Celebrating Mums Choosing Life Day 4 Mums Who Rise Above Suffering and Shame to Choose Life

 

Today we are celebrating Linda, a young expectant mum we met outside an abortion centre who did not want to abort but was worried about how she could carry her child to term because of her circumstances.

She came from a very strict background but who had secretly been having a relationship for some years when she found out she was pregnant. Her boyfriend was very pleasant and supportive, wanting her to keep the baby, but he point blank refused to discuss getting married or telling his family about the child. He came from a much more liberal background, which made it even harder to understand, because Linda would have to give up her whole family if she kept the baby as an unmarried mum.

With many doubts and fears, Linda chose to continue her pregnancy with Good Counsel's support. We helped her to find a place to live with her baby so that she had a place to go before her family could find out about the pregnancy and throw her out. She kept the baby, but she kept in touch with the baby's father and he cotinued to tell her he wanted a relationship with her and her baby.

A few months before the birth he suddenly told her that he had another girlfriend who was also expecting his child and he planned to make his future with her. Linda was heartbroken, devastated and felt humiliated by the whole situation. But she kept her baby and is determined to raise him and give him the best life she can. 

Unfortunately, Linda's situation is not unique. Several expectant mums we have assisted have found their baby's father was not faithful and then had the humiliation of finding out he was having a child with the other woman as well. It is a terrible suffering for a pregnant woman to discover this and women often start to feel that all men are like this; good men often get "tarred" with the brush that "all men are like that" because of these rotten apples! 

Let's pray today for women like Linda who have to endure this pain and the men who inflict this kind of pain through their selfishness. We pray for them to regret their behaviour, to honour and respect the women and children in their lives and to not endanger the lives of children by their faithlessness. We thank God for the gift of the child who was born to Linda. May God bless Linda and her baby and turn all things to their good.

Help us reach out to Mothers like Linda with prayer, help and support by attending the 40 Days for Life Vigil near you. We are running one in Brixton, please contact Gabriella for details on 07745711064. Or find your nearest 40 Days for Life campaign here Donate to help us support Mothers in need here 

On Lies and Live Action Videos

Lila Rose of Live Action

 



Live Action's recent undercover videos have brought out a number of Catholic commentators saying that undercover interviews are basically "lies" which are always morally wrong.
I have a problem with this argument. It is that there are numerous situations where the Church has allowed, and even rewarded the type of behaviour they accuse live action of, and worse. And yet, we know the Church does not accept and reward sin. Somee  examples of this, just off the top of my head:
During the Second World War the Catholic Church, with the sanction of the Pope, made false passports and baptism certificates for hundreds (at least) of Jews. This was going many times further than Live Action have gone here! Further, Mgr Hugh O'Flaherty - whose family have commented recently that the Pope was kept fully informed about his work - arranged for a Nazi warehouse/factory to be raided and the clothes and boots thrown into the garden of the Irish Embassy to be used for clothing allied refugee POW's (stealing is not lying it's true, but it is stealing never the less!). Meanwhile in a vatican hospital, a doctor invented a fake fatal illness and taught Jewish prisoners a specific type of cough, thereby convincing Nazi's never to enter the ward and saving large numbers of Jews.
Meanwhile back in the old country, Frank Duff, founder of the Legion of Mary, persuaded a group of prostitutes to go on a weekend retreat. At the end of it, they wanted to leave their profession and he managed to obtain a house for them to go to on the Monday. However, with no furniture he was stuck. So he went round to the SVP's house and stole all theirs. The members of the SVP later laughed themselves silly about it and gave him some money as a donation on top! - Still, he didn't know in advance that they would do so. (Mr Duff, who is currently "Venerable" also wrote about a visit he made to England while working for Michael Collins, where he and those with him travelled incognito - i.e. they all used false names).
During the Elizabethan persecution of Catholic Priests, Fr John Gerard gives an account in his diary of how he would deny knowing people who had hidden him or had him say Mass in their homes etc., to protect them.
In Mexico, Blessed Miguel Pro appeared dressed as every kind of worker and even as a Policeman in his efforts to administer to his flock while evading capture. On one occassion when being pursued he caught hold of the arm of a young woman and asked her to pretend they were a couple (i.e. act out a lie).
Fr Gereon Goldmann pretended to be a member of the SS (well technically he still was as the paperwork to dismiss him was never done I think) and also held a priest at gunpoint to be able to take the Blessed Sacrament from the tabernacle to give it to the dying Germans and Italians nearby (the priest did not want to assist the dying Germans).
All of these things are things that would be morally wrong in normal circumstances and they involve many lies.
Finally, didn't even the Archangel Raphael appear under a "false" name and persona, as Azariah the kinsman of Tobit, in the book of Tobit? And reveal neither who he was or what he had come for until the end of that book?
Not giving the whole truth to someone, using a false name, pretending to be something you are not; describing all these things as always out and out lies - and always morally wrong regardless of the reason, the circumstances, - this would mean for the Church that numerous saints, martyrs and blesseds, as well as Popes and theologians have been guilty of living in and teaching sin. That's a bit problematic, no?
And in fact, I don't believe that any of the instances mentioned above was morally wrong.
Whether of not Live Action's work is fruitful or not I cannot say. It may take time to be successful. They may need to perform many more "stings" before PP can no longer keep up the front. Certainly groups like PP will be worried and may even be more careful about keeping within the law as a result. Maybe they will bear no fruit at all. however, as has been pointed out, that is a different issue from whether or not they are morally wrong.

Clare McCullough

On Heavenly Fathers, Holy Fathers and Good Fathers

 

Above:Holy Fathers...and Fathers

I have blogged twice (Irish Catholicism, A Blessing and A Firm Anchor and A Father who Taught me How to Protect the Weak and the Innocent) about my father, Stanley McCarrick, on the anniversaries of his death, which was 17th March 2010. This year, I was thinking about his approaching anniversary and I got to wondering what his view of Pope Benedict's resignation and Pope Francis' election would be. He would have been just as excited as I was to watch the announcement, "Habemus Papem" and to wait to see the new Pope. And like most of us he would have struggled with the loss of the beloved Pope Benedict, and taking in this new Pope who we hardly know yet. He had a profound filial devotion to the Holy Father which he passed on to all his children. And while I can't say I "love" the person of the new Pope yet, for I hardly know who he is, I love the shoes he is filling and the role he has been elected to. And I love the Church that elected him profoundly, so for now I am going to look at everything he does with an open mind and a respectful eye, while praying that he will be a greater and holier man than I can imagine!

I remember my father, when I was (much!) younger, reading a book by Cardinal Ratzinger and I said to him “Who is Cardinal Ratzinger?” he looked over the top of the book at me and said “A carbon copy of the Pope!”. I knew this was the highest of praise from my dad. And though in many ways the then Cardinal Ratzinger was not a carbon copy of Pope John Paul II, his sentiment was true. They held the same beliefs, taught the same truths and most of all Cardinal Ratzinger as head of the CDF was the steel support on which the Holy Father John Paul II could lean throughout his papacy.

I thank my father for this great love of the Holy Father, which undoubtedly kept me in the Church, when my beliefs, practise of the faith, lack of understanding of the teachings of the Church, off the wall lifestyle etc tempted me away from it. And I thank God for the joy of a great father on earth, several great and saintly Holy Fathers over the last 40 years (all of the deceased ones having causes for beatification and one beatified already) - such beautiful reflections of the Heavenly Fatherhood of God Himself.

Please pray for the repose of my father’s soul. Here’s an extract from one of his letters to the press about the Pope and the Church and the freedom of the individual:

Sometimes one wonders if the Pope is just some secluded old man in a big house somewhere in the confines of the city of Rome. Whenever his words come through to us, and often they don't, we are deluged with objections and letters in the papers showing just how far he is removed from the world we live in.

It is hard to knuckle down and recall that Jesus Christ came on earth to show us the way to live our lives in order to achieve that everlasting life with Him to which He, in His incomprehensible love for us, invites us.

Easily we forget that He didn't desert us when He returned to the Father. He left us Peter and the apostles, and their successors, the Pope and the Bishops, guided by the Holy Spirit, to ensure that His guidance was kept clear and true before us. Can we visualize the Church without that centre of guidance?

Jesus didn't invade everyone's privacy. Neither does the Pope. But our most secret actions are open to God, Who cannot be deceived. What the Pope and Christ's Church invite us to do is what He wants. We are in no way forced to so behave. The priest and the bishop have no power over us. Even God does not compel us to answer His call, which is given voice down the centuries by the Church, inspired by the Holy Spirit. The choice is finally ours. We choose our way of life, with its everlasting consequences.

 

Clare McCullough

Praying for the Closure of the Ealing Abortuary



 Photos show: marie stopes Ealing, signboard above the plaque of St Michael the Archangel. And a clearer image of the plaque alone.

Like many London abortuaries (Buckhurst Hill, Brixton and Twickenham to name a few) and others worldwide, the building which houses Ealing abortuary has a profoundly Christian and Pro-Life history. This is indicated for the casual bypasser by the image of Christ and St Michael the Archangel which the building bears on the front wall, just under the marie stopes sign. Please join us in prayer for the end of abortion and specifically for the closing of the Ealing abortuary and read on here to learn about the history of this place.

Please join in praying daily for the closure of the Ealing abortuary:

1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys and the prayer to St Michael, -

Holy Michael the Archangel, defend us in the day of battle, be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God thrust down to hell Satan, and all the wicked spirits who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls, Amen.

Please email us if you would us to post you a copy of a prayer-card with the prayers and photos; info@goodcounselnetwork.com

As well as saying the prayers above for this abortion centre to close, please come and pray there with us. See: http://www.goodcounselnet.co.uk/Abortion--Clinic--Vigils.html

Please donate to Good Counsel so that we can continue to help the Mothers, who change their minds on the very doorstep of this abortion centre.

History of St Michael's house Ealing, now marie stopes abortuary

By Anette
 If you want to reprint this article please contact: iprayforlife@gmail.com

 

What would you say if someone told you that in the heart of London there is a Marie Stopes abortion clinic in the former Chapel House?
How would you feel knowing that thousands of babies have died so far in the house where not so long ago a woman described as a saint lived and ran a Christian Home of Spiritual Healing?
How would you feel, you Christian, knowing that the place Jesus choose for healing was turned into a mass destruction facility?
Are you not appalled yet by that sacrilege?
Would you finally do something?

This is a shocking and fascinating story about a real house, a real person and a real battle between good and evil. The present-form house – named ‘Morley’ – was built in 1902 for Mr Herbert Grice from the designs of Mr William A. Pite F.R.I.B.A. It was constructed just next to Walpole Family’s Old Chapel (map from 1894 ) that still stands today at 86 Mattock Lane is a Grade II listed building dating to early 19th century. Later Morley House (today’s Marie Stopes abortion clinic) became a part of the Chapel House complex.

The Ealing Newspaper on May 16, 1930 described it as “Chapel House, Mattock Lane, Ealing, the Anglo-Catholic hostel under the patronage of the Guild of St. Raphael, which is conducted by Miss Dorothy Kerin. Miss Kerin claims to have been miraculously cured of a mortal illness in 1912, an account of which is recorded in her book “The Living Touch” and she started the hostel last October in thanksgiving for her recovery.”

Who was that wonderful woman who undertook such a noble venture? Stevens Heckscher, Oblate OSB, PhD describes her as “a most extraordinary figure in the Christian world of the twentieth century. In the ancient church, she would have been ranked among the greatest saints. In her own Anglican tradition, during her lifetime she was considered a pioneer in the recovery of the healing ministry, and a gifted, charismatic healer.”

DOROTHY KERIN: God’s miracle. She was born on 28th of November 1889, in Greater London. At the age of 22 this fragile, Anglo-Catholic girl, following years of illness principally from tubercular peritonitis, diabetes and its complications, and after two weeks in a state of near coma and after eight minutes of clinical death, she was apparently miraculously and instantaneously raised to life. She reported powerful experience, in which (she said) she met Jesus Christ, who gave her a commission, to return to this world and perform an important work for Him. In this vision she was brought back to life ‘to heal the sick, comfort the sorrowing and give faith to the faithless’.

She called the day of 1912, when she was brought back to life, as a “Beautiful Day” and described it in these words: “On Sunday morning, February fourth at nine o’clock, I received the Blessed Sacrament, and as the priest came towards my bed with the chalice. I saw a wonderful golden light radiating from it, which enveloped the priest. I had never seen it before, though all through my illness I had made my communion every month. It was a beautiful experience and the Divine Presence was a reality. When the service was over, everything around me seemed to grow dim and misty and I could see nothing clearly. In the evening I asked my little sister to sing ‘Abide with me’, as all was then so dark. She did not know it well enough to sing, but as she sat by my bed with my hand in hers we heard it sound from beginning to end most beautifully. My sister heard it as distinctly as I did and said ‘Oh, how wonderful’. We are certain it must have been the Holy Angels who sang it, for there was no one singing in the house or outside. When the singing had ceased, I seemed to drift into space. I was no longer conscious of my body, but my soul was overflowing with love and joy, and a transcendent feeling of supreme happiness, impossible to describe in ordinary language. I passed on and on, and as I went, the way grew brighter and brighter, until I saw in front of me a wonderful altar, formed by angels. There were six at the back, and in the front one more beautiful than the rest holding a chalice, which he brought to me and from which he gave me to drink. Then they disappeared, and as they went, they seemed to be chanting words which I could not understand. I passed on again, and soon I heard a great flocking sound, and saw coming from every direction white robed figures, some of them were carrying lilies, while some had haloes. Their movements made lovely music, and they all looked as though they were coming and going with some definite purpose. No words of mine can exaggerate the exquisite beauty of the scene. As I looked I saw One coming towards me; I thought He was coming for me, and I held out my hands towards Him, but he smiled and said: ‘No, Dorothy, you are not coming yet.’ Again I passed on, and this time I seemed to go a much greater distance, until I could go no further, when I heard a voice say, ‘Dorothy’ three times. I answered ‘Yes, I am listening, who is it?’ Then a great light came all around me, and an angel took my hand and said, ‘Dorothy, your sufferings are over, get up and walk.’

The Evening News published an account of the healing on 20th February 1912 and The Daily Chronicle published a further article on 21st February 1912, and journalists arrived in numbers. The further vision took place on Sunday, March 11th 1912: ‘I was awakened out of sleep by the voice saying, ‘Dorothy’ I sat up and saw at the foot of my bed wonderful light, out of which came the face of a beautiful woman holding a lily. She came very near to me and said ‘Dorothy, you are quite well now. God has brought you back to use you for a great and privileged work. In your prayers and faith many sick shall you heal. Comfort the sorrowing and give faith to the faithless. many rebuffs you will have, but remember you are thrice blest: His grace is sufficient for thee, He will never leave thee. After making the sign of the cross over me with her lily, the figure disappeared, and when I woke in the morning, the room was still full of the scent of lilies.’

The events of her subsequent life, and the mission that she so devotedly performed, strongly support the veracity of that account, which she put in writing at least twice (in her books: The Living Touch and Fulfilling: A Sequel to The Living Touch ) and to which she often referred in informal conversation and in public talks given in many locations. Her constant motto was: “Where God guides, God provides”. She also stresses the need for implicit obedience. ‘Through the long years of my life, through the grace of God, I have come to know that obedience is the golden key which unlocks the door to every spiritual experience, and I humbly believe it is the most important thing in the life of all Christians . . . and we shall find that when we have learned to obey in small things, the Lord will ask more intimate and costly obedience from us, and we shall delight in the glory of obedience which is better than sacrifice.’ In his funeral sermon, Right Reverend Cuthbert Bardsley, Bishop of Coventry said of Dorothy: “Hers was a rare spirit. People like Dorothy Kerin are not born every day. She seemed at times – indeed, I think frequently – to be a Light, burning with an inner glow, diffusing a strange radiance of peace and charity. Dorothy was one of those people – and they are rare – who combine a mystical knowledge of God with a strong down-to-earth out-going service to humanity. She was – and I use the word with some trepidation – a holy woman. A person of very deep spirituality, who moved through this world as a burning, shining Light.” Dorothy Kerin was supported in her work by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Orthodox Archbishop of Corinth, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Coventry and many others. By 1957 her work became internationally known – she travelled to Sweden, Switzerland, France, USA and Ireland. On February 18th 1962 there was a service of Thanksgiving at St. Martin-in-the-Fields to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of her recovery and in October a big Thanksgiving service in St. Paul’s Cathedral. She died in Burrswood on 26th of January 1963. A Memorial Service took place at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London and the address was given by the Bishop of Coventry.

DOROTHY KERIN: God’s miracle worker – Chapel House, Ealing (1929-1948) In 1929 more and more people were coming for Dorothy’s help and the need for a Centre for them started to be pressing. She rented St. Raphael’s, a ten-roomed house at Ealing, and opened it as a Home of Spiritual Healing. Dedicated by Bishop Boutflower, the tiny chapel at the top of the house could only hold five or six people and it was soon apparent that the promises were quite inadequate to cope with all those who wished to be ministered to. She used to walk her dog in nearby Walpole Park every evening, and it was on one of these outings that she saw a somewhat derelict but lovely old house for sale. It was originally on the estate of Sir Horace Walpole and his family, and the oldest part of it had been their private chapel, hence its name, ‘Chapel House’. The mansion itself was then a museum and the grounds a public park. Dorothy and Bruno walked around the outside of Chapel House and peeped in at the windows. She heard a voice say, ‘Buy it for Me’ and was convinced that this house was meant for her work. In her book “Fulfilling: A Sequel to The Living Touch” she wrote about the house: “I was sure that if Chapel House was God’s will (as I most devoutly believed it to be) then He would provide.” Dorothy has always ‘seen’ the gracious house on the other side of the Chapel House as belonging (now Marie Stopes abortion clinic), and in 1937 , this too was bought. Her sister writes : “She moved into St. Michael’s with our mother, planning to run it for patients who needed no nursing”.

The Ministry of Healing prospered and grew in the most phenomenal way. In those early days at Chapel House, the Healing Service used to be held once a week. The chaplain led a short service of preparation and the Veni Creator was sung by the kneeling congregation. Those wishing to be ministered to then went quietly up the altar and knelt as at Holy Communion. Dorothy laid her hands on each head in turn, and in her sweet voice whispered: “In the name of God most High, and through his infinite love and power, may release from all sickness be given thee. In the name of the Holy Spirit, may new life quicken thy mortal body and mayest thou be made whole and kept entire, to the glory of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.” Many people were healed, but even when physical healing did not take place, the sufferers benefited in the sense that tranquility took the place of fear and anxiety. As Dorothy always stressed, physical healing is not the only kind of comfort our Lord can give. Though Dorothy never claimed to be a healer, she undoubtedly possessed a healing gift. She said repeatedly that she was an instrument only, a bit of pipe through which our Lord could work. Her Little Way of Prayer was found after her death and it says: “Let us, by an act of the will, place ourselves in the presence of Our Divine Lord, and with an act of faith ask that He will empty us of self, and all desire save that His most Blessed Will may be done, and that it may illuminate our heart and minds. We can then gather together ourselves, and all those for whom our prayers have been asked, and hold all silently up to Him, making no special request – neither asking nor beseeching – but just resting with them, in Him, desiring nothing but that Our Lord may be glorified in all.”

Dorothy Kerin loved Chapel House dearly but needed to leave it in 1948 when she moved to Burrswood – a mansion in the Kent countryside, quite run down from being requisitioned by the military during the war. She set about developing it as a Christian home of healing. “St. Michael’s was bought by a doctor for a Maternity Home (now an abortion clinic), and a friend offered to buy St. Gabriel’s and run it for the elderly patients. (…) The purchase was arranged, but before contracts could be exchanged, the Middlesex County Council stepped in with an offer for the whole property. When Dorothy refused this owing to its small amount, they countered with a threat of a Compulsory Purchase order. After many complications Dorothy finally agreed to sell to the Council on the condition that they made a quick settlement.” Marie Stopes International bought St. Michael’s house in 1993. What would DOROTHY KERIN think about her beloved St Michael’s House (Chapel House) being turned into an abortion clinic?! Dorothy Kerin loved children. "Dogs and children could do no wrong in her sight (…) she was literally festooned with children” said her sister Evelyn. “In the midst of turmoil of war and coping with the running of this large house full of sick people under extremely adverse conditions, when one felt that she could carry no more, my sister entered into one of the most momentous undertakings of her life. She legally adopted first one baby girl, and then eight other orphaned babies. She had always been devoted to children, but this seemed a large project even for Dorothy Kerin. She had been told by our Lord, she said, to take nine infants and nurse them for Him.” “She was praying in the Chapel (Chapel House, Ealing) one night, troubled by a very difficult problem. She became aware of the presence of Our Lord. He placed an infant in her arms, saying ‘Nurse this child for Me.’ Clasping the baby to her, she felt its weight was so heavy that she could scarcely hold it. The vision passed, and she realized this was something God held for the future. (…) Babies that Our Lord had revealed were soon to come to her. In looking objectively at the adoption of these children, two major factors of her complete integrity stand out firm and clear. The first is her poverty at the time. In her own words, speaking of those early days in Ealing:’ There were financial and other difficulties, and though God was pouring His blessing upon us, we were not left in any doubt as to the pover of evil. We were beset with every kind of difficulty and frustration at times, and learnt that it was not easy, or alas, attractive to do some of the hard things we were called upon to face to do. But always once had the assurance that ‘My Grace is sufficient’.” All her 9 children but one (Anne) are still alive.

DOROTHY KERIN: final Healing Home – Burrswood (1948 – today) In Burrswood Dorothy established a Christian healing hospital. She believed that professional nursing care was important, given that a 100% immediate miraculous recovery rate just doesn’t happen, and none would claim it. Dorothy recognized that healing comes in many ways, and many need good, loving medical care as well as prayer – without in any way losing the cutting edge of faith. In her letter to the Burrswood Fellowship, 1954, Dorothy wrote, ‘Surely the most exciting and wonderful adventure in life is when we put our hand into God’s hand and trust Him utterly, for indeed His ways are not our ways, and His ways are best.’ Dorothy Kerin died in 1963. The Dorothy Kerin Trust was registered and operates today with the following mission: 1) to deliver high quality interdisciplinary care to patients with a range of conditions through the marriage of medicine and Christian ministry, 2) to promote the knowledge and provision of such care by encouragement, example, action and support, 3) to extend Christian hospitality to all who come to Burrswood, 4) to teach, preach and heal in the name of Jesus Christ, 5) to act as a resource to others wishing to develop the Christian healing ministry. The following are the honourable patrons: His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams; General Lord Dannatt GCB CBE MC; Professor the Lord McColl CBE; Baroness Emerton DBE DL; Vicountess Brentford OBE; Bishop John Perry. She was a precursor of healing ministry strongly believing that “in seeking to heal the body we must treat body and soul together”. 20 years after her death a new post of Archbishops’ Adviser on the Christian Healing Ministry was created in the Church of England. In 2000 the Church of England issued its first report in 40 years on the ministry of healing. Also in the Catholic Church, Cardinal Ratzinger, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (now Pope Benedict XVI) in 2000 issued an “Instruction on prayers for healing”. At present, Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams is a Patron of Burrswood, and the work of Burrswood is strongly supported by the Church of England; as it is by the many healthcare professionals who refer their patients to it.

DOROTHY KERIN and prayer vigils outside her Chapel House It’s Saturday morning. Every week, a group of faithful Helpers of God’s Precious Infants prays outside the Marie Stopes Ealing abortion clinic, 87 Mattock Lane. Every week those committed people offer help to women in despair and pray to God for His mercy and help to end abortion. And every week they look at the relief of Archangel Michael embedded on the front wall of the house, just under the Marie Stopes, 87 Mattock Lane logo. And they are mesmerized and wonder: does anyone remember what was in that house before? The passers-by seem to know nothing … Throughout her whole life, Dorothy Kerin, the servant of the Crucified, asked no questions and formed no argument – her response was entire obedience and love: “By the bruising of my whole life, strengthen me with simplicity for every wounded soul, and let my prayers be as balm for the wounds of Thy children, that they may be healed.” I am certain she would be happy seeing us there – obedient and prayerful as she used to say: ‘Nothing equals the abandonment of the will to Our Lord. Nothing is more intimate to a person than his or her will, tastes, likes. To love and to look for those things in Our Lord is to find what is most profound in Him, His Heart, and it is to meet Him in a most sure and profitable way. Most sure because nothing should be able to shake us at any moment from that true communion that God gives us in his action on us through everything, every person, every event. Most profitable, equally – because everything in our life becomes material for supernatural growth, and because a thousand unpleasant realities are transfigured at the touch of God’s always very loving hand.

WHAT DO THEY THINK ABOUT THE SITUATION? Bishop Alan Hopes, Auxiliary Bishop of Wesminster said in the article published in “Wesmister Record May 2012″ and based on the above story: “The fact that Chapel House was founded as a house of prayer and healing, and is now home to an abortion provider is a tragic betrayal of the life and mission of Dorothy Kerin” Dr Gareth Tuckwell, Chief Executive – Burrswood Dr Tuckwell was appointed CEO at Burrswood from September 2007. He was Clinical Director of Hospice in the Weald 2003-2007 and Regional Director of Macmillan Cancer Support from 2000 to 2003. He has been a Trustee of Macmillan Cancer Support since 2003. Qualifying in Medicine in 1971 and gaining MRCGP in 1977, he also obtained a Diploma in Palliative Medicine from the University of Wales in 1992. “Thank you for drawing our attention to this deeply sad situation…how a place of healing and the restoration of life has become a place where life is destroyed. I have never been to Mattock Lane and did not realise the house still stands. I know the local authority bought it in 1948. Dorothy was a channel of the love of God and those who received from her found Jesus Christ at their point of need. I cannot imagine how sad she would be about this use of her God-given home; I believe she would have shown the love of God to those involved and prayed fervently for healing in this situation. We will place this need for prayer on the altar in the Church of Christ the Healer here, lifting this situation to God day by day.” Dr Stevens Heckscher – Obl OSB, author of “Dorothy Kerin: Sign and Significance”

"Dorothy once said to a friend, as they looked at a fragile flower while they were walking through the Burrswood garden, “I love all growing things, don’t you?” That tells us everything. I suggest that there is no coincidence in the location of this house on her site. As Dorothy taught, the powers of evil focus their attacks most intensely where God’s work is most powerfully being done. Or, in this case, where it has been done. The dark forces are seeking revenge for all the defeats they suffered earlier at this Home. Thus the enemy is forced to show his hand. That is my opinion."

You can read the full article here http://iprayforlife.wordpress.com/tag/chief-executive-burrswood/ 

As well as saying the prayers above for this abortion centre to close, please come and pray there with us. See: http://www.goodcounselnet.co.uk/Abortion--Clinic--Vigils.html

Please donate to Good Counsel so that we can continue to help the Mothers, who change their minds on the very doorstep of this abortion.

Thank you Pope Benedict XVI

Thank you

for Everything

Pope Benedict XVI

Faith Without Pro-Life Works

Day 13's Daily Devotional for 40 Days for Life was written by Clare McCullough of Good Counsel. This is it.

That Crisis Pregnancy Centres that will serve Our Blessed Lord faithfully will spring up around the UK, be supported by Christians and be found by all those in need.

Scripture:
"And if a brother or sister be naked, and want daily food: And one of you say to them: Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; yet give them not those things that are necessary for the body, what shall it profit? So faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself." (James 2:15-17)

Reflection:
The hardening of the heart and the slaughter of the innocent, both prevalent in our time are also the two signs, repeated throughout biblical history, of the imminent coming of God to man.

Therefore in these times of spiritual darkness and depravity we should have hope.

Hope is exactly the thing which we need to communicate to women outside abortuaries and in our Crisis Pregnancy Centres (CPCs), because abortion is the absolute depth of despair, or the total absence of hope. Not only must we communicate hope to this woman for her and her child's future, but we must live Christ's message of hope and help her to live it too. If we have no hope for her future, we have nothing to give her.

In the CPC apostolate it can be very tempting to lose hope when we are short of funds, using second rate office equipment, failing to meet deadlines due to shortage of staff, struggling to keep a roof over our own heads, let alone those of the mothers we serve. Still, in our struggles we have to stay full of hope if we want to help expectant mums in crisis. The support of the Christian community is vital to the mission of CPCs and their mission is vital to the pro-life movement. If we cannot witness concretely to the care we have for the mother and child, we become the hypocrites described by the apostle James. If we - who know that in welcoming a child we welcome Christ Himself - cannot give sacrificially to help a woman, how can we expect her to sacrifice to let her child live? It is not only to the child's mother that Blessed Mother Theresa's comment can refer, but to each of us, when she says: "It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."

Prayer:
O Lord we pray that Your people will support their local Crisis Pregnancy Centre financially and however they can. We pray for the growth of a Godly CPC movement in our land. May these centres be a beacon of light to those in darkness and a source of strength to the weak, the vulnerable and those under pressure from loved ones and from difficult circumstances. Through Your mercy we pray that all of those in need will be reached by these centres, and given the help and support, as well as the hope that they need, to welcome their little children into their lives. In Jesus' name. Amen. Clare McCullough Good Counsel Network

When Pro-Choice Means No Choice

During the 40 Days for Life Campaigns, those who describe themselves as pro-choice frequently complain that we attend the abortuaries to harass and distress women. Because they believe in the abortion "system" they believe that marie stopes and BPAS are "unbiased" and exist to help women making difficult choices. They believe that if women are seeking alternatives to abortion that they will help them find one.
One of the reasons we stand outside the abortuaries is because we do not believe that. Over the last 16 years we have housed, financially supported and befirended hundreds of women that the abortuaries could not help. Over the next few weeks we will be telling their stories in the When Pro-Choice Means No Choice blogs. Here is the first:

Aneta, a Romanian turnaround. Working in the UK as an aupair. When she found herself pregnant despite contraception and abandoned by her boyfriend, her employer refused to help her prove she had worked here long enough to claim benefits. He also threw her out. Without documentary proof of her employment, Aneta went for an abortion to marie stopes and told them that if there was no help for her she would have to have an abortion.
We met her at marie stopes.
Marie stopes offered : abortion
'Pro-choicers' offered : to defend her right to abortion
Pro-life offered: free accomodation, financial support, free legal advice, got her a job, supported her until she qualified for other help, was working and got into stable housing.
Outcome: Aneta was very happy to have her baby and is now helping other mums to find housing and work. She now considers herself pro-life.
Clare McCullough
Donate to support this Pro-Life work here

It's Back! Pro-Lifers Still Give Double During 40 Days for Life

St Philomena, Helping Pro-Lifers to Give Double During 40 Days for Life!

 

Last spring the lenten 40 Days campaign drew out much spite from the pro-death lobby, resulting in the pathetic "Boycott 40 Days for Life" which asked their supporters to donate to BPAS for every day 40 Days prayed outside their abortuary.
Pathetic because even for those believing in the cause, they know that BPAS as the Uk's biggest abortion provider, carrying out thousands of NHS abortions paid for by the Government are hardly strapped for cash.
And pathetic too as an attempt to put people off praying! Did they really think that BPAS getting more money would worry us? We are aware of what BPAS are prepared to do for money already and they are welcome to all the money in the world if that's what it takes to "earn" it.
However, we also put up a fundraising page at the time, "Pro-lifers give double during 40 Days for Life" and in fact our page raised a fantastic £27,000. It was our biggest fundraiser of the year so far. And helped us to support about 40 mums and babies for months.
This time around " 'Education' for 'Choice' " is the group chosen to benefit from pro-death spite at the "40 Days" season.
So we have also re-launched our "Pro-lifers give double during 40 Days for Life" campaign to raise funds for our pregnancy Centre which supports all the 40 Days Vigils in London and cares for their turnarounds. Because we believe that pro-lifers are twice as generous! You can help by donating here http://www.justgiving.com/Good-Counsel-Network and please share the link with your friends. If everyone who reads this gives what they can and spreads the word we can help save more lives and support more Mothers.
St Philomena is the patroness of the Pro-lifers give double campaign.
God bless
Clare McCullough

Fr Thwaites Last Message to His Friends.

At his funeral, those who looked after Fr Thwaites in his last days told us he left a message for all his friends, "Pray your Rosary, go to Mass, go to Confession and I will pray for you in Heaven"

Fr Hugh Thwaites RIP

Fr Hugh Thwaites at our wedding.

The great pro-life stalwart Fr James Morrow is behind him.

A few years ago, about 10 actually, Fr Thwaites accompanied my husband Stuart and I to Youth 2000 in Walsingham. It was not exactly his scene, to say the least, but he had been tempted there by reports of mass confessions and vocations.

There were many things he did not like about the festival - as you might imagine. He was only saying the Old Rite Mass by that time and so he said Mass everyday at the friend's house he stayed at. And, while praying each day in the marquee, he said the general goings on - loud music, loud sermons and so on - meant it was the most distracted praying of his brieviary that he had ever experienced.

But Fr Thwaites was always a gentleman and always looking for ways to bring souls closer to Christ. He also said the whole festival was totally geared to bringing forth vocations, which he loved. And he made himself available for confessions morning, noon and night. Not a bad effort in a damp field for someone in his mid eighties and definitely out of his comfort zone!!!

The most amazing thing for me was to see how everyone knew him. Here he was, an old man, often saying the Old Rite Mass alone in a private chapel, and here we were with a load of youngsters, mostly New Rite Mass only ones at that, and everyone knew him. And if they didn't know him personally their mum knew him, he had converted their dad to the faith, he had married their aunty and uncle or I don't know what. And they flocked to him.

He was overjoyed to meet seminarians and his advice to them was, if you want to always have enough money, always buy rosaries and have them in your pockets ready to give out. That way, he said, Our Lady would always make sure you would have enough money for more :).

I remember when he used to stand at the back of the Church at the end of Mass in Spanish Place when he was there. He would have a table laden with bottles of holy water, a large handful of Miraculous Medals and would be given them out wholesale. And he was wonderful with children.

He was a really saintly person. Someone who succeeded in bringing hundreds, probably thousands, to the faith. I look forward to the first good biography of him.

I wish I had a better picture of him. We always thought that you could see heaven in his crystal blue eyes.

It's hard to imagine him being anywhere other than in heaven, but no doubt he would be the first to ask for prayers for the repose of his soul.

New Intake for Good Counsel's Intern Programme

Following on the success of our first Intern Programme, we plan to continue the Programme for men and women of all ages who want to make a full-time temporary commitment to our work.

The Programme allows those wishing to get hands on experience in frontline pro-life work, such as pavement counselling and working in a Catholic Pregnancy Centre, to do so.

All interns will receive expert training. Interns receive free accommodation and living costs and will live together in a community, praying and working together. There are two houses, one for men and one for women.

Although we are strapped for cash at the present, we have decided to continue the programme as so far the Interns have helped to save many, many lives, including 4 turnarounds from Whitfield St marie stopes in one week.

Intern placements are available for periods of 2 to 6 months commencing on 1st September. Please email me if you are interested info@goodcounselnetwork.freeserve.co.uk

If you have applied previously, but we didn't have enough places available, you are welcome to apply again.

Clare McCullough

What m*r*e stopes fears most about our Vigils, in their own words: "baby pink and blue rosary beads"

Eddie and a fellow vigil keeper. Not filming anyone, harassing anyone, shouting at anyone, running after anyone or even cuddling anyone - just another normal day of loving women in trouble and their babies by offering them support and help.

Well since everyone is talking about it here and here and here, we may as well blog about it ourselves! Please consider making a donation to the excellent work of the Thomas More Legal Centre here, they kindly acted on our behalf free of charge.

Have a read of m*r*e stopes letter below, and note how similar the accusations they have thrown at us and those BPAS threw at 40 Days for Life and are now throwing at Abort67.

Re the camera and filming accusations, we DO NOT film the women at the vigil and have not in the past, and although we have taken pictures of the abortuary, we have always avoided doing so when women are entering. However, we do reserve the right to film the vigil itself to protect our staff and volunteers from the kind of false accusations made in this letter. Even if we do so, we still will avoid filming the women going in, if for no other reason than the fact that our whole aim is to offer them help and support. Not harrass them, scare them, humiliate them or judge them. For the most part we find that they have experienced rather a lot of this type of treatment by others already. And we don't think filming them would be very conducive to getting them to consider an offer of support!

From the solicitors of m*r*e stopes:

16th July 2012

Dear Sirs

Re: Protests outside of Marie Stopes international centres

We represent Marie Stopes International (MSI).
We have been asked to write to you in connection with the
ongoing activities of protestors affiliated with your organisation who protest
regularly outside of MSI’s centres. We have set out below our client’s concerns
in relation to such activities. Whilst MSI acknowledges your organisation’s
(and that of its members) right to protest, we strongly urge you to consider
how such protests may be conducted respectfully and without potentially
infringing the law and breaching MSI’s rights and those of its clients.

Approaching MSI’s clients

We understand that protestors have engaged in various acts
or conduct including shouted ‘Don’t
apologise just leave!’ or used
similar vocabulary at MSI’s clients, have approached clients with plastic
foetus’ asking the client to pray for the foetus, have attempted to intimidate
clients by running up to them, have handed out baby pink and blue rosary beads,
and have handed out leaflets containing graphic images. We further understand
that on occasion, where a client has stopped in response to a protestor, the
client has been surrounded by protestors who have tried to ‘cuddle’ the client.
These activities have caused some of MSI’s clients immense distress. We further
understand that at least one client was physically injured whilst being pursued
by a protestor.
Section 3A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (the
“Act”) provides for a civil right of action against harassment and allows one
to seek injunctive relief. Under the Act, a person must not pursue a course of
conduct which amounts to harassment of another and which he/she knows or ought
ot know amounts to harassment of the other. ‘Harassment’ includes a conduct
which causes distress. Our client is therefore concerned that some of your
activities may be in breach of the Act.

Filming MSI’s clients

We understand that protestors have filmed clients entering
and leaving MSI’s centres. Given that MSI’s clients state their names via the
intercom system upon entering the centre which can be heard by protestors
located by the entrance, the filming of MSI’s clients amounts to processing of
personal data. This activity can cause distress to MSI’s clients.

Section 10 of the Data Protection Act 1998 provides for a
right to prevent processing of personal data that causes distress. The
continued filming of MSI’s clients could force our client to seek a court order
to prevent a breach of the data protection rights of MSI’s clients.

Leaflets

It has further been brought to MSI’s attention that
protestors from your organisation distribute a leaflet entitled. “Pregnant...Worried?”
(the “leaflet”) which contains factually incorrect and/or misleading
information. The Leaflet claims that abortion can result in breast cancer,
disruption of the menstrual cycle and the inability to become pregnant in the
future. These claims are wholly unfounded. Likewise, the possible psychological
implications of abortion set out in the leaflet are also misleading.
MSI is entitled to make a complaint to the Advertising
Standards Authority on the basis that the information published in the leaflet
regarding the physical and psychological implications of abortion is
misleading, unsubstantiated and in some circumstances untrue.
We understand that your organisation has a right to protest
and our client recognises this right. The purpose of this letter is to inform
you of MSI’s concerns. Should your organisation or its members continue to
engage in activities which MSI considers unlawful, our client reserves the
right to seek all remedies as may be necessary, including injunctive relief.

Yours faithfully

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

Our Reply, from Mr Neil Addison, of the Thomas More Legal Centre

Dear ...........

I am instructed on behalf of my client the Good Counsel Network (Good Counsel) to reply to your letter of 16th July sent on behalf of your client Marie Stopes International (MSI). I note at the outset that Good Counsel disagree with your description of their acts as being a "protest", it is rather a prayer vigil where Good Counsel pray for the unborn children daily killed by MSI and also for the mothers of those children. It is also an opportunity to offer women contemplating Abortion an alternative choice and is there to assist them in choosing to allow their child to live rather than be killed. Good Counsel offers counselling, practical help and moral support to women who are contemplating Abortion and also to women who have had Abortions and are suffering trauma afterwards. Ultimately the final decision is that of the mother of the child but Good Counsel, unlike MSI, does provide mothers with an alternative to Abortion. In any event whether called a prayer vigil or a protest the actions of Good Counsel are always carried out peacefully and lawfully and are protected under Common Law rights of peaceful assembly and under Articles 9, 10, 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. With regard to the specific allegations made in your letter

APPROACHING MSI'S CLIENTS Good Counsel deny that they or any person associated with them has shouted at clients of MSI indeed to do so would be completely counter productive and contrary to the purpose of Good Counsel which is to reach out to and talk to women. Representatives of Good Counsel do not seek to intimidate anyone whether by running up to them or otherwise. Representatives of Good Counsel approach women with leaflets which offer help to women considering a decision which, we assume, MSI would agree is an important decision and not one to be made lightly or on the basis of inadequate information. They do have models of pre-born children which may be shown to women and which are useful in showing women the accurate developmental stage of their child. This is a valid part of any counseling which is committed to ensuring that pregnant women have accurate information before they make any irrevocable decision.Good Counsel do indeed have Rosary beads which are in both "baby pink and blue" to use the description in your letter, the colours being chosen in memory of the baby girls and baby boys killed daily by MSI. These Rosary beads are not forced upon anyone and possession and use of the Holy Rosary is a "manifestation of religion" protected under Article 9. Leaflets containing graphic, but accurate, images of abortion are kept by Good Counsel representatives but they are not handed out in an indiscriminate manner as is suggested in your letter. Such pictures are shown on a one to one basis when the Good Counsel representative is in discussion with someone about Abortion. The leaflets are only given to someone when they request a copy which is often done in order to show the images to someone else who is pressuring the woman to have an Abortion. This constitutes the "imparting of information" and as such is protected under Article 10. I note at this point that the information provided to representatives of Good Counsel is that women who take any leaflets provided by Good Counsel are having them taken off them by staff members of MSI even when the woman wants to retain the leaflet and read it. I am informed by my Client that in the last month at least 2 women who had their leaflets taken from them by MSI staff asked for further copies from Good Counsel representatives after leaving MSI premises. They then went on to accept the support offered by Good Counsel and decided to keep their babies as a result of the help they were offered. [my emphasis] This action by MSI staff is an interference with the Article 10 rights of these women to "receive information" so it would seem that MSI are interfering with the Human Rights of pregnant women as well as, of course, ending the Right to Life of unborn children. Good Counsel by contrast is upholding the Human Rights of pregnant women as well as the right to life of their unborn children.Good Counsel deny that they or anyone associated with them has surrounded MSI clients or attempted to "cuddle" them against their will so as to cause them distress. I note at this point that MSI has frequently called the Police in order to complain about the activities of Good Counsel but the Police once called have never found any evidence of wrong doing by Good Counsel. Had persons associated with Good Counsel been surrounding women or attempting to touch them against their will, as your letter alleges, then that would be conduct contrary to the Public Order Act and the Police would have taken action. The fact that the Police have not done so is indicative of the fact that this alleged harassment has not occurred.You state that one of MSI clients was physically injured by someone associated with Good Counsel. I assume that such a serious incident, if it has actually occurred, will have been reported to the Police as an Assault. Can I therefore please be provided with confirmation of the Police station to which the alleged assault was reported, the date it was reported and the Police Crime Incident number. If this alleged assault was not reported to the Police then why not, certainly Good Counsel are not aware of any injury or any allegations of injury being suffered by any client of MSI.

PROTECTION FROM HARASSMENT ACT s3A. We note your reference to this Act and its requirements however you have failed to mention the defences in the Act in particular s1(3)(c) "that in the particular circumstances the pursuit of the course of conduct was reasonable." As already mentioned Good Counsel is exercising Common Law rights of peaceful assembly and rights guaranteed under Articles 9, 10, 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights and as such its conduct is reasonable. I mention this defence without prejudice to the fact that Good Counsel deny that their vigil has caused harassment, alarm or distress or that any reasonable person would consider that the vigil amounts to harassment. In addition the allegations made by MSI do not reach the level of seriousness which the Courts in such cases as Majrowski v Guy's and St Thomas's NHS Trust [2006] UKHL 34 and Veakins v Kier Islington Ltd [2009] EWCA Civ 1288 have stated is required in order to justify either a Civil or a Criminal allegation of harassment.

FILMING MSI's CLIENTS Good Counsel categorically deny that they or anyone associated with them has filmed or photographed clients entering or leaving MSI's premises. Participants in a vigil have on occasions videoed themselves as part of the provision of information to supporters etc about the vigil but Good Counsel do not and have not filmed clients of MSI or processed their personal data contrary to the Data Protection Act. Good Counsel do however reserve the right to film their vigil in the future as evidence of the peaceful manner in which it is conducted and as a defence against unfounded and inaccurate allegations of the type made in your letter. They will of course continue with their existing policy of not filming MSI clients.

LEAFLETS If you wish to waste your time and MSI's money by referring Good Counsel's leaflets to the Advertising Standards Authority you are of course at liberty to do so. I would however make the point that it is your own case that these leaflets are distributed by protestors as part of a protest and it would be an extraordinary extension of the remit of the ASA if it were suddenly to assume that it had the right to vet information given out as part of a protest. I frankly regard this suggestion that you would refer the matter to the ASA as simply an attempt to intimidate Good Counsel by making a threat which you yourselves must know is legally fatuous.

In any event Good Counsel is prepared if necessary to defend before the ASA or a Court everything said in its leaflets the contents of which are based on solid scientific study and on the testimony and experience of many women who have had Abortions. Good Counsel and organisations like it deal daily with women suffering the physical and psychological effects of Abortion; effects which MSI attempts to ignore. Let us be blunt Marie Stopes International makes a great deal of money by persuading women to kill their unborn babies and makes no money if women decide to keep their babies. Marie Stopes International is by no stretch of the imagination a neutral and impartial voice on the physical and psychological effects of Abortion and has a substantial financial interest in trying to silence any person or organisation which questions the effect of, or provides alternative information about, Abortion. That is very clearly what they are trying to do with regard to the work of the Good Counsel Network.

We would also remind you, MSI, and if necessary the ASA or a Court of the words of Mr Justice Supperstone in the case of British Pregnancy Advisory Service v Secretary of State for Health [2011] EWHC 235 (Admin )

"Abortion remains a controversial subject in respect of which there are differing deeply-held views."

and also the words of Mr Justice Munby in Smeaton v Secretary of State for Health [2002] EWHC 610 (Admin)

"Our society, including the most thoughtful and concerned sections of our society, are deeply troubled by, and indeed deeply divided over, such issues [ie Abortion]. These are topics on which men and woman of different faiths, or indeed of no faith at all, may and do hold, passionately and with the utmost sincerity, starkly differing views. All of those views are entitled to the greatest respect but it is not for a judge to choose between them"

Should MSI decide to pursue any form of legal action against Good Counsel that action will be defended with vigour Should you wish to correspond further on this issue I would be obliged if those communications were sent to me, (contact details...)

I am authorised by my Client to receive service of any legal documents should MSI be ill advised enough to want to go down that route. Good Counsel reserve the right to publicise your original letter, this reply and any response from you.

Sincerely

Neil Addison

(Barrister)

Thomas More Legal Centre

The 2nd Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage is today, Better late than never!

The Delayed 2nd Annual GK Chesterton Walking Pilgrimage, is TODAY, Saturday 28th July.

After a disasterous false start a few weeks ago, Stuart is doing this as a sponsored walk and you can sponsor him here. He's only £40 away from raising his target funds of £750. Can you help him get there? Or would you like to join the pilgrimage?

The details of the pilgrimage are:

9am Meet outside St George's C of E Church, Aubrey Walk, London, W8 7JG where GKC was Baptised as a baby.
Walk to Uxbridge (14 miles approx), stopping for breakfast.

1.30pm Old Rite Mass in thanks giving for Chesterton's Conversion, which took place 90 years ago this month. This will be at Our Lady of Lourdes and St Michael Catholic Church, Osborn Road, Uxbridge, UB8 1UE, you are welcome to attend the Mass even if you are not doing the walk.

Walk on to Beaconsfield (10 miles approx) where Chesterton lived, converted, died and is buried.
Say the prayer for the Beatification of GK Chesterton at his graveside.
See here for more details about Chesterton. To financially support the sponsored walk see here . To join the pilgrimage on the day or to find out how it's progressing, follow Stuart's updates on Twitter day, @Stuart1927 .

Why not join Stuart in prayer, you can offer the Prayer for the Beatification of GK Chesterton (see below) for the conversion of those you love, since many people hold Chesterton responsible for their own conversions, it seems to be his particular gift.

God Our Father, Thou didst fill the life of Thy servant Gilbert Keith Chesterton with a sense of wonder and joy, and gave him a faith which was the foundation of his ceaseless work, a charity towards all men, particularly his opponents, and a hope which sprang from his lifelong gratitude for the gift of human life. May his innocence and his laughter, his constancy in fighting for the Christian faith in a world losing belief, his lifelong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and his love for all men, especially for the poor, bring cheerfulness to those in despair, conviction and warmth to lukewarm believers and the knowledge of God to those without faith. We beg Thee to grant the favours we ask through his intercession, the end of abortion in this Country [and especially for……] so that his holiness may be recognised by all and the Church may proclaim him Blessed. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

See here for copies of this prayer in Spanish, French and Italian and for printable prayercards

Pro-Lifers You're Getting Fat! An...er..gentle hint from Jan!

Under the enchanting title "Pro-Lifers - You're getting fat: Join us for a bike ride in support of Good Counsel" Jan Klepacki has organised a sponsored event to raise us some funds to help reach, advise, feed and house expectant mums.

This is much appreciated at a very tight time financially. And after all there has been some widening of many girths around here...

So here are the details:

Choose the sanctity of LIFE, over the idleness of the couch. Join the great ANNUAL GOOD COUNSEL CHARITY BIKE RIDE, from Haslemere to the historic town of Littlehampton, on the coast. A group of young, jolly, pro-lifers will gather on Friday night at 7pm at the Our Lady of... Lourdes Church in Haslemere, 2 minutes walk from Haslemere train station (direct trains from Waterloo). Free accommodation, lots of comradery with the bike ride setting off the following morning. Good counsel is a charity that provides counselling and practical support for women in crisis pregnancy situations so that they are able to choose life for their child. Alternatively, you can join us directly on Saturday. The ride starts at 10am at the Church. The event end time is flexible but attendance until 4pm will allow one to make great use of the BBQ and company. Bring your swimming gear in case you want a swim once we arrive in Littlehampton! To obtain a copy of the gift aid and sponsorship form for this event please email me at klepackijan@yahoo.com for any further info please feel free to call me on 07838022247 or 01428641519. Perhaps, YOU CAN TALK THE PRO-LIFE TALK, BUT CAN YOU CYCLE THE PRO-LIFE CYCLE?

Sign up on facebook http://www.facebook.com/events/361338287270205/

Urgent, Pro-Life Novena to St Philomena

If you can help us financially please see the options for donating here. We are finding it harder and harder to meet all of our financial commitments, as more and more women choose life for their children, and need our help. Please say the following prayer for the next nine days.

NOVENA PRAYER TO SAINT PHILOMENA

We beseech Thee, O Lord,

to grant us the pardon of our sins by the intercession of Saint Philomena , virgin
and martyr, who was always pleasing in Thy sight by her eminent chastity and by
the profession of every virtue. Amen.

Illustrious virgin and martyr, Saint Philomena, behold me prostrate before the
throne whereupon it has pleased the Most Holy Trinity to place thee. Full of
confidence in thy protection, I entreat thee to intercede for me with God, from
the heights of Heaven deign to cast a glance upon thy humble client! Spouse of
Christ, sustain me in suffering, fortify me in temptation, protect me in the
dangers surrounding me, obtain for me the graces necessary to me,

and in particular
That the Good Counsel Network will receive the funds needed to continue
their work and to assist all the Mothers, especially those considering
abortion, who approach them for help. (...and add your own intentions)
Above all, assist me at the hour of my death. Saint
Philomena, powerful with God, pray for us. Amen.

O God, Most Holy Trinity, we thank Thee for the graces Thou didst bestow upon
the Blessed Virgin Mary, and upon Thy handmaid Philomena, through whose
intercession we implore Thy Mercy. Amen.

ASA Help the Campaign to Protect Marriage

Special thanks to the ASA for promoting this advert like nothing else could.

And if you haven't read about their bigotry, read on.

And most of all, if you haven't already, sign the petition.

Pro-lifers Misleading Women?

Lovely to hear from some of our Mothers from recent years.
Hearing about the criticism BPAS made about pro-lifers, one posted a reply on facebook saying:

Maybe they should speak to women like me to see what a difference you make. Its been 7 years since i had my daughter....and i cant imagine life without her. So if there is a chance a lady somewhere out there gets your ...help today.....then whatever anyone says won't matter because 7years from now, she too will be sat in her garden watching her children play with a tear in her eye, eternally grateful that you guys never gave up!!!

Another texted me to say:

Hope u r all OK. It breaks my heart to hear that people are tarnishing the name of the only organisation that actually suffers together with the helpless Mothers who are not expected to make it through. Without people like you, people like my son wouldn't be in existence. I really wish I could come and participate in letting the world know what true saints you truly are.

Christians V Barbarians in Bedford Square

Nice to see the proponents of "choice" were out last night to deny us our right to free speech. It was a powerful vigil, especially as lent moves on towards Holy Week, as so many of the prayers and meditations referred to the ridiculing of Christ and of the rejection of Him. It was all very relevant to our society's rejection of the unborn.

It was a blessing to have the Bishop there. One that BPAS and their supporters had been deeply disturbed by. Even now we should write and thank Bishop Hopes who will certainly have got a lot of flack for coming, both from outside and probably from inside the Church, sadly.

There was something beautiful about standing and kneeling together in a dignified and peaceful, prayerful presence, while something sounding like the fighting Uruk-hai bawled and banged away next to us.

Oops sorry I meant...

If aliens landed in Bedford Square last night they would have instinctively stood with the pro-lifers, the other side looked like they would probably eat them.

I was proud to be standing with the Bishop and my fellow pro-lifers last night.

Oh and one last thing, if the pro-abortionists outnumbered us 2 to 1 last night, most of them must have been pregnant!

Clare McCullough

Good Counsel Launches Intern Programme

Happy Feast of the Annunciation. The Good Counsel Network chose today to launch it's new Intern Programme.

The Programme allows those wishing to get hands on experience in frontline pro-life work, such as pavement counselling and working in a Catholic Pregnancy Centre, to do so. All interns will receive expert training.

Interns receive free accommodation and living costs and will live together in a community, praying and working together. Our first female intern starts work next week when the Women's Intern House opens. The men's house will follow shortly.

Intern placements are available for periods of 2 and 3 months. please email us if you are interested info@goodcounselnetwork.freeserve.co.uk

Clare McCullough

Pro-Lifers Give DOUBLE During 40 Days

The Unborn: Help us to keep them safe and their Mothers supported!

A supporter of BPAS has set up a fundraising page called Boycott 40 Days for Life where pro-abortionists donate for each hour or day that 40 Days witnesses outside BPAS Central London abortuary. They are now approaching their fundraising target of £4,000 by 1st April, they have
raised over £3,000 so far. The intention is to deter 40 Days Vigillers by making them feel that their presence is raising money for the abortuary.

We are asking you to show women in need that pro-lifers care more for their Crisis Pregnancy Centres by donating double the total BPAS raise to Good Counsel.

As we blogged about last March, we have had a FIVE-FOLD increase in women coming to
us and receiving support instead of aborting. But we haven't had as great an increase in support in that time, we have had a drop in income, with the recession and higher living costs. We cannot survive this, and financially we are on the brink of disaster, so please support our
appeal, 'Pro-Lifers Give Double' today and help us raise £8,000 by 1st April.

Find all the options for donating here on our website including online donations. Direct transfers, the quickest way of donating can be made to:

THE GUILD OF OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL,

Sort code: 23 – 83 – 95 Account no: 00287036

and cheques made payable to THE GUILD OF OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL can be posted to GCN, PO Box 46679, LONDON, NW9 8ZT

You can also support us via http://www.justgiving.com/Pro-LifersGiveDouble page. This is not the fastest way to give. But we will be logging all the donations received there, so check in to see how generous pro-lifers really are!

Lastly, you can give by text message. Just text the code MQYD73 followed by £ and the amount you wish to donate (eg MQYD73 £1 if you want to donate £1) and send it to 70070.

As well as supporting our work financially, your donation will show your moral support for the peaceful, prayerful 40 Days Vigil. And will allow us to financially support 3 of the 4 turnarounds (the 4th did not need financial help when she chose life) they have had during this campaign so far. It will also prove the truth of the Title of this blog! So please help if you can and please spread the word.

Please attend the 40 Days Vigil if you can. Why not attend on Friday 30th March to support Bishop Hopes who will be there from 7pm - 8.30pm. The BPAS abortuary is at 26-27
Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3HP. Nearest tubes are Tottenham Court Rd or Goodge St.

Many thanks, Clare McCullough