"Be a forceful witness of love for life!..." St. John Paul II

 In today's 2nd reading, Saint Peter reminds us, "For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil."  (1 Peter: 3-17)  Do we really suffer while out on the sidewalk?  This past winter was very cold, so we may have suffered a little from the cold.  Now, that the weather is so beautiful we won't suffer from the cold.  Perhaps, the real suffering we experience on the sidewalk is from what we know happens within the walls of Planned Parenthood:  Young mothers are injured emotionally, spiritually and sometimes physically; Young fathers' hearts are broken and the lives of such precious babies still being formed within their mothers' wombs are ended very abruptly!  So - we must come to the sidewalk to witness for Christ's Gospel of Life because "...it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil."  

Please come to the sidewalk this week!

OPEN HOURS

Monday, 5/26 - HOLIDAY!  Please pray from home or better yet in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

Tuesday, 5/27 - 81% filled on this Abortion Day: 1 needed at 11a; 1 needed at 1p and1 needed at 2p.

Wednesday, 5/28 - Only 65% filled on this Abortion Day; 1 needed at 8a; 2 needed at 9a; 2 needed at 4p and 2 needed at 5p.

Thursday, 5/29 - 80% filled; 2 needed at 5p.

Friday, 5/30 - 100% filled; Praise God!

To sign up for hours, go to: vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or call Gwen Finnegan at (608)393-8545 or e-mail info@vigilforlife.org.

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Griswold v. Connecticut anniversary prayer vigil and event will be held outside of Planned Parenthood on Thursday, June 5 and 11a.m. 

Brief history on Griswold v. Connecticut (from http://thepillkills.org/history.php):

"1961:

Dr. C. Lee Buxton, Yale Medical School's OB-GYN department chairman, and Estelle Griswold, executive director of Planned Parenthood, open four Planned Parenthood clinics in Connecticut, where the use of birth control is illegal. They are arrested and the Griswold v. Connecticut case begins to work its way through the court system.

1962:

Serious side effects from the pill, such as blood clots and heart attacks, begin to be publicized. Searle receives reports of 132 blood clots, 11 of which were terminal, but denies that they are caused by the pill.

1965:

The U.S. Supreme Court decides Griswold v. Connecticut by overturning the law prohibiting the use of birth control, thereby decriminalizing poison in the form of the pill."

It is no surprise that Planned Parenthood was behind the creation and legalization of the birth control pill.

Come out to hear from Emma Scuglik of Pro-Life Wisconsin and to learn more about Griswold v. Connecticut and the devastating effects of the birth control pill so you can bring an awareness of what you learn to others.

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Pro-Life Teen Retreat

June 14, 2014 - 9:15a-6p - Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 5250 Justin Road, La Crosse

Join Pro-Life Wisconsin youth for a fun day of education, networking with other pro-life youth, prayer, and spiritual strengthening!  Recommended age range 14-17.

Register online at www.ProLifeWisconsin.org or call 262-796-1111.

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"Be a forceful witness of love for life, which is God's gift to you.  Be a prophet of life!  Then your words and deeds will give hope for those who have no hope."  St. John Paul II

Witness prayer by St. John Paul II

Beloved God, thank you for the gift of life.  Help me

to use it well, not just for myself but for all of those

you place in my path.  May my words and deeds offer

hope, and may I never dampen the spark of hope in 

others.  Give me courage, please, that I might go out 

and be a witness by sharing the good news that you

are a God of love and life.  

Amen.

"Let us not grow tired..."

 "Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up." (Galatians 6: 9)

Please bring your prayers to the sidewalk this week!  (Beautiful weather is in the forecast for this week.)

OPEN HOURS

Monday, 5/19 - 100% filled; Praise God!

Tuesday, 5/20 - Only 44% filled on this Abortion Day!  1 needed at 10a; 1 needed at 11a; 1 needed at 12p; 1 needed at 1p; 2 needed at 2p; 2 needed at 3p; and 1 needed at 4p.

Wednesday, 5/21 - Only 45% filled on this Abortion Day!  1 needed at 8a; 2 needed at 9a; 1 needed at 12p; 1 needed at 1p; 1 needed at 2p; 1 needed at 3p; 2 needed at 4p and 2 needed at 5p.

Thursday, 5/22 - Just 70% filled; 1 needed at 4p and 2 needed at 5p.

Friday, 5/23 - Just 50% filled; 1 needed at 1p and 1 needed at 2p.

To sign up for hours go to: vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or call Gwen Finnegan at (608)393-8545 or e-mail info@vigilforlife.org.

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Griswold v. Connecticut anniversary prayer vigil and event will be held outside of Planned Parenthood on Thursday, June 5 and 11a.m.  

Brief history on the birth control pill and Griswold v. Connecticut (fromthepillkills.org/history.php):

"1912:Radical feminist Margaret Sanger conceives of a "magic pill" contraceptive. Sanger later founded the American Birth Control League, which eventually became the Planned Parenthood Federation.

1930:On August 15, the Lambeth Conference (a periodic meeting of the Anglican Church's bishops) approves the use of contraceptives. This was a radical departure from the constant Christian tradition of considering contraception immoral. After 1930, other Protestant denominations begin to allow contraception. On December 31, Pope Pius XI issues the encyclical Casti Connubii (Of Chaste Marriage), which, among other things, reaffirms the Catholic Church's constant teaching against contraception and abortion.

1951:Sanger obtains a Planned Parenthood grant for Dr. Gregory Pincus, a biologist, to research hormonal contraceptives, but the funding soon runs out. Earlier, Pincus had shocked the public by his in vitro fertilization of rabbits.

1953:  Sanger convinces Katharine McCormick, a radical feminist and wealthy philanthropist, to fund the pill research project and Pincus continues his research.

1954:  Pincus and Dr. John Rock, a Catholic ob-gyn who violates Church teachings by advocating contraception, begin human trials of the pill. To bypass Massachusetts's anti-birth control laws, they claim the study is about infertility. Fifty female infertility patients volunteer to participate in the study, but the pill is also given to 12 female and 16 male psychiatric patients without their direct consent.

1955:  The pill is proven to prevent ovulation in all 50 women. Pincus presents the findings at the Fifth Annual International Planned Parenthood League conference in Tokyo, Japan and Rock does the same at the Laurentian Conference on Endocrinology in Canada. The news that a birth control pill has been developed then spreads rapidly among scientists.

1956:  Large-scale human clinical trials of the pill begin, to gain approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Pincus chooses Puerto Rico as the location because it provides a large pool of poor, uneducated women who can be easily monitored. The local doctor in charge of the study tells Pincus that the pill causes "too many side reactions to be generally acceptable." However, Pincus and Rock dismiss her findings and do not investigate what causes the side effects, nor do they investigate the cause of death for three women who die during the trials.

1957:  The FDA approves usage of the pill to treat severe menstrual disorders and requires that its packaging include a warning that it will prevent ovulation.

1960:  The pharmaceutical company G.D. Searle obtains FDA approval to sell the pill as a contraceptive, despite the FDA's initial misgivings about its long-term safety. It becomes the first FDA-approved drug to be given to healthy patients for long-term use and for social purposes.

1961:  Dr. C. Lee Buxton, Yale Medical School's OB-GYN department chairman, and Estelle Griswold, executive director of Planned Parenthood, open four Planned Parenthood clinics in Connecticut, where the use of birth control is illegal. They are arrested and the Griswold v. Connecticut case begins to work its way through the court system.

1962:  Serious side effects from the pill, such as blood clots and heart attacks, begin to be publicized. Searle receives reports of 132 blood clots, 11 of which were terminal, but denies that they are caused by the pill.

1965:  The U.S. Supreme Court decides Griswold v. Connecticut by overturning the law prohibiting the use of birth control, thereby decriminalizing poison in the form of the pill."

It is no surprise the Planned Parenthood was behind the creation and legalization of the birth control pill.

Come out to learn more about Griswold v. Connecticut and the devastating and often deadly effects of the birth control pill so you can bring an awareness of what you learn to others.

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Pro-Life Teen Retreat

June 14, 2014 - 9:15a-6p - Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 5250 Justin Road, La Crosse

Join Pro-Life Wisconsin youth for a fun day of education, networking with other pro-life youth, prayer, and spiritual strengthening!  Recommended age range 14-17.

Register online at www.ProLifeWisconsin.org or call 262-796-1111.

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Prayer to the Virgin Mary (from Priests for Life)

O Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mother of us all, we turn to you today as the one who said "Yes" to Life. "You will conceive and bear a Son," the angel told you. Despite the surprise and the uncertainty about how this could be, you said yes. 

"Be it done unto me according to your word."

Mary, we pray today for all mothers who are afraid to be mothers. We pray for those who feel threatened and overwhelmed by their pregnancy. Intercede for them, that God may give them the grace to say yes and the courage to go on. May they have the grace to reject the false solution of abortion. May they say with you, "Be it done unto me according to your word." May they experience the help of Christian people, and know the peace that comes from doing God's will. 

Amen.

We need you, NOW!

*"If my people, upon whom my name has been pronounced, humble
themselves and pray, and seek my presence and turn from their evil
ways, I will hear them from heaven and pardon their sins and revive
their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)*

*Statistics from the Spring 2014 40 Days for Life campaign*

252 campaigns worldwide (over 100,000 participants)

728 lives saved

14 total abortion facility worker conversions (1 was an abortionist)

8 more abortion facilities closed

*Statistics from the past 6 years of 40 Days for Life campaigns*

3039 locations with a 40 DFL campaign (In 539 cities and 24 diff.
countries)

*8,973 LIVES SAVED*

101 abortion facility worker conversions

50 abortion facilities closed

When reading through the above statistics, one can see how God works
through 40 Days for Life campaigns. ["Praise him, O praise him,
Alleluia! Alleluia!"] Our prayer and peaceful presence are two of the
ways that God works through us to SAVE LIVES and to SAVE SOULS!

Vigil for Life's next 40 Days for Life campaign will run from Sept.
24, 2014 - Nov. 2, 2014. (*Sign up early, Sign up NOW!*) Many people
are not aware that Vigil for Life has a year round presence on the
sidewalk outside of Planned Parenthood, Madison as well as
participating in the fall 40 Days for Life campaign. We do and we call
it 365 for Life! (Spread the word!)

We need you and we need you NOW!

OPEN HOURS

Monday, 5/12 - 100% filled; Praise God!

Tuesday, 5/13- 100% filled; Praise God!

Wednesday, 5/14 - Only 65% filled on this Abortion Day - 1 needed at
8a; 1 needed at 9a; 1 needed at 10a; 2 needed at 4p and 2 needed at
5p.

Thursday, 5/15- 100% filled; Praise God!

Friday, 5/16 - Just 75% filled; 1 needed at 2p.

To sign up for hours go to http://vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview
 or call Gwen Finnegan at (608)393-8545 or e-mail
info@vigilforlife.org.

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STORIES FROM THE SIDEWALK

On Tuesday, 5/6 when our prayer warriors showed up to the sidewalk to
pray they discovered that Planned Parenthood was closed! It was later
confirmed by the Unifirst uniform delivery guy that the sign on the
door said that Planned Parenthood was closed for the whole day. The
note did not say why - just that they were closed. Whatever the reason
-- PRAISE GOD! The fact that they were closed meant that no hearts
were broken, no mothers were injured emotionally, spiritually and
possibly physically and, last but certainly not least, it meant that
NO BABIES DIED there that day! We are so grateful to God for the gift
of that day! While they were closed, our prayer warriors still came to
the sidewalk to pray and one was able to send two women who wanted to
go into Planned Parenthood to the Women's Care Center.

On Wednesday, 5/7, one of our prayer warriors was able to have a good
conversation with a man who came out while waiting for someone inside
Planned Parenthood. In the middle of the conversation, the man was
beckoned back into Planned Parenthood by an employee of PP. A little
while later the man came out with a young woman and an older woman.
The man asked our prayer warrior if the Women's Care Center was open.
Our prayer warrior let him know that it was open. Although they did
not go over to the Women's Care Center at that time - they did leave
Planned Parenthood without having had an abortion! ("Praise him, O
praise him. Alleluia! Alleluia!")

On Thursday, 5/8 - one of our prayer warriors stayed late to cover an
open hour and was blessed with an opportunity for evangelization. A
young woman parked her car across the street, approached our prayer
warrior with a smile and told our prayer warrior that she lived in the
apartments next to PP. She had been wondering for a long time what we
are doing out there, "I see you in the summer, in the snow, in the
rain - what are you doing out here?" Our prayer warrior told her what
we are doing out there. The young woman asked our prayer warrior about
reading the Bible. Our prayer warrior was able to instruct her on
reading the Bible and directed her to start with reading the Gospels.
They also had a short conversation about praying the rosary and about
St. John Paul II. Seeds of faith were definitely planted. Please pray
for this young woman.

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*Pro-Life Teen Retreat*

June 14, 2014- 9:15a-6p - Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 5250
Justin Road, La Crosse

Join Pro-Life Wisconsin youth for a fun day of education, networking
with other pro-life youth, prayer, and spiritual strengthening!
Recommended age range 14-17.

Register online at http://www.prolifewisconsin.org
 or call 262-796-1111.

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*Prayer to be prayed during a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament*

*Unity* (Priests for Life prayer)

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the gift of the Holy Eucharist, Your Sacred
Body, by which You unite us as one body in You. "For we, many though
we are, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf"(1 Cor. 10-17)

As we receive You, O Lord, You also receive us. As You draw us up to
Yourself, You draw us also into one another. "You are the Body of
Christ, and individually members of it" (1 Cor. 12-27).

Lord, grant that we may never exclude any of the other members of Your
Body from our love. As we receive Your Body in Communion, so let us
receive and welcome all the members of Your Body, no matter how
inconvenient they may be.

Help us especially to welcome those who have become the most unwelcome
members of our world, namely, those who have just entered it. Bless
our brothers and sisters in the womb. Rid our world of the sin of
abortion, which divides parents from their own children, from one
another, from their very selves, and from You, O Lord.

Grant that the power of Unity which we find in the Eucharist may
overcome the fear of the unborn child, and may enable us to welcome
that child as a brother, a sister, a member of Your Body. Amen.

Also, while visiting with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, please pray
from your heart for the closure of Planned Parenthood, Madison.

Jesus, I Trust in You

In today's Gospel (Luke 24: 13-35), two of Jesus' disciples unknowingly meet up with Jesus on the road to Emmaus.  The disciples are so confused and distraught about the recent events that they don't even recognize Jesus.  In general, these two disciples lack faith in the resurrection of Christ as told to them by the women who "reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive."  As they walk, Jesus opens up the Scriptures to them to clear away their confusion, distress and lack of faith.  Eventually, the two disciples recognize that it was Jesus with them on the road all along, "...he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.  With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight."

Like the disciples, we too are sometimes slow to recognize all of the ways that Jesus is with us.  Indeed, Jesus is with us until the "end of the age".  He will never leave us.  He will always love us.  If we find ourselves confused, distraught or lacking in faith, we should say, "Jesus, I trust in you."  In that we do trust Jesus, he will clear away any confusion, distress or lack of faith for us.  He will help us to see what we did not recognize before.

Please bring your trust in Jesus to the sidewalk this week.

OPEN HOURS

Monday, 5/5 - 100% filled; Praise God!

Tuesday, 5/6 - Only 31% filled on this Abortion Day!  1 needed at 11a; 2 needed at 12p; 2 needed at 1p; 2 needed at 3p; and 2 needed at 4p.

Wednesday, 5/7 - Only 20% filled on this Abortion Day! 1 needed at 8a; 2 needed at 9a; 1 needed at 11a; 2 needed at 12p; 2 needed at 1p; 2 needed at 2p; 2 needed at 3p; 2 needed at 4p and 2 needed at 5p.

Thursday, 5/8 - Just 70% filled; 1 needed at 4p and 2 needed at 5p.

Friday, 5/9 - Just 75% filled; 1 needed at 2p. 

To sign up for hours go to: vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or call Gwen Finnegan at (608)393-8545 or e-mail info@vigilforlife.org.

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Life chosen!

On Friday, April 25th - A prayer warrior called to say that as a young couple was leaving Planned Parenthood they stopped, opened their car window and the young woman let our prayer warrior know that , " I just couldn't do it."   Isn't that beautiful?  LIFE is such a beautiful choice!  

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Pro-Life Benefit Dinner

Our Lady of Hope Clinic and The Women's Care Center of Madison are co-sponsoring a Celebration of Life benefit dinner on Saturday, May 10 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.  A social hour will start at 6:00 and dinner is at 7:00 p.m.  Cost is $75 per person or $500 for a table of eight.  Space is limited.  Please RSVP @CELEBRATELIFEMADISON.ORG.  (www.celebratelifemadison.org/benefit-dinner.html)

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Pro-Life Wisconsin Pro-Life Boot Camp with nationally acclaimed speaker Pam Stenzel

Thursday, May 8th at St. Dominic Catholic Church, 18255 W. Capitol Dr., Brookfield, WI.

Event is free.  Pre-registration is required.  Call 262-796-1111 or visit Pro-Life Wisconsin.org

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Pro-Life Teen Retreat

June 14, 2014 - 9:15a-6p - Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 5250 Justin Road, La Crosse

Join Pro-Life Wisconsin youth for a fun day of education, networking with other pro-life youth, prayer, and spiritual strengthening!  Recommended age range 14-17.

Register online at www.ProLifeWisconsin.org or call 262-796-1111.

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Rescue the Pre-born

By: Fr. Terry Gensemer

O God of Beginnings, You are the Creator of all life. As we begin this week, be near us as we unite with our Pre-born brothers and sisters who are scheduled for death. May you by your Holy Spirit and by the voice of your church lead your people to rescue from death the innocent children and bring those who participate in their death to true repentance that they may taste of your goodness and mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen.