The Mystery Of Motherhood

‘Mummy, Mummy, look at this flower!’

‘Darling, I hate to tell you this, but that’s not a flower. That’s a weed’ she replies, laughingly. 

I’m thinking, what does it matter? It’s the most beautiful flower I’ve ever seen. 

On the path leading up to the abortion centre in Ealing, the periwinkle sticks its head out through the gap of the fence of a very beautiful park. The periwinkle is not a flower, it’s a weed. 

I’ve always thought that if I was a flower, I would be one that is technically a weed. I would be a forget-me-not, because regardless of whether they’re weeds or not, they’re my favourite kind of flower. 

And let’s face it, we’re all a bit weedy. We’re sinners. We get in the way, we take up too much space without asking and cause havoc, demanding attention. We’re not always pretty, sometimes we ruin the view and some of us might even sting. 

Nonetheless, there is something very beautiful about a flower that is actually a weed. Where did it come from? No one planted it. What a miracle, what a surprise. 

Somewhere out there, a mother regards the life in her womb as a weed. She didn’t intend for it to be there, and she wants to get rid of it.

It’s not a life. It’s not a flower, it’s a weed. 

In my woundedness, I don’t understand why Our Lord doesn’t raise children Himself. Why does He give them to us when He knows we will hurt them? Why does He keep giving them to us when almost one out of three in them now are aborted? Weeds grow in places where they are likely to be trampled upon. Our Lord imprisons Himself in the womb of the mother in the same way as He imprisons Himself in the Tabernacle. Why did He decide to become a tiny piece of bread, a substance so vulnerable to destruction, placing Himself in our clumsy hands? 

It is the mystery of the Cross. Our Lord became a vulnerable human being, and He let us destroy Him. That’s how He saved us. Our Lady knew what was going to happen, and still, she gave Him to us. It is not the end of the story. 

There is an abortion centre in Ealing, and the sun still shines, the birds still sing. It is right next to a very beautiful park where flowers still grow.

Article & Illustration by Anna Maria, 

Good Counsel's Artist in Residence

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 

Catherine Scott, Remembering a Pro-Life Volunter.

Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you

Catherine Scott, a long-time supporter of GCN and a very faithful vigil volunteer died on Sunday 30^th October 2022 on the Feast of Christ the King (in the Old Rite). This past Sunday would have been her Birthday.

I can’t remember a time when Catherine wasn’t involved in offering alternatives and real support to women entering abortion centres. She was fearless at the vigils and often received much abuse from passers-by in her daily presence at them. But she had a deep empathy for the women entering, no judgement of them and a desire to politely offer each woman the choice of life.

So many Mothers we have helped down the years were befriended by her and she would chide us if she thought they didn’t get the help they needed quickly enough, and would remind us if they needed something or needed a call.

Catherine was always ready to give witness for Christ’s sake and had a deep devotion to Our Lady. From the Chartres Pilgrimage to the G.K. Chesterton Walk, The Rosary Crusade, The Helpers of God’s Precious Infants Retreats, Catherine could be found supporting Mary’s Meals and numerous other Catholic events and good causes.

She had an incredible humility that allowed her to put any desire for human respect away when boldly reaching out to help those in need. One busy morning she popped into the office with a pregnant woman she had met by the fridges in Tesco, who needed help with accommodation to safely continue her pregnancy. Somehow this soul got talking to Catherine and she was determined to get her some real help.

She was full of love and mercy for others and never had a bad word to say about those she volunteered with and those she helped. She did have real anger towards those who lied about the vigils and those who profited from abortion while knowingly taking babies’ lives and putting women at risk.

Regularly accompanying us on staff retreats and formation days, Catherine was an honorary staff member of Good Counsel who had worked with us longer than many of our staff! As our sacristan Gabi said, “I remember Catherine radiant in prayer. I miss her being there for us all, such a beautiful, giving person. I feel so blessed for having met her.”

Thank you Catherine for all your hard work, for your tolerance of our foibles, for your kindness and your focus on what really mattered. Thank you for all the lives you have impacted, for making yourself an instrument in God’s hands to save children from abortion and to save Mothers from the sorrow of going through an abortion. God rest your noble soul, please pray for us, I know you will.

Clare

I remember being at Whitfield Street with Catherine one day. She was counselling women by the entrance to Marie Stopes abortion centre. One woman passing by stopped and asked her for a leaflet. The woman slowly tore the blue and pink leaflets up into tiny pieces and threw them up in the air. They fell to the ground, many of them landing on Catherine. It was really rather beautiful actually, and she stood there looking like she had been anointed. She just quietly bowed her head and prayed. – Len, Volunteer.

I think Marie Stopes is closed today…good thing the funeral happened on this day! Like they had a respite in abortions just for Catherine! – GCN Staff at Ealing Pro-Life Vigil on the day of Catherine’s funeral.

Instruments of God's Infinite Mercy

The wind blows on a cold day in the Brixton vigil, it looks like the picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe will blow over at any moment. Passers by are shouting at us, telling us that we should be ashamed, and we keep praying.

"Pray without ceasing" 1 Thess 5:17. The unborn need our help. Without us, who will be there to pray for them and support them in this culture of death?

People are struggling, and in great difficulties, and with great tumult of spirit do they decide to end the life of their child.

The culture points towards it. The constant promotion of lustful thoughts, fornication, adultery, the creation of and destruction of children through IVF, contraception and abortion. All these things bring death, first to the soul of the one who commits these acts, and that death cannot help but spread.

A gangrenous finger if not removed quickly becomes a gangrenous hand, then a gangrenous limb, then it finally spreads to the organs bringing death. Likewise smaller sins beget greater sins, for a mind made to desire the fulfilment that comes only from seeing God cannot be satisfied by that which separates itself therefrom. Therefore, in this dissatisfaction, it seeks to appease itself, and according to its habit of sin, it seeks this comfort from sin. Whence comfort can never come. Otherwise it attempts to use sin to reverse the effects of sin.

But this does not exempt myself. Have I not offended God? Have I not sought my own pleasure when I knew it was wrong? Thus am I not responsible for this culture of death? By every sin I disorder my own appetites, and I prepare myself to sin more. I build habits of vice which remain long after, and harm my ability to show love to God or to love my neighbour. To this same neighbour I give a bad example, and I give occasion to justify his sins, and by this I share in his sins. And those sins in which I share get shared to his neighbours and their neighbours.

Looking upon my own soul, is it any wonder that the world looks as darksome as it does? Is it any wonder that the mere suggestion that it is wrong to kill the unborn is met with scorn? Have I not crucified Our Saviour in my soul, or like Herod sought His death as an infant when I noticed Him coming, lest He should take my own power, by giving me the power to do His will and to avoid evil?

But greater than my iniquity is God's mercy. As our Lord says Lk 5:32 "I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance." At the vigil we are called to be instruments of God's mercy, to dissolve ourselves in prayer and Charity. When the passers by shout "Shame!" at us, we can bring to mind our own sins for which we ought to be ashamed and pray more fervently. By this we spread the mercy that we have received from the Most High God.

The mothers who wish to abort their children are in despair, despair at what their life might look like if they keep the child, at how they are going to be able to manage. It belongs to us to be their hope. Foremost to pray that they receive hope but also to have hope in our own souls that they will be able to keep the child. That their needs will be provided for, that the child's needs will be provided for, and that they will be provided the Grace to choose life for their child. As Simon of Cyrene helped Jesus to carry his cross, so too can we help these mothers to carry their crosses showing them the way to financial, emotional and spiritual help.

The children, free from all but original sin, find themselves collateral damage in this spiritual warfare. Sacrificed to the enemy to build his kingdom here on earth, a kingdom which has as alters its abortion centres and as borders its buffer zones. Not being able to surpass these borders, we, the soldiers of the army of God, recruited from amongst the army of Satan and washed by our Divine Saviour, lay siege to this fortification, hoping to deliver these infants, each precious in the sight of God, from the maw of the enemy.

If even one child is saved then our efforts have not been in vain, yet whilst any child is in danger we must keep going. I hope to see you at the vigil in Brixton by the grace of God.

Asare

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 

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.

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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