“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

The Tower of Babel

                Brixton is a remarkably noisy place to be. The high street in particular is on the routes of surely a dozen buses, and the emergency services plough their way through it so regularly it seems they have a schedule like the buses. Add to their blaring sirens the standard hooting, honking and beeping of all manner of vehicles vying for supremacy on the road, and there is rarely a moment’s silence. There are few places in London, it seems to me, that have so many people from different countries, cultures, and social spheres colliding. In fact, it’s all rather like the Tower of Babel. No-one understands each other, nor do they seem to care because they are all just trying to be the loudest, the one everyone can hear.

                Right in the middle of this there are two or three people praying quietly. Every now and then they burst into a rendition (with varying degrees of success) of some hymn or other. Yes, you guessed it, it’s the 40 Days for Life vigil!

                This little corner of the world, a frantically busy crossroad with a church, a park, a mini supermarket and a bevy of bus stops is a great representation of the world as a whole, especially in connection with the abortion crisis. People of all cultures are hurt by abortion; it slithers through all boundaries; religious differences, political divides, financial standing, and it wreaks havoc. So many people who don’t understand their own views, let alone anyone else’s, and all of them competing in a shouting match to be the dominant mindset. For some it’s all about politics, for others abortion is a woman’s right.

And there are the pro-lifers. We’re not perfect (Some of us can sing, and some of us can’t). Sometimes we say the wrong thing, sometimes we hit the nail on the head, and sometimes we recognise when we need to be silent. But in general, what we’re doing is the right thing. We’re not trying to shout people down, we’re just there as a witness for others whose voices are never heard, and we’re there for all the people who pass us by, either ignoring us, mocking us, or ranting at us for half-an-hour (and we thought the singing was bad). Because one day they might just stop blocking out every one else by their incessant hollering and look at what we actually stand for; an end to the hurt of abortion, an openness to the joy of life, of parenthood, and a promise to stand by any woman who needs help to raise her child.

                Because, one day, the Tower of Babel that is our culture of death will topple. I think I’d rather be part of the relief mission, not one of the people who was on it as it fell.

Nathanael

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

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

Archbishop John Wilson of Southwark leading the prayers in Brixton.

Who Are These New ‘Wierdos’ On the Block, And Why Are They So Charming?

It is a little-known secret that right now the place to be in the world is Brixton.

It’s a whiplash of a morning. Someone’s thrown me out of bed, onto a tube, onto a bus which has spit me out onto the street for the 8 am shift of the pro-life vigil. The air is damp with the smell of empty bottles of cider. Day or night, Brixton always seems to be the same, as though its inhabitants don’t notice the light changing.

Something is different. There’s a circle of pink graffiti around me on the ground, an arrow pointing at the circle labelled ‘wierdos’, ‘Brixton is pro-choice’. It’s the kind of pink that might seem appealing on a dark, drunken night out but when you look at it again in the morning it just looks disgusting and makes you feel sick.

I have to admit, I’m feeling a bit small, standing all alone in that pink graffiti circle, with my signs that are too heavy and too many for me to carry. I don’t want to put them up yet for fear of getting mauled.

My fellow vigilant arrives, notices the graffiti and carries on as usual. The affability of his manners is amplified by the fact that he’s got a big pink arrow labelled ‘weirdos’ pointing at him. We start trying to assemble the signs and a woman comes along and starts shouting at us, telling us she is going to work in a children’s care home while we are standing there harassing women. It’s all seeming a bit grim and dismal.

Then we start our prayers, and the sun comes out. I’m watching the people going past and something is different. Almost everyone is noticing, reacting even. A father is talking to his child about what’s going on. People are looking up from their phones as though waking up from a deep sleep, turning their heads to read the pink words on the ground that they can’t possibly miss. Some are smirking, someone is laughing and taking a photo. Someone walking her dog stops and asks us how long this is going to be going on for. ‘I live across the street and it’s just quite a lot’, she says. As though living across the street from an abortion clinic wasn’t quite enough already.

One of the worst things about abortion is the fact that no one talks about it. This huge tragedy is going on in our country and we’ve got this unbearably heavy, profound silence hanging over us about it. We’ve rocked up in this land of darkness and, assuming this is about as light as it gets, are sliding far too quickly into deeper and deeper darkness.

The beautiful thing that I saw that morning was people finally starting to wake up about it, however begrudgingly. This country used to be Catholic, and sometimes it seems a very long way away from being that way again.

That morning, it didn’t seem such a long way off to me after all. I saw that this pro-life vigil is God’s work, and God can move mountains. He can move thick heavy clouds of darkness and silence about the prevalent tragedy of abortion.

If you don’t want to come and pray with us at 40 Days for Life, you are welcome to come and shout at us. Who knows? You might just suddenly feel a whole lot lighter.

                                                                                 Anna Maria

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

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

The Power of Prayer

I don't have a lot of experience in Pro-Life work but since Brixton is on my doorstep, I thought I'd get involved for Lent. I've been struck by various things and feel very blessed to have had this experience.

Firstly, the amount of young, faithful people who want to pray with others and witness to our Lord and Saviour is beautiful and does my faith good!

Secondly, the depth of the wounds both personally and intergenerationally on our streets is palpable; the animosity and aggression I've seen must be signs of deep pain and we must redouble our prayers for the healing that only Christ, our divine physician, can deliver.

 Finally, in an age of social media sparring, I’m struck by how powerful I’ve found it to be silent and remain in prayer when insults are flying. Our Lord did not speak back from The Cross and I’m inspired to keep quiet a bit more (which my friends may approve of!) To close, it’s been a privilege to witness to love and truth; may more folk come to know God and know the true value of human life.

Tori

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

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

But What About Abortion In The Case Of Rape?

Many of you who have engaged in conversation with the passers-by at the vigil will have been asked the question, ‘but what about abortion in the case of rape?’ Firstly, we must recognise what a terrible thing it is for a woman to be raped and how she needs to be given all the love and support possible. But these women need real help, not abortion. Rather than helping women who are the victims of such a horrendous crime, the abortion industry seeks to make women yet another victim of their own abortion. One victim of rape asked the doctor, ‘will the abortion undo the rape?’ and he of course had to reply ‘no.’ Not only will the abortion not undo the rape, but it will instead only add another layer of guilt and physical and emotional trauma to the already wounded woman.

Abortion only perpetuates the cycle of violence. The argument for abortion in the case of rape, as with disability, is a direct assault on all those who have been conceived in that way. One such example of this is Rebecca Kiessling who was conceived from a knifepoint attack by a serial rapist. Her mother, afraid of an illegal abortion at the time, decided to carry her to term and put her up for adoption. When Rebecca found out about her violent beginning she spoke out against those who justify abortion in the case of rape. She said, “All those people are out there who don’t even know me, but are standing in judgment of my life, so quick to dismiss it just because of how I was conceived. I felt like I was now going to have to justify my own existence, that I would have to prove myself to the world that I shouldn’t have been aborted and that I was worthy of living” (Rebecca Kiessling). These powerful words of Rebecca remind us that whatever the circumstances of his or her birth, every human being is a unique and unrepeatable gift from God, created in his own image and likeness. Let us remember women like Rebecca who have every much right as we do to be here today, and please come and join us in witnessing to this at our prayerful vigil in Brixton.

Jacinta

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

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

The Clock Is Ticking for Abortion

And we're over the halfway mark of 40 Days for life, 18 days left to go! A huge thank you to all who have volunteered so far and if you have not yet volunteered don't miss out, the clock is ticking. Every day we're getting closer to the end of abortion! We're really starting to see the effect these vigils are having, people are starting to take notice in both positive and negative ways. As many of you will know the pavement around our vigil site has been decorated with graffiti, saying things such as "your body, your choice" and many other pro abortion slogans. It's often clear from the reactions and conversations at the vigil that we are touching people's consciences. 

It is important to remember through all this that no matter what people tell you we stand here for women and their babies to offer them real help and support. 

Rose

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

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

Those Helped By Good Counsel Share Their Stories

Some mothers who really were in difficult situations have kept their babies because of the pro-life vigils. 

One story I remember from a few years ago, is of a brave mother who changed her mind during 40 Days. She was living in a tiny one bed flat with her husband and two children and she had a lot of health problems. She also had financial problems because her husband had had to leave work because of her health. As a Christian she was not feeling good about her abortion appointment that day but she got our Good Counsel leaflet from someone outside the abortion centre and came to our centre to get the help she needed instead of going in for the abortion. The lady and her husband are always very grateful for the help received and we are continuing to help them today. The same lady stood up for us against the lies that were told about us to bring in buffer zones. She was a witness with other mothers and told the council how she was glad that we were there for her and for other mothers in difficult situations. 

A few months later her husband happened to be walking passed our vigil one day when someone shouted abuse at us. He politely told them the truth about the help we had given them so they stopped harassing us. 

That reminds me of another time we were at a 40 Days for Life vigil outside the abortion centre and one of the mothers we had helped was praying at the vigil with her child in the pushchair. A couple of young ladies stopped and were shouting at us and seemed very angry that we pro-lifers were there, and they were not in a hurry to go away. The mother who was with me, who had changed her mind about having an abortion years before, came over with her son and started explaining to these women about the help our centre had given her and her child, including help with accommodation, financial help and support and she pointed to her son in the pushchair. They were speechless and dumbfounded and walked away silently. But to my surprise half an hour later they came back and apologised to us and told us that they had changed their minds about us being there altogether!

Lorraine

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

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

Christ is with you at the Pro-life Vigil

Good Counsel has been plodding along helping Mothers for 29 years now, and we have learned in that time, the importance of the outreach to Mothers and of the prayers for them that happen at pro-life vigils. Despite the rising number of abortions, the ease with which abortions can be obtained now and the ever worsening legal situation around abortion in the UK, vigils remain a place where we can reach many passers by with a witness to life and an offer of help and support. Lighting a candle in a very dark world.

This Lent, the 2 London 40 Days for Life Campaigns have been blessed by the visit of many priests, a Bishop, an Archbishop and a Cardinal. What difference does that make to anything? Well, firstly, each bishop brings with him the authority of the Church, and the ability to bless us and our work and prayer in the name of the Church.  And secondly, when the clergy come to pray and witness with us, Christ comes in them in a particular way. Listen to Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald explain this from the writings of Cardinal Newman. 

Most of all, when the clergy come with us, they say with their actions "The Church is with you. Christ is with you. We support you as you preach the Gospel of Life from the Rooftops."

Clare

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

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

These Pro-Life Vigils Do Work!

I've witnessed many women change their minds and not have an abortion during 40 Days for Life over the years since it began in 2010, especially before the buffer zones came in. Due to my working with the Good Counsel Network and taking part in the vigils, I can remember some amazing turnarounds that were definitely God's intervention. But even now with the buffer zones in place we are still receiving wonderful news from time to time such as recently a friend came to tell us that a woman she knew did not show up for her abortion that morning. We have also had people come up to us in the street now and again and introduce us to their child, the ones whose mothers or fathers saw us praying and decided not to go ahead with their abortions. We had not known they had kept their babies but they had witnessed the people praying at the vigils as a sign from God that they should do the right thing and continue their pregnancy. 

Lorraine

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

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

Come And Join 40 Days For Life If You Dare

We’re two weeks into 40 Days for Life, almost half way. Our Lord is under the cross and we’re trying to be there with Him. People are mocking and cursing Him, He’s exhausted, the whole world is against Him but He keeps on going. Why? Because He loves us, and life is worth it.

Our Lady is there and she’s the only one that sees Him. For those that don’t make it, at the very least we were there, and we saw them.

‘I was in prison and you came to me’ (Matthew 25:36).

Lord, when were You in prison and when did we visit You?

I was a little unborn baby in the womb. My mother was taking me to the abortion centre because everyone told her I wasn’t a life yet. You stood outside and offered her help. You prayed for her and for me.

Good Counsel Network has its vigils going all year round, but for 40 days the ante goes up. I’m thinking back to the first day. It’s dark and pouring with rain, I’m trying to sort out the display and my umbrella’s blowing inside out. I’m having to think on my feet. I’ve been wondering when it’s going to get real, and this is really it I’m thinking. I’m looking across at my friend. He’s white with the cold and he’s saying God bless you to a man who’s just told us to keep freezing. This is really it I’m thinking.

 

If you’re not in the fight for life what are you doing? If you’re not fighting for life are you really living?

 

Clocks ticking, now I don’t think I’m blogging anymore I’m rhyming.

 

These days in the UK, your chances of making it out of the womb and into the world are slim, just over two in three to be exact. Life doesn’t make its way into this world without a fight. Does that sound like the kind of fight you want to miss out on?

 

How much does it take to bring a baby into this world? The Hand of God, the prayers of Our Lady, a man and a woman plus two frozen vigilantes. One of them wasn’t meant to be there this long, someone is late and he’s saying the Hail Mary like he no longer knows what it means.

I'm approaching the vigil. From a distance it doesn’t look like much, two little people and a couple of signs by the side of the road. It seems to me these things don’t look so small to God because you get there and it's war.

 

I’m standing there, and I feel like I’ve found the place I came from. Who would have thought, this pavement in Ealing. I know why it is, it’s because my Mother is there, and I’m there, suffering my little splinter of what she suffered for me to be here.

 

Come and join us for 40 days if you dare. You might just find out who you really are. You don’t want to miss this for the world.

 Anna Maria

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

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

Prayers And Sacrifices Touch Hearts

40 Days for Life really does have an effect and can save many lives. I remember being in the reception of Good Counsel Network Centre during 40 Days for Life years ago when the reception area was full. There were three couples waiting to be counselled, one particular story I remember was a couple had been in the abortion centre and were talking to another couple showing them our leaflet so both couples decided to come to our centre for help together in a taxi. We've had mothers telling other abortion minded women about our centre after they have kept their babies. It's  great to witness how some of the mothers we help show their love for other mothers in need. There was one morning I will not forget in a hurry. It was a freezing morning outside the abortion centre. A beautiful young lady came out of the clinic with her boyfriend and she turned around and smiled at us. She said “Thank you, because you are here today in this freezing weather we have decided to keep our baby.” Its not often we hear how our prayers and sacrifices have touched the hearts of those who were about to have abortions but when we do hear we have these beautiful memories to cherish forever. Praise God for His intervention and all the babies that have been saved.

Lorraine

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

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

Serving Mothers & Offering Real Help!

Every day of work at the Good Counsel Network brings something different.  Our assistance doesn’t end with the birth of the child.  Some clients continue to need our help on an ongoing basis whilst others may contact us months or even years after originally being helped in order to get advice or assistance with something troubling. 

A single, working mother of two (living in very overcrowded conditions) contacted us in distress when she found she was unexpectedly pregnant with a 3^rd child.  We initially provided her with advice on housing and how to access help from her local authority.  I also helped her search for more appropriate local housing.  In addition, we provided her with many practical goods for the baby, some financial support and information on grants and benefits for pregnant/new mothers.  It was because of this help that she decided to choose life for her child. 

Later in the pregnancy, when she suffered discrimination in the workplace due to the pregnancy, we helped her to get expert advice regarding her rights.  She again contacted us for advice on enrolling her older children in college. Then, after the baby’s birth, she contacted us to say her family was facing eviction, she was looking for help in her communication with the local housing authority.  When she was then moved into bed-bug infested temporary accommodation, we continued to advocate on her behalf and provide emotional support until the family was removed somewhere more suitable.

When I last spoke with her almost 1 ½ years after she first contacted us, she was happy to say that her older daughters were attending college (and doing well), her baby was thriving, and she had a new job and had just signed a rental contract for a property that very day.  She was so very thankful for all the support we provided to her and said she wouldn’t have been able to get through everything without the help and support of the Good Counsel Network.

Michelle

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

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