Join Our Advent Novena

This prayer is traditionally said from the Feast of St Andrew, 30th November, until 24th December, 15 times each day. Please join us in saying it, even once a day, for any part of the Advent Season for all our loved ones and for the end of abortion.

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment

In which the Son of God was born

Of the most pure Virgin Mary,

at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold.

In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God,

to hear my prayer and grant my desires,

through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ,

and of His Blessed Mother.  Amen.

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Forgetting How to Remember the Dead

The 11th of November 2025 was a damp, dim, grim day. I was standing at the pro-life vigil in Ealing when at 11 o’clock my Rosary was interrupted by the sound of a trumpet coming from the War Memorial just across the road for  the two minutes of silence.

There was a crowd of about four people standing at the Memorial. At the end of the two minutes, they made the Sign of the Cross. It hasn’t even been a hundred years since the Second World War, and how much our country has changed since then. To have been born then and to still be alive now must be to have witnessed the most astonishing decline in morality and Religion. Is it only those of us who remember how to make the Sign of the Cross, and think it right to do so, that can remember how to remember the dead? Once upon a time this country was Catholic, and now being Catholic in this country is like being some kind of psychotic alien. 

 

What struck me in those two minutes was how little we appreciate the peace those soldiers fought so hard for. They laid down their lives so that we could have ours, and how little we value it. 

 

People were a lot more alive back then than they are now, perhaps because there was something

obvious to fight for. It might seem like all this peace and comfort they have won for us hasn’t done us much good at all. I can’t remember which saint said it and what they said exactly, but it was something about there being more danger in times when everything seems peaceful because we are less alert to the spiritual battle. What our country does not realise is, we’ve still got just as much to fight for. The reality is, we are not living in peace at all. 

 

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Our Lady has put the pro-life vigil in Ealing right next to the War Memorial. I once prayed a Rosary with someone at the Memorial and they said; ´it’s different here, people don’t get angry with us. They just think we’re praying for the dead.’ 

 

Everyone wears a poppy, I even saw someone’s dog wearing one, but the amount of lives lost to abortion is something public conscience is far from being able to face. 

Anna Maria

And you can  support our Pro-Life work by donating here,

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Name: 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

Paypal.me/SaveLivesGCN

Pray For The Holy Souls So That We And They May Meet In Heaven One Day

“It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins”

2 Maccabees 12:46

One thing that distinguishes Catholics form many other Christian churches is the belief that we can pray for our deceased brothers and sisters and can help speed their progress to Heaven by our prayers. The Holy Souls can pray for us too, as the “Church Suffering” they can help us by their prayers but they cannot help themselves.

Unless we reach the highest levels of sanctity before our death, we can, at best, hope that we will spend some time in Purgatory, where the joy of knowing we will eventually go to Heaven is tempered only by the unbearable pain of separation from God while our flaws and imperfections are purified.

While we are still part of the “Church Militant” – the souls still alive on earth, working and praying for our own salvation – let us lift the burden from our dear brothers and sisters in Purgatory by our prayers, especially in this month of the Holy Souls. And while doing so, we can ask for their prayers, so that we may all one day meet as the “Church Triumphant”, merrily in Heaven.

You are welcome to send Good Counsel names of your deceased friends and relatives who will be prayed for during November in all the Masses in our Chapel. Email them to info@GoodCounselNetwork.com

And you can also continue to support our Pro-Life work by donating here,

Bank Details

Name: 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

Paypal.me/SaveLivesGCN

1 Year on - The Babies that Beat the Ban on Help for Expectant Mums!

Last year on the Eve of All Hallows, 31st October, the Government brought the National Buffer Zone into law, meaning pro-life people have to stay 150 metres from the door of an abortion centre when they offer help and support and alternatives to abortion to the women entering the abortion centre.

Of course keeping us for far from the entrance means many women will never get to see us at all, or hear about the alternatives and support we are offering.

The Government and many abortion campaigners think this is a good thing, because they don’t believe we have any real help to offer, they don’t want to speak to the women who have accepted our help and they largely don’t believe that women get coerced into an abortion by their circumstances and by people around them.

Last year before the buffer zone came into effect we met Elizabeth, Mary, Emma, Thalita and Gianna in Brixton, Rosie, Clara, Jade, Jenny, Karly, Annette, Mandy, Rhonda and Pat in Ealing and Prudence and Caroline in Central London at our vigils. Of these women the outcomes were as follows, 12 of their babies have been born, 1 was miscarried, 2 moved abroad and continued their pregnancies and 1 aborted.

We also had requests for support in difficult pregnancies from 4 women who reached us through other women who had received our help leaflets at the door of an abortion centre in the past. Maria, Tammy, Monique and Geraldine all chose to continue their pregnancies and have had their babies now. And finally, we also had a number of women who were past the time limit for an abortion who still needed some help and advice and some baby items which we were able to help them with.

Since 31st October 2024, women like these have a far lower chance of finding us. But we are still praying and offering help. Please pray for women considering abortion. And please join us at the edge of the buffer zone. Find out more at www.goodcounselnetwork.com or email us at info@goodcounselnetwork.com