became a means of destroying nations,
particularly the communist nations of Eastern Europe, some of which had such
high abortion rates that Doctors comment even now that to see women from some
of those countries who have had 8 abortions is common and to see a woman who
has had 20 abortions is not so unusual.
In
the last years before his death Pope John Paul II made an Act of Consecration
of the Whole World to Our Lady. Now there is no better way for us to be
faithful to Our Blessed Lady’s request than by: a) living out this Consecration
in our own lives, b) Consecrating all that we are and have personally to Our
Lady and c) Establishing devotion to her Immaculate Heart in the world –
particularly through the promotion of the devotion of the First Five Saturdays.
Through doing this
you can be certain that you are assisting Our Lady to save souls from hell, you
are helping to bring a true peace to the world and you are preventing the
annihilation of nations, through euthanasia, abortion and all attacks on the
sanctity of human life.
Fruits of Consecration to Our Lady
Ø St Louis Marie de Montfort’s preaching of the Total Consecration
to Jesus through Mary in the Vendee area in France resulted in a
well-catechised laity, whose descendants fought and died for the Faith in large
numbers. [Email us your postal address, UK only, to receive a free copy of St Louis Marie de Montfort's booklet on how to prepare to make the Total Consecration, info@GoodCounselNetwork.com]
Ø St
Maximillian Kolbe, who influenced millions of Catholics
to live their faith fully, led the largest monastery in Europe, which was
founded on the Consecration of oneself to Mary.
Ø Frank
Duff, founded the Legion of Mary in 1921 also
based on total Consecration to Mary, the Legion has produced 4,000 martyrs in
China as well as 6 candidates for Canonisation.
Ø Pope
John Paul II said that the Total Consecration to Mary
changed his life.
The Devotion of the
First Five Saturdays
Our Lady said: "Look, my daughter, at my
Heart, surrounded with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce me at every
moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console me and
say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary
for salvation, all those who, on the First Saturday of five consecutive months,
shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and
keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries
of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me".
Later, on 29 May
1930, Our Lord explained to Lucia: "… There are five ways in which people
offend and blaspheme against the Immaculate Heart of Mary; blasphemies against
the Immaculate Conception, against her Virginity, and against the divine
Maternity and the refusal to recognise her as the Mother of all mankind;
blasphemies by those who seek publicly to implant in the hearts of children
indifference, contempt and even hatred against this Immaculate Mother, and by
those who insult her directly in her sacred images".
The devotion of the Five First Saturdays can be summarised as follows: sacramental confession, reception of Holy Communion, the recitation of five decades of the Rosary, meditation for fifteen minutes on the mysteries of the Rosary all with the intention of making reparation to Our Blessed Lady.
Let us
therefore, out of love for Our Lady make this devotion our own! Praised be
Jesus and Mary!
Thursday, 3 September 2020
Eucharistic Adoration: The Way to End Abortion
The Eucharist is the focal point of the Catholic faith because it is Jesus present with us here on earth today. In the Eucharist, Jesus prolongs His presence on earth and most completely fulfils His words: “Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world” (Mt. 28:20)
The Eucharist is Jesus’ greatest expression of His love for us. Jesus expresses His love for us in three ways in the Eucharist: by re-presenting His sacrifice of the Cross in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, by uniting His life with ours in Holy Communion, and by giving us the gift of continual presence in the Blessed Sacrament. This is another way of saying that the Eucharist is a threefold sacrament, i.e,. it confers grace in three different ways. We will focus here on the third way. Prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is efficacious, and it is the way to secure the graces necessary to put an end to abortion in the world. Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “ If people spent an hour a week in Eucharistic adoration, abortion would be ended.”
Of the many graces received by prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the greatest by far is the sanctification of the adorer. Young people should be encouraged to spend time before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. In that way they will fortify themselves against temptations against chastity, which when succumbed to, often lead to the sin of abortion.
Pope Paul VI said that Eucharistic adoration cultivates in the soul “a ‘social’ love by which the common good is given preference over the good of the individual.” This heightened social conscience makes one more aware of the immense dignity of every human person; it allows one to see clearly that every human person is uniquely created and specially loved by God. Such a sensitised conscience finds abortion abhorrent and could never hold a “pro-choice” position.
Pope John Paul II, in a recent letter commemorating the 750th anniversary of the first celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi, said, “through adoration the Christian mysteriously contributes to the radical transformation of the world.” This is a powerful statement that affirms the awesome power of Eucharistic adoration, the power that will transform our “culture of death” into a culture of life. Eucharistic adoration is the most powerful means one can employ to win graces for the conversion and salvation of those involved in abortion and other sins against human life. Blessed Dina Belanger was told by Jesus in a vision that a multitude of souls were saved from the fires of hell by her Eucharistic holy hours of prayer.
The heart of the apostolate of every pro-life worker should be a weekly Eucharistic holy hour dedicated specifically to the end of contraception, abortion and euthanasia throughout the world. It is necessary to pray first for the end of contraception because abortion and euthanasia are logical and natural consequences of contraception. If man dares to usurp God’s prerogative and determine when life begins, it follows that he will also dare to determine when it ends.
Putting an end to abortion is just one of many reasons why every parish should have perpetual Eucharistic adoration. Perpetual Eucharistic adoration is the “devotion of devotions.” It provides an easy and convenient means for everyone in the parish to spend at least an hour a week with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. I urge all Catholic pro-lifers to encourage their pastors to start perpetual adoration in their parishes.
[Sign up to commit to an hour of Adoration of the most Blessed Sacrament for the work of the Good Counsel Network, once a week. You can fulfil this in any Church of your choice.]
© Rev. Victor P. Warkulwiz, M.S.S., National Director of the Apostolate for Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. For more information contact:
APOSTOLATE FOR PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
MISSIONARY PRIESTS OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
P.O. BOX 1428, BENSALEM, PA 19020, USA. PH:215.244.9211 FAX: 215.244.9211
E-MAIL: apea@webtv.net