Home Stretch: Last Call for 40 Days for Life Hours!

This is the final week of 40 Days for Life and you have been very faithful and responsive to our mission of saving human life, made in God's image and likeness. We're asking you for your heroic sacrifice for a little longer as we hit the home stretch. There are many hours to be filled and WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!

• Tuesday, 11/1/11: 1 hour left to fill

• Wednesday, 11/2/11: 17 hours left to fill

• Thursday, 11/3/11: 14 hours left to fill

• Friday, 11/4/11: 20 hours left to fill

• Saturday, 11/5/11: 24 hours left to fill

• Sunday, 11/6/11: 15 hours left to fill YIKES!!!

(Reminder: We need hours filled only until noon on Sunday since this is the last day of the 40 day vigil. Be sure to come to our Closing Brunch at noon at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish - 5101 Schofield Road in Monona!)

Please find it in your heart to give a few more hours of your time in this last week by visiting

http://vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview

or by calling Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064

(email: laura@vigilforlife.org).

Thank you in advance for answering the call for LIFE!

Hours Needed, Closing Brunch and More!

In this issue:

• Urgent Hours for 40 Days for Life
• Closing Brunch Announced for Sunday, 11/06/11, at noon!
• Personhood Amendment
• “365 for Life” to Resume
• Respect Life Retreat

Dear Friends,

By the grace of God and your generous responses to our calls for help, 40 Days for Life goes on. Please keep up your commitment to maintain a 24/7 vigil on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood. Let us not become weary but remain strong, strengthened by the Holy Spirit!

Urgent Hours for 40 Days for Life

Beginning tomorrow and into the weekend we have hours that remain unfilled. Can you help? Please sign-up online at http://vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or contact Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064 or laura@vigilforlife.org. Here are our needs:

Friday (10/28/11): 4 hours left to fill –almost there!

Saturday (10/29/11): 16 hours to fill –help!

Sunday (10/30/11): 15 hours to fill –we need you!

Monday (10/31/11): 12 hours to fill –lend a hand!

Closing Brunch Announced for Sunday, 11/06/11, at noon!

We are happy to announce that we are able to offer our courageous prayer warriors an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast as part of our Closing Brunch to celebrate the good the Holy Spirit has worked through all of us with 40 Days for Life! The Closing Brunch is Sunday, November 6, 2011 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish (5101 Schofield Road Monona, WI 53716). Come at 12:00 p.m. for brunch. Free will offerings will be accepted for the brunch. Otherwise, join us at 12:30 p.m. for the program, which includes a spiritual reflection by Fr. Bart Timmerman, pastor at Immaculate Heart of Mary. There will be time for fellowship too before we close 40 Days for Life at 2:00 p.m., in time for the Packers game! Contact Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064 or laura@vigilforlife.org for more information.

Personhood Amendment

40 Days for Life and Vigil for Life are not political organizations. However, all of us have a desire for abortion to end. Therefore, we want to share with the you the great news that State Representative Andre Jacque began circulating the Wisconsin Personhood Amendment for co-sponsorship in the State Legislature. If passed, the amendment would extend the right to life found in our state constitution to every human being at any stage of development, including pre-born children. As such, when Roe vs. Wade is overturned, Wisconsin babies would be protected as citizens under the state constitution. The Personhood Amendment will be formally introduced in the next few weeks.

If you feel so called, you can contact your State Representative and encourage him or her to co-sponsor this important amendment. You may use this link to look-up your Representative’s contact information: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx. All the other information you might need is available at the new PersonhoodWisconsin.com web site. Click here: http://personhoodwisconsin.com/. The web site can give you the background you want about personhood and why this is the next step in the pro-life movement. There is also a petition that you can sign and circulate. No doubt, you will hear more about personhood in pro-life circles in the coming days and weeks. This is an exciting development, and we want you to be informed!

“365 for Life” to Resume

Although we may feel tired after 40 Days for Life, we cannot vacate the sidewalks in front of Planned Parenthood. This sends the message to Planned Parenthood that the workers, abortionists and administrators simply need to be patient, and, after 40 days, we’ll all go home. This cannot happen! God gives us the supernatural graces we need to be persistent.

While we do not plan to maintain a 24/7 vigil after Sunday, November 6, we do intend to be out for a while every day that Planned Parenthood is open, if not some time on Saturday and Sunday too. This is the simple plan of our “365 for Life” initiative. Can you make a commitment to be on the sidewalk one time per month? This seems like a small sacrifice compared to the number of hours many of you have spent on the sidewalk. But, we need your small sacrifices each month (or week!) of the year with the end goal of shutting down Planned Parenthood! We ask you to begin praying about what you can do as part of “365 for Life.”

Respect Life Retreat

From Friday, December 2, 2011 through Saturday afternoon December 3, 2011, the Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Vigil for Life will be hosting the Fourth Annual Respect Life Retreat. This special Advent retreat will be held once again in the beautiful retreat center of

Durward's Glen (http://www.durwardsglen.org/) near Baraboo, WI. Our Retreat Master will be Father William Vernon from St. Christopher Parish in Verona. This event will offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, the Liturgy of the Hours, silent prayer and time for personal reflection. Anyone who is involved in work to build a culture of life is invited to attend.

Spaces for the retreat are limited, so please call now to reserve your room. The cost per person is $55, and checks may be made payable to "The Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe." (Financial assistance may be made available for those in need.) Please call Jen Dunnett at 715-340-2779 or email her at vitapretiosa@gmail.com to reserve your place. Take time apart from your efforts to defend life to be strengthened by Jesus Christ, Who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life"(John 14:6).

This is a lot of information to digest, but there are many good things ahead for our Vigil for Life family! Please get involved and stay involved. All glory to God for the good things in Madison!

13 Days to Go, and Help Needed!

We are approaching the end of this prayer vigil - ONLY 13 MORE DAYS UNTIL WE CROSS THE FINISH LINE!

We need you to hang in there and sacrifice a little longer. We have many hours this week which need to be filled.

Tuesday 10/25/11: we have 4 hours to fill.

Wednesday 10/26/11: we have 16 hours to fill.

Thursday 10/27/11: we have 21 hours to fill.

Friday 10/28/11: we have 18 hours to fill.

Both Saturday and Sunday are only abour 45% filled.

PLEASE HELP!!!!

If you have not yet participated, we need you NOW as a shot in the arm to our prayer vigil campaign! The vigil captains are spending many hours on the phone asking for your help. If they leave messages, please give them a call and take an hour or more. Better yet, save them a call and go online to sign up for hours by visiting:

http://vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or by calling Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064

(email: laura@vigilforlife.org).

We need you NOW! Our trust is in the Lord - praise God!

Urgent Help Needed!

Once again, we are urgently in need of your sacrifices this weekend and into early next week to keep our vigil going! We need your IMMEDIATE ACTION to fill many vigil hours in the coming days. If you can, sign up for a regularly scheduled hour or hours to save on phone calling by our volunteer vigil captains. We especially need prayer warriors for the overnight hours! Our vigil captains are working very hard to make sure the 40 Days for Life are a success. Please say yes to their request to fill an hour or more when they call!

Please sign up RIGHT AWAY by visiting http://vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or calling Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064.

Friday (10/21/11), we have 5 hours to fill.

Saturday (10/22/11), we have 17 hours to fill.

Sunday (10/23/11), we have 26 hours to fill!

Monday (10/24/11), we have 15 hours to fill. Yikes!

We need you NOW! 40 Days for Life requires heroic sacrifice, and we are asking for your heroic sacrifice on behalf of the unborn babies and the mothers and fathers who need to be shown another way.

Our trust is in the Lord -praise God!

Turnaround at Planned Parenthood!

Last week Wednesday, we had a "turnaround" at Planned Parenthood - a couple left Planned Parenthood right after coming! This is what sidewalk counselor Dan had to say:

"At about 1:15 p.m., one man came outside just after he walked in with a young woman. I asked him if they were going to be ok. He actually stopped and responded, 'Say what?' I continued, 'If.Your. Friend. Is. Pregnant. We. Can. Help. Free ultrasounds – pregnancy test, diapers - clothing. Go back inside and get her out of there. It’s the best thing you will do all day. This is an evil place.' He was still listening but looked perplexed, so I repeated myself, pointing to heaven, 'For the love of God, get her out of there!' He waved, saying, 'Ok,' and went inside. And he did get her out of there! Their total stay couldn’t have been for longer than five minutes. When they came outside, the man looked to me as I pointed to heaven and said, 'Amen! Thank you!' He gave me the thumbs up and walked his friend to the car."

Thank you, Dan, for giving this couple the encouragement they needed to leave Planned Parenthood behind!

Have you been out to pray yet? If you haven't, now is the time so that we can keep on having such opportunities for the conversion of hearts.

Midpoint Vigil with Bishop Morlino: Join us tomorrow, Tuesday, October 18, at 6:00 p.m. for a candlelight midpoint vigil with Bishop Robert Morlino. He will lead us in prayer and motivate us spiritually to continue with the sacrifices that 40 Days for Life requires. The vigil will be on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood (3706 Orin Road Madison, WI 53704). Come and be encouraged to go to the sidewalk for the first time... or to return to the sidewalk refreshed spiritually!

Our vigil captains have been doing a great job filling the holes in our vigil schedule -thank you, vigil captains! However, sometimes, the need is too great to rely just on our vigil captains. That's where we need your vigilance with our vigil calendar. Will you check in every few days to help ensure that our 24/7 vigil is filled? Can you lend a helping hand so that our most stalwart prayer warriors can have a few days "off" to rest? Right now, here are our needs:

Tuesday (10/18/11): 7 hours to fill!

Wednesday (10/19/11): 17 hours to fill -help!

Thursday (10/20/11): 17 hours to fill -we need you!

Sign-up RIGHT NOW at http://vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or by contacting Laura Karlen (608-445-2064 or laura@vigilforlife.org)!

40 Days for Life is a superhuman effort, and we need the contributions of each person to make 40 Days for Life possible. For this, we place our trust in the Lord.

Tomorrow: Join us for Special Mass to Recognize Dignity of the Unborn

Tomorrow, Friday (10/14/11), there will be a beautiful Mass and ceremony (with reception too!) at 6:00 p.m. at St. Mary's in Pine Bluff (3673 County Road P Cross Plains, WI 53528) to recognize the dignity of all children lost before birth due to miscarriage and stillbirth. Even if you haven't experienced this loss recently or before, we still encourage you to attend! Weather permitting, it will also be an opportunity to see the breath-taking Miracle of Life Rosary Garden on the grounds of St. Mary's!

On Tuesday, October 18, Bishop Morlino will be joining us at the vigil site (the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood, 3706 Orin Road Madison, WI 53704) for a Candlelight Midpoint Vigil at 6:00 p.m. He will encourage us with a spiritual reflection and lead us in prayer. This is a must-attend event!

On Saturday (10/15/11), we still have 14 hours to fill!

On Sunday (10/16/11), we still have 17 hours to fill!

On Monday (10/17/11), we still have 14 hours to fill!

We still need you! If you haven't yet participated in this year's 40 Days for Life campaign, we need you NOW to relieve the dediated prayer warriors who have been keeping vigil so far! If everyone helps, our campaign can continue without a hitch! To sign-up, visit http://vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or contact Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064 or laura@vigilforlife.org.

Upcoming Events

We have been negligent in inviting you to 2 important upcoming events:

1. Friday, October 14 at 6:00 p.m.: 3rd Annual Naming and Commendation Mass for Miscarried and Stillborn Babies at St. Mary's of Pine Bluff: The Mass begins at 6:00 p.m. and will include a naming ceremony in church and a reception in the church narthex. The Knights of Divine Mercy Schola, directed by Aristotle Esguerra, will provide music for the liturgy.

Following the ceremony, participants are invited to pray at the Miracle of Life Rosary Garden. In the center of the Miracle of Life Rosary Garden, there is a special space to bury babies lost before birth.

While Fr. Heilman has encouraged the Knights of Divine Mercy and their families to attend the event in keeping with their mission of protecting the dignity of women and children, we invite all of you to attend as well, especially those of you who have ever lost a child before birth. We will be there to honor the baby we lost recently through miscarriage, Gerard Francis.

For more information on the naming ceremony or the Miracle of Life Rosary Garden, contact St. Mary Parish at 608-798-2111. The address for St. Mary is 3673 County Road P in Cross Plains. You can also visit RosaryGarden.org to learn more.

2. Tuesday, October 18 at 6:00 p.m.: 40 Days Midpoint Vigil with Bishop Robert Morlino: As a firm supporter of 40 Days for Life, Bishop Robert Morlino will offer us some spiritual encouragement and lead us in prayer during our candlelight midpoint vigil at the vigil site on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood (3706 Orin Road Madison, WI 53704). On Tuesday, we will be halfway through our 40 Days for Life campaign. Now is the time to refuel spiritually for the second half of the campaign. Join us and Bishop Morlino in prayer.

Mark your calendars now, block off time for these events in your schedules, and join us!

Also, here are some 40 Days for Life needs:

Wednesday (10/12/11): 5 open hours!

Thursday (10/13/11): 9 open hours!

Friday (10/14/11): 20 open hours -can you help?!

Saturday (10/15/11): 20 open hours!

Sunday (10/16/11): 27 open hours -yikes!

As you can see, we could use a helping hand to fill our vigil hours.These openings later in the week are too many for our vigil captains -mighty though they are- to fill without your immediate response! Sign-up online at http://vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or by contacting Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064 or laura@vigilforlife.org.

Saved baby? and HELP needed!

Saved Baby?

On Monday afternoon, there were 3 prayer warriors on the sidewalk right after Planned Parenthood staff had left. 5 minutes later a car full of 4 women pulled up. The women walked up to the door of Planned Parenthood and saw that the door was locked. The women then crossed to the other side of the street to the future Women's Care Center to read the sign by the gate.

One of the prayer warriors asked, "Do you ladies need help with anything?" One of them, a young woman, said "Yes, I'm looking for information about an abortion. The prayer warriors started to talk to the woman and her sister about abortion. By looking at her, it was obvious that the young woman was very pregnant and quite sad. The prayer warriors referred her to resources to help. When they mentioned the physical and psychological negative effects of abortion, the sister of this young woman responded, "Yeah, but isn't the psychological trauma of having a baby and giving it away worse?" One of the prayer warriors was able to speak to the women on the benefits of adoption versus the consequences of abortion. She shared that, even if you give your baby up for adoption, you can know that you gave some person out there the gift of life. At that point, the pregnant woman started to cry and walk away.As the pregnant woman walked back to the car she turned around and shouted, "I know. I have two children of my own already!"

After the pregnant woman went to her car, the prayer warriors spent some more time talking to the sister. She said that she also had kids and would never have an abortion. She said she thought about it for the last two, but does not regret choosing to give them life. the prayer warriors encouraged this woman to talk to her pregnant sister to see that the pregnant sister received help from the resources the prayer warriors provided.

The interaction seemed rushed, and the prayer warriors weren't able to get the names of the women before they left. Have you seen the pregnant mom? The young pregnant woman, probably in her 20's, had a darker complexion with dyed red hair and tatoos on her neck and right shoulder. She also had some facial piercings. The woman looked obviously pregnant. We pray that she will never decide to come back to Planned Parenthood. Please let us know immediately if you have seen a woman with this description.

Needs for This Weekend for 40 Days for Life

Friday (10/07/11): 3 open hours!

Saturday (10/08/11): 13 open hours -can you help?!

Sunday (10/09/11): 30 open hours -YIKES! We need help desperately for Sunday! Can you help us on the Lord's Day?

Monday (10/10/11): 16 open hours

Given the possiblity of a saved life through 40 Days for Life, we need to keep up our 24/7 vigil, especially for those women who come after hours, just like in the story we just shared with you. Please respond NOW with your help. We need sacrifices from every one of you! Sign-up online at http://vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or by contacting Laura Karlen (608-445-2064 or laura@vigilforlife.org).

May God use you as an instrument to bring about more babies and mothers saved from abortion!

Abortion Facility Closing and 40 Days for Life Updates

• Rockford Abortion Facility Closed Indefinitely by Illinois Department of Health!
• HELP Needed for Wednesday (10/05/11), Thursday (10/06/11) and Friday (10/07/11) for 40 Days for Life!
• 40 Days Updates: Please Read!
• New Women's Care Center Blog Post on the Rockford Abortion Facility's Closing vs. the Women's Care Center of Madison's Opening

Thank you to all of you who responded when the situation looked desperate for 40 Days for Life. As always, the Lord provides... but He needs you to accomplish His work! We are so grateful for your dedication to sustain a 24/7 vigil.

We heard great news on Friday afternoon last week! And now, we would like to share that news with you, in case you haven't heard it!

Rockford Abortion Facility Closed Indefinitely by Illinois Department of Health!

The pro-life group in Rockford joyfully informed pro-lifers across the border in Wisconsin that the Illinois Department of Health has closed indefinitely the Northern Illinois Women's Center abortion center citing the center's failure to meet health and safety standards. Visit http://www.prolifecorner.com/node/921, the Rockford group's web site, to read more of the grisly details. Praise God for this great news! He has used the pro-lifers who peacefully witnessed and counseled women outside of that facility for many years for His greater glory! We pray that the center will never re-open.

What does this mean for Madison? There are two things. One, God answers the fervent prayers of those on the sidewalks. We must strive to actually shut down the Madison Planned Parenthood abortion facility (and all Planned Parenthood locations, for that matter). This should be our goal and our fervent prayer to God. 40 Days for Life and our "365 for Life" initiative are key in accomplishing this goal. Two, we should expect that women who would have gone to the Rockford abortion facility may instead come to Madison. If you're a trained sidewalk counselor, please consider coming to the sidewalk during the time that Planned Parenthood is open, roughly 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each week day. If you're not trained, you can still reach out to women by handing out a resources brochure kept in the Official Vigil Bag. You can also print the brochure off here: http://vigilforlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Madison-CPC-Brochure.pdf. Let's lovingly intervene to save lives and preserve souls!

HELP Needed for Wednesday (10/05/11), Thursday (10/06/11) and Friday (10/07/11) for 40 Days for Life!

By God's grace and with your sacrifices, we have been able to start off 40 Days for Life strong. But, we're going to need your help as the week goes on. We have the following needs:

Wednesday (10/05/11): 10 hours to go!

Thursday (10/06/11): 17 hours to go!

Friday (10/07/11): 21 hours to go!

Can you help us fill these hours? Please visit http://vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview to sign-up online or contact Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064 or laura@vigilforlife.org. If you receive a call or message from a vigil captain or vigil coordinator, it means that we are in a crunch to fill hours. Please sign-up NOW to give our vigil captains a rest!

40 Days Updates: Please Read!

It is such a blessing to have all of you coming out to the sidewalks! We do have a few updates and reminders for you:

1. Do not access the Our Lady of Victory (3711 Orin Road Madison, WI 53704) property for any reason. This site is under construction to prepare for the opening of the Women's Care Center. You must find street parking and remain on the public areas around Planned Parenthood.
2. If you find that you are unable to stand for your entire vigil hour, especially if you are elderly or disabled, you may bring your own folding chair and use it to rest on the terrace/parkway between the public sidewalk and the road or on the sidewalk. If you put your chair on the sidewalk, please be aware so that you do not block the way for passers-by.
3. The Offical Vigil Bag and 2 signs must remain at the vigil site and be handed off between leaving prayer warriors and arriving prayer warriors.

New Women's Care Center Blog Post on the Rockford Abortion Facility's Closing vs. the Women's Care Center of Madison's Opening

Echoing the news we shared with you about the closure of the Rockford abortion facility, the Northern Illinois Women's Center, the Women's Care Center's newest blog post also compares the "house of horrors" with the inviting atmosphere women will find at the Women's Care Center of Madison, once it opens. Please check out the blog at http://womenscarecentermadison.wordpress.com/. Leave a comment there or on the WCC Facebook page. Remember to "like" the WCC on Facebook too!

Let us pray that one day we will be able to excitedly share the news of the closure of the Madison Planned Parenthood abortion facility. Lord, hear our prayer!