All it takes is a simple “YES”

I first joined the 40 Days for Life vigil three years ago, just after graduating. I had more time, but more than that, I had a growing desire to live my faith more intentionally. A friend invited me to one of the initial pro-life events, and from the moment I arrived. It didn’t feel forced or unfamiliar it felt like I had stepped..... into something I was meant to be part of.

At that time, my prayer life was very active. I was praying multiple rosaries a day and had a strong desire to be bold in my faith. I’ve always been someone who is drawn to challenges, and this felt like a spiritual one something that would stretch me, but also root me more deeply in Christ. So I said “yes.”

Now, three years later, I can say that each year has been completely different. The first year was new and unfamiliar. The second brought more understanding. And this third year has felt more grounded I’ve noticed that I’m less affected by what people say. That doesn’t mean it has been easy. There have been moments of what I can only describe as spiritual warfare, where before anything good seemed to happen, there would be accusations and hurtful words. Some people would film us or call us names. Yet, after these moments, there was also visible good fruit especially in seeing many young people becoming open to receiving rosaries. What started with resistance would sometimes completely shift, with hearts opening in ways we didn’t expect, and that was a powerful reminder of God at work.

But over time, I’ve learned something important: not every word spoken over you is truth. One of the most powerful things I began to practice was consciously rejecting those lies in prayer renouncing them in the name of Jesus. That shift has been transformative. It not only changed how I experienced the vigil, but also how I approach challenges in daily life.

Another thing I’ve come to appreciate is the different ways people serve during the vigil. Some prefer to pray the rosary continuously, others stand in quiet prayer, and some engage by offering leaflets and sacramentals. Over the years, I’ve learned the beauty of this balance how each role matters and contributes to the overall presence.

This year, however, something shifted for me personally. I felt a clear prompting from the Lord to step out and offer rosaries to people passing by. It wasn’t something I had planned it just grew naturally. I found myself going beyond my usual commitment, coming on extra days!

What stood out most was the response. In the first few days, every single rosary we gave was taken. After this, while many people declined or responded negatively, some were genuinely touched. Some would ask, almost surprised, “Is this really for me? For free?” And in those moments, something deeper was happening.

It became clear to me that this was more than just a pro-life witness it was also about encountering people where they are. These small interactions, even just a few seconds long, had the potential to reach someone’s heart.

During a time of prayer and Adoration, I had a moment that has stayed with me deeply. We were reflecting on how God sees us individually, and I had a strong sense of being seen as a child completely known and loved. I even had a brief image of myself as a baby. That moment connected so powerfully with the mission I was part of. It reminded me that every life begins like that small, vulnerable, yet deeply precious and fully seen by God.

That realisation strengthened my conviction. If God sees each of us with such care and intention, then every life truly matters “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” - Jeremiah 29:11  

This year in Ealing, I’ve seen a range of responses some people uninterested, some opposed, but many open in quiet and unexpected ways. And those moments of openness are enough. They remind me that this mission is not about forcing anything, but about offering something with love, gentleness, and dignity.

For me, these three years have been a journey of growth not just in action, but in understanding. Learning to stand firm, to remain peaceful, and to trust that even the smallest act whether a prayer, a rosary, or a brief encounter can carry lasting impact. Sometimes, all it takes is a simple “yes.”

Riona

To sign up for hours at the 40 Days for Life vigil in Ealing, West London contact Sarah on 07776256838, or email her at london40daysforlife@hotmail.com

The 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigil in Brixton will run for 12 hours a day, 8am to 8pm, seven days a week from Ash Wednesday until Palm Sunday. If you could spare an hour or more to come and pray with us, it would be of great help. The vigil takes place at the corner of Brixton Water Lane, London, SW2 5BJ. For more details or to book to attend please contact Gabriella on 07745711064 or 02077231740

For details about 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigils in Reading, Southend, Liverpool, Nottingham, Glasgow, Leicester, Bournemouth and Sheffield see here and for the rest of the World see here 

“So what’s better than an abortion?”

“So what’s better than an abortion?”. Anyone who has done a few Pro-Life vigils knows that we get some very odd comments and questions, but this was one of my strangest. The man—mid-fifties, donnishly smoking a brown hand-rolled cigarette, a bit scruffy—was reading our sign. “You say that women deserve better than abortion. So what’s better than an abortion?”. It took me a moment to realize that he was serious. ‘Well,’ I answered him silently in my head, ‘I mean, quite a few things actually. Ice-cream. Sunshine. Moonlight on the Danube’. 

By now, though, I had realized what he was driving at. He meant: ‘is a women really better off if she keeps her child in difficult circumstances? What are you going to do to help her once you’ve convinced her to keep her child?’. Of course, the answer is the same: ‘well, quite a few things actually’. The man’s question, one suspects, was premised on two absurd falsehoods: that abortion itself isn’t harmful to women, and that pro-lifers don’t help mothers once they’ve had their children. His and my very curious little interaction left me with two reflections. 

First: perhaps I’m odd in this, but I find that vigil work is much easier if I hold on to my sense of humour. For sure, we must always be mindful of the great evil that is taking place before us. But we also need to remember that the things that the Enemy puts into people’s heads to say and ask are not only misleading, but absurd. He lies, and smuggles lies into the questions he asks, because lies are all he’s got. Though we must always be respectful towards the poor people that he dupes, I think that we can rally our courage if we remember later on to smile at the silliness of what they have said to us. Doing so reminds us that if the abortion lobby sometimes seems like a huge looming edifice, it’s really but a house of cards. I think that it also helps us to retain the inner joy in our witness that draws abortion-vulnerable mothers to us. 

The other, more sombre reflection is about the man’s reasoning. Aside from the fact that it is a really good excuse for not helping people—‘why should I help her to keep her baby? she can just have an abortion...’—it also reveals a sad view of life. Life is difficult, and motherhood is too, even when help is available. If abortion is really better than having a child under difficult circumstances, then none of us should be here. Already, many of us aren’t. The logic of abortion is the logic of death, which is ultimately the logic of universal hatred: hatred of God and all that he has made. 

So I suppose the moral of this story is twofold. On the one hand, we’re in a tough fight: we’re up against the Father of Lies. On the other hand, we can be positive, because at least he hasn’t got anything sensible to say.

                                                                                                           Peter Day-Milne

The 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigil in Brixton will run for 12 hours a day, 8am to 8pm, seven days a week from Ash Wednesday until Palm Sunday. If you could spare an hour or more to come and pray with us, it would be of great help. The vigil takes place at the corner of Brixton Water Lane, London, SW2 5BJ. For more details or to book to attend please contact Gabriella on 07745711064 or 02077231740

To sign up for hours at the 40 Days for Life vigil in Ealing, West London contact Sarah on 07776256838, or email her at london40daysforlife@hotmail.com

For details about 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigils in Reading, Southend, Liverpool, Nottingham, Glasgow, Leicester, Bournemouth and Sheffield see here and for the rest of the World see here 

"You're Not Welcome Here!"

"You're not welcome here! It's a woman's choice!" a woman yells at us from her car as she waits at the traffic light in front of our pro-life vigil in Brixton. The lights turn green, she turns the corner, and yells at us again. Certainly, it often feels like Brixton locals have firmly made up their minds on which side of the line separating good and evil they stand. The graffiti that appeared on the pavement around our vigil site—first in chalk, then in neon spray paint—drove that point home: "Brixton is pro-choice," it said, among other things. Is it true? Is our vigil an unwelcome intrusion, born of blind fanaticism, disturbing the otherwise perfect peace of the inhabitants of the People's Republic of Brixton?

I think not. Yes, it is true that we experience a lot of opposition from locals at the vigil. But we experience as much support. Locals stop every day to affirm us, to bless us, to pray with us. It is interesting to note the difference between those Brixtonians who oppose us and those who support us. I do not mean to insult our opponents—they deserve love and prayer, not scorn, being so firmly in the claws of the devil—but I must note that they tend to be financially comfortable, well-dressed, well-groomed members of the metropolitan laptop class: the kind who drink matcha lattes on their way to a Pilates class. In contrast, those locals who support us are visibly low-income, look like they work with their hands, or perhaps have to rely on benefits. We were affirmed by old ladies, retired bakers, Cockney blokes, African aunties, and Jamaican men.

One more difference: judging from accents and the occasional conversation, our supporters seem to be actually local to Brixton—born, bred, and grown old there—while our opponents tend to be recent transplants to Brixton from elsewhere in London, the UK, or the world.

What accounts for the split in attitudes between the two groups? There are two explanations, I think. The less interesting of the two is the natural one: our affluent opponents, unlike our struggling sympathizers, would have gone through many years of the liberal brain-grinding machine—first at university, then at their corporate or public-sector job. The supernatural explanation is more interesting: Poverty inclines a person towards things that matter—towards God, or at the very least, things adjacent to Him: family, responsibility, country. "It is good to trust in the Lord, rather than to trust in princes," says Psalm 117 (Vulg. numbering). The person to whom life has not been kind does not have the luxury to trust in princes—who lie to them and tax them to death—or in money, in their own physical beauty, intellect, or career prospects—none of which they have. The poor person is under no delusion as to their own imagined grandeur—they know God is the only thing they have. This is why Pope Benedict wrote that the poor are God's first love. St Paul, too, tells us "... The foolish things of the world, ... and the weak things of the world, ... and the base things of the world, and the things that are contemptible, hath God chosen" (1 Cor 1:27–28).

In contrast, those who haven't been brought low by life tend to see the world through a mist spread before their eyes by Satan (though he often outsources this job to mainstream and social media). Through that mist, everything appears very small to them, but they themselves seem very large and important. "The world is yours for the taking," says the old fiend. "Life is what you make it. Money? Yours. Advancement? Yours. Beauty? Yours. Sexual pleasure—yours. Always, at any time, and with no restrictions." When such a person encounters our vigil, they rightly consider us their enemies—we're the annoying, unwelcome reminder that a person is not the master or mistress of their own life; that they have responsibilities which are not up to them to choose or abandon; that they have a nature that was given to them rather than chosen by them; and that they violate that nature and shrink from those responsibilities at their own very peril.

Two things to conclude: Dear reader, you and I must always remember that our pro-life efforts will have no effect if we undertake them from a place of pride, because "God resisteth the proud" (James 4:6). We must never put ourselves above our opponents and flatter ourselves for being on the right side of this issue. Whatever good there is in, say, my contribution to the cause is due to God's grace alone, not my own imagined virtue. I contribute nothing to the cause except my shortcomings and failures. I must always remember I am spiritually much closer to the proud whom God opposes than to the humble whom He exalts.

Given that I'm no better than the opponents of our vigil (and indeed, in all likelihood, I may be much worse than them), I must also pray for them—principally for their conversion. My prayer mustn't come from a place of pride—"God, make that nasty woman less awful"—but from a place of charity: "God, convert that woman who yelled at us today. Bless her in every way and bring her to life everlasting, and may I embrace her as we rest in your bosom in the world to come."

(This is the theory, dear reader. Now, to practice!)

Philip K.

The 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigil in Brixton will run for 12 hours a day, 8am to 8pm, seven days a week from Ash Wednesday until Palm Sunday. If you could spare an hour or more to come and pray with us, it would be of great help. The vigil takes place at the corner of Brixton Water Lane, London, SW2 5BJ. For more details or to book to attend please contact Gabriella on 07745711064 or 02077231740

To sign up for hours at the 40 Days for Life vigil in Ealing, West London contact Sarah on 07776256838, or email her at london40daysforlife@hotmail.com

For details about 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigils in Reading, Southend, Liverpool, Nottingham, Glasgow, Leicester, Bournemouth and Sheffield see here and for the rest of the World see here

Pray To St Joseph For Fathers, To Help Save Lives

There is no doubt that most women going for an abortion have been let down by the father of their baby. Some are abandoned, some forced to abort, but most have just heard the terrible line from him, "I'll support you whatever you do." With this he has told her that he does not want this baby, because if he did, he would not support her to abort their child. But he is also putting the full responsibility on her, whatever she does. As today is the Feast of Saint Joseph, the Foster Father of Jesus please say the following prayer that all Fathers protect their children.

Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so prompt, so strong,

before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.

Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession,

and obtain for me from your Divine Son

all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power,

I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of fathers.

Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms;

I dare not approach while he reposes near your heart.

Press him in my name and kiss his fine head for me and

ask him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath.

St. Joseph, patron of departing souls - pray for me.

Amen.

PLEASE DONATE TO SUPPORT OUR WORK 

AND THE MOTHERS AND BABIES IN MOST NEED

Donate by Bank Transfer to:

The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel

Sort Code: 40-06-30                          

Account Number: 13994678

By Credit Card over the phone:

Call 0207-723-1740

Monday to Friday, 10.30-6pm

Via Paypal: Paypal.me/SaveLivesGCN

The 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigil in Brixton will run for 12 hours a day, 8am to 8pm, seven days a week from Ash Wednesday until Palm Sunday. If you could spare an hour or more to come and pray with us, it would be of great help. The vigil takes place at the corner of Brixton Water Lane, London, SW2 5BJ. For more details or to book to attend please contact Gabriella on 07745711064 or 02077231740

To sign up for hours at the 40 Days for Life vigil in Ealing, West London contact Sarah on 07776256838, or email her at london40daysforlife@hotmail.com

For details about 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigils in Reading, Southend, Liverpool, Nottingham, Glasgow, Leicester, Bournemouth and Sheffield see here and for the rest of the World see here

Is Offering Help and Support Provoking & Judging?

 A young man stopped by the vigil to remonstrate with a priest who was there last week. He kept insisting that "you are just here to provoke", while Father answered gently that we are there offering help and witnessing to the fact that an unborn life is a human life which should be allowed to be born. 

We have two signs currently at the vigil. And a few passers-by have also complained that we are judging or condemning women, or trying to shame them. This is not our intention at all. I will include the posters in this post so you can judge for yourselves how judgemental or shaming the signs are.

The man who stopped to tell the priest off got angrier and angrier, shouting down the answers to his questions. "What help do you give?" -"Well we offer..." "Bull****! you don't help anyone".

"Why are you here?" "Because we believe..." "No. You are here to provoke" etc etc.

The "Women and children deserve better than abortion" sign was the particular subject of his ire, and eventually he tried to remove it, though thankfully he didn't manage to in the end. Finally he explained angrily that he and his partner had an abortion very recently.

As he stormed off, we were left to contemplate how much the pain caused by abortion disfigures everything, so that even an offer of help or a sign calling for better options for expectant Mothers can somehow be seen as an attack.

May God heal the brokenhearted and end the scourge of abortion in our land.

Clare

Why not join us in prayer during Lent? See the options to join our Rosary or Adoration Rotas, or join us at 40 Days for Life – see GoodCounselNetwork.com for details. And follow the daily updates here on our blog, which includes details of the Bishop, Archbishop and Cardinal who have attended 40 Days for Life vigils in London this Lent.

St Patrick Patron Saint Of Ireland

A very happy feast of St Patrick to you all!
St Patrick was kidnapped into slavery in Ireland when he was young. After 6 years as a slave in Ireland he managed to flee the country. After becoming a bishop he returned to Ireland to bring Christianity to the pagan country.
St Patrick's mission was not easy, he faced hostility and hardship yet he continued his work because every person was worth reaching. It's much the same in the pro life movement today, we might face hostility and hardship, as proven at our 40 Days For Life vigil in Brixton, yet each child in the womb is a unique life deserving of protection. Standing quietly, offering help and praying for mothers and fathers may seem small but with the help of God these actions carry great power.

St Patrick's Breastplate

Christ with me, 

Christ before me, 

Christ behind me,

Christ in me,

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ on my right,

Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down,

Christ when I sit down,

Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

The 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigil in Brixton, where we reach out to expectant Mums, will run for 12 hours a day, 8am to 8pm, seven days a week from Ash Wednesday until Palm Sunday. If you could spare an hour or more to come and pray with us, it would be of great help. The vigil takes place at the corner of Brixton Water Lane, London, SW2 5BJ. For more details or to book to attend please contact Gabriella on 07745711064 or 02077231740

To sign up for hours at the 40 Days for Life vigil in Ealing, West London contact Sarah on 07776256838, or email her at london40daysforlife@hotmail.com

For details about 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigils in Reading, Southend, Liverpool, Nottingham, Glasgow, Leicester, Bournemouth and Sheffield see here and for the rest of the World see here

Saving Lives This Lent

During Lent we often struggle with Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. Yet these Lenten duties aren’t given to us as a punishment but as a means to help us overcome our own spiritual weakness, our greed and selfishness and even our lack of self-control and our lack of vigour in attaining holiness. In other words, Lent is a kind of spiritual workout for the soul. It can be hard sometimes to feel that giving up chocolate and saying an extra prayer or two is making much difference. Sometimes it is even harder to just keep doing the penances or spiritual extras we have taken on, or knowing where best to give alms!

Pro-life work provides an opportunity for all these things. Firstly, in order to try to help women considering abortion, we have to have hope ourselves – abortion is an act of despair, so if we don’t have hope, we have nothing to offer women in need. So we need to keep our own faith alive and active through a deep prayer life. Secondly, some demons can only be cast out through prayer and fasting, as Our Lord told the apostles. And sometimes it is very clear that abortion is one of the issues that requires both prayer and fasting for us to overcome it. Finally, almsgiving. The women we see come to us with every kind of problem: homelessness, trafficking, abuse, illegal immigration, poverty, drug and alcohol addiction, imprisonment, prostitution, depression, marriage breakdown, and so many other difficult situations. Money is not the answer to every problem, but money can often buy help, keep food on the table and a roof over someone’s head. With your support, we can reach and help many more Mothers, so they can choose life and we can support them as they do so.

The women who choose abortion come from every walk of life, rich and poor, black and white and every race and colour. We can use Lent to profit our own soul as well as to help save the lives of others by deepening our prayer, fasting and almsgiving for those tempted to abort.

A young Mother, Joanna, who we helped recently, changed her mind as she was going to the Ealing abortion centre. The thing that made her feel able to choose life was our offer to help with part of her rent for the months she would be off work because she did not qualify for maternity pay. That promise has been honoured and she is now the delighted Mother of Jennifer, who is the apple of her eye. It’s amazing that a relatively small amount of financial help can save a life, but it is true! Not just has it saved Jennifer’s life, but it has also brought Joanna to the point where she recognises that abortion would have been wrong, and a terrible mistake. Something she would never want to consider again, no matter how difficult the circumstances.

So, this Lent, please join us and spare some prayer, fasting and almsgiving for the pro-life movement.

Prayer

Why not join us in prayer during Lent? See the options to join our Rosary or Adoration Rotas, or join us at 40 Days for Life – see GoodCounselNetwork.com for details. And follow the daily updates here on our blog, which includes details of the Bishop, Archbishop and Cardinal who have attended 40 Days for Life vigils in London this Lent.

Fasting

Can you offer your fasting and any suffering you have for the end of abortion, the closure of abortion centres and for particular Mothers considering abortion?

Almsgiving

Can you support our work and help the Mothers we are assisting by donating during Lent? Or could you start making a regular (e.g. monthly) donation to our work? See our bank details below.

Clare

DONATE TO SUPPORT OUR WORK

Donate by Bank Transfer to:

The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel

Sort Code: 40-06-30                       

Account Number: 13994678

By Credit Card over the phone:

Call 0207-723-1740

Monday to Friday, 10.30-6pm

Via Paypal: Paypal.me/SaveLivesGCN