40 Days For Life – My Experience so far

It's good to be participating in the 40 Days for Life campaign. I have noticed a few turnarounds coming to the Good Counsel Centre for help in the first week so it has been very successful so far.
I also noticed that Marie Stopes' staff are worried about this. I have been threatened myself by a member of staff just a couple of days ago when I was standing outside the clinic there a man approached me and took a few photographs and told me,
“you can’t stand this side of the road, I was the one who called the police and you are not allowed to distribute information this side of the road."
I did not move and he said “You will regret this now, I am taking these photos to the police and you will be arrested”. He then started complaining about the Catholic Church and accusations of the child abuse scandals. I carried on praying and ignored his remarks. Then off he stormed around the corner and I saw him coming back about five minutes later without the police. He also took photos of the other prayer vigil volunteers standing next to the banner.
Apparently the staff at Marie Stopes have been saying the same thing to the counsellors each day to try and frighten us off. But this just shows that our presence there is a real threat to them and the devil dosen’t like it. I have been praying for their conversions, that one day they too may see the truth that God wants them to see, that abortion is wrong and will never solve anything.
One lady, a passer by who disagreed with us praying at the vigil as I was coming up toward the prayer group turned around to me and said “Don’t you agree with me, look what happens when people have children that are not able to look after them like the parents of Baby P, they should have abortions”.
“I don’t agree with you I replied, I agree with these people here, abortion is a terrible violence and is just as bad as the violence inflicted on Baby P”.
She was taken back by my reply but then tried to say that it wasn’t the same because an unborn child is just a bunch of cells. The man who was counselling her continued to talk to her to try and educate her that each unborn child is a human person and not just a bunch of cells.

The organisers of 40 Days have a really good magazine, icare, that we are distributing outside the clinic with all the information needed to turn people away from abortion, so when people take the magazine and read it they will be educated about the truth about abortion and contraception. They are also distributing them outside the tube stations.
But it is very encouraging that there are many people who pass us by that agree with us and let us know. One person came up to me and said “I'm with you 100%, keep up the good work”. Other people went over to the praying people to shake their hands. Another man offered us money towards the event.
We can learn alot from being at these vigils and by speaking to many different people but it is good to remember that our aim is to be witnesses for Jesus to the truth of the Gospel of Life and try to convert as many people as possible, whether they are going into the clinic or not. We want them all to be saved.

Learn more about 40 Days for Life.

Lorraine Coyne

A Great Prayer for Life is Urgently Needed

On our Fast Day (yesterday, 7th September) against the sex education bill I found this piece from Pope John Paul II's encyclical letter, Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) on the internet when looking for inspiration from God. The day of prayer and fasting yesterday was for the failure of Chris Bryant MP's Bill which aims to introduce compulsory sex education in all schools, which will come before the House of Commons today, Our Lady's Birthday.

Evangelim Vitae says:

“a great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the word. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer. Jesus himself has shown us by his own example that prayer and fasting are the first and most effective weapons against the forces of evil (cf.Mt 4:1-11). As he taught His disciples, some demons cannot be driven out except in this way (cf.Mk 9:29). Let us therefore discover anew the humility and courage to pray and fast so that the power from on high will break down the walls of lies and deceit: the walls which conceal from the sight of so many of our brothers and sisters the evil of practices and laws which are hostile to life. May this same power turn their hearts to resolutions and goals inspired by the civilization of life and love”.

Lorraine Coyne

Missed this fast day but want to join with us in future days of prayer and fasting? Click here

July, A Month of Grace outside London Abortuaries

July was a very special month at the prayer vigil outside the abortion mill where a few of us pray and do some pavement counselling on Saturdays. Thanks be to God for His intercession and Graces, there were three Christian couples who turned around because they believed there was a sign from God when they saw the prayer vigil. They then spoke to some of the pavement counsellors who advised them properly that abortion was wrong and to put their trust in God instead. One Christian couple had come a long distance and they noticed the picture of the 12 week old baby developing in the womb and stood talking about the baby and God to my colleague Mary for a good half hour.

They booked an appointment with our Centre the next day but then phoned to say they did not need to come for help and that they had definitely decided to keep their baby and that they had realised that it was a sin to abort their baby.

When I was on holiday one following Saturday my friend Gabi texted me to say that another Christian couple had changed their minds. She had spoken to them outside the abortuary. They sent an e-mail to one of our friends afterwards, who had given them his e-mail address, to say that they had set off that day very unsure about what they were doing but decided to go along to the abortuary with abortion in mind, while trusting that when they got there, if it (the abortion)was the wrong thing to do, that there would be a sign from God. They realised that the prayer vigil outside was that sign from God not to go ahead with the abortion.

The third couple whom Mary spoke to had come all the way from Malta and had Catholic parents but were not married and were in difficult circumstances. They were very upset at the thought of abortion and really wanted to stay and talk about it for over an hour. The young lady took a prayer card from me which I offered her from Padre Pio because she was very fond of him and I told her to pray ‘The Sacred Heart Novena’ which was on the prayer card for help and told them that if they put their trust in God that He would help them through their difficulities. Somebody at the vigil also gave this lady a Rosary Prayer Card which she was happy to take. They told us they could not go ahead with the abortion and they went inside the abortuary to tell the staff who queried them why they had changed their minds. The evening before this Saturday we had had all night Adoration at our Centre and somebody told me there was a lot of Adoration going on in different areas around the UK at that time.

All praise and thanks to God for His intercession.

Lorraine Coyne

Adoration and Pro-Life Work

Sometimes I am so busy trying to get things done at home that I am tempted to miss the hour of Adoration that I usually put aside each week.

Then I remember Jesus words and He reminds me “Would you not spend one hour with me?”.

And I think of how vital Adoration is to our pro-life work and I know that I must make every effort to be there and pray before God for the success of our work and to put prayer before other things. So many of the saints have had such great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and so it is important to follow their example and offer it to God.
When I am at Adoration I try to remember the first names of the women who have contacted our centre so that I can pray for them and especially if I know that somebody will be counselling them on that day and I always include all woman seeking abortion throughout the world at this time. I also pray for their conversions and for the baby’s father’s conversion because I know that this is very important for their salvation. It is vital to pray for the counsellors too and for the vigils that are taking place outside the clinics.
There are also some really good dedicated supporters who pray an hour of Adoration each week or more especially for our work and people who pray at our centre chapel at our monthly first Friday all night Adoration and I am sure that as a result of their sacrifices, dedication and efforts there have been many turnarounds from the abortuaries. I have witnessed myself that on the occasions when there has been all night Adoration we have had more turnarounds the next day from the abortuaries. And I believe Mother Theresa's words when she said that if enough people prayed before the Blessed Sacrament that abortion would end completely.

If you can join our Adoration Rota, offering an hour of Adoration each week in a Church of your choice, or our Rosary Rota, offering a Rosary each month for our work, please click here to sign up, or call us on 02077231740.

Lorraine Coyne

Contracepting Society Reaps A Monstrous Harvest of Impurity Amongst Children

The Picture Shows St Maria Goretti, the 12 year old Virgim Martyr who died witnessing to the value of purity to her assaillant who later reformed his life.

Many people these days fall into the trap of being pressurised by the modern world, advertising, the media,friends and even family.
It seems the easiest solution to many people, even those who are newly married, is to "wait until later" to have children, just to take a 'simple' contraceptive pill every day and not to worry about getting pregnant, with all the promises of the governments and family planning "clinics" that it will stop unwanted pregnancy.
Sadly there are many Catholics that do not believe that contraception is wrong. How many times have we heard them say, “ the Church should start keeping up with the changing times”. I had to remind a couple of young relatives recently, “ But God’s laws don’t change with the
times, if we change God’s laws to suit the modern times it will lead to sins such as abortion and euthanasia”.
We need to remember that fornication is still a sin, using contraception as the majority of people do before marriage is still a serious sin. Also, to use contraception in a marriage is a serious sin.
Unfortunately, many people are unaware that many hormonal contraceptives found in the Pill, contraceptive implants, some coils(IUS), injectable contraceptives and contraceptive patches are also abortifacients (they can cause abortions when they fail to prevent conception occurring).
Unfortunately many people like to "make up their own minds" about what part of their religion is right or wrong - usually if it's inconvenient for them they are easily tempted to find an excuse to do what they want by justifying it so it fits in with their lifestyles.
Now in schools we are threatened with the recently proposed children,schools and families(SRE)Bill which aims to make sex and relationships education compulsory for five to sixteen year olds even in Catholic schools. This is very worrying.
If these proposals come back under the new government, as they may well do, from a young age children will be taught about contraception, how to use it and where to get it. They will also learn how to procure an abortion.
The Government and Family Planning "clinics" are now encouraging sexual behaviour
at an early age and with guidance from the Teenage Pregnancy Advisory Group and
members of the pro-abortion lobby which include the Family Planning Association,
Marie Stopes International, Education for Choice and Brook Advisory Service.
Britain is already notorious for having one of the highest teenage pregnancy and abortion rates in Europe. Recently something I read that shocked me, but didn't surprise me, in a London paper; up to two school children aged under 16 are being charged with sex offences every week. The paper stated that the appalling scale of sex crimes among school age children is clear from details obtained under freedom of information laws. There was a sickening case of a boy aged 12
admitting to raping a boy aged 9. He was already on bail for sexually assaulting two girls under the age of 13.

I believe this is the result of sex education gone mad. I believe our Children should be taught about Chastity and the importance of Marriage and Christian family values. They also need to hear that the use of contraception is a sin and harmful in many ways to an individual and to society.

Lorraine Coyne

The Importance of Prayer in Pro-Life Work

I opened my bible with the intention of writing about prayer after praying for inspiration from God and thanks be to God I believe it was the right page to start off with.
First Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy Chap 2:1-6; "I desire therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men: For kings, and for all that are in high station: that we may lead a quiet and a peaceable life in all piety and chastity. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus: Who gave himself a redemption for all, a testimony in due times."
We know that prayer is vital to our pro-life work and that Jesus in the only mediator who stands in need of no other to recommend His petitions to the Father. But this is not against our seeking the prayer and intercession, as well of the faithful upon earth as of the saints and angels in heaven for obtaining mercy , grace, and salvation through Jesus Christ. And we of course know the importance of praying the Holy Rosary for Our Lady’s intercession for all our needs and the needs of others.
Our Lady has revealed many promises to those who devoutly say the Rosary. Also it has been revealed that the Divine Mercy is a vital prayer to say in the fight against abortion. Monsignor Reilly recommends it for praying outside abortion clinics. We witness the power of prayer when we hear that so many abortion clinics have been closed down in America with ‘The Helpers of God’s Precious Infants’ led by Monsignor Reilly.
We need to pray for those mums who are being tempted by satan to abort, we pray for the graces to resist temptation and for them to be directed to our Centre or some kind of help so that they can keep their babies instead so that they will turn against abortion and to pray also for their conversion and salvation of their souls. We know that God will intervene if we pray fervently and have faith in Him.

Lorraine Coyne

Life at the Good Counsel Network.

I like to start the day by going into the Chapel to say a small prayer to ask God for His guidance to do His will. It's not always possible if the phone starts ringing before I get there but I prefer to do this . Most days there will be alot of multi-tasking such as thanking our supporters by hand, updating our database and mailing list, answering the Centre phone, booking in appointments for mothers we are helping and for new clients. There is also helping with the mothers queries and passing on messages. As I am on reception I do greet the clients and mothers and their children and make them tea and coffee etc. I also do a bit of typing and photocopying where necessary. I help with the mail-outs when necessary.

Its great that we have our Chapel and I can look forward to going to Mass almost every day that I am there, usually three days a week. And then we have Adoration frequently so it's a great blessing to be able to attend Mass and Adoration in the same day (if there is someone to cover the phone and reception while Im in the Chapel). I like to pray especially for our work and the mums in need that we help and especially for those who are seeking abortion that their precious babies will be saved, and for the conversion of their parents.

The busiest times are the monthly Mother's Meetings when all the mums are invited to attend with their children. Its good that we can hire a hall nearby now, so that there is plenty of room for the children to play. We often get given lots of toys and baby goods so we have been distributing them to the mums at the meetings. I remember one Christmas arriving at the door when there were so many mums already waiting, they had come early very keen to get to our Centre on time. They really look forward to it and it's great to see so many of them making friends and helping each other in any way that they can. We always have Mass for them to attend after a guest speaker talks to them usually about religious topics. After Mass we serve them with lunch and then they have the opportunity to chat among themselves, or to speak to an Advisor. Gifts are given and we try to make sure everyone has something to go home with. There are nice, special gifts at Christmas donated by supporters and by the Good Counsel. It's really good to see them having a nice time and enjoying themselves together with their children and with ourselves.

Lorraine Coyne

Pro-Life Fruit on Our Lady's Feast Day

I remember it was The Feast of the Immaculate Conception and I had just come out of Mass and completed the First Five Saturdays Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I was on my way to pray at the local abortuary as I usually do on Saturday mornings, to also hand out our pro-life leaflets as a member of The Helpers of God’s Precious Infants and to try and speak to the women entering the abortuary to prevent them from killing their unborn children.
I had been attending the prayer vigil for over a year and although there had been signs of women turning around I had not noticed a definite turnaround during my time there. Still I was sure in my heart that our presence at the clinic was vital and that our sacrifices and prayers were being answered although I could not see the results.
I was thinking to myself that I had to try harder and make more effort to speak to the women even though they usually had no time to stop and were almost rushing past me. I got one young lady’s attention after a while and began talking to her for a very long time and really thought she was going to turn around, so you can imagine how sad and disappointed I was when she went ahead through the entrance of the abortion clinic after listening and discussing things with me for about an hour. I had told her about the help she could have if she chose life for her child and she had declined.
Its very easy to become despondent and down after such an incident and our time there was coming to an end that day and I felt I had tried so hard to talk this lady out of having the abortion. I began walking over to the rest of the group on the prayer vigil as it was almost time to finish up. I was speaking to my friends there when suddenly I noticed another young lady approaching the abortuary and another of our friends still praying near the entrance. I wasn’t expecting her to stop and listen to me but to my surprise after her seeing the people still praying and hearing about the help she told me that her boyfriend did not want her to go ahead with the abortion, that she believed in God and went to church and that she wanted to know more about our help. “You see I've got one child already” she told me.

Then I remembered in the past how I once felt after having my first child and how I never wanted more children at that time, when a relative suddenly woke me up from my selfishness by saying “Your child is going to grow up lonely you know, don’t you think he would like a little a brother or sister to keep him company?” It suddenly dawned on me at that time that he was right and I have always been grateful to him, and because of what he said I did decide to try for another child and thanks be to God we have a second son today. I used the same lines to the lady I was speaking to and added “I'm sure they will be the best of friends”. At that point she brushed away some tears from her eyes and nodded. She also told me she was studying and trying to make a career so I went through the help leaflet with her and I made an appointment at our Centre that afternoon. I brought her to the centre myself to make sure she got there and did not change her mind. All the way thereI kept thinking how precious she and her baby were and that I was afraid of losing her so I just kept talking to her until we got to the Centre.
Thankfully, today, she is very grateful for our help and now has two little girls who play very happily together.

All praise and thanks to God, and to Our Lady for her intercession on her special Feast Day.
Lorraine

Why I Pray Outside Abortuaries.

Left: One of our volunteers, Sr Chinedum Nwadike HFSN prays and counsels outside a Central London abortuary

I first came to pray outside abortuaries a few years ago when I went on a procession with the 'Helpers of God's Precious Infants', who as many pro-lifers know are a group of pro-life people dedicated to defending and upholding the dignity of human life. Their mission is to save the lives of unborn children via the spiritual conversion of their mothers. I was praying with the Helpers who do a regular monthly vigil at different abortion clinics around London and I had been going on the monthly vigil for a couple of months when one of the pavement counsellors approached me and asked me if I was able to do the counselling (normally one or two people counsel and the others pray, I had just been praying so far). I did not feel comfortable at that time to start doing the counselling, as I had not done any kind of counselling before and so I did not actually start the counselling on that day.
At a vigil later on in the year I was approached again by a pavement counsellor who told me he would stay by my side and give me some training so at that point I felt that God was calling me to help with this work for Him. I had seen the 'Counsellor Training video' regarding the pavement counselling by Monsignor Reilly who leads the vigils in America and they are very successful at saving many unborn children, through God's intervention, with their prayers and sacrifices.

I was a little nervous to start off with, but having someone who was used to it there to help me at my side made me feel better and I knew I needed to put my trust in God. I didn't get to say much that day to many passers-by probably due to my nerves but I managed to hand out some of our centre leaflets to offer help to the mums.
It was after this time that I thought about counselling at the nearest abortuary, weekly, which was about 25 minutes drive from where I live. At first I was not sure if I would get the time due to a busy family life, and I was often away, but the thoughts kept coming into my head that God needed me there so I decided I would make time on a Saturday morning, for a couple of hours, to help.

The first day I turned up I was very nervous as there was nobody else there when I arrived and so I asked Our Lady to help me. After a few minutes another counsellor turned up and the people who were helping by praying the rosary. With the leaflets to hand out to the people and with the prayers being said, and my experience working at the Good Counsel Network Centre, I managed to get through it ok.
I pray outside the abortuaries on a weekly basis because I want be there for God, for the mothers and their babies. I want to do what I can to help God to save the lives of the unborn, to reach out to the mothers and fathers and offer them help and also to offer my being there to God. I want to help the mothers and babies in need through prayer and sacrifice in this spiritual battle. Whatever the outcome, I trust in God that our sacrifice and prayers will be of great value toward saving lives of the unborn and for the conversion of the mums and dads who have chosen to abort their babies.
The people who pray at the same abortuary for many years revealed to me that one of the counsellors who prayed there regularly had only just left to live abroad and his last week there as a pavement counsellor was the week before I came.

Lorraine Coyne

Evidence of Answered Prayers, In The Flesh!

It's not always easy to see the results of our work straight away and therefore our faith is one thing that we must keep in mind at all times and never lose. A couple of incidents over the past few years have made me realise how God works in mysterious ways through our prayers, our work, fasting and our faith in Him. There have been times when I've wondered about the pregnant women who I've met outside the abortuary when giving them our leaflets, or those I've spoken to on the phone and whom I've asked people to pray for, but then they have not turned up for their appointments at our Centre.

There have been a couple of incidents when the women coming out of the clinics have told me they had not gone through with the abortion but that they would need help, but then they did not get in contact with our centre, and for some reason I had not got a chance to speak to them for long or get their contact numbers. So there's always that wondering what happened to the women and their babies in those cases. Wondering whether they have told the truth or whether they changed their minds again and gone ahead with an abortion.

We may never know the answers in this life. However, I noticed that a few women had come to our centre just by finding our leaflets on the street, or left in a church, or by friends or kind doctors or nurses that had given them information about us. We can be sure that this is God’s intervention through our prayers and sacrifices, that these are the people God has touched with His Graces and led them to get the help that they need instead of going for an abortion.

I was praying at the weekly vigil outside the abortion clinic recently when a young women passing stopped and came up to me with her young daughter.

“I came here to have an abortion over three years ago” she told me.

“I noticed there were people praying outside the clinic. I could not go in. This is my daughter and thank God I did not have the abortion that day” she told me with a smile.

“Thank God” I replied smiling at them both.

It has really taught me not to doubt and never to lose faith even when we don’t immediately see the results.

Lorraine Coyne

How I Came To Work For The Good Counsel Network

I came to work for the Good Counsel Network about 6 years ago.

Up to 12 years ago, unfortunately, I had been a lapsed Catholic since my late teens. I always believed in God but I had not been to Mass or confession in many years and did not really think it mattered as long as I believed in Him. My parents and a couple of my sisters were good practicing Catholics and they had been praying for me and my other two sisters who were lapsed. They would often give me prayer books including 'The Divine Mercy Handbook' and prayer cards. I didn't really take much notice I put them away in a draw and forgot about them.

There came a time in my life when I was very unhappy. My family knew I was troubled and kept praying for me. I decided to start going to church again when I was at my lowest. Two of my sisters invited me to go to a 'prayer house' not long after I had been to confession and started going back to church. At the prayer house I was listening to some speakers and they were strongly against abortion. I felt that the Holy Spirit was talking through them and that Jesus was calling everybody there to do something to help him and calling us to conversion.

During the talks I felt that I wanted to offer reparation to Jesus, I felt I had been very selfish for most of my life and blind to the truth and now the veil was being lifted from my eyes. Now I wanted to answer that call from God in some way and help others in need.

But what was it that God was calling me to do? As I left the prayer room that day I was not fully sure but it became evident within the next 20 minutes.

I picked up some leaflets and a booklet on the way out. One of them was from 'The Good Counsel Network' and the other was a booklet about abortion. When I read the articles in the booklet I was very sad for the aborted babies and I wanted to do something to help and to stop it happening. It was at that moment I realised God was calling me to fight against abortion. I had a full time cushy job at the time in beautiful modern building, just minutes from my home. I didn't want to carry on with that work; they were working alongside the pharmaceutical companies and testing new drugs around the world, including contraceptives. People were polite and friendly there but nobody even spoke about God there and it was like He didn't exist. That hurt me and it hurt me a lot. I didn't want that anymore, I wanted to be able to pray and be with people who loved God and work for Him instead. I had a strong urge to do this.

When I got home I wrote to the Good Counsel Network telling them that I would love to work with them. It was the week before they opened the new centre that I started work with them. I know that Jesus healed me since I started going back to Mass and receiving Him in the Holy Eucharist. I know that the prayers of my family brought me back to God and that He had answered them. I can honestly say I'm more content and a lot happier these days.

Lorraine Coyne

A Horrible Anniversary Gives Way To A Joyful First Birthday

It was a Sunday morning when I got a phone call from Bernadette, a young mother I knew well who had been receiving lots of help from our centre. She was crying down the phone.

“What’s the matter” I asked afraid that there was something wrong with the baby.

She could not get the words out and I was very worried something had happened to her child. “Its a year ago today” she blurted out.

Suddenly I realised that it was a year ago that day when I had first met her outside the abortuary.

Thankfully she now had a beautiful little baby boy and had come to our centre for help instead of having the abortion that day. So what on earth could be the matter?

“ I feel so ashamed, so bad” she told me “ I went to the abortion clinic a year ago this day, I’ve been awake all night just looking at my son”.

I knew how precious he was to her and the guilt she was feeling about that day.

I remembered when I met Bernadette outside the clinic. I knew from the moment I first started talking to her that she was in a real desperate situation. She told me she had been feeling very sick with her pregnancy and had lost her job because of it. Her landlord had told her that she had to leave the house by Monday morning because she had no money to pay the rent. Her boyfriend had told her to go and have the abortion, and that there was little he could do to help her. Alone and helpless with no one to turn to for help reluctantly she made her way to the abortuary.

When I met her, I spoke to her about God and she told me she believed and agreed abortion was wrong. I told her about the help at our centre and immediately she phoned her boyfriend and I heard her telling him “I can't do this, abortion is wrong, it’s a life, its our child”.

Then she put me on the phone to her boyfriend and I explained that our centre would help her. Bernadette told me how much she really wanted the baby but she did not know what to do in her situation. She gave me her phone number.

She arrived at our centre for an appointment a few days later and after counselling our centre gave her emergency accommodation and provided her with the help she needed.

“Don’t worry any more about that day” I told her “You were in a desperate situation but you did the right thing, and you now have a beautiful baby boy. I’m sure God led you that day to meet us and get all the help you needed from our centre”.

Bernadette is very grateful for our help and it was great to celebrate her son’s first birthday with her recently.

Lorraine Coyne