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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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,

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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

Ending Abortion with the Rosary!

At the end of October, we mark the Anniversary of the National Buffer Zone which came into effect on the 31^st October 2024, and which bans prayer and offers of help or support to expectant mothers within 150 metres of every abortion centre. Although we have had to move  down the road, we are still there seeing women who turnaround and need your prayers and financial support.

October is also the month of the Rosary, and as we move on towards the end of the year, we are asking all our supporters to deepen their devotion to the Rosary, to pray it daily for the end of abortion as well as for each and every Mother who considers abortion to choose life. Here are some of the reasons why we think it matters.

A Way to End Abortion: The Rosary

“Oh no not the Rosary!” – the inward, or sometimes outward, groan of children – and, sad to say, adults, for many generations.

How can it be that a prayer so beloved of our Blessed Mother, which honours her and causes us to dwell on the events of her son’s life can be found so burdensome, boring, hard to concentrate on and dry? The Rosary takes us on a pilgrimage through the earthly life and the glorious deaths of Jesus and Mary, in joy and in sorrow, with Jesus as the Light of the world and as its glorious Redeemer. The outward words spoken in the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory be echoing the words of Holy Scripture – the voice of the Holy Spirit – as we strive to focus our minds and hearts on the Mysteries.

St Louis Marie de Montfort wrote of the Rosary, ‘If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins, you shall receive a never fading crown of glory. For even if you are now on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil…sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul. If–you say the Rosary devoutly every day of your life.’

Miracles of the Rosary

In the year 1214, Our Lady appeared to Saint Dominic, giving him her Holy Rosary. Through the Rosary, the Albigensian heresy was completely defeated, and the heretics returned back to the fold of the Church.

In 1571 all of Christian Europe was saved from the threat of a Turkish invasion at the Battle of Lepanto. Pope Saint Pius V, the reigning Pontiff at that time, implored all of Catholic Europe to pray the rosary. It was prayed continually, round the clock. The Catholic forces in that battle were greatly outnumbered but the Turkish invaders were soundly defeated. The Holy Father referred to it as a great Rosary Victory. Pope Saint Pius V proclaimed October 7, as the feast of the Holy Rosary.

In 1683, the Turkish forces again threatened to overrun Europe. As the army of King John of Poland marched to Vienna they prayed the rosary. Catholic Europe was once again saved from the threat of a Turkish invasion. The date of that battle was September 12, 1683 - the feast of the Holy name of Mary.

Various Rosary Campaigns in History and Their Outcomes

Fr. Peter Pavlicek, organized a Rosary crusade in Austria in 1948. Fr. Peter asked for a “tithe” of Rosaries; he asked that ten percent of all Austrians pledge to say the Rosary daily until the Soviets left the country. The people of Austria responded generously. They prayed for seven years, and then on May 13, Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, 1955, the Soviets mysteriously just packed up and peacefully left.

Brazil was spared a communist dictatorship in the 1960’s through a Rosary Campaign led by a Dona Amelia Basto. Something similar happened in Portugal in 1975.

On March 25, 1984, Pope John Paul II called for a Rosary crusade because of the grave danger to world peace at that time. In response to his request, a major "Rosaries for peace" crusade was launched by the Blue Army and other Marian organizations. There was a magnificent response. And on May 13, 1984, one of the largest crowds in Fatima’s history gathered at the shrine to pray the Rosary for peace. And that very day an explosion at the Soviets’ Severomorsk Naval Base destroyed two-thirds of all the missiles stockpiled for the Soviets’ Northern Fleet. Western military experts called it the worst naval disaster the Soviet Navy had suffered since WWII. Four years later during the night of May 12, 1988, as thousands prayed the Rosary at Fatima, another mysterious explosion wrecked the only factory that made the rocket motors for the Soviets’ deadly SS 24 long-range missiles, which carry ten nuclear bombs each.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen was once asked to describe the power of the rosary. "Describe the power of the rosary, there are just no words to describe the power of the rosary!" He went on to further state, "The trouble with the world today is that there are not enough rosaries being prayed!"

In 2004 A group of pro-life pregnancy centres in Austria were engaged in praying the Rosary for some years, both outside abortion centres and in front of the Blessed Sacrament. 3 abortion centres closed in Austria, one of which the pro-lifers then bought and used as a centre for post-abortion healing. When asked how these abortuaries had come to close the Director of the pro-life centres stated “By the power of the Rosary”.

Save Yourself and Save the World!

There are many things which are powerful and necessary for us as Catholics, especially the Holy Mass, the Source and Summit of our faith. But the Rosary is a simple everyday meditation on the life of Our Lord, accompanying Our Lady, and we have been requested to say it by Our Lady repeatedly, and by many Popes. If there was ever a time to take up the Rosary with your whole heart it is now, as threats of abortion up to birth and euthanasia are so close to becoming law.

Please consider joining our once-a-month Rosary Rota if you haven’t already email us at info@goodcounselnetwork.com

Pope Paul VI said, "Do you know what the world needs today? Saints! Thousands upon tens of thousands of Saints!". We can be the saints that Pope Paul VI said the world needed. We are the people who have to take our rosaries in your hands and start praying. Until we have thousands upon tens of thousands of people praying the rosary, we are not going to have those Saints and nor are we going to defeat the culture of death.

Donate to Support Our Work

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Or send a cheque payable to, The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel and post it to PO Box 46679, London, England, NW9 8ZT.

Clare McCullough

We have Marched for Life and now Richard will Run for Life

On Saturday 6^th September over ten thousand Pro-Lifers joined the March for Life in London. You can read a report here.

Now Richard Keane, a former Good Counsel intern, will run a half marathon to help raise funds for our life saving work. Here is what Richard had to say in a talk he gave in his local Parish, please read what he said and then support our work and his efforts.

“I'm running the Potters Half Marathon to raise £2,000 for the Good Counsel, a remarkable Pro-Life organisation where I was proud to intern. 

For over 28 years, the Good Counsel Network has provided life- changing support to mothers and families in vulnerable situations- offering compassionate counselling, practical financial and housing aid, spiritual care through Masses, and even essential baby items to help mothers choose life.

Their work has helped save over 4,000 babies, and every donation goes directly to helping their mission. Walking alongside women in crisis with love and dignity, the Good Counsel Network offers a beacon of hope where it's needed most.

I spent nearly eight months as an intern for the Good Counsel Network, finishing in May this year. During that time, I witnessed the incredible efforts that staff and volunteers go to fulfil their mission, and I had the privilege of being involved in the day to day running of the Good Counsel. I prayed outside abortion centres, offering leaflets to passers-by, with a particular focus on vulnerable mothers. I also offered counsel to these mothers and their families during sessions in the Good Counsel office. As I mentioned before, they provide practical, as well as psychological and spiritual help.”

You can sponsor Richard here. Or donate using one of the following options,

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Walk, Pray, Work And March for Life

Nathanael has Walked for Pro-Life, in fact he walked 27 miles in one day, on the 15th Annual GK Chesterton Walking Pilgrimage. So far he has raised £2,664 to help the life saving work of Good Counsel, you can still donate here to help him reach is goal of £2,700.

The eleventh annual March for Life UK, will take place on Saturday 6th September. Please come to the March and do visit us on the Good Counsel Network stall in The Emmanuel Centre, Marsham Street, London SW1P 3DW, between 10am and 12.30pm, for free badges, learn about our life saving work, our intern programme, our daily Pro-Life Prayer Vigils & how Adoration will end abortion. There will be talks, workshops and activities in the morning at The Emmanuel Centre, to suit all ages.

The March for Life is always a nice peaceful Family friendly event, so please do come along. This year seven Catholic Bishops will be attending.

There are coaches travelling to London for the March from all over the country, details are here.

The March itself starts at 1.30pm outside The Emmanuel Centre.

Work for Pro-Life, a job is going for a Bookeeper, see here

Pray for Life, send us an email now, to join our Days of Prayer and Fasting for Life, our Adoration Rota, our Rosary Rota and to recieve some of our prayercards, we know of hundreds of women who have continued in difficult pregnancies because of the Graces they have recieved through prayer,

info@GoodCounselNetwork.com

Donate To Support Our Work

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Name: The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel

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Account Number: 13994678

By Credit Card over the phone:

Call 0207-723-1740 Monday to Friday, 10.30-6pm

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Support The Good Counsel Network Pregnancy Centre

Imagine a Pregnancy Centre where every woman is shown her baby’s stage of development and is offered the help and support she needs to keep her baby? Stop imagining and support The Good Counsel Network.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-londons-prolife-pregnancy-centre-stay-open/

Parliament of Death

June 2025 will go down as a particularly dark month in the UK’s history, even by our already bleak standards. In the space of a week our parliament has voted to effectively decriminalise abortion up to birth and to allow “assisted dying”.

Decriminalisation, we were told, is to protect women from prosecution. In fact, it allows women to be coerced into abortions right up to birth, allows unscrupulous abortion providers to use whatever methods they wish and provide abortion medications with virtually no checks whatsoever, knowing that it is going to be nigh on impossible to prosecute them under the new law, if it comes in.

“Assisted Dying” is another euphemism. MPs not only voted to pass this bill but also voted for a version of it in which almost every safeguard that was proposed to protect the vulnerable has been removed. Instead of investing in proper pain relief and end of life care, Government funding could now be focussed on “helping” people to die. Euthanasia is already widely practised in our hospitals. How long before the “right” to die becomes a duty to die?

In response to these votes, the Bishop responsible for Family & Life Issues said: “This is not the end of the parliamentary process, and we should not lose hope. We ask the Catholic community to continue to pray for members of parliament whilst they consider this legislation and to pray that government will act to promote and protect life from conception until natural death.” – Bishop John Sherrington.

With your continued prayers and financial support – however dark things get - we can ensure that women like these are able to turn away from abortion because we can offer them real alternatives.

Donate To Support Our Work

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Name: The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel

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By Credit Card over the phone:

Call 0207-723-1740 Monday to Friday, 10.30-6pm

Paypal.me/SaveLivesGCN

Why pray outside an abortion centre?

What disturbs me at the vigil is how diverse reactions are to the gesture of praying outside an abortion centre. Some bless us some curse us, but no one is exactly the same. ´That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee’ (John 17:21). Perhaps this is what disturbs me, the human race is far from being one. 

Is there a right way to see it and a wrong way to see it? Yes, because there is the Truth. If society views praying outside an abortion centre as a violent action, a criminal offence, then no doubt our society is far from the Truth. 

My experience with the Good Counsel Network has been one of clawing my way out of my own spiritual blindness. The first time I made my way to a vigil I was bracing myself, anticipating conflict, that it would simply be a matter of suffering and offering it up. I was pleasantly surprised by the peace that was there, the greatest peace I had ever felt, I was closer to Heaven than I had ever felt, I felt like I was at Mass. 

Going to the vigil is like going to Mass because you are going to the Foot of the Cross. It is to go to where the greatest of all evils is happening, to stand with the innocent victims of our sins, to offer oneself for them.

Not just once have I been standing there when the countenance of someone who is looking at us changes, as though they have seen the Truth or something beautiful. Praying there, we are creating a milieu of grace that hearts are changed by, a wall of light defending the unborn. 

But how to see the Truth? To see through the eyes of Our Lady. At the Foot of the Cross, she was the only one who could see the Truth in all it's fullness, that this man on the cross, her son, was not a criminal. He was innocent, He was God Incarnate. 

Why pray outside an abortion centre? The first time I went I didn’t understand. Sometimes I still don’t understand. Why not just pray at home? And how to be there? Give out leaflets? That didn’t feel right to me, but to other people it did. So it would appear, the vigilants are not ´one´ either. 

´It’s really hard to know how to be here’ I said.

‘All you’ve got to do is show up’ said Trish (another volunteer). 

I found myself asking, would Our Lady really do this? More and more I realise that she would. It is exactly where she is, it’s where to find her. Our Lady went to the Foot of the Cross, she didn’t stay at home and pray. She was just one person, she couldn’t stop what was happening, but she knew that He was in control.                              Anna Maria

With your continued prayers and financial support – however dark things get - we can ensure that women are able to turn away from abortion because we can offer them real alternatives.

Donate To Support Our Work

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